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Why do most spoos have a shaved face?

117K views 85 replies 58 participants last post by  PeggyTheParti 
#1 ·
I really love Standard poodles but have always wondered why I rarely see them without a shaved face! Don't get me wrong, I think it looks great but I prefer Hank to have longer hair on his face. Most people have to ask me what kind of dog Hank is for that reason. Does anyone have pictures of their spoo without a shaved face? Thanks!
 

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#3 · (Edited)
Maybe because otherwise they don't look like a poodle? And with a white or a cream like my Beau, a furry face soon becomes a stained, dirty face.

Hank looks like a sweetie, but with his hairy face and short top knot, if I saw him out in the street I'd assume he was a 'doodle. They seem to be everywhere around here -- poodles are a rare and happy sight.

I should note that, I myself, wear a beard. :smile:
 
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#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
I do it because I think it's cute, and it's SO much cleaner. I love the look of bearded dogs, but can't stand it at the same time. It's so dirty, messy, and something that I just can't deal with, personally. I sometimes have issues getting kisses and cuddles from bearded dogs because of the smelly wet stache with who-knows-what hidden in it!

For that reason, I kind of find a medium ground. I shave Desmond's face only when it gets a bit too shaggy for my liking- I don't like him with a full stache or beard. It would make him look dopey, lol. I generally let it grow for several weeks until it's about 1/2" long. I think it's cute & kissable. ;) It's not as long as you probably are talking about, and he still has the big TK so I dunno if he really counts lol.

Though, seeing poodles with their face shaved does make me wonder why other hairy breeds don't get the same treatment (historically & traditionally). Schnauzers, most terriers, Portuguese Water Dogs (I think? I have seen both shaggy and short), toy breeds like Havanese, Shihs, Lhasas, etc, and Old English Sheepdogs, and sooo many others. I think it's just messy and inconvenient all around to have that much hair on the face- if poodles can get their face shaved, why can't the others? Especially for working dogs! I can understand pets, but wouldn't a big old beard just get in the way for a dog in the field swimming, fetching, ratting, herding, etc?

That is, ignoring the fact that people think it is "fou fou" or "poodley" or "silly", or that it "wouldn't look right on that breed". Ignoring AKC standard grooms and traditions, I do wonder why poodles are the only dog to get their beard shaved.
 

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#17 ·
Though, seeing poodles with their face shaved does make me wonder why other hairy breeds don't get the same treatment (historically & traditionally). Schnauzers, most terriers, Portuguese Water Dogs (I think? I have seen both shaggy and short), toy breeds like Havanese, Shihs, Lhasas, etc, and Old English Sheepdogs, and sooo many others.
Birdie, It's because those breeds historically had different jobs than poodles did. With poodles (and PWDs) being retrievers, having a big beard would just get in the way when it had to grab a duck in water, so it's shaved.

Terriers, though, they were all bred to catch mean critters that fight (and bite!) back: rats, weasels, badgers, etc. And they take prey "to ground" in tight burrows, so the face is the only target. So in nearly all the terriers that have longer hair, the beard (and eyebrows or fall on some) was to protect their eyes and nose from biting and scratching prey.

In toy breeds, it mostly just depended on what the originator thought looked cute, since that was their main purpose. ;)
 
#5 ·
Also wanted to add: Hank looks adorable with his fuzzy face! I admit that I didn't see the pics before posting lol ('doh!) but he's a cutie, and he rocks the fuzzy face! He looks pretty poodley to me. Even though I would assume he just an incredibly handsome doodle at first, I think I would immediately rethink that as I looked more carefully. I have had that happen to me a couple times where I have seen a dog and can't quite tell if it's just a really pretty doodle or a shaved poodle! Lol
 
#11 ·
This is the beauty of poodles. They can be shaved or grown any way you want. I like shaved faces myself and a bid topknot with long ears but have on occasion shaved down my boy all over with a 8 and 1/2 to make my daughter happy. I let it grow like that until I can't stand it and then put him in a clip I like.
Your boys are beautiful with all their fur. Have you tried shaven faces with a bit of topknot?
 
#83 ·
Thanks! That makes sense. I remembered there was some sort of reason for terriers to have the beard... couldn't remember it. Thanks for filling me in. :)
I trimmed my Cairn's face; eyebrows and mustache even though they participated in " Go to Ground Trails" and we're he!! on mice, chipmunks, lizards, opposums and raccoons. The untrimmed beard and face can get and is smelly and yucky.🤢
 
#19 ·
I can't help it, I think a poodle = a shaved face. The main reason for me is, I just love love love the structure of a nice poodle face/head, and that is lost in a fuzzy face.
I think if my grown (young adult) children were to ever get a standard for their dog, they would choose a fuzzy face. That look does give them a lot of character!
 
#22 ·
I don't like the sloppy drooly bearded face. Bella gets a teensy bit long (say 6 - 8 weeks post-groom) and she's suddenly turned into a mastif at the water bowl.

Plus I feel like I can't "see" her pretty little face.

Having said that, I realize it's just a preference and there are many who like bearded-dogs.
 
#23 ·
This. Being a groomer who specializes not just in poodles, but in terriers too, I actually really like bearded faces, but they are so messy!

Albi will start "wiping her mouth" on the carpet with even a week's worth of growth on her face, where tiny bits of food collect by her lips. And I shave her with a #40 every two weeks! We'll have to see how that goes when I grow her into some of my more ambitious ideas. One day, I'm going to transform her into a black show-styled "Bichon".

But I will miss her gorgeous little face.

You know what, though, originally I wanted a boy poodle, because I just love 'em with little moustaches.
 
#24 ·
Yet another thing to love about Poodles: diversity!

I do like the shaved face, but it's so cool that with Poodles you can experiment constantly. For a while I kept one of mine in a Town and Country with a French moustache, and he looked quite sophisticated. :)

--Q
 
#25 ·
Here are a couple of pictures of Sisko with clean and fluffy faces. We are always asked if he's a doodle, maybe because he is a brindle and has stripes
 

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#26 ·
Here's another I forgot and a baby picture too. I am so enjoying reading everybody's posts on the poodle forum. I am learning a lot and It's a comfort to know help is out there and that being in poodle love is a fairly mainstream condition!
 

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#27 ·
I love Pup's face all hairy but he is much cleaner and sweeter smelling when he is shaved.
We try to go as long as possible between groomings, since they are stressful for him and we are trying to avoid stress these days :)

There are no Standard Poodles here but they do the full show clip on a lot of the little ones, as well as a few have puppy cuts ( I guess that is what they are called) and they look adorable.

Here is Pup before and after ~
 

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