Are you wondering if the lush of locks on your Goldendoodle pup can be shaven for the hot season coming?

Their lush curly locks are so soft and adorable, but they make for a warm coat. Good news, you can shave your Goldendoodle, but unless you really wish to, I would hold onto those scissors before you decide to! 

Can You Shave a Goldendoodle Puppy?

Can you shave a Goldendoodle puppy? Goldendoodles and Goldendoodle puppies can be shaved but are highly recommended not to be shaven down to their skin. In fact, it is highly recommended that you don’t shave their fur, here a few reasons: 

1. Their fur is much softer (compared to their genetic family of poodles)
2. Fur acts as insulation (heat, cold, and insect bites)
3. To ensure a good adult coat texture

Although it is not recommended to shave a Goldendoodle to his or her skin, there are numerous ways to groom and give a loving grooming-package to your golden doodle pup!

Read on to find when the best time is for starting your pup on a grooming spree, and which styles they could start grooving! 

Can You Shave a Goldendoodle Puppy? 

Here are a few reasons why you might want to reconsider shaving your pup. 

Much Softer Fur

Although Goldendoodles share genes with the beautiful poodles, their fur (although depending on their genetic makeup/DNA), is most likely much thinner and softer.

Especially for puppies, their soft fur is much more tender and thinner and therefore shouldn’t be shaven. 

Insulation

The soft locks of fur actually protect your golden doodle in the summer and cold by providing insulation or a buffer between their soft baby skin and the outside climate.

The fur also helps with any sunburns from their outdoor playtime even though it’s easy to forget their skin is just like ours and susceptible to sunburns. 

The soft coat also works as a protection from insect bites. But keep in mind, you should always keep up to date with tick and flea prevention with your vet.

These are different from ordinary insect bites, and your vet will know any medications for preventing any flea or tick bites.  

Ensure a good adult coat texture

Some claim that shaving your puppy fur (especially early) can actually damage the next coat of adult hair that’s preparing to come in.

It can affect the texture and style of the fur. Before major grooming, see if your Goldendoodle’s adult coat is kicking in, usually 5 to 6 months of age. 

When Should You take a Goldendoodle for the First Grooming?

For a full haircut or groom, it is recommended to visit the groomer at 5 to 6 months of age. Around this time, you will start seeing their adult coat coming in, and it will be a great time for the groomers to groom appropriate sections of the coat so that the next coat of fur is soft and curly.

Again, some claim that shaving their puppy fur actually damages the next coat of adult fur that comes in, so it’s best to watch your pup’s fur to time it just right. 

Regardless of a big hairdo, the best time to go is after her 16-week immunizations. Go ahead and request a puppy clip to get a good bath and the essential trims such as around the pup’s eyes, a “sanitary clip,” and for a trim around the nails. 

Bonding Time and Love with Your Goldendoodle

As a puppy, you can still give him or her a good bath at home or a groomer. It’s also good practice to show them some love and share a bonding time by using a slicker brush to run through their coat.

A slicker brush provides different lengths of bristles that can help target the different depths of the fur, which could help eliminate dead hair and matted fur in the future. Matted hair can be painful for the pup and should be prevented if possible. Only cut their fur if you have matted hair that will cause painful tugging with a brush. 

After your pup grows bigger in size, it may require different types of combs. For example, a metal comb works for curly coats, and a grooming rake is best for wavier coats. 

Taking care of straggly hairs and grooming the length of the coat is good grooming rather than shaving the whole coat.  The thick and shaggy coat can also lead to matted fur and some risk of fecal matter from their outdoor playtime tagging along. 

Grooming Your Goldendoodle

Grooming can be a big expense and challenge for a Goldendoodle, as well as finding the right groomer will also be a big challenge.

Since Goldendoodle’s furs are hard to trim, you will especially want to avoid groomers that are lazy or even use sedatives or anesthesia during the groom. Make sure the groomer is comfortable with you watching them and also okay with you waiting on the pup. 

Grooming at Home

If you want to start at home and keep a practice of grooming your pup at home, we have some advice from simple bathing, drying, and grooming in style. 

Starting With a Bath

In a big tub that is comfortable for your back and also for your pup, ensure there is a good non-slip surface and enough room for your puppy to feel safe and for you to move around with a long hose. Here are some tips:

• When you lather your pup with a gentle shampoo, try using a fine comb to go through your Goldendoodle’s luscious coat to make sure they’re lathered up well from back to head down. Be sure to be gentle! So, you don’t irritate their skin. 

• Bathing your pup is a great time to massage a part of their legs, neck, back, or belly. If you want to massage the shampoo and use your fingers to lather, that is great too! More than anything, you want your pup to enjoy the shower time and know it’s a time to enjoy and not be afraid. 

• Try to use a showerhead (with warm water) to get deep into the fur when rinsing away the shampoo. Just to be sure, try rinsing your Goldendoodle several times. This is to ensure all the shampoo has been rinsed from their coat. Their coats are generally thicker and tend to hold on to the shampoo. Leaving the shampoo will irritate their skin and perhaps lead to some rash from their itching. 

Although you should make sure to use non-irritating shampoo (to eyes and skin), remember to keep the water rinse and shampoo away from the face. Go from the back of the head and downward. 

Drying your Pup

Drying your Goldendoodle’s fur will take close to two hours. Make sure their fur is dry in a nice and warm room. It’s nice to keep the room pre-heated to a warm temperature before you start the bath and grooming.

In warm weather 

Try to first dry their fur with a brush and dryer, but if you want the rest of his/her coat to air dry, you can.

In cold weather

Always make sure their coat is completely dry. Never let your Goldendoodle outside in the cold when their fur is not completely dry!

Normal Handheld Dryers

Handheld dryers will work just fine, but you can also use cool air type of dryer that helps push the water out of the coat.

Make sure your dryer is not too close to their coat as it can irritate or even burn their skin.

When you use normal hair dryers, you can use this time to use the slicker brush in the process to remove any mats or dead hair in the coat and any tangling. 

Commercial Cage Dryers 

Make sure that your Goldendoodle does not get too hot nor too close to the dryer source.

Keep a good eye on them and ensure there is proper ventilation. This isn’t recommended for senior dogs, so take extra caution if your Goldendoodle is entering his senior stage. 

Grooming and Styling 

Grooming should be a full package of brushing the hair, cleaning the ears, brushing the teeth, clipping the toenails, and checking for any ticks, cuts, bites, and whatever else that might need your extra attention. 

For clipping and styling the hair, a good sharp and cleanly maintained blade will help make the grooming experience for your pup more enjoyable.

It’ll make the job faster and also ensure the fur is cut clean instead of being tugged. 

If you are grooming your pup often, you may invest in a good pair of canine grooming scissors.

1. Oster clippers, 10”–  always oil and grease them and keep them in good condition with extra blades for back up. There are also blade cooling sprays that help blades from overheating. 

If it gets a little too pricey, try getting a good pair of scissors from the sewing section.

If you are careful and are grooming the ends of their coat, a sharp scissor from the sewing section will do the job. Make sure you are very careful with the sharp blades and always keep a good distance away from their skin (and yours!) 

Hairstyles for Your Goldendoodle

There are names of groom styles for your pup’s body, face, feet, and tail cut. You can google these to get a pictorial idea, or if you are going to a professional groomer for the styles, they’ll know what you mean when you mention the names! 

Face

The most popular styles for goldendoodles are an upside-down V shape at the front of their face from their forehead and down to the nose (or a fuzzy round face).

There are different styles you can look up, such as the bearded notch, full face, donut mustache, and beard face. 

Some cut bangs over their eyes and then to trim the fur in front of their eyes to ensure nothing pokes their eyes. You don’t want fur curling inward towards their eyes (to prevent infections).

If you want to also avoid food sticking around their mouth, the fur around their mouth can also be trimmed. Your goal for the face is to keep your Goldendoodle clean but also very happy and comfortable. 

Body

When you do shave, leave a 1 ½” – 2” of the coat.  

Armpits

Although this is a tricky one to groom, the most common places that you will find matted hair is in the armpits. Check the armpits and trim the matted hair carefully. 

Paws

There are different styles of paw grooming – some shape them like their golden retriever paws so that the coat around the paws are short and close while the hair in between is cut.

This is also a tricky spot, so make sure your Goldendoodle is relaxed and that you have a secure hold on their paws. Take the scissors carefully and cut as short as you feel confident. 

Additionally, there are options for clean-feet (which is common for poodle feet) and also round feet (little puff balls for feet). 

Underneath the tail and the tail 

Underneath the tail might be something your Goldendoodle might appreciate the most.

In the worst-case scenario, their soft fur might tag along with their fecal matter leading them to further health issues such as constipation or even rectum problems. 

Tails can have styles ranging from the thinned short feathered tail, clipped, non-feathered tail, and lastly, a plumed (full feathered) tail. 

In general, there are going to be several options to style and groom your pup.

With lots of love and affection, you can start grooming at home. If you do wish to spend a little splurge for your pup, he will get to enjoy all the grooming by a professional and get a style that you recommend. 

Happy Grooming! 

Can You Shave a Goldendoodle Puppy?