Here is my latest full groom of Lacey. I’m still keeping her legs and body shorter during coat change. She was at 5 1/2 weeks since her last full groom, which I shared here as well.
I didn’t take “official” before pics since I was gonna do her groom quick and not share this time. Hopefully it’s still helpful.
I used the clippers on her face for the first time. She did struggle a little bit but allowed me to do it. I did things a little bit different on her underside since she has swelling from being in heat.
The day before I did the bath and HV blow dry.
10 blade no guard: anus, base of tail, feet (did feet sloppy)
1/4” guard with the grain: top of body, front of chest, sides of body, legs
1/8” guard with the grain: front of neck, under ear area of neck/side of head, under chin, face, underside of body, genital area (nipples and vulva are swollen otherwise I’d have not used a guard here), inner back legs, armpits/legpits, butt.
3/8” guard with the grain of ears first. Then 5/8” guard on ears against the grain. Used curved shears to shorten the ear hair all around the edge of the ear leathers.
1” guard starting on back of neck up to topknot toward the front of head to make shorter quickly before shaping.
Then used curved shears to blend the back of the neck to body and shape the topknot. Also to tidy up hair on muzzle and around eyes since I can’t clip hair close enough to the eye when using a guard comb.
Shaped the tail using curved shears.
I didn’t bother tidying up her legs since it won’t be noticeable in a couple days that the shape isn’t good and there’s stragglers. Tidying up legs with shears seems to have the ability to be one of the most time consuming things of the groom.
Short blunt tip scissors to trim hair growing out of ear canal.
That first pic, with her little round face, had me cracking up. What a cute little girl. And great groom!! You're a pro. I bet Lacey feels amazing now.
I will be following your very helpful guide when I'm ready to take the plunge again.
I love she still has her tail! I thought about asking the breeder to leave our pup's in tact but weren't set on which puppy we'd take home at that point. I think you did a great job on her!
Great groom! I am so happy that our groomer is open and we have an appointment for next Monday. I may though buy myself a bravura after this and combined with my otter A5, which is old I may start doing more myself. I don't particularly enjoy grooming as I don't yet get the look I want but he is getting better and better for me and he really doesn't like the part of leaving me when I take him to the groomer. It would be a lot less stressful to just do it at home. One would think after going every 4 weeks for 2 years he would enjoy it more but he doesn't. But he looks so good when I pick him up...LOL see where I'm at?LOL
That first pic, with her little round face, had me cracking up. What a cute little girl. And great groom!! You're a pro. I bet Lacey feels amazing now.
I will be following your very helpful guide when I'm ready to take the plunge again.
I agree, she looks funny in the first pic! I like having her head round because it’s really cute, but wanted to switch it up. Still cute, I think! And thank you for the compliment
It’s pretty crazy how different she looks. Hard to believe it’s the same dog! She’s always really happy and I can tell she feels lighter and more comfy after her groom!
It would be a lot less stressful to just do it at home. One would think after going every 4 weeks for 2 years he would enjoy it more but he doesn't. But he looks so good when I pick him up...LOL see where I'm at?LOL
You doing it at home is more convenient but you’re also saving yourself time and backbreaking work you really hate doing by going to a groomer. If I had a standard I’d probably have a pro do the groom every other time. That’s a lot more dog to groom and harder to manipulate if not well trained!
A forum community dedicated to all Poodle owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about breeds, training, puppies, food reviews, grooming, and more.
