The Goldendoodles can have a mixed coat, which is generally thick and wavy. It is essential to brush and comb at least three times a week to remove shedding hair and keep the wool-dense areas free of felts. Regular trips to the grooming salon are generally required.

The coat of a Goldendoodle looks similar to a Golden Retriever but has more of a Poodle texture. It can grow a lot longer than the pure-bred Golden but with a curlier texture. It can take quite a while to bathe and dry.

It is sometimes silky and sheds like the Golden Retriever parent, or it can be thick and woolly like the Poodle parent shedding hair into the coat.

Equipment needed

Slicker and pin brush, medium-toothed comb, thinners, scissors, clippers. Try using coat spray when pre-brushing to loosen and remove hair and tangles to aid drying the thick coat.

• Bathe in protein-rich or oatmeal shampoo.
• Blast out excess water if dog tolerates the noise and power of this dryer.
• Finish drying with warm air using the slicker.
• Coat handler detangler spray helps with particularly dense areas of coat as it loosens it to assist a quicker drying time.
• Comb from head to toe after drying.
• The 44-tooth thinning scissors are ideal here, no shears or clipping scissors are needed apart from under the feet to clean out the pads.
• Shape the back legs to angulation, thinning out the breeches.
• Scissor the front leg furnishings or use thinners depending on thickness of the feathering.
• Make a natural foot shape using thinners and texturize the body coat with the thinners.
• Thinners can be used on the chest if the coat is not too thick.
• Edge the ear leather with thinners and where the coat is wispy around the ears fold the ear, angle it slightly towards the center of head – just as in shaping a Westie ear – and thin off the coat.
• Tidy the head and face with thinners as well as the throat and neck to blend and flow easily into the body.
• Leave a wispy “skirt” and clip out under the tail (near the bottom) to stop debris gathering in the coat.
• The tail should be flagged as with a retriever.
• Check ears, teeth and nails.