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Topic Dog Boards / General / Grooming " non shedding " crosses
- By Merlot [gb] Date 01.04.21 16:27 UTC
As is common these days ( sigh !) I had a long chat with a lady today about the dorgies. I have 2 Bernese, this lady loves them as a breed but understands the difficulty in getting good breeders. However as I hear so often she questions the life span. I always try to explain why good breeders are so important, those who research longevity within bloodlines and try to avoid short lived lines. The question then drifted to the  Bernese/poodle crosses and so called hybrid vigour ( to her this meant long lived , as it does to so many) , and no shedding. I tried as always to ask why she thought grooming would be easier and as usual she thought non shedding meant non grooming ! Lots do ! She was shocked, again they allways are, that a trip to the groomers every 6-8 weeks minimum or an hours deep grooming every day for a long shaggy coat look would be necessary. So a question for you groomers. How much cost wise and how often would you need to have a big double coated cross such as a Bernese/poodle done to keep tidy and how hard is it to keep the coat longer and shaggy as these people want to have the coat ?
Edited to say I'm asking so I can give informed answers.
- By Madforlabs [gb] Date 01.04.21 19:54 UTC Upvotes 1
Interestingly enough we had a Bernese/poodle cross in the other week (I occasionally help out at the groomers I used to work at when the owner is teaching and custom busy). Before then I’d never seen that type of cross before. Lovely dog but terribly matted, one of the worst matted coats I’d ever seen. The dog did have shedding hair, just less shedding than a Bernese. When you blasted the coat even after shaving and bathing the dead coat still was flying off and I guess there would’ve been a lot more had they not been matted. It would depend how curly the hair is to how much they shed and how much upkeep they need. For this dog it was £50...which some groomers would class as cheap. It took a total of 3 hours from start to finish and one constant person working on her with extra help from a second at times. Another point entirely but the owner refused to pay as she was distraught as to how her dog looked when she came to pick her up (sigh, brush your dog then!)
Basically you’re right a curly coat is actually harder to manage than a straight long coat. Combine a curly coat with a straight and you can get a curly coat that sheds less than a straight but that does still shed but also needs the upkeep of a curly coat - plus usually they’re big dogs, standard poodle size plus a thick set so it’s going to take a lot longer than 5 mins of brushing each evening for example.
Depending on the size, and what part of the country she lives in (because yes you can get a cheaper groom up north and at certain salons...the one I used to work at was very reasonable and people were surprised to hear that full grooms started at £27 when a groomer a couple miles away started hers at £35). Obviously if the dog grew to about standard poodle size then you’re looking at anything between £45 - £70 fo a full groom imo, maybe even more in cities...I’m too northern to guess the prices they would charge in London :grin:  Again depending on the two things I mentioned, and then if the dog is matted then some groomers charge extra for that.

There are big ifs because it’s very hard to know what the dog will look like, how big etc, but yes she will need to maintain it. Curly, straight, with a dog that big with the thick double coat it has you just have to keep on top of it, if you cross it with a curly coat it’ll only get harder to manage imo.

To give an example there’s a standard poodle who comes every 4 weeks for a full groom and every 2 weeks for a mini groom (bath, dry, brush through, shaved bits reshaped and neaten edges) and they brush him inbetween but the reason he comes every 2 weeks is because they can’t brush him out as well as a groomers can. If you can maintain the coat and are ok paying to maintain it too then you can get a dog that can have virtually any coat length but like you say most people don’t understand how much up keep a curly coat needs so they end up having no choice but to have the coat short
- By furriefriends Date 02.04.21 06:57 UTC Edited 02.04.21 06:59 UTC Upvotes 1
The groomer i have just started to go to charges according to size. Large dog £69 outer london prices .  Not sure if they add anything on for extra difficult coats as it didn't apply for us.
We did have a conversation about poodle x and how it's not unusual fpr breeders to suggest no grooming until a year which leaves them to manage a very matted dog.  Usually they would expect to see the dog every 6 to 8 weeks
Just to add that price is a full groom and trim as needed
- By suejaw Date 02.04.21 07:40 UTC Upvotes 1
I've just looked at a local groomers price list and they are popular and groom a lot of Poodle crosses. Bernese start at £70, Labrador x Poodles are around £65.
A friend who is a groomer not local to be but a 2hr drive, I've helped her out before with hand stripping of a terrier coat, hard work that said she finds when you put a non shedding coat with a shedding yhe matting at the skin is usually immense especially if the owner is not doing much if any grooming in between. Poodle coats are much easier to keep on top of but the mess with 2 different types of coats means she usually has to shave these dogs right down. It is not easy and sometimes impossible to groom out the matting. She recommends grooming every 6 to 8 weeks with a professional.
Topic Dog Boards / General / Grooming " non shedding " crosses

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