Mariska (: 00:00

Have you ever wondered how to brush your dog's coat? And if you are actually doing it too much, too little, or not sending them to the groomers in time, that is exactly what we're diving onto today's episode, especially if you are a doodle owner. But first, before we dig in, I just have to share something special. For the last couple of months,

We have been letting you in on our secret of our very first Tails and Tones product. And we are actually gearing up to kick off our crowdfunding. It has been such a long journey to actually get here. And we are so, so excited. you can actually go to show notes and you can find the link in there or on our Instagram at Tails and Tones.

And you can either join our wait list today to make sure that as soon as we hit live on that, you are definitely right there to be part of our first founding members. and you can actually help shape this bowl. So, thank you so much for everyone that's already signed up. it means the world to us, and there is obviously a lot more room.

To get a few more of you guys in before we hit that launch button.

Alrighty, let's dig right into today's episode of Tails and Tones. I am your host, Mariska Nell also known as Piper's Mom. Now, today we have a very special guest. We have been getting so many messages about doodle owners and people asking us, how do I take care of this coat? And someone who I

Absolutely, have been loving following her journey is Elina and she is the founder of Doodwoof, which is a natural grooming and like coat care brand which is build exclusively for doodles.

She was actually laid off from her tech job, and alongside Oscar, which is her very beautiful blue eyed tricolored doodle, decided it was the right time to bet on an idea. Healthy, happy lives for doodles, and it is built on natural human grade ingredients.

And Doodwoof has since been used by over 70,000 doodle owners. And they have also partnered with the Doodle Dandy Rescue, which donates a portion of every purchase to rescue, rehab, and rehome doodles in need. So please give a paw some welcome to

Elina Pantileva Welcome to the podcast

Elina (: 03:09

Happy to be here. Thanks for having me.

Mariska (: 03:11

You're most welcome. So for our listeners who might be new to your work, could you introduce yourself to us?

Elina (: 03:19

Definitely. so I'm Elina. I have an e commerce dog brand called Doodwoof that specializes in the doodle owners market. So any dog mixed with a poodle, like a golden doodle, burna doodle, etcetera.

Mariska (: 03:34

And there is plenty of doodle mixes. I always get confused with all the different ones. I'm like, it's a doodle. I don't know what what doodle. But yeah, there's there's loads of different ones. And kind of this this was all inspired with your journey and like your dog. Like can can you talk us through like kind of what was that moment with like Oscar, your doodle, that sparked this and

Was there a specific like grooming struggle that you faced that you just felt like, you know, generic dog products aren't cutting it or was there that moment?

Elina (: 04:15

Yeah. So funny enough, it actually was inspired by getting laid off from my job and trying to think like, okay, what am I gonna do next? And I knew that no matter what I was doing, I had to I didn't have any money because I just got laid off. So I knew that I had to in order to promote anything that I was gonna do, I had to do it through organic social media. And I didn't feel comfortable doing it by myself. So I looked at my dog and I was like, Okay, well if I was to ever create content

It'd be with my dog. And so that's what kind of inspired, okay, let me create something related to the doodle or to he's a doodle. So to the dog or doodle space. And then I decided to niche down to doodles. And I just started asking myself and other doodle owners. I started going into Facebook groups and being like, hey, what's the biggest challenge of having a doodle? And the number one thing was that they get matted and they get tangled easily.

And I decided to look at what's on the market, like what already exists to solve this problem. And the things that existed were just filled with chemicals, like harsh chemicals, ingredients I couldn't pronounce. And so I was like, huh, okay, what if I create something to solve this problem that's actually made with good ingredients and specifically marketed towards doodle owners?

Mariska (: 05:35

Wow, that is quite a journey. And as a fellow dog mom that actually applied for well over 200 jobs before I decided, you know what? Screw this. We're creating a pet company. you know, it it is such a kind of roller coaster of emotions when you go through something like this. Because, you know, in your case, you were laid-off and you obviously needed to find some income as well. So you've got that.

added like you know layers of complexity as well

Elina (: 06:06

Yeah.

Mariska (: 06:07

in there and how did you kind of then go from obviously being in the tech space because for some of you that might be listening

You did forget to mention that you are an AI like guru as well. If anyone needs to know anything about AI, Elina's your your girl in there. So how did you go from that tech career to actually formulating this like grooming product? Because yeah, there's there's quite a massive gap and yeah, what what what did that kind of look for you as well?

Elina (: 06:43

So yeah, I worked in the AI space before AI was cool, before Chat G P T was out. But it kinda started coming out when I was starting this business and so I I really capitalized on that early. I s it wasn't it's nowhere near where it where it is now, but I worked with AI to try to formulate things and it's actually a lot more simple than people think to create a product.

Because especially a product like this, because you you can work with manufacturers who have formulators on in their actual on site for them. So I what I did was my exact steps was I went on Google and I was like, what are people using as a DIY solution? Like how are people getting rid of tangles and mats naturally? And there were a couple ingredients that just were really common throughout.

So I was like, okay, no matter what, I'm gonna use I'm gonna make sure I use these ingredients in my product. And then I went to some manufacturers, started talking to them. It is a lot of work, but eventually found one that would agree to do like a sample of what I wanted and helped me formulate the rest with like the base and just the knowledge that they have regard around pH and the water activity, et cetera.

Mariska (: 07:58

Well, because there's there's quite a lot of stuff that actually has to go into that. So obviously then also the testing and trying to,

Elina (: 08:04

Yes.

Mariska (: 08:05

you know, get this product as good as you actually want it, that you can be proud to actually put it on your dog as well. but I mean when it comes to doodles

So for people that is not really familiar with doodles, like I'm a Frenchie mom, so I don't necessarily know you know, what is the challenges that doodles coats have. So what actually make like this doodle coat or skin so much different to like

say a Frenchie, is there certain things that people need to understand about the breed or, you know, what what what makes

Elina (: 08:45

Yeah.

Mariska (: 08:45

a difference?

Elina (: 08:46

Well, they have almost human like hair. So just like your hair can get tangled and and knotted, especially if you don't brush it, same with them, and especially add in them rolling around and just like jumping around like crazy. It's just really easy to develop mats and knots in their hair. it's also really they're also really pretty prone to allergies as well, because they have a the floppy ears, so it traps moisture.

And then in general, like again, their coat just like sucks in all the allergens and pollen, et cetera.

Mariska (: 09:17

So Din, do you kind of is there something that you would say with Oscar, like you bathe him every certain amount of days as well to kind of prevent, you know, allergens or stuff stuck in to their skin? Is there a certain thing like that?

Elina (: 09:33

Other product I released was a the next one was a doodle shampoo. So it's super super gentle, like human grade ingredients, it just everything you can pronounce. And so once I released that, I felt a lot better bathing him more often. Cause some of those, like if you go on Amazon, just type in dog shampoo. A lot of the if you actually look at the ingredients, a lot of times you're like, What the heck is that? And so I I was just like, I don't want to strip him from like his natural oils. So now I'd probably bathe him like

Well he they're doodles all you have you also have to take them to the groomers. So he goes to the groomer once every two months and then I'll bat them like once a month or if he smells bad or someth something like that, I'll bat them.

Mariska (: 10:13

Okay, that's so interesting. And I mean when it comes to like the coat and you've you've no you've kind of mentioned, you know, obviously they have the mat, is there some mistakes that you you find often that you know doodle owners are actually making that can prevent you know them from having all these extra like knots and getting their coat all messed up.

Elina (: 10:40

Definitely brushing daily and not to plug in my product, but really using the detangler spray 'cause it 'cause it helps with it what it does is it conditions the coat and it just helps brush it out. So a lot of times you brush, there's a tangle, it kinda it hurts the dog. It's just like your own hair when you brush it out, there's there's like knots, it c it hurts. yeah, so brushing daily and then regularly getting it gro grooming him or going to the groomers.

Mariska (: 11:04

So like your kind of routine with Oscar is daily denotting with the detangler and the brush and then washing like once a month and once in two months, like going to the groomers. Cause yeah, some some dogs I find like the owners are like, do I wash them every single day? And I was like, No, please don't like Yeah.

Elina (: 11:26

Yeah. It's actually not good. Just like humans, it's

actually it's not good for us to wash our hair every day.

Mariska (: 11:32

And and is there like kind of, you know, some differences in how you take care of your dog, like in between the seasons, because obviously during the summer months it's a bit hotter, and of the pollen and things like that. Are there some differences about the different seasons? and also if it's like rainy or if there's like muddy, you know, ness or something. Is there is it different or like you just stick with that routine throughout the entire year?

Elina (: 12:01

Say probably ideally there are differences. For me, I'm it's just like if he smells bad or if I feel like he's itching, then I'll I'll I'll give him a bath. so it's pretty I I what I will say is during the summer, definitely I live in Texas, so you definitely groom him more, get him haircuts because it's just hot.

Mariska (: 12:20

you've mentioned some of the ingredients that you know, you you will kind of definitely skip. and I mean there's loads like sulfates and a whole bunch of very, very interesting names that half of it I can't even pronounce. But for someone actually starting out looking at that shampoo bottle.

and you know, it's got more than twenty ingredients, some even more. What are like two or three like red flags that they should actually look out for if it's got this in like hard pass?

Elina (: 12:56

Yeah. I I think it depends on the owner. So like just in general, the kind of person I am, I like to n understand what I'm putting in my body and so I feel responsible and I'm putting on my body too. And I responsible I feel responsible for doing that for my dog too. So when I go to the grocery store, I like to look at the back of the label and understand what the ingredients are.

just like, okay, this is tapioca or something like that. So I would just encourage look at the bottle and see if you can understand what these ingredients are. what that was my main goal. Like what you'll notice, for example, in my products is that it's like

Coconut based cleanser, quinoa protein. Like it's everything you can pronounce and you're like, okay, I understand versus these big names like cyclohexamethicane, something like that, which is a silicone and y you just you don't know what that is.

Mariska (: 13:52

And if someone's doodle kind of has this very stubborn like mat right now, like, you know, mid episode they are listening to us right now. What should they actually do and what should they never do?

Elina (: 14:08

Depends how big it is. If it's like super big, then you definitely should go to the groomer just to get it removed professionally. you could cut it out. I that's the detangler spray. Like i it's good for everyday like daily brushing to prevent the mats. Like obviously if you have a huge clump and you spray it on there, like it's it's not gonna solve, it's not gonna magically disappear. but I would say cut cutting out big ones.

Mariska (: 14:34

Yeah. And I mean these, they don't appear overnight. It kind of builds

Elina (: 14:38

Yeah.

Mariska (: 14:39

up or will it happen? Like, have you ever had Oscar just like, you know, for some reason, I don't know, throughout the day it just like d got this massive, like knot in in his like coat, or is it building up slowly, slowly, slowly? Like

Elina (: 14:57

For him he has straighter hair, so I got a bit lucky in that sense. If you have a really curly dog, it might maybe it could happen, just throughout yeah, like overnight throughout the day, not not too sure. also depends what they're doing, like if they're rolling around and playing all day, that and and they and they have a curly coat, then definitely brushing daily is much more important versus Oscar, you know, I could go a couple days without brushing him and he's fine.

Mariska (: 15:23

And

is there a particular brush that you currently use that you would recommend or is it again like each coat is definitely so different that it's so unique to the dogs or yeah, any any recommendations on that front?

Elina (: 15:39

Yeah, if you if if your dog is really prone to matting entangled hair, you can use one of these wire brushes. it's like this metal it's like a metal comb essentially to first go through like and make sure you get to like the bottom of the coat and brush it out. And then you can use a slicker brush. So there's a brand called Chris Christensen. I think it's a good brush. And so that which is actually why I have not created a brush of my own, because I think there's good brushes out there.

already add so that that'd be the best one, in my opinion.

Mariska (: 16:10

What is like one grooming myth about doodles you wish you could bust for every single owner right now?

Elina (: 16:18

one grooming one grooming myth. I guess s some people think that you can just go to the groomer once every two months and then

That's

it, but you really do like if you have a doodle, it's it is your responsibility to brush them and make sure that they're not like super tangled. It's not comfortable with them. I I I see these pictures of these doodles that are super freaking tangled with their hair and I just feel bad for them. Like it's like it's a lot. So definitely, you know, make sure you take care of your pup. Like it's it's your responsibility.

Mariska (: 16:50

Yeah, and it's like you've just mentioned, you know, earlier that it is actually painful for them when they've got these knots and, you know, if they're rolling around, it

Elina (: 16:59

Yeah.

Mariska (: 16:59

it will most probably hurt as well. So yeah, definitely not comfortable for them as well. And you actually have got a really amazing initiative and partnership that I would love to talk about, and that is the Doodle Dandy Rescue. Like how did that kind of

partnership start and what does that like look like? Can you tell us more about that?

Elina (: 17:24

Yeah, so I reach there's a rescue specifically for doodles, so I reached out to them and was like, Hey, we'd love to, you know, donate or have some sort of partnership with you and yes, a portion of the profits go to their doodle rescue.

Mariska (: 17:41

wow. And where where exactly are they based?

Elina (: 17:44

They're based in Texas, so they only take doodles, which shows you how many there are. they only take doodle rescues and then they they're all a hundred percent volunteer based, which is cool. And then they they just these doodles that come to them, like they just they also work on behavior training, et cetera, vets, et cetera, before they before they send them to the homes.

Mariska (: 18:04

And is there maybe one like story that you've kind of, you know, ki heard of or were part of with this rescue that just kind of stayed with you still?

Elina (: 18:15

Yeah, there's a couple that so we so I like to I always ask them, can we help a specific dog so that I know which where the money's going to? there's this one that came in there with really aggressive behaviors and just not in good condition 'cause it was ch chained up the its whole life and then so what this the money went towards that we donated was towards behavioral treatment the dog trainer, behavioral dog training as well as the vet bills and so now I

His name is Marty, and now he has actually like a loving home that he's with, which is really sweet.

Mariska (: 18:52

that's nice when it kind of goes all full circle and you you know

Elina (: 18:56

Yeah.

Mariska (: 18:56

that, you know, because of what you guys are doing, it's also helping other doodles as well, which is amazing.

Elina (: 19:02

Yeah. Well well it's yeah,

well it's but because of the customers that we have. I mean it's portion of the profit, so we wouldn't be able to donate without them.

Mariska (: 19:10

Yeah.

And I mean I wanna circle back to Oscar because he deserves so

Elina (: 19:15

Yeah.

Mariska (: 19:16

much more attention in this episode. so he is not just like your dog, he's your co-founder. And in every sense of the word, like what has he actually taught you about building this business that you feel no business book could?

Elina (: 19:34

What has he taught me?

Well, he's been with me through everything. So I mean building a business is not just a straight curve up. It's a lot of ups and downs. And so he just taught me to you know stay the path. He's always stayed with me, so I I gotta stay the path. And he I it was funny when I first got him I was like, You need to start paying rent and now he does pay rent.

Mariska (: 19:57

Now he pays for

most most of everything. I love that. And like how how old is Oscar at the mo like?

Elina (: 20:06

Four.

Mariska (: 20:08

And like for our listeners, I will try and link up a photo because Oscar

Elina (: 20:13

Ha ha

Mariska (: 20:14

has got the most beautiful eyes. Like it is

Elina (: 20:17

Yeah, he's cute.

Mariska (: 20:18

It's phenomenal. So it's so beautiful to see. So yeah, we'd love to share that with our listeners as well. So I'm gonna link that in our show notes so they can all go and have a look there. And if you could just like hand every doodle parent one sentence of advice that they get on day one when they get their doodle, what would that be?

Elina (: 20:43

Doodles are really smart and almost too smart for their own good. So definitely work on training early. They love that. And most of them are treat motivated, which does make it easier. And get them used to grooming as well, because if they're scared of the brush or scared of going to the groomers, that's gonna be a challenge for you as they grow up.

Mariska (: 21:07

Definitely, especially if they need every second month a grooming session. But

Elina (: 21:11

Yeah. Exactly.

Mariska (: 21:13

Elina, I feel that there might have been some stories of Oscar that you got all of this advice from. I what what is some of the quirky things that you feel as a doodle owner that, you know, he is hitting the mark with that? This is so true to doodles. Like, yeah. Share a little bit of those with us.

Elina (: 21:36

there he's almost like a human really. He's like he he feels like a two year old, truthfully. And so he has his own like he definitely has his own personality, but he really has his own opinions. And I hear that from a lot of doodle owners, like he really has an opinion on which way we're walking, when we're walking, where we're going, etc. So again, too smart for their own good. I always say he understands English.

Mariska (: 22:00

I love that. And so would he then just kind of guide when you walk and like pull that way? Or like is he very sassy and talking back? What are some of those quirks that you just absolutely love?

Elina (: 22:12

I

don't know about love for this up but if we're walking and Yeah.

Mariska (: 22:15

That comes with the package.

Elina (: 22:16

if we're walking and he just he he'll he doesn't want to go there, he'll just sit down and he'll wait till I go the other direction because that's the way he wants to go. He won't move. So I'm like, why are we going this way?

Mariska (: 22:30

my

gosh, they've got such personalities. And

Elina (: 22:32

Yeah.

Mariska (: 22:33

where you are based, 'cause you're in Austin, right?

Elina (: 22:36

Yep. Yeah.

Mariska (: 22:37

And is do you find that it is quite dog friendly there? Is there a lot of places? And obviously Oscar is like a little bit like like he's a bigger doodle, he's not like small. Do you find that it's easy sometimes to go to all these places or?

Elina (: 22:54

Yeah, definitely. It's Austin's probably one of the most dog friendly cities in the US. And so like you can bring anywhere to Target, to any coffee shop, like really anywhere. Yeah.

Mariska (: 23:06

I love that. That sounds

amazing. Sounds like we need to pay you guys a visit, me and Piper and Austin.

Elina (: 23:10

Yeah. Yeah.

Mariska (: 23:13

And Elina where can people actually find you, your company, and if they wanna like try some of your products as well.

Elina (: 23:24

Yeah. we're on Instagram. You can find us at dudewoof co so do f C O.

Mariska (: 23:33

And we will link that in the show notes as well so you can just head on over there and check you guys out. And do you ship internationally or just in the US?

Elina (: 23:44

In the US right now.

Mariska (: 23:46

So if some of our listeners want to get in touch with you about special shippings, I hear there's an airline that ships also you can send stuff there and they ship it for you.

Elina (: 23:51

Yeah. You can DM me. Yeah, yeah. You can DM me for sure.

Mariska (: 24:01

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for being such an amazing guest on the show.

Elina (: 24:07

Thank you for having me.

Mariska (: 24:09

You're most welcome.

Mariska (: 24:10

That my friends is a wrap for today's episode. And what an episode it was. Thank you so much, Elina for being such an amazing guest on the podcast. And for Oscar for inspiring this entire company.

Elina reminded us that you don't have to build for every single dog to make a real difference. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is to build for the one that is right in front of you. what started as a lay-off tech worker and a mat.

She couldn't brush out of Oscar's coat. Actually, it turned into a brand that has helped over 70,000 doodle owners and rescue dogs get a second chance along the way. Whether you have a doodle or not, I hope today's conversation made you look at your own dog's coat and care routine a little differently because.

Those small everyday choices, They do add to a lifetime of comfort. If this episode spoke to you, I would love for you to share it with a fellow pet parent who might need to hear this today. the more this podcast gets shared and listened to, the faster we'll grow.

And the more incredible guests and conversations we can actually get to so if you actually found value in today's episode, please do pass it on. It truly makes such a difference. Thank you so much for tuning in into today's Tails and Tones episode. If you have a question or you just want to come and say hi, you can always find me.

On our Instagram account at Tails and Tones, where every tale tells a story and every tone speaks from the heart. I'll see you in the next one.