Grooming a Labradoodle puppy — what you actually need

A 10-week-old Labradoodle and you're already drowning in grooming advice — that's completely normal, because Labradoodles are one of the breeds people argue about most online. The right tools depend entirely on coat type: a slicker brush perfect for a wavy-coated Labradoodle is useless on a tight curly one, and the wrong deshedder can actually damage the coat rather than help it. Can you tell me a bit more? What does your puppy's coat look like right now — is it more wavy and loose, or tight and curly? And what's your main goal at this stage: just getting them used to being brushed, managing matting, or something else?

Good news: at 10 weeks with a curly coat, you genuinely don't need much. Ignore the deshedding tools entirely — those are for double-coated breeds like Huskies, and they'd strip a Labradoodle's coat. A dematting comb is also overkill right now while her coat is still puppy-soft. What you actually need is one good slicker brush. Before I point you to a specific one — how often are you planning to brush her, and does she seem to tolerate handling so far, or is she wriggly and easily distracted?

Perfect — then you want a slicker brush that's gentle enough not to scratch her skin during short, wriggly sessions, but effective enough to actually move through a curly coat without just skimming the surface. My recommendation is the Chris Christensen Big G Slicker Brush — specifically the 'baby' size for a puppy. It has long, flexible pins that reach through curly coats properly without scratching, and the cushioned pad means if she moves suddenly it gives rather than drags. It's what a lot of professional groomers use on Doodle coats and it genuinely outperforms the cheaper slickers you'll see bundled in pet shop starter kits. A few minutes every couple of days now will make a huge difference to her coat — and to how she behaves at the groomer — as she grows.

For now, just the slicker brush is enough. Once she's around 4–5 months and her adult coat starts coming through — which is when Labradoodles can suddenly start matting badly — you'll want to add a metal greyhound comb to check for knots close to the skin that a brush can miss. But right now, focus on building the habit and keeping sessions short and positive. One good brush used consistently will serve you far better than a drawer full of specialist tools used rarely.