Sheepadoodle Grooming

About the Sheepadoodle

The Sheepadoodle is an Old English Sheepdog crossed with a Poodle, usually a standard, and it is the doodle that carries the most coat of any of them.

The Aussiedoodle page explains the problem with crossing a Poodle onto a double coated breed: you cannot predict whether the puppy will shed. This cross has that same uncertainty, and adds a second one that matters more.

Neither parent has an easy coat. The Poodle needs combing to the skin daily and a groom every four to six weeks. The Old English Sheepdog carries the most profuse coat in the herding group, and its own page concedes that the full coat is realistically a hobby and that most pet owners end up clipping it. Cross them and there is no lucky outcome available: every version of this dog is a serious, expensive, ongoing commitment on a large frame.

What the Sheepadoodle is crossed from

• Old English Sheepdog
• Poodle

Why there is no easy version of this cross

Most doodle pages spend their length on the coat lottery, because with a Maltese or a Cavalier on the other side one of the outcomes is genuinely manageable. Here both outcomes are hard, and it is worth being blunt about that before anyone buys one.

A Poodle dominant coat is dense and curled, sheds very little, and needs combing to the skin every day plus a groom every four to six weeks. That is the Poodle's own routine on a dog considerably larger than a standard Poodle.

A sheepdog dominant coat is long, shaggy and profuse over a real undercoat. It sheds, it needs line brushing rather than combing, and the Old English page already sets out what a full coat of that kind costs in hours per week.

The intermediate coat is the same trap the Aussiedoodle page describes and it is worse here because of volume: a shedding undercoat inside a wavy outer coat that will not let it fall out, so the dead hair felts against the skin while the surface still looks fluffy.

What every version shares is quantity. This is a large dog carrying an enormous amount of coat from both sides, so whichever way it falls, the appointment is long, the interval is short, and the price band is premium.

The honest summary: buy this cross if you want the dog and are prepared for the grooming. Do not buy it because somebody described it as low shedding, which is true and almost entirely beside the point.

Combing a very large coat, and where it fails

A metal comb to the skin, in sections, on a dry coat, every day. If the comb will not pass freely from the skin outward, that section is not brushed however good the surface looks.

A slicker brush alone is the standard mistake. It smooths the top of the coat while felting forms underneath, and on a coat this deep the gap between how the dog looks and what is happening at skin level is larger than on any small doodle.

If the dog sheds at all, add an undercoat rake before the comb, worked in the direction the coat lies. On a purely curly coat it does nothing; on an intermediate coat it removes the actual problem.

The places that fail first: behind and under the ears, the armpits, the inside of the back legs, under the collar or harness, the chest, the trousers and around the rear.

Two extra ones on this cross because of the size and the sheepdog side. The ruff and chest carry enormous volume and are where a large shaggy coat compacts. And the hindquarters and tail, which on a big dog with a heavy coat pick up everything and are furthest from an owner's attention.

Never bathe a matted coat. Water tightens a mat like a wet knot, so a groomer who bathes before dematting is working in the wrong order and the dog pays for it.

Expect fifteen to twenty minutes a day of genuine combing. That is what this coat costs, and it is the number nobody quotes.

The face, the fall over the eyes and the beard

Old English Sheepdogs traditionally carry a fall of coat over the eyes, and many Sheepadoodles inherit it. It is worth deciding about deliberately rather than letting it happen.

The coat over the eyes does not appear to distress most dogs, who see adequately through it, but it collects debris, it gets wet, and on a working dog it would be tied back. Plenty of owners trim the face short or tie the fall up, and both are entirely reasonable.

What is not reasonable is leaving it long and matted, which pulls on the skin around the eyes and holds moisture against the face.

The beard is the other daily job and it is substantial on this cross. It goes into every water bowl and every meal, holds both, and a large dog with a wet beard walks it around the house. Rinse and dry it after meals, comb it daily, and expect staining on a white or gray dog.

Tear staining is common on the pale ones, and the rule is the same as everywhere: prevention only. Wipe under each eye daily and dry it, keep the hair around the eyes short so tears reach air, and accept that hair already stained has to grow out.

Ears want a weekly lift and smell. Poodle ancestry means hair growing in the canal on many of these dogs, and a heavily coated drop ear seals it in thoroughly.

The appointment, the interval and choosing a length

Two and a half hours is normal and three is common, which is why this sits in the premium band. It is a large dog, the coat is deep, the drying takes a long time and the scissoring takes longer.

The order is always the same: comb the whole dog dry and deal with any felting, then bathe, then dry with a brush or rake working through, then clip and scissor.

The interval is four to six weeks and it is not padding. It is the point at which daily combing stops keeping up with the growth.

The single most useful decision an owner makes is length, and on this cross it matters more than on any other because there is so much coat. A short trim on a six week schedule is a comfortable dog and a manageable routine. A long shaggy trim on a ten week schedule is a pelted dog and a shave down that nobody chose.

The shave down is not the groomer taking a shortcut. Once a coat this deep is pelted, working through it means hours of dragging on skin, and clipping underneath is the humane option.

One thing specific to a sheepdog dominant coat: if the dog has a true double coat, a very short clip carries the same regrowth risk as clipping any double coated breed, so ask your groomer which coat your dog actually has before agreeing to take it right down.

What to tell your groomer

Say whether the dog sheds. It tells them which of the three coats they are dealing with before they start.

Book the next appointment before you leave. Four to six weeks, standing, and on this cross that is the whole difference between a trim and a dematting job.

Bring a photograph and give a length in numbers. Say what you want on the face: fall left, tied, or trimmed short.

Say honestly when the dog was last combed to the skin and where you found mats, particularly the ruff, chest and hindquarters.

Ask them to check the ears, and to keep the beard, feet and sanitary area short.

And ask them directly whether your dog has a true double coat, before agreeing to any very short clip.

Keeping the coat between grooms

Common Questions About the Sheepadoodle