# Sticky  Cockapoo's coats, can they be kept long?



## DB1

Is this worth a sticky? 
Many people love the shaggy Cockapoo look, I loved this look and thought that is the type of Cockapoo I want, but the truth is the pictures we see of the cute shaggy cockapoo's are almost always of dogs about 5-10 months old, the adult coat is almost always a shorter groomed look.
Why? - usually at around 9-10 months the cockapoo's coat is getting thicker and woollier and that is when the dreaded matt's come in (if not before), until that age many of us will have thought - my dog has not got the really curly coat, maybe I will be lucky and he won't get any matt's. Well it is possible, but very unlikely. You need to really keep on top of things at the stage when the matt's start appearing, brush - but more most importantly go through the coat with a comb too, as often the matt's are close to the skin and the brush can just go over them. Keeping your dogs coat shorter will not stop all matt's appearing but they will be much less and it is much easier to get through the coat. Of course it is also much quicker to clean and dry a mucky dog when they have had a lovely run outdoors in mud and puddles.
The good news is we end up loving the shorter look too, the feel and smell of a freshly groomed dog is just wonderful.


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## Lottierachel

I know you're too modest to add it to your post, Dawn, but worth pointing out that you are also a trained dog groomer (and a good one at that) so you do know what you're talking about!

I am trying to keep Tilly's coat a little longer at the moment (it's around 2 inches on her body, 2.5 on her head and legs) To keep it mat free, I am having to give her a full comb, brush and mat snipper every other day.

Very useful information for new and prospective owners xx


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## dmgalley

I would add also that in my experience the generation of dog does not make a huge difference. I have an F1b and an F3. The F3 matts less but they both matt. 

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## vickie

I totally agree. I have had to give in and had Oscar groomed today. He is much shorter than I would like but it is so much easier to manage. Oscar never had many matts until about 2 months ago when he was 13 months old. I don't think Oscar is very impressed with his new look and he has been sulking today.


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## Kellie22

Hi can I ask what age should a pup be before having his first short cut. Billy is 9 months but now has dreaded matts . He also has to lie down in every puddle or burn he comes across. He is also a roller so we are desperate to have him short for all reasons above but local groomer told us we should wait until he is a year old.

Can anyone confirm what is best ?

Thanks

Scott


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## Lottierachel

Someone else might be able to advise, but I've certainly never heard of that. Your dog can have whatever cut you want them to have at whatever age you want them to have it!


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## RuthMill

I got Nina cut short at 9 months for her adult coat coming in. It helped get rid of the puppy coat preventing the worst if the matts.


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## Tinman

R&R's........ No   x


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## Kellie22

R&r's ???? Not sure what that means.


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## Tinman

Kellie22 said:


> R&r's ???? Not sure what that means.


Sorry... Ralph & Ruby's - my two cockapoos - they've just had a very drastic very short cuts today due to matts in their long coats


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## Mazzapoo

Kellie22 have a glass of red and all will become clear......


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## Tinman

Mazzapoo said:


> Kellie22 have a glass of red and all will become clear......


..... Or white - we're not fussy on here! X


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## Julie I

We got Jessie cut at 9 months when the mats came in and again at just over a year ready for the summer- if we have one


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## janice griffiths

I managed romeos coat for a good few years at full length i used to groom him every other day but i feel the key to the coat is a quality shampoo and then a good conditioner i use 
ez-groom natural product made in america , you can purchase on ebay i also use fine oil for the ends , must admit i did chop it all off!!! but his coat is now long again.


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## Boston

New to this Cockapoo forum and have been reading all posts - have learned sooooo much. Thanks everyone. But my personal experience is that I too wanted a long shaggy coated Cockapoo, until the matting started without realizing it. I brushed her daily, but wasn't, apparently getting far enough down. After considering the frequency of clipping suggested in the grooming section of this website to keep Boston mat-free or nearly so, I decided I must take over the total grooming myself. Boston mat's very easily. Thx for all the help here.


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## Mabel2

Grooming them plays a vital role in keeping their coats long. If they are actually look and are healthy then one can keep the coat for long.


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## DB1

Mabel2 said:


> Grooming them plays a vital role in keeping their coats long. If they are actually look and are healthy then one can keep the coat for long.


It is possible to keep a long coat on them, but I think most people are unprepared for the amount of work that goes into grooming a longer coat and keeping it matt free, most of us embrace the lower maintenance style eventually.


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## caz3

Yeh totally agree with everyone I think we all like the shaggy dog look it is adorable but not at all practical I always tend to like Harley's coat just before he is due at the groomers .can anyone suggest a good brush I read somewhere a slicker brush would be good but I'm not sure thanks xxx


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## 2ndhandgal

I mostly use just a plain metal comb with Molly then I know I am grooming down to the skin and I can deal with any knots I find straight away.

Molly is a manky muck monster  I suspect I could keep her coat longer if I did not give her the freedom she has but for me it is happyness over looks every day


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## caz3

Oh goodness don't know if I can get a comb through Harley !!ok when just cut and short but not if there is any length his coat is so thick but yes I agree I love taking Harley long walks and happiness definitely comes before looks so it will have to be a short cut I guess x&#55357;&#56836;


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## Catherine malcolmson

My cockapoo has a flat wavy coat ,more cocker than poo,he has a furry chest and bottom.The feathering on his legs is long ,I've heard him called an open faced cockapoo,anyone out there with the same look?and do you have your dogs coat cut?.I haven't .


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## cooper123

*Cooper 123*



Catherine malcolmson said:


> My cockapoo has a flat wavy coat ,more cocker than poo,he has a furry chest and bottom.The feathering on his legs is long ,I've heard him called an open faced cockapoo,anyone out there with the same look?and do you have your dogs coat cut?.I haven't .


I have got a puppy cockerpoo and he is tri coloured 14 weeks old he is more cocfker than poo and his coat is wavy I have had him trimed but I did not want the clippers used on him read the forum to get some hints but it appears that they seem to matt as they get older


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## dmgalley

cooper123 said:


> I have got a puppy cockerpoo and he is tri coloured 14 weeks old he is more cocfker than poo and his coat is wavy I have had him trimed but I did not want the clippers used on him read the forum to get some hints but it appears that they seem to matt as they get older


When you say more cocker do you mean he is open faced(no beard) or just not curly? 
My Jake is what I call more cocker. He has wavy hair. A short snout, big eyes and a blocky shape. His coat became a nightmare at ten months and I have to keep him short.

















My baby Lily is a flat coated cockapoo. She is open faced but it a mix of poodle and cocker look. Some open faced cockapoos look very cocker, like you can't even tell which they are.
Lily will get am pit mats if I don't comb her.

















Willow is an F3 poo. So her mom and dad were poos and their parents were poos. I think she is the best blend. Not too much of either. Nice curl to her coat but it's soft and easy to maintain. It does get frizzy tho.

















Ozzy is an F1. His mom was a blue merle cocker and dad was a chocolate mini poodle. His coat is more course. I can let it grow really long. He gets right spiral curls. He almost never Matts. To me he looks more poodle when he is cut down like he is now.

























I love a mix!









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## Tinman

Fab update and pictures Donna x


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## Duncans

In two days I will have a new one to the Samoyed, you can refer to when


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## taffypot

cooper123 said:


> I have got a puppy cockerpoo and he is tri coloured 14 weeks old he is more cocfker than poo and his coat is wavy I have had him trimed but I did not want the clippers used on him read the forum to get some hints but it appears that they seem to matt as they get older


Mine is 11 months with cocker fur on his back neck to tail, then more fluffy poodle fur on legs and head, he has had an odd matt on leg, but caught it early so not near skin, and this last week found one under ears, but once again easy to take out.


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## SnowWa

DB1 said:


> Is this worth a sticky?
> Many people love the shaggy Cockapoo look, I loved this look and thought that is the type of Cockapoo I want, but the truth is the pictures we see of the cute shaggy cockapoo's are almost always of dogs about 5-10 months old, the adult coat is almost always a shorter groomed look.
> Why? - usually at around 9-10 months the cockapoo's coat is getting thicker and woollier and that is when the dreaded matt's come in (if not before), until that age many of us will have thought - my dog has not got the really curly coat, maybe I will be lucky and he won't get any matt's. Well it is possible, but very unlikely. You need to really keep on top of things at the stage when the matt's start appearing, brush - but more most importantly go through the coat with a comb too, as often the matt's are close to the skin and the brush can just go over them. Keeping your dogs coat shorter will not stop all matt's appearing but they will be much less and it is much easier to get through the coat. Of course it is also much quicker to clean and dry a mucky dog when they have had a lovely run outdoors in mud and puddles.
> The good news is we end up loving the shorter look too, the feel and smell of a freshly groomed dog is just wonderful.


My pup is almost six months old. I have combed him nearly daily since I got him - so he's used to that. I gave him his first short cut when he was about 4 1/2 months old - for three reasons. I wanted prove to my family that he wasn't an overweight little guy - in fact, they quickly learned that he was a very thin little pup, not fat at all. Second, because I want to do most of his grooming myself, I was anxious to find out exactly what was under his fluffy coat and learn just what I would be dealing with in the future. Third, I feel it will be a lot easier to keep him happy and clean with a short coat as his new adult coat come ina - and it's winter, a difficult time with any long-haired dog. He is just darling with his newly shorter puppy coat. Love him.


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## John56

I remember when my cockadoodledoo, Maxx got matted,really bad, the groomer had to cut the hair really short,he looked so skinny. We get him groomed every 2 month or so now,but not so short


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## Tiggy

I personally do not like either a very short cut or the very long look. I get mine groomed every 6 - 8 weeks for his sake, he has a very dense curly corkscrew coat (his "dreadlocks" on his head and shoulders but getting more relaxed the further towards his tail and toes it grows so brushing daily is his normal routine to avoid the matts and whilst he is very patient he does not like it much. 

However there is a lady on Facebook whose Cockapoo has such a long coat he looks more like an Old English Sheepdog (lovely dog but not my taste in hair style) but I wonder if his "short" coat is not very curly.


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## spamvicious

Thanks for this thread. I've been really confused about grooming. Star is 5 months and has a lovely coat that I brush every day, I love her coat being longer. However I've been under pressure to get her trimmed which I don't want to do. Now I understand that I can keep it longer as long as there are no matts which may appear once she gets her adult coat. This is Star after her last wash and brush at the groomers


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## SnowWa

You have a very cute dog with a lovely coat. My dog's coat was a pleasure to brush and comb when he was less than a year old. When your dog gets older and his coat is more difficult to deal with - you can get him groomed and not have him cut real short. A longer cut that you can still manage may work for both of you.


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## Laura H

We gave our Buster his first very short cut at 5 1/2 months. I missed his shaggy curly hair. But his coat looked even richer and redder and received lots of attention. His hair is now about 1 1/2 inch long, no matts yet. The biggest thing for me is wanting to see his beautiful kind eyes. I don't want to pay just to have his head groomed, so I try to sneak a few snips here and there when he is sleepy to get hair away from his eyes.


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## Sbmpw

I’m struggling with matts around/ under his ears! I’ve seen a dematting type comb. What’s best?


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