Poodle Forum banner

Dana's in a continental!

6K views 23 replies 17 participants last post by  apoodleaday 
#1 ·
Well... sort of...

Everybody, feel free to give me your constructive criticism. :)

I shortened the jacket quite a bit... is it too short? I shaved her bum with a #7F which is the shortest I've ever gone on Dana (apart from her FFT).

Doing her front legs was SCARY! :scared: The back legs, it's easy. You stop shaving a little bit before the hock and you're done. There are no landmarks on the front legs!!! Well, I guess there are but the elbow was hard to find. LOL... I went up a little too high on the left elbow. The right one is okay, I think.

Don't mind her neck, I shaved it 3 weeks ago, because her stupid collar was breaking all the hair and it was driving me nuts. I'm going to let it grow in.

I have a new respect for everyone who maintains a show trim. This was hard, and it doesn't even have half the hair of a real continental.

I don't even dare try the hip rosettes. LOL...


The vet I work with said Dana looked like a fruitcake and that I should be embarrassed to walk her out in public like that. I did this to him in my head : :thefinger:

This is the general opinion of people around here who like their poodles groomed like doodles (i.e.: ungroomed!).

Oh well. It's not my fault if they can't recognize beauty when they see it! :D
 

Attachments

See less See more
3
#3 ·
Hi Paula,

Dana is 6 months old. I originally told myself that I would wait until her adult coat came in before I started playing with it but I just couldn't wait!! :)

My other excuse is that once she starts her coat change, she'll probably start matting so bad that I'll just want to shave her bald anyway... Oh no! I can't believe I just said that! I don't want a bald Dana. I'm gonna have to brush, brush, brush...:eek:hwell:

Sorry, going on a tangent... :rolffleyes:

How old is your little one, Paula?
 
#4 ·
She is 5 months.:) I really want to cut her hair but thin i think about how she will not look like puppy anymore. I am going to wait till she is 7 months. Thats what I keep telling myself. Im a groomer and she gose to work with me every day. Its soo hard not to cut her hair:doh:
 
#7 ·
Very Very nice! I would of never guessed that she is only 6 months...she has such a grown up look and the conti is making her look like a lady :)

So i keep hearing everyone talking about the dreaded coat change and that the dog will matt etc....why is this? Cant you brush the dog and bathe it every week or so and they wont matt? I never had any problems with Mister, maybe some dogs just have different coats than others.
 
#8 ·
Ohhh she looks GREAT!!! You did awesomely! And yup the jacket looks MUCH better set there, and it'll balance more with more coat I think (if anything she could do with a touch MORE taken off it, but she's just as likely to be doing a growth spurt and change shape somewhat still too, so I wouldn't worry!) The lines are great! Yup, a TOUCH high on the one elbow, but the other is great and it looks fantastic! WELL DONE! Did you do the 7F in reverse or with the grain? If you only went with the grain, try going in reverse up the leg to go a little shorter a few times, and then try out a 10 when she's used to it... :D


Mister, the coat change, from puppy coat to adult coat, is NASTY! It's NOTHING compared to normal grooming on an adult or puppy; it's that CHANGE that is the bugger. Seriously, they can get mats even with daily line brushing all over. You can have them combed to perfection, and tomorrow the webbing tangles will be back again, if you leave them for another day without getting them out they'll be knots, and by the end of the week they'll be matted... Some aren't that bad of course, but better to be prepared for the worst and hope it won't be so bad and you can get away with brushing only once every day or two and not every hour or two. LOL!!!

The REASON it does this is because the soft puppy coat is loosening off right at the base of the skin, and it's that soft downy stuff that tangles up at the drop of a hat down at the skin. Once all the puppy coat is out the adult coat can be totally fine to keep brushed as per normal, it's just getting through that change first that's the real problem. If the coat is reasonably short then there's usually very little problem and it's hardly noticed though.
 
#11 ·
I think she looks amazing! You did a great job.

I don't even dare try the hip rosettes. LOL... [/Qoute]

Rosettes aren't that hard. Get a round, plastic lid to use as a pattern. Set it over the hip bone. Go big at first so you have room to adjust it.


The vet I work with said Dana looked like a fruitcake and that I should be embarrassed to walk her out in public like that. I did this to him in my head : :thefinger:

This is the general opinion of people around here who like their poodles groomed like doodles (i.e.: ungroomed!).
I took Delilah to the farmer's market last week. The kids are great. They just wanted to touch her. The adults, and there were a gazillion of them because it was graduation weekend at the University, were just down right rude. People laughed and made snide comments. One guy actually said, "Do you think she knows how ridiculous she looks?"
 
#15 ·
I took Delilah to the farmer's market last week. The kids are great. They just wanted to touch her. The adults, and there were a gazillion of them because it was graduation weekend at the University, were just down right rude. People laughed and made snide comments. One guy actually said, "Do you think she knows how ridiculous she looks?"
I've been getting criticism from co-workers (most vocal is our executive director!!) about Lucy's CC. I just smile and tell them that Lucy loves her haircut (and so do I!)

Katy and I rescued and fostered a spoo in December of 2008. Dolce was adopted by another one of my co-workers, and her husband keeps Dolce clipped how THEY like him (pretty much shaved down except for ears, tail pom and topknot) but they chop the hair of his topknot above his eyes because they don't like it when the hair hangs in his eyes - *I* think he looks pretty funny, but I never criticize because I'm so happy they're taking the initiative to keep him feeling good! He's never matted or dirty - his new dad loves to groom him, I guess! :)

Now everyone at work tells me I should clip Lucy like Dolce because her cut is "ridiculous" and she must feel humiliated... It's a good thing I know better!! :lol:

Dana looks fabulous - I love the CC on poodles! Like Aidan said, it makes them stand out visually - and those of us who have poodles already know they're stand-outs in every other aspect as well!! Good job!
 
#12 ·
I think you did a great job! Who cares what your vet tech thinks and good for you for going with a groom you wanted to do anyway.

There are a lot of people who seem to judge poodles on their different haircuts and such...it's kind of a shame because they're missing out on a really great breed of dog.

I think the cont. groom makes the poodle really standout. I'm not sure I have the guts to try it myself on any of mine without help..lol maybe someday though!
 
#18 ·
I took some outdoor action shots! Dana posed really well for a couple of pics and then, she found a piece of garbage to play with, and she stopped listening to me. LOL...

The more I look at her, the more I think her but looks really bare without those darn rosettes! :eek:hwell:

I'll have to grow some out... or shave the jacket off, one or the other...:scared:

Looking at the pictures, I see that her topknot needs trimmed!

Okay, so I'm a little obsessed with grooming my dog, right now. :D

Spoospirit: Does the obsession get better or worse, with 4 dogs in continental, instead of one? LOL!!
 

Attachments

#19 ·
I, too, think you did a very nice job. I agree with cbrand, give those rosettes a try. They're not as difficult as you think, and if you don't like them you can always shave them off :D I keep my poodle in a CC too. Most people are pretty cute/funny about it. If someone is rude, I just walk away because at the end of the day I love it!
 
#21 ·
I keep my poodle in a CC too.
I know you do!!!! Lacey is soooooo GORGEOUS!!!!!! I can't tear my eyes off her pictures!!!

Sorry for the excessive exclamation points but... I LOVE LACEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lacey is actually part of my inspiration for Dana's haircut. I want Dana to look exactly like Lacey! Hey, will you groom her for me? LOL....

I, too, think you did a very nice job.
Thank you, by the way.

Oh.. I don't know if I mentioned this yet but, I LOVE LACEY!!!!
 
#20 ·
Spoospirit: How old are your dogs usually, when you put them in their show continental for the first time?

Mister: Thanks. I couldn't wait for Dana to get older. Don't get me wrong, I love puppy Dana... but I want her to be adult already!!!

This is my first poodle so I've never done the coat change thing... We'll see how it goes.

Flyingduster: Thank you for saying that Dana looks great! I did a 7F in reverse on the front legs and with the grain on her derriere. I agree, the shaved part on the front legs looks much neater than the shaved part on her but, where I went with the grain... I don't know if I'm brave enough to go with a #10. :scared:

Aprhj: Thank you. Poppy is so cute in your avatar photo. I love parti poodles!

Olie said:
I think it looks really good!! Saluki has a beautiful face too!
I think you mean Dana. My face isn't that cute. LOL!!!:fish:

cbrand said:
I think she looks amazing! You did a great job.
Rosettes aren't that hard. Get a round, plastic lid to use as a pattern. Set it over the hip bone. Go big at first so you have room to adjust it.
Thank you!
Hmm... see, that's the part that confuses me. The hip bone is waaayyy back there, near the base of the tail, yet all the pics that I look at of poodles in contis, the rosettes are up near the jacket.

I'll have to study more pictures. Going to find Delilah's picture which is somewhere on this forum, so that I can look at her (and fawn over her)!

cbrand said:
I took Delilah to the farmer's market last week. The kids are great. They just wanted to touch her. The adults, and there were a gazillion of them because it was graduation weekend at the University, were just down right rude. People laughed and made snide comments. One guy actually said, "Do you think she knows how ridiculous she looks?"
Aww... that's just awful. People don't have to be rude. Do I go up to their matted ugly doodle dog and make fun of it? NO! (at least, not out loud to their face). LOL... :decision:

Aidan: Thank you! Your new pup is too cute, by the way!

HarleyChik: Thank you!

WonderPup: Thank you!

Plumcrazy: Don't you just love that silly receded hairline clip on some poodles? It's pretty special. I'd rather that, than a matted dog.

PaddleAddict: Thank you. By the way, just wondering, but is your screen name a typo? Hmm... maybe you really are addicted to paddles... or maybe you have a dog named paddles... hehe... sorry. Didn't mean to poke fun at your name.

Kona said:
I can't believe how big she looks for only 6 months old! How much does she weigh and how tall is she at the shoulder. Great job!
Thank you! Dana weighs 41 lbs as of this morning. I tried measuring her last week, she wouldn't stand still!!! :wacko: She measured 22 inches. I measured her length, from her breast bone to her "bum bone", whatever you call that one, LOL, and she was 23 inches. So, either she's not square, or she's actually 23 inches tall and I measured wrong because she was SQUIRMY!!!

Your pups look very cute, by the way. I find the haircut makes a big difference on how adult a poodle looks. Dana looks much bigger now that half her body is shaved off... weird.

Here's a picture of Dana about a month and a half ago.
And another one from 2 minutes ago!!!
 

Attachments

#22 ·
I think that Dana looks absolutely lovely. I can't believe that people would be so rude to make comments like that. She is obviously well groomed and well taken care of. A clip is a personal choice. They are totally out of place to make such comments and certainly show a great lack of manners.
 
#23 ·
You go girl!!!! Dana looks fantastic and she knows it! I love the pictures watching her jump and play in the parking lot. Weeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

There will be a day that I get up enough nerve to do a conti. Right now, I can't seem to shave her (private part #2) without taking off the bottom part of her tail pom! :doh: I'm getting better at it, but it seems like it takes forever for her tail hair to grow.

I'm super impressed on her clip. It certainly doesn't look like a first attempt. In the beginning, I wasn't sure how I would like a shaved neck. It really looks good. I like being able to see the collar, especially knowing that I couldn't keep up growing the neck hair.

About those rude people to you and cbrand!!!! It just infuriates me that people are so carelessly obnoxious. In some cases, it's just a waste of time to remark. They'll never get it anyway. I like to see the muscles in a poodle butt and truly admire such a complicated trim.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top