Breed grooming guides

How often each breed needs a groom, what the coat does between visits, what to do at home, and what a groom costs at WOOOF. Pick your dog.

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  Aussiedoodle

  Australian Shepherd meets Poodle: a curly coat over a thick soft layer that holds every loose hair, so knots start at the skin before you can see them.

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  Australian Kelpie

  A working dog with a short, flat coat built to shrug off rain. No haircut, but plenty of loose hair, and nails that wear unevenly off the farm.

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  Australian Shepherd

  A weatherproof double coat with feathering on the legs, chest and tail. The long parts collect loose hair, and the coat drop twice a year is serious.

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  Bernedoodle

  Bernese size and Poodle curl. A big dog carrying a heavy coat that keeps what it sheds, and knots fast in the armpits and behind the ears.

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  Bernese Mountain Dog

  Long, straight or slightly wavy hair over a big frame. Washing is easy; drying a Bernese properly is the work, and it sheds heavily in spring and autumn.

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  Bichon Frise

  A small white dog inside a round coat that never stops growing and never falls out. Everything it sheds stays put, and tear stains show on white.

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  Border Collie

  No haircut needed, just the soft undercoat taken out. It lets go twice a year in handfuls, and the trousers and tail hold the most.

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  Bordoodle

  Border Collie crossed with Poodle. Curly on top, dense underneath, and easy to underestimate: loose hair packs down at the skin under a coat that still looks fine.

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  Brussels Griffon

  A small wire-coated dog with a beard and a flat face. The rough coat is hand stripped, the beard needs wiping after meals, and the short nose changes how we dry.

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  Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

  A silky coat meant to stay long, with feathering on the ears, chest and legs. It sheds all year, and the ear hair is where knots begin.

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  Cavoodle

  The dog we see most. The Poodle side gives a curly coat that traps shed hair and turns it into knots you cannot see from the top.

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  Cocker Spaniel

  A thick double coat and long, heavy ears that seal the ear canal. Two jobs in one dog: keep the coat moving and keep the ears dry.

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  English Springer Spaniel

  A flat, weatherproof body coat with long feathering on the ears, chest and legs. The feathering knots, and the ear flaps hold damp.

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  French Bulldog

  A short coat that sheds more than it looks, plus face folds and a tail pocket that need keeping clean and dry. Flat-faced, so we keep visits short.

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  German Shepherd

  Drops more hair than almost any dog we wash. A double coat, stock or long, that never really stops moving and blows out twice a year.

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  Golden Retriever

  Sheds all year with two heavy runs. No haircut, just the undercoat out and the feathering on the legs, tail and ears tidied.

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  Greyhound

  The easiest coat and the thinnest skin. Fine, short hair over a body that marks and grazes easily, so handling matters more than the wash.

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  Groodle

  Golden Retriever crossed with Poodle: a lot of dog and a lot of curl. The coat holds whatever it sheds and knots quickly under the collar and on the legs.

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  Havanese

  A long, soft coat that grows towards the floor and keeps its shed hair. Full length is a daily brushing job; most owners keep it shorter.

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  Siberian Husky

  A coat built for heat and cold alike, which is why it should never be shaved. It blows out in clumps once or twice a year and needs the undercoat taken out.

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  Jack Russell Terrier

  Three coats in one breed: smooth, broken and rough. All of them shed short white hairs in surprising amounts for such a small dog.

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  Japanese Spitz

  A stand-off white coat over a soft layer that drops in a big seasonal shed. Easier than it looks: the white hair resists dirt.

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  Labradoodle

  Not all the same coat. Most are curly and knot; some carry a flatter long coat that sheds instead. Which one you have decides the routine.

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  Labrador Retriever

  Short but double, so the undercoat lets go twice a year. Loves water, which means wet ears to check after every swim.

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  Lagotto Romagnolo

  The Italian truffle dog, with a dense curly coat that drops almost nothing. Loose hair stays in the curls and knots, especially in the beard and legs.

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  Lhasa Apso

  A coat that would grow to the floor if you let it. Most Australian Lhasas are kept short, and either way the shed hair stays in and knots.

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  Maltese

  Fine, straight, white hair that keeps growing. Fine hair knots more easily than thick hair, and white shows tear stains and every mark.

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  Maltese Shih Tzu

  One of Australia's most common dogs and rarely written about. A long, soft coat that never stops growing, with tear stains to keep on top of.

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  Miniature Dachshund

  The smooth coat needs almost nothing. Nails on a long-backed dog, ears and a proper wash are what the visit is for.

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  Miniature Schnauzer

  Two coats on one dog: a short harsh body and a long soft beard and legs. How you keep the body coat is a choice that lasts years.

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  Moodle

  Maltese crossed with Poodle, small and fine-coated. Fine hair knots faster than thick hair and sits close to the skin where it hides.

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  Old English Sheepdog

  The biggest coat we handle. In full coat it needs hours of brushing a week, so most pet owners keep it short. It knots rather than sheds.

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  Pembroke Welsh Corgi

  Sheds more than any dog its size. A short, thick double coat that comes off all year and in drifts twice a year.

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  Pomeranian

  A long outer coat over a dense soft layer, and both need brushing to the skin. Loose hair sits in the ruff and the trousers and turns into knots.

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  Pomsky

  Pomeranian crossed with Siberian Husky, and both parents carry a heavy double coat. No two are alike, and all of them shed hard.

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  Poodle

  Hair, not fur: it never stops growing and almost never falls out. Ears need weekly attention, because Poodles grow hair inside them.

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  Pug

  A short coat that sheds far more than owners expect, face folds that hold damp, and a flat face that means we hand dry and keep it short.

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  Rough Collie

  A stand-off double coat that holds away from the body, thickest in the ruff at the neck. It drops heavily twice a year.

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  Samoyed

  A long white outer coat over a dense soft layer that comes out in huge amounts a couple of times a year. The white shows every mark.

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  Schnoodle

  Schnauzer crossed with Poodle, often part wiry and part curly on the same dog. The mix holds loose hair, and the beard collects everything.

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  Sheepadoodle

  Old English Sheepdog crossed with Poodle: two enormous coats in one big dog. Thick and curly, it keeps what it sheds and knots in the armpits.

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  Shiba Inu

  A short double coat that looks like a small job until it drops, and then the house is covered for weeks. Deshedding does the heavy lifting.

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  Shih Tzu

  Long, straight hair that never stops growing and can mat overnight. Flat-faced, with hair that grows into the eyes if it is not kept short.

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  Spoodle

  A Poodle's curly coat with a Cocker Spaniel's long ears. The coat knots close to the skin and the ears trap damp air.

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  Staffordshire Bull Terrier

  The shortest job in the salon: no haircut, just a bath, a dry and nails. The coat is easy; the skin is what we watch, on the belly and between the toes.

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  Standard Poodle

  A big dog whose coat grows like hair and does not drop out. It knots where the harness sits and behind the ears, and grows hair inside the ears too.

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  West Highland White Terrier

  A hard, wiry white coat that is meant to feel rough. Clipping softens and darkens it for good; hand stripping keeps it right. Grass seeds hide in the skirt.

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  Wire Fox Terrier

  A hard, crinkly coat that should be hand stripped, which few salons still do. Left long in the beard and legs, where food and mud collect.

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  Yorkshire Terrier

  Fine, silky hair rather than fur. It keeps growing and does not drop, so left long it tangles daily; kept short it is a small job.