Goldendoodle hair can be styled in many different ways.  Many people ask us why we have our Goldendoodle (Rusty) cut so short.  As I have menstioned in my previos blogs, Rusty often joins us on our hikes and outside adventures.  We have discovered that the shorter his hair, the less stickers, thorns and dirt gets stuck in it.  It also allows us to check him for ticks easily after our trips.  This has proven to be very important!

Last weekend we took Rusty on a nine mile hike around one of the local lakes.  Once we got home we noticed a tick on Rusty’s belly.  The tick bite ended up getting infected and we had to take Rusty to the vet.  It would have been much more difficult to find the tick and notice the infection if Rusty had long hair.

Rusty’s Haircut Style-

- Shaved the same length including his head

-Poodle Feet (Feet are shaved shorter than the body)

-Haircut once every 1 to 2 months

Goldendoodles do not shed, therefor they require haircuts to keep their hair short.  Your desired style will determine how often your Goldendoodle will require haircuts.  Rusty gets his haircut about once every 2 months.  We keep his hair short because we find that when it starts getting long he picks up thorns and stickers on our hikes.  His short hair also allows us to easily check for ticks.  Below is a list of helpful haircut tips:

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I was playing fetch with Rusty today and on the way back into the house Rusty dropped his tennis ball (he is not aloud to bring it inside).  When I noticed that he did not bring the ball up to the door and drop it like he normally does I ask him to get his ball.  Rusty turned around and ran after his ball, it was then I noticed his ball was rolling down the hill towards the street.  Rusty was in a full run towards the ball and the street.  In a panicked voice I YELLED to Rusty, “HEEL COME”  he turned around and let the ball roll into the street and as the ball entered the street a car ran over the ball.  Rusty was a GREAT dog and followed my orders when it was most important.  This was a reminder why we train our dogs.  I can not imagine what would have happen if he did not listen.  I was so proud and re-leaved when he stopped as soon as I called him.  WOW I feel lucky to have such a great dog!

For Rusty’s ear infection we have to put drops in his ear each night.  Rusty is very aware when it is medicine time.  When I mention “medicine” or “ear” Rusty will go right into his crate.   What we have found what works best is to wait until he is almost asleep/very tired and while petting him put we put a couple drops of medicine in his ear.  If you try to put drops in a dogs ear while they are hyper of active they are more likely to fight back or become reluctant.   After Rusty’s medicine we give Rusty a treat for doing a good job.

Dog Medicine Tips:

For drops in the ear – Put the drops in when the dog is calm.

Chew-able medicine- For bad tasting chewable medicine, hide it in a food that your dog likes.  (We have hidden pills in lunch meat)

Reward your dog with a treat!

You can add water to the dry Blue Buffalo dog food to soften it up for your Goldendoodle.  We have been adding a little water to Rusty’s food for some time now.  We only add enough to soften the Blue Buffalo, not so much that it becomes soup.  We still add water when we mix the the dry and wet Blue Buffalo together.  Give it a try.

Yesterday we noticed that Rusty was scratching his ear more than normal.  When we looked at the ear it was noticeable red and infected.  After contacting our local vet they suggested we bring him in to have it looked at.  About 6 months ago  Rusty had a similar infection that turned out to be a yest infection in his ear from swimming at the lake.    The reason the vet wanted to see Rusty was to insure that it was not something else causing the infection (something could have gotten it his ear).   The vet took a swab of Rusty’s ear and tested it, turned out to be another yest infection.  It was nice to know it was not something more serious but the 80 dollar vet bill was not so nice.  We have to put drops in Rusty’s ear and hopefully he will be back to normal in no time.

Always pay attention to what you dog is scratching or licking.

In the past I have discussed how Rusty would rub his noes on the ground, pushing his food bowl across the floor.  We tried different flavors of Blue Buffalo dog food and adding the canned Blue Buffalo food to the dry  but the rubbing continued.  Well we finally figured out a way to stop the rubbing and pushing his food across the floor.  In the past Rusty would push his food to the corner and now we put his food in the corner to start with.  Rusty has not rubbed his noes on the ground sense we started putting his food in the corner.  He must find it comfortable to have his food in the corner “protected.”

Tips:

Don’t be afraid to experement with different routines to find out what works best for you and your Goldendoodle.

All Goldendoodle’s will act differently.

Goldendoodle’s like all dogs might do something weird to us but to them its what they like, we are not dogs.

I invite you to share your comments and opinions regarding shock collars.

First off let me clarify.  There are many different types of collars that shock. Some are controlled by the owner and others are triggered by the dogs bark.  Shock collars produce an electric shock that shocks the dog when they are barking or when the owner presses the button on his/her remote. A  correctly used shock collar does not hurt the dog but rather scares or startles the dog into stopping the undesired action (barking, running away, or any other type of disobedience).

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Our local Petsmart is having a deal on Doggie Day Camp.  Cost – $18 compared to the normal rate of $23.  The Deal last until February.  Sorry for the late notice.

The weather has been very poor for the past few weeks and Rusty has had very little time to play outside.  Petsmart offers a Doggie Day Camp that you can take your dog to to play with other dogs inside.  It is apart of the Petsmart Pet Hotel.  We have taken Rusty there in the past and he comes home exhausted from the hours of play time.

In the past we have taken Rusty because we were not going to be home for a long period of time, but due to the weather we are taking him today just to burn off his energy.  We have friends that take their dog once a week when they are at work, allowing their dog to get social interaction with other dogs.

Your dog must be up to date with all their shots and vaccinations or they will not be accepted into Doggie Day Camp.

Cost-  $ 23