THE RAKKE
One of the true joys of having a Labradoodle in your family is the coat. Whether short or long, fleecy or curly, Labradoodles possess one of the most unique coats of all dogs. Unlike most long-haired breeds, Labradoodles don’t require daily brushing, nor do they need weekly bathing. In fact, I take my Matti to our groomer about once every 4-5 weeks for what I call a “bath and brushout.” She loves a day of beauty at my favorite groomer, Paul D. in The Woodlands.
Recently Paul showed me his No. 1 tool he uses on his Labradoodle clients. It’s called a “Rakke.” Unlike brushes or combs that often pull hair out by the root (ouch!), this nifty device has a set of blades which cut the hairs at a lower level nearer the base of the hair. Occasionally a Labradoodle gets matted not at the tips of the hair, but in the undercoat. This is particularly common between eight and fourteen months of age, when the adult coat starts to grow through the puppy coat. The puppy coat needs to be stripped or raked out weekly until the change is complete. But that’s no problem with the Rakke. It cuts through the hair and rakes it out; and you simply back the tool up and a clump of hair discharges itself, voila! It couldn’t be easier to use and I spend 2 to 3 minutes a week now on Matti with not a single yelp. If only I could spend so little time on my own hair…
The Rakke costs as little as $10 online at Ryan’s Pet Supplies. For Matti, I use the “Coarse/8 Blade” model, but there are several different variations with a range of numbers of blades from which to choose, depending on the thickness of your Labradoodle’s hair.
