The Doodle Home Grooming Kit

Tired of the groomer bill, or of waiting weeks for an appointment?

A professional doodle groom typically costs around $100–150, and groomers usually book a doodle every 6–8 weeks. With brushing and tidying at home, a full trim every 2–3 months is plenty, and a home kit pays for itself within the first year. With two or three doodles, much sooner.

But most home grooming advice is either a groomer’s video that assumes you already know the tools, or a clipper review that stops where the trim starts. This guide gives you the whole route in order: your coat, your look, your kit, your comb, and the trim itself, with the mistakes we made along the way.

Is this guide for you?

• ✔ You want your doodle to look like a doodle, not like a shaved poodle, after every trim.
• ✔ You’ve never held a clipper and don’t know which blade or comb to buy.
• ✔ Mats keep coming back, especially behind the ears, in the armpits and between the pads.
• ✔ You have more than one doodle, and the groomer bill adds up fast.
• ✔ Your doodle is nervous at the groomer and calmer with someone he trusts.

A look inside

Real pages from the guide. Tap a page to see it full size.

What’s inside the guide: 14 sections

1. 1The mathsWhat home grooming really saves with one, two or three doodles, and what you give up.
2. 2Your coat and the three looksCurly fleece, wavy fleece, wool or straight, and which look each coat can carry.
3. 3The kitEvery tool, what it does, and what you can skip.
4. 4Blades and guard combsWhich comb leaves which length, and why one #10 blade does it all.
5. 5Setting upThe floor setup, the lick mat and when you need a second pair of hands.
6. 6Bath and dryThe part that decides how the trim goes.
7. 7The trim, step by stepBody, legs, chest and tail, for each look.
8. 8The face, round feet and fiddly bitsThe round teddy face, paws and pads, sanitary area and ears.
9. 9NailsHow short, how often, and how to keep it calm.
10. 10Mats, and going one look shorterWhen to brush out, when to clip out, and short coats for wool.
11. 11Between trimsLine brushing step by step, and the hot spots to check.
12. 12TroubleshootingClipper lines, tufts, a hot blade and a dog who won’t stand still.
13. 13Your grooming calendarWhat to do daily, weekly and every few months, for each look.
14. 14The shopping checklistWhat to buy first, what to buy next, and what can wait.

Questions