[cowpony]

The length and upkeep of the hair makes a surprising difference in how the dog looks. I normally take my dogs to the groomer every 4 to 6 weeks. Galen missed his last groomer appointment because he had an upset stomach.. He now looks like a different dog with a much coarser head.

Clean, well groomed Galen:

Dirty, ungroomed Galen:

The brown stains around his mouth also illustrate why most people prefer to keep the facial hair short. Galen is a 1 1/2 year old blue dog. He should have a silvery grey ring of hair around his eyes and nose right now. (Eventually all his hair will turn grey.) Instead he has a brown ring.

Dog saliva and dog tears contain porphyrins that will stain the hair. Galen's upset stomach made him drool and lick his lips a lot for several days. The porphyrins in all that saliva stained his hair brown. He would look like an old man with a tobacco stained mustache if I tried to put him in a teddy bear trim right now. The next time he goes in for his grooming they will shave his face again. All the disgusting stained hair will be gone, and he will have his pretty silver face again.

 

[cowpony]

Very cute! How long is the hair on the head? Can it go lower than that?

His snout hair is about 3/4 inch in the second picture. His topknot in the second picture is around 3 inches long. Of course, it is curly hair. Sometimes it looks longer and more fluffy than other times. It's fluffier and straighter when he is fresh from the groomer, as in the first picture. It's more curly if it has gotten wet and dried naturally.

Regarding cutting the head hair short: "could" and "should" are two different things. Yes, you COULD go lower. You could shave the dog completely bald if you wanted. However, the dog would probably look very strange. My guess is that it would probably look like a Vizsla with an unusually bumpy head. Poodles are meant to have hair.

 

[cowpony]

Poodles haven't diverged into different physical types differentiating sporting and conformation lines the way, say, Labrador Retrievers have.

 

[cowpony]

I believe tail docking is no longer allowed in Australia, so a dog imported from there should have a full length tail.