Debi, it's not you that is the wimp, it's the groomers. Cara I hear so often that groomers have scalped a dog with mats because they are too lazy, not skilled enough or not charging enough to take the time to clear the knots. I spend 5 hours once grooming out a New Foundland that was six years old and had never been groomed. He had so much undercoat stuck that it filled up the long coat right to the tip. So his coat didn't move. At the end of the marathon grooming the dog bounced round the garden rolling and playing in the grass looked a million dollars and was just soooo happy. It cost the owner £120 and I got a tip.....but I was the only local groomer who was prepared to groom the coat and not clip it.
I'm with you Cara if your groomer doesn't do what you want...find another one who will. Remember whilst you have a responsibility to keep your dog comfortable in between grooms, the groomer is there to provide YOU with a professional service.
If your cockapoo has a more poodly fluffy tight curly coat then it will mat more easily, so like afro/frizzy hair use products to help it stay smoother. Tropiclean De-Tangle leave in spray will help on that score you can get it from rlpetproducts.co.uk
Next week I'm going to try and film a grooming video showing how to dry brush a cockapoo coat, so that may be helpful.
Hope it goes well.
Julia x
