Admiral's Different "Styles"

Kevin and I are going to Chicago for the weekend, so my parents are watching Admiral for us.  They are also dropping him off at the groomer’s for a much needed bath and hair cut while we are gone.  This got me thinking about all of the different “looks” Admiral has had over the past few years.

Admiral is a Goldendoodle, and he doesn’t shed (it’s amazing), but we do get him groomed about every 2-3 months.  It took us about a year to figure out the right grooming schedule.  When his hair gets too long, it gets matted very easily.  Even if we brush him, it still happens.  I’m at the point where I can just tell when he needs a cut.  We take him to this great little place near our hometown and it’s $50 for a bath and cut (haven’t found it cheaper anywhere else) and we LOVE the place.  They love on Admiral like he is their own, and when he’s done with his grooming, he gets to just hang out until we pick him up (doesn’t get put in a crate).

Anyway, like I said, he’s had some interesting cuts.  The earlier ones are the most interesting, because it’s when we were still figuring out the whole grooming schedule thing.  Sometimes we would take him for his hair cut and he would be so matted that parts of his body had to be cut shorter than others.  We don’t make that mistake anymore.  But it sure is fun looking back at the pictures at all of his different styles!

When he was a puppy, his fur wasn't long, so no worries.  We just gave him a bath and brushed him at home as needed.

As he started getting bigger, his fur started growing.  We'd have to brush him a lot, and I would trim the hair around his eyes so he could see.

This is on the way home from his first bath and brush at a groomers (Petsmart).

This is after a bad hair cut (not at our current groomer), which is probably my fault.  He was so matted on his "chin" that they had to cut all of that hair really short...so his "beard" was gone and he looked so funny!  And they cut his ears really short, and I like them long.



This is his first "big boy" hair cut at the groomer we currently go to.  They actually used him in a grooming competition they attended in Chicago, because he behaves so well when they cut his hair :)  This was the style they did for the competition.  Like his bell-bottoms?

Photo from Sitting Pretty Pet Spa and Boutique

Another fresh hair cut.  His hair is always so soft and straight after a grooming session.

And of course, long and shaggy :)  Which is about what he looks like right now.  His fur being this long in the winter is hard...even though it keeps him warm, the snow gets stuck in it really easily, so he gets little snowballs that take a long time to melt.

I'll leave you with one final picture...this is my mother-in-law's dog with his Lion hair cut (he's actually Admiral's brother, just from a different litter).  Isn't that awesome?

Photo from Sitting Pretty Pet Spa and Boutique

Do you take your dog to a groomer?  Have they ever had any interesting hair cuts?