# First real hair cut



## Alittlepoo (Apr 29, 2015)

I am waiting until the time I can pick up Sophie from my groomer. She has been groomed before but this time we are having quite a bit cut off. She will be 10 months on Friday and she has been pretty shaggy, cute as a button but shaggy. The mountains of snow have taken their toll on keeping her brushed and clean and tangle free, sadly it's time. She is still growing her adult coat and the puppy fluff is difficult to keep from matting. We love the shaggy, mop head look and no doubt will let it grow again once the adult coat is in.

My groomer was concerned about having to shave her when I called for an appointment, however after seeing Sophie this morning she felt the shorter cut will work for us. I'm still nervous as to what to expect in about an hour from now. Here is the little nut with her wild hair...


----------



## Alittlepoo (Apr 29, 2015)

*Pictures*

Why do they always post sideways?


----------



## Lindor (Feb 3, 2014)

I bet she'll be beautiful and will smell divine as well as silky soft.

I just gave Miss Maggie a bath as she threw up yesterday and still smelled yukky from it. She usually runs and hides when I start to fill up her tupperware tub which I sit in the bathtub but this time she voluntarily jumped into the bathtub. Hasn't done that since she was 8 weeks old. What's up with that!


----------



## Goosey (Aug 22, 2014)

Sophie looks lovely and about the same age as Sid, she has the same shaggy look as him. Sid went for a full groom two weeks ago but still came back quiet long but much more tidy. My groomer wanted to keep him shaggy still as she said he was still a pup and wanted him to keep that puppy look. 
Barb I think there comes a time in a girls life when even they know its time for a bath, given the choice between that and smelling of sick


----------



## Alittlepoo (Apr 29, 2015)

Hmmm, not happy. Not happy at all! Apparently there were some pretty ugly matts on back of her back legs and on her thighs so my groomer cut her much shorter all over. She left the ears long, just a trim there and the mustache & beard seem too long now. She trimmed the first inch of her tail at the base and left the rest of it long. She knew I was unhappy, we had discussed this! I could cry, this looks like someone's Poodle not my Cockapoo. I know it will grow back, not making it any easier at the moment.


----------



## Goosey (Aug 22, 2014)

I can sympathise this happened when Molly had her first proper cut, I think I cried for days and only then I would take her out wearing a coat. Being winter she can wear a coat and before you know it by the time Spring is here she will be grown back and in better shape than ever. If they have a fair bit of matting it's the only option. Always remember it only hair and it will grow


----------



## Nanci (Mar 1, 2012)

Awahhhh! Still beautiful! I had to do that with Sami and Carley in November, both had pencil legs. Its all grown out now and Sophie will too. Don't fret!!


----------



## Alittlepoo (Apr 29, 2015)

Pencil legs! Exactly that. Thank you both, I find her hard to look at and then she looks at me with those sweet little eyes and I just melt. My mother had a Poodle when I was a kid and Sophie reminds me of him with this cut. She is so thin and has a dainty build that you would never have guessed with her shaggy coat. She looked almost chubby, lol. 

Oh well, now we wait. I hope it grows fast!


----------



## Tinman (Apr 23, 2013)

Awwww it will grow, and over time as Sophie gets older you will learn to appreciate the good points to a shorter groom! Less dirt, drying, brushing, etc - anyway I think Sophie looks cool - like Lexi & Beemer! 
My two go from one extreme to the other, I love their full shaggy look, but I am the first to admit I do not keep on top of their coats as much as I should.
I love their look, just when they are in need of a groom, 
The beauty of cockapoos is the none to low shedding, but with that comes high maintenance grooming and regular trims.
I can't look at mine when they are done short & yet within a couple of weeks, especially ruby - she can't see again!!


----------



## Alittlepoo (Apr 29, 2015)

I am in hopes that somewhere between this cut and her lovely shaggy coat there is a perfect length. She is easy to brush and comb and loves a bath, hopefully her coat will grow quickly and be curly again. She is very soft now, very short but soft.


----------



## Tinman (Apr 23, 2013)

Ah it will, and in the meantime I like to think of them as having a crushed velvet affect coat!


----------



## Lindor (Feb 3, 2014)

It's very short now but it will grow back. The nice thing is that as it grows you will be able to see exactly how long or short you like it and what length suits Sophie the best. This is also the time when some people decide never to take them to the groomer again and learn to do it themselves.


----------



## Alittlepoo (Apr 29, 2015)

Barb, believe me I have already thought that! At least I can try doing it myself, I can't make her look any worse than this. As much as we liked it shaggy and long, ideally about half of that length would be perfect, I think. My husband was more upset about her groom than I am. He had a few choice world for a groomer we've used for years. 

It will grow, I know.


----------



## bearthecockapoo (Mar 17, 2015)

She still looks beautiful! And it grows faster than you think. At least take some comfort in the fact that the matts aren't pulling at her anymore.


----------



## petentialpete (Mar 9, 2015)

Sophie is still adorable but that cut is drastic! Pippin is one day older than Sophie and had her second cut yesterday. We have had to work very hard to keep matts to a minimum as she looks fat when her coat is long. We went for a shorter cut (1 inch) this time and are delighted with the outcome. She was less delighted as you will see from the photos!


----------



## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

Patty I know it looks really drastic but it will grow quite fast, just keep brushing now as some coats are a real nightmare and seem to matt as they grow - i am a groomer and much as I try not to I do have to occasionally cut them this short, the base of the tail and backs of legs are very common places to get matting, you will probably only realise it when you check over with a comb. I do feel sorry for a lot of owners who had absolutely no idea of the maintenance involved when they bought the dog as a pup, i've heard some people say the breeder said they wouldn't need grooming for the first year and they have taken that really literally and not only not gone to a groomer but not even brushed the poor dog themselves - you can imagine the state they get in! I put this page on my site - more to educate people who had not been to a groomer before but hopefully it will help a little...
http://www.shortbarkandsidesdoggrooming.net/cockapoo-grooming.html


----------



## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

I am always amazed by how athletic and skinny a little body our poos have under all that coat!
It s only hair - Sophie is still Sophie - and it will grow. I sometimes opt for mine to go short - Kiki in particular as she is such a heathen - loves nothing better than hunting through all the bushes, splashing through the muck in the process and when you get the comb out she disappears under a table or behind the arm chair with THAT face... Dot is less intentionally mucky and much happier to be combed - she will lie on my knee while I watch tv and tease out tangles in her coat. Kiki has to be on a table and bribed for each stroke of the comb 
Even so after the mud and excess equafleece wear their coats are much more knotty than normal and there coats are not long - although due a clip (8 weeks since last one)...
You'll find a length and look that works for you and Sophie. Personally I prefer my girls without beards or excessive ears - their heads end up just too boofy  particularly if their bodies are shorter.
Close your eyes and stroke her - I bet she feels gorgeous


----------



## bearthecockapoo (Mar 17, 2015)

We also get Bear cut to 1" and it seems to be the perfect length.  No matts and easy maintenance, but also not so short that it has that shaved look.


----------



## Alittlepoo (Apr 29, 2015)

I would like to say we are getting used to Sophie's new cut along with her chicken legs but it sure is hard. Pippin looks adorable, wish we had that much coat left! Honestly Sophie did not have much matting and I believe the matts she had could have been snipped out. I brush and comb her at least twice a week. I know my groomer was aware of the adult coat coming and the puppy coat she still had. I think she thought this would be helpful even though she knew I didn't want it this short. 

We have finally lost most of our snow so at least she won't be getting all mucky. She had so much fun playing in it. I think I miss her bear paws most of all.


----------



## petentialpete (Mar 9, 2015)

Thank you Patty. The bad news is that to keep Pippin non=matted we brush and groom her twice a day. Hard work and sometimes none of us feels like it but she has grown to almost like the cuddles and treats that go with it


----------



## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

Grooming every day sounds easy but i must admit I don't groom Dudley every day (Mind you I am grooming all day anyway, don't know if that lets me off or makes it worse!). A lot of customers tell me they do brush every day but i think to start with what happens is they start brushing in the same place everyday, but give up before reaching some of the harder to groom/reach places, I tell them to try to make time to brush at least part of the dog every day and then do that area thoroughly, it doesn't seem such a challenge then, if you do one leg ALL over, down the back, top of foot etc brush then check with a comb - and the next day do the next leg etc by the end of the week you should have done the dog all over and can then do a full body brush/comb which should be easier by then, (I would still suggest a quick brush over some of the area's done a day or two earlier)get into the habit of doing that and you may still find a matt or two in the area's that have gone unbrushed for a few days but they really shouldn't be so bad that the dog needs to be clipped short. Another thing to do is to go back to the groomer in around 6 weeks for just a bath and brush without touching the length of the hair just to be sure no area's are being missed.


----------

