Attention Labradoodle owners ( groomer rant) - Page 2

thanks for the brownies, now could you do me a favor and chew them as well?  i'm too tired to chew :) 

Doodle owners are "special."  The owners really need to be educated and trained.  They frustrate the $*%# out of me.  Trying to explain to them what matting is, it's like I'm talking nuclear physics or something.  Your dog gets matted, no we cannot "leave it long" it's MATTED, do you want us to spend 5 hours RIPPING the matted hair from your dogs body as it screams in pain?  Or do you want us to cut out the mats, and leave your dog with a moth-eaten appearance of holes all over his coat?  We groom them at my training facility, and a full cut on a large doodle starts at $90, and goes up to infinity.  But it takes the groomer a solid 4 hours.  The good Doodle owners come in once a month for a bath and brush out.  They are very picky with what they want, so it's actually a grooming speciality.  You cut the hair wrong and the dog looks different, they just might cry, literally.  So it's a good thing they are used to paying a lot, LOL, yes I have seen the paperwork for some of them and they pay up to $2,000 for certain types of "doodle."

As dog people, we cannot fathom paying money for a purposely mixed breed with no particular purpose.  We just don't get it.  I didn't either, as I do have to try to understand the "pet owner mindset."  Actually, just the other day, one of my co-trainers told me I am "out of touch" with pet owner realities and how they think, LOL.  I just can't fathom certain things, like why they say stupid things to me all day and why they won't work their dogs, etc.  But then I realized that to them, they don't need (what they call) a "show dog," and they don't care about purebreds.  They just want a big furry, low-shedding, Muppet-looking buddy for them or their kids.  They think the hybrid thing sounds special.  And they name them Bella or Chloe, and they do not brush them... or they just brush the parts that show, but don't get down into the coat.  And where there is demand, there are plenty of unethical breeders there to supply.  Google Doberdoodle.... now THAT is some f*$*ed up sh*$.

We have a golden doodle that comes in for daycare twice a week. This dog is so f**ked up, it doesn't even seem to know it's a dog!

See what I wrote about it here: http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/bulletins.read?mnr=520385 

http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/bulletins.read?mnr=528158 

http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/bulletins.read?mnr=528788 


The owner wanted it groomed at Christmastime. Guess what? He said he didn't want it to look like a poodle. 
I do have to give him credit for taking good care of the dog's coat, though!

I charge 60 for a strip and hand scissors can be really pricy... i had to laugh about the Chloe and Bella :)  Did one of each and the 120 pound untrained couldnt stand up bobble head was named Bingo... I could not believe how many times he tried to knock me out with his giant melon head!  i have a huge sign in my shop that says " I WILL NOT DEMAT YOUR DOG FOR YOUR VAINTY, IMAGINE SOMEONE PLUCKING OUT YOUR NOSE HAIRS. NOW YOU KNOW HOW A MATTED DOG HAVING ITS COAT RIPPED OUT BY THE ROOTS FEELS"  Strangely my Hubby hates the sign, claims it's not good for business :)

I love the groomer rant! As a retired groomer i totally understand your pain!
The first Labradoodle i ever groomed was imported from Australia and was so F*&#ed up its front feet pointed away from each other. You couldn't pick up its feet with out getting bit.
The dog was a "Mini" chocolate and was shipped neutered for the tiny sum of $4000.00 US dollars. The dog was bad tempered, had the worse coat I've ever tangled with and the owner was a dunce. He could never understand why i always insisted that the dog be shaved. (Cause it was completely matted) Once he purchased a grooming video from Australia and gave it to me to review. It was a short film on how to dematt you totally matted dog.
Next time he came in i told yes i did watch it and if he wanted me to do that to his dog it would cost $100.00 to groom and $25 dollars each 15 minutes to complete the dematting. Which i figured was worth at least another 4 hours. Needless to say he declined and got the dog shaved for $60 bucks.
And i always wonder why someone had to go and reinvent the wheel? The AKC has several retriever/poodle cross breeds that have been perfected. The Curly Coated Retriever, the Portuguese Water dog, The Spanish Water dog, The Irish Water dog and there are several more.
Why on God's green earth do we need poodle/lab/golden/st benerad/dobe/great Pyrnese mixes?????
That's part of the reason i got out of pet grooming. Too many dumb owners and they even dumber dogs. If it wasn't tiny and mean it was big and stupid!
Have some special pot brownies!

Remember the mantra " If it is small and white , it will most likely bite "  And you know if it is a maltese named precious , baby or muffin it will be more frightening to deal with than the most vicious Rottweiler!  ( yes folks i do groom some nice small white dogs, it is just all of spoiled rotten lap dogs will take you face off)  grooming is not a job for the faint of heart! 

I went to puppy class today and there were two there and I know two people who are planning on getting Labradoodles. I really don't understand why people make all of these oodle doodle mixes and why people pay so much money for them!! 

Fashion, fashion, fashion....  After Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Paris Hilton using this dog for a fashion accessory, thousands if not hundreds of thousands of poor Chihuahua’s have been PTS in the California pounds…

Most goldendoodles do look like poodles with more wavy hair. Every time I think of a goldendoodle I have a picture in my head – a buff, US Navy guy, jogging in the morning with a goldendoodle…. (you get the picture?) This one is usually groomed with a big pom-pom on his tail…

I'm used to having German Shedders but still I would kill myself if I had to deal with this amount of hair on the dog… I live in a raining state, so wet & muddy dogs are a given. My pantry is a mess every time my hounds go thru, but I cannot even imagine what it would look like after three goldendoodles...

One of the owners complained to me that her dog sheds like hell. She invested in electric dog groomers and just shaves her dog (even in the winter). I can fully understand the pain of the groomer.

People paid big $$$ for a supposed non-shedding ‘breed’ and they think that this equals a maintenance free coat. I would pay big $$$ for a GSD that is non-shedding, too if I believed that there is one…
 

"Remember the mantra " If it is small and white, it will most likely bite " 

Pass Brynjulf some brownies for such a profound statement of wisdom. It's unlikely to happen again. :)

I think people buy "doodles"  because of the false information regard the cross.  They were originally bred as guide dogs.  They were looking for a gentle , non shedding, larger dog to replace German Shepherds and Labs.  ( this is not very PC but can you imagine what a blind person who owns a GSD's house looks like?  I can "see" and there are hair bunnies the size of Brontos in my house!!!)  Anyhow back to aunties story.....
The breeders were looking for a dog who had the brains of a Standard Poodle but had a coat like a Golden that didnt shed.  Needless to say this breeding program was sort of successful.  There are many doodles in service unfortunately by the breeders own admission many of the puppies displayed inconsistent, unpredictable features and behavioral personalities.  I do not know what a behavioral personality is, but i am assuming it means "dink".  I could be wrong :)