[Raena]

Need some help... Zulu is six months and i have no clue what to do with her coat!! i know i want to keep her longer until her coat change and that after that i want to try shaved ears ( i think they look so mature especially on black dogs) but other than that i have no clue!!! right now her top knot and back are so long they flop and i'm trying to grow her topknot out to tie it up but it is in the in between stage where it wont all go up but she looks like an over grown hippie (no offense ) if its down... so i guess i'm looking for some tips for care now, (to cut or not to cut that is the question!) and suggestions for down the road... anything!!

 

[spoofly]

picture?

 

[Raena]

they are on their way....

 

[Poodle Lover]

picture?

I agree, we need pictures.

 

[riopup]

Haha, every time I see spooflys profile picture it makes me smile, so funny. I need to get one like that with my rascal.

 

[Raena]

k here they are my roommates puppy wanted in on the photo shoot too

 

[KPoos]

I think she looks cute and this is exactly how Mia looks right now.

 

[Raena]

I'm glad to hear that!! I was beginning to think she was turning into a gorilla or something still any suggestions for down the road, i feel the need to start planning, or is that just excitement? ... hard to tell

 

[KPoos]

It's a personal preference since there are so many options with poodle clips. I have Harry's ear's clipped down and it was the best decision I could have made since he had issues with his ears and after the clip down he's been much better. I'm gonna grow him out for a lamb clip, you could try that.

 

[spoofly]

Aw, she's cute! That hair looks a lot like Fly's right now. She's a giant puffball, and I need to figure out what to do before I take her in to get groomed next too.

 

[WonderPup]

A lamb clip of any length is a good start for anyone, ears or no ears is a personal thing. The bright side of a longer lamb clip is you can go just about anywhere from there and morph into whatever haircut strikes your fancy at any given time. I like my lambs with longer body's and well blended and scissored legs.

Ahhh the joys of poodle hair, it grows and grows and grows and the sky is really the limit on what you can do with it

 

[poodleholic]

Aww, she's adorable! Enjoy that puppy coat, and lots of it, while you can! Puppy coat is easy to care for even when really, really long. As for the topknot, use bands for little "horns."

Here's a picture of Lucia when she was in that in between stage - too long, but still too short for one, so had to give her 3 horns! LOL It kept in the short little whispies real well.

View attachment 6792

Now here she is with lots of hair at 9 mo. of age:

 

[poodleholic]

Oops, the 3-horn picture didn't work. Here it is:

 

[thestars]

You could always make two rows above each eye for holding up her top knot. just like a pair of pig tails. I like the puppy clip.

 

[Sparkle&Spunk]

what a cutie you puppy you have Raena!!!
as for an over grown hippie- I don't think so! And if so, I would hate to see what you guys think of Ocsi's hair right now. He has a total mop of bangs in his eyes! But our down fall is he HATES bands in his hair, totally takes them out every time.
Fallie has two little ponytails in her bangs right now, it looks pretty silly, but keeps the hair out of her eyes.

I love the lamb cut and the puppy cut- my vote is for either one!
Do you have a good pair of scissors? I really need to buy a decent pair- any suggestions guys?

 

[Raena]

ive been thinking about the puppy cut too, but if i do it i want to do it right, does any one have any pointers for getting the rear angulation correct??? and i guess pointers for the cut as a whole?

as far as scissors go i may be cheap, and i know there are better shears out there but i really like the ryans pet line, cause they are affordable in a poor college student way but try to stay away from the convex curved shears, my sharpener says they really can only be sharpened a few times and the curve on them causes a prob... i don't know exactly but it made sense when he described it... again, cheap but they will get you by...

 

[Sparkle&Spunk]

shhh, don't tell anyone that I use a pair from Target sold in the 'people' section

I didn't go to school or get formal training on grooming, but did learn a TON from this book: Poodle Clipping and Grooming: The International Reference (Howell Reference Books)

 

[Raena]

i don't have any formal training either, but ive been grooming professionally for about 7 years... i just don't have much formal poodle experience most of the poos we get in just want one length a top knot and pompon no matter how hard i try to convince them otherwise... i ve started scissoring legs on the ones i think i can get away with and practicing the angles before i take them down... its kind of depressing... sooooo if any one knows a good poodle groomer in mt PLEASE let me know i really want to learn and the photos can only take you so far!

BTW, thank you for all the advice on tp kts and your guys' puppies are so cute!!

 

[flyingduster]

photos can take you a LONG way actually; I pretty much have only learned to groom Paris how she is now, by photos. There aren't any good poodle groomers here either, I learned to groom generic pet trims which means mostly shaved down, the odd little lamb trim but they pretty much had shapeless poofy legs, or so short ya might as well have shaved them down anyway!!!

it was when I started grooming Paris that I took photos, got them critiqued, and grew from there to where we are at the moment. I have a long way to go, but at the same time we've COME a long way too!! I'm rather embarrassed by how proud I was of some of her early trims! lol.

 

[Raena]

that makes me feel a bit better, i love what youve done with paris, she is quite beautiful! I guess i'm a bit scared to screw up, especially with her puppy coat, since shes only going to have it once... but i guess the only way to learn is to make mistakes... that just doesnt make it much easier though.

I remember the first schauser cuts i did... they were gross but i thought they looked so wonderful! ( at the time....) it is quite funny to look back