# Coat Changes



## Tifamaroo (Jan 17, 2017)

I like these for my poodle:

https://www.renspets.com/oatmeal-ease-shampoo
https://www.renspets.com/cherry-rinse-conditioner-gallon

The oatmeal in the shampoo keeps his skin healthy and the extra protein in the cherry conditioner keeps his coat strong and extra soft. I find that these products help repel dirt from his coat for up to 3 weeks at a time and if he gets wet, the smell of the conditioner comes back.

I line brush meek 3 times a week with a wire brush so that helps too.


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## AngelAviary (Aug 12, 2014)

As far as I know only one real "coat change" happens (but my bitch Stella blew her coat a bit after her litter last spring) from puppy to adult coat. Puppy coat is soft and fluffy and in my experience very easy to care for. No matting and they always looked so puffy and clean! I love puppy coats and dread the "coat change" months. It took 1 1/2 yrs for Stella to complete her coat change. The pups are still going through theirs. They started at about 10 months and they are 16 months old now. The texture of the adult coat is what you are describing, harsh but it still will feel soft. An adult coat that is to soft and "cottony" is actually a fault in the breed standard. It calls for a harsh texture. 
My parti colors have coats that are a bit on the soft side. I am working on improving that as my breeding program continues. My pups have a better coat then their momma and I hope to improve even more on my next generation. 
I don't know of a shampoo or treatment that would soften the coat, because I have not wanted to do so with my gang. Do to the fact that I show and am trying to improve their coats towards the ideal. Good luck in your search and good luck keeping on top of those dreaded matts!!! LOL I hate em!


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Yep, just one change. Mine both started early, around 6 mos. old. Frosty is 12 mos. and is still changing. His belly hair is still soft, but pretty much everywhere else has changed to harsh texture.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

I gave Lucky a bath yesterday and he was so mad at me. He looks so pretty after the bath but he runs away and sulks in the corner himself. He is not in a great mood and looks sad. He will cooperate with the force dryer and bath but he absolutely hates it. I've used oatmeal shampoo and conditioner. I also have this oatmeal conditioning spray that helps keep the skin moist. I typically use it on my Pomeranian who has really dry skin and alopecia.


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## Beautiful Blue (Apr 24, 2017)

I think you are supposed to be thankful that you have a poodle mix with an excellent "grooming coat" developing..

Even the purebred poodles vary in the texture and thickness of their hair - Rio's is quite curly, but soft. My Cream Girl had nicely coarse hair and thick that held a shape nicely.


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## Eclipse (Apr 26, 2010)

If I was you, I would be very happy that it seems you will be dealing with a harsher coat, so much easier to maintain in between regular full groomings and easier to scissor no matter what style you choose to keep him in. My all time favorite shampoo is Almond Crisp by Nature's Specialties. Sets up the coat beautifully for scissoring and has a very long lasting scent which is not overpowering, but keeps the dogs smelling fresh for weeks after bathing. If the link does not go directly to the site, just copy and paste. https://www.naturesspecialties.com/products/almond-crisp-shampoo-for-dogs-cats?variant=43019921353


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Thank you guys. Lucky's coat gets almost no mats nowadays so I can go a long time in between grooms. When he was a puppy it was literally like grooming every week because he would mat all the time. His stiff coat also holds a lot more volume. His head hair is still softer than the rest of his body. I'm not really seeing the golden retriever anywhere in him other than the feathery tail. Do undocked poodle tail look feathery too?


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Eclipse said:


> If I was you, I would be very happy that it seems you will be dealing with a harsher coat, so much easier to maintain in between regular full groomings and easier to scissor no matter what style you choose to keep him in. My all time favorite shampoo is Almond Crisp by Nature's Specialties. Sets up the coat beautifully for scissoring and has a very long lasting scent which is not overpowering, but keeps the dogs smelling fresh for weeks after bathing. If the link does not go directly to the site, just copy and paste. https://www.naturesspecialties.com/products/almond-crisp-shampoo-for-dogs-cats?variant=43019921353


That is the same shampoo my groomer uses and I have used it on my girls for 25 years. Since I have Amazon Prime I order it there for the free shipping. It is so concentrated that you dilute it 1 part shampoo to 32 parts water so it lasts a long time. I also love the mild fresh fragrance...not over powering! Poppy always is so shiny from it too!

Cathy


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## Beautiful Blue (Apr 24, 2017)

Did you see this poodle cut (just found it on the internet...) that I posted to show that poodles CAN look somewhat Afghan-ish I guess... 

Now there's an undocked tail.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Lucky's tail looks just like that. I thought previously Lucky's feathery tail was the Golden Retriever in him but his tail looks just like an undocked poodle tail. Lucky's adult hair is so much easier to manage than the soft puppy coat, which had frequent matting. 

Lucky has gotten the Afgan comment before at the AKC club class. He is also a whitish cream-ish colored dog. Lucky also had a straighter coat when he was younger so perhaps they thought he was an Afgan. We only got this comment when he got his face shaved. Nowadays, I keep him in a doodle cut and no one says that anymore. At the time, I thought the woman who called him an afgan was insulting him but then a few weeks ago when I took my other dog to her training class, a woman genuinely mistaken a very large Great Dane as a Newfoundland.


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## galofpink (Mar 14, 2017)

Shae's tail looks like the one in the "afghan" poodle photo (she's undocked). I noticed her coat starting to change about a month ago at 6 mos and her hair is very slowly becoming curlier and denser around the tail base. Hoping it doesn't migrate down the tail so she doesn't lose her "tail flyers", but time will tell.


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## Eclipse (Apr 26, 2010)

Viking Queen said:


> That is the same shampoo my groomer uses and I have used it on my girls for 25 years. Since I have Amazon Prime I order it there for the free shipping. It is so concentrated that you dilute it 1 part shampoo to 32 parts water so it lasts a long time. I also love the mild fresh fragrance...not over powering! Poppy always is so shiny from it too!
> 
> Cathy


I just love the Almond Crisp! I dilute it as well (3-1), use it on 2 dogs and it lasts quite some time so is not as expensive as it may seem compared to the lower gallon cost of some other shampoo concentrates. I just love the finish it gives to the coats after forcing and then blowing out, coat stands up so nice for scissoring. I will have to look into ordering from Amazon Prime so I can get the free shipping!


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

I ordered the Almond Crisp--thank you Eclipse and Cathy for the recommendation!


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## Sara0810 (May 21, 2017)

zooeysmom said:


> I ordered the Almond Crisp--thank you Eclipse and Cathy for the recommendation!




Is it all natural zooeysmom? Thank you [emoji5]


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## Stargazie (Jan 19, 2017)

*I loved that puppy coat too*








As you can see, I keep my girl in a short kennel cut all the time. I still comb her at least once a week and brush her ears out when ever she puts her 55 pound body in my lap at night. 
We live in the country and while she prances like a princess, she is a rough and tumble dog and loves to rough house with other dogs. Kennel cut suits our needs.
She has actually had two coat changes from soft and floffy to very kinky to a softer heavy curly coat. 
You dogs are super by the way!


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Sara0810 said:


> Is it all natural zooeysmom? Thank you [emoji5]
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Hi Sara, sorry it took me a while to see your question. The shampoo seems very natural to me. I bathed my Maltese and Maizie plus a Jack Russell and they came out great! Here are the ingredients. It is also cruelty-free.


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## Sara0810 (May 21, 2017)

zooeysmom said:


> Hi Sara, sorry it took me a while to see your question. The shampoo seems very natural to me. I bathed my Maltese and Maizie plus a Jack Russell and they came out great! Here are the ingredients. It is also cruelty-free.




Thank you Zooeysmom [emoji4]


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Haha, just the other day someone insisted Maizie was a spoo/Afghan mix! But you know, Afghans are actually pretty cute. Look at this adorable puppy. I kind of want him!


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