First Haircut

Well it happened. Charley got her first haircut! I was not looking forward to this but Aaron guilted me into it by saying it was animal abuse to make her wear a ‘parka’ of hair all summer long. I knew he was right; she needed some sort of haircut but was anxious as to how much was really necessary. She’s so stinkin’ cute as a big hairball but it was obvious when people started to ask if she was a sheepdog that it was time for a cut. Plus she was starting to noticeably shed quite a bit.

BEFORE: My baby!

I had a lot of concerns. Her hair is so soft, what if all the soft stuff is cut out and it grows in coarse? I didn’t want her to lose her ‘cuteness’ it was important she still had some fluff left. So the morning of, I was nervously walking her in and was talking with another customer who had a doodle herself. To make matters worse, she hollers out at me “Just make sure you don’t get Christopher! You WILL see skin!” What! Are you serious?!?! I wanted turn around and take her back home. But I didn’t. I spoke with the gal who was going to groom her and we went over everything. There happened to be another doodle there and I said, “That’s what I want her to look like.” And the lady goes, “They haven’t even started on her haircut yet.” Yikes, that’s not good. Yet I felt fairly comfortable when I left that I had made it very clear what I wanted and what I didn’t want.

BEFORE: I love her fuzzy loveable face

Well later on that day, I received a phone call saying her haircut was done and she was very well behaved for it. Then they said “She looks like a little adult now.” WHAT!?! A little adult?!? But she’s my puppy, I don’t want her to look like an adult! A little anxiety was building but decided well let’s just see what it looks like tonight.

BEFORE: Kisses!

BEFORE: My big teddy bear

BEFORE: Fluffy happiness

So Aaron went to pick her up. He actually didn’t even recognize Charley. I got home and needless to say… I freaked. My cute little puppy DID look like an adult. In fact, I thought she looked like an ‘old lady dog’. All her curls and waves are gone. Her 6 inches of fluffy goodness are now a mere half inch long. For whatever reason, they didn’t touch her tail so she has this sleek coat and a poofy tail. Such a generic haircut, not a doodle cut at all. Man, am I bummed. All that anxiety I had WAS for good reason.

AFTER: Woha, I can see face

AFTER: No fluff :(  Looks like an adult and not a baby

So I did some math… and her hair was 6 inches long prior to being trimmed. She is 8 months old. Her hair grows just under an inch a month. *Sigh* But by her first birthday party (yes, I did say PARTY), it should be filled in to the point of fluffiness again. On the plus side, what’s left of her hair is super soft still.

AFTER: She's probably happy she can see

AFTER: kinda more orney now she can see better

AFTER: kinda looks more poodle-like now

Lesson learned, I’m sitting thru the next haircut so I can keep a watchful eye on what's going on. Poor Charley! I’ll take shedding any day over this short cut but this look is completely shred free and she will be a lot cooler this summer.  I can't wait till her fluff grows in!!