Brushing

i thought I would share some info tonight about brushing. I get asked a lot about brushing. Groomers recommend the slicker brush. The one with pin needles. My girls hate it. Poodle breeders recommend a metal comb. My girls hate it. I use a regular hair brush. You start my pulling up a section of hair and brushing below that from the root to end. Brush in sections. If you have a matt using a de matting tool only on the Matt. It cuts out the matt with its razor sharp teeth. Brush pups mainly after they have gotten wet. This is when they will mat. You will need to start seeing a groomer around 6 months old. You can scissor cut them yourself up to that point. And you will need to do toenails about once a month or so. Right now I have been using dremel on toenails about every 4-5 days. I hate long toenails on pups. It hurts when they stand up and scratch your legs. The more they walk on concrete it grinds them down however until they are 6 months you should try to walk them in grass when ever possible. Too much walking on concrete can impact hips and cause future problems. As adult coat comes in you can switch to a different brush like the slicker brush or a metal comb. But get your pup use to a nice brush they don't hate. Make it fun to brush. Give treats. Brush backs of legs both front and back legs. And brush behind ears. Doodles also get mats at their mouth. Watch for these. I'm also sharing a picture of what happens if you don't brush enough. This is Bella 3 years ago after her first litter of pups. She had to be shaved. While she had pups she wouldn't let me brush her enough. I'm hoping this is enough shock for everyone to realize how fast it can happen.