I am amazed at the rapidity of his growth.

07.06.2021 3.5kg ie 7.7lbs
13.06.2021 4.2kg ie 9.2lbs
06.07.2021 4.9kg ie 10.8lbs
02.08.2021 5.95kg 13.0lbs

He was born 10.02.2021.

Rusty is such a cutie and it’s lovely to see him bonded with his fur siblings.

They grow very quickly don’t they? My minipoo, Theo, is about one month ahead of Rusty at 7 months. He was slightly heavier than Rusty. He’s now 15.5 pounds and might be an oversized minipoo. Both his parents are minipoos with AKC championship so they both had to be between 10” and just under 15”. I met his mother and grandmother and both must have been slightly under 15”. I’m thrilled because this is the size I had hoped for. I think he’s probably finished growing in height but I’m not sure. Time will tell. Minipoos can finish growing anywhere between 7 months to a year.

You never know what size they will be. When you see the size of the parents you get a good estimate but there’s no guarantee and it’s not unheard of a puppy ending up being far larger or smaller than the parents. One of the parents of your dog has a herding dog as it’s parent because of your dog’s merle siblings. Between the herding dog as well as a miniature and toy mix your puppy has a lot of different influences for size. Rusty has clearly outgrown his tpoo mum.

He’s growing into a lovely furkid.

 

He’s adorable and seems to be doing so well with your Lab. Congratulations! Can’t wait to hear of his future adventures.

 

What an adorable poodle? My miniature poodle grew fast also.
Have fun with your mini poos. Poodles are so much of a joy.

 

Good to hear that fast growth is nothing to worry about!

He really is such a fantastic dog.

 

Looking adorable!
It's great isn't it ?
Do I see he has a little umbilical hernia ?
Poppy does too.
A very happy looking pack.

 

Havent noticed a hernia. Will have a good look when he wakes uo later!!!

 

He is now 6.5 kg/14.3lbs!!!

Full of bounce and very puppyish. Loves to chase butterflies and always up for a cuddle xxx

 

He is growing well, not weighed him for a bit. Have a labrador staying for a couple of nights which Rusty LOVED. He cried outside the bedroom door where labrador was having down time with his handler (one of my tennants is a dog trainer).

Rusty rolled on his back a lot and was very eager to follow his new friend everywhere!

Jojo was very laid back and did a lot of snoozing!

 

Rusty is 8 months old tomorrow. He is brilliant. Sleeps all night, is friendly with dogs and people. He is also going through a bit of a bark fest stage. Anything that he doesnt recognise (sights or sounds) triggers a lot of barking ...

When can I expect adolesence to start?

Cant add pics for some reason. The paperclip icon is pale and unresponsive!!!

 

Elroy (spoo) has started a barking phase too. 8 months old next week. It must be a thing!

 

The setting icon was red. Once I touched it it went pale grey and the paperclip icon now works just fine! Technology. No idea what made the settings icon red in the first place.

 

We met a brown miniature poodle on our evening walk today. He was just a bit taller and just a bit more full bodied than Rusty. He is 12!!! Looked in very good shape.

Rusty lay down very flat on the ground as this poodle approached but was soon sniffing then chasing!

I had a little stroke and he felt all soft, his curls were just a touch tighter than Rusty's.

Rusty is now snoozing, leaning against my leg. Awww.

 

It’s always exciting to see another poodle out and about. Even better if you get to meet them up close!

 

Rusty just loathes being brushed let alone combed. He also objects to being clipped and to having his nails cut.

He tolerated it all until a few weeks ago. He is 9 months old.

He will gently put his mouth round my hand and try to stop me doing snything to him. He tries to do the same to the clippers, brush and comb!

Going to buy some full on yummies and go right back to basics.

Any ideas welcome.

 

Be gentle with the grooming tools, but do not stop the grooming session when he objects or he will realize that objecting gets what he wants! You can say "No" firmly and push his mouth away from the tool or hand.

 

Are you still having issues with all of those grooming activities? It seems a little bit unusual that he was tolerant up until 9 months and then suddenly won’t accept any of it. It could be that he’s going through a rebellious phase, like a teen? Or maybe something is hurting him and he doesn’t want to be touched? I’m not sure. I don’t have any good suggestions except constant flow of treats and doing short sessions a couple times a day.

 

Thank you Porkchop. I think that I left his coat too long for a while and so grooming became uncomfortable.

I have been doing a tiny bit of brushing combing and clipping every other day with copious treats.

I often just touch him with the brush or scissors then treat him and only groom him on his chair or on the grooming table.

He is such a great little dog and is very gentle about trying to stop my carrying on the grooming, etc.

 

You’re welcome. Hopefully after a hair cut he’ll go back to allowing grooming as before. Good for Rusty being gentle while getting his message across!

 

Well the grooming is a bit easier. Up on the table, groom with very soft brush. Off the table and treats.

On table, some light combing and clipping. Off the table and treats.

Been scissoring his leggies as he is very clipper shy about them, esp his front ones.

He let me clip his head, neck and baxk legs yesterday. Yay!

Will still do micro sessions with occasional bigger ones.

He is such a wonderful puppy. 10 months old now xxx

 

Rusty is now 11 months 0ld. Still doing tiny grooming sessions and keeping him in a short back and sides kind of cut with slightly fluffy ears.

What sized metal blade could I use to give him a close cut? I have metal combs but want a blade due to him having some mats. I have the whal arco 5 in 1 battery clippers.

Can you change the metal blade on them?

 

I know these clippers/blades/combs can be confusing til you really see the difference between any 5 in 1 clipper and the other style which uses single cut length detachable blades.

This thread of yours from a week or so ago will have more detail but the short answer is that only 5 in 1 blades fit the Arco or any other 5 in 1 clipper (ok, 1 exception but that's for surgical shave).

Your longest length on the Arco is about 2mm, the #10 setting on the far left when looking at the blade.

That's really close and shouldn't be necessary to get under the mats. He'd look like he's been skinned.

In another of these grooming threads, Starvt wrote that the #5 length single detachable blade (not available for a 5 in 1) will get under most mats. That's about 1/4" left on Rusty.

Your equivalent would be the second shortest comb, which is 1/4", placed over the 5 in 1 blade also set on it's shortest setting, the #40.
If that doesn't get under them and clip thru, try the 1/8" comb, and if that still doesn't, you're left with the #10 setting, the 2mm and no comb. If you still can't get thru, it's time for the professionals.

Hoping someone else drops by to offer more info.

The blade designations on this chart are the single length detachable blades. The 5 in 1 blade has the equivalent in the #10 but to get the additional length, the combs are used to extend the cut length on a 5 in 1 rather than detaching the blade of one length and reattaching a different blade with a different single cut length.

This is Remo freshly groomed with my 5 in 1 set on #30 40 and the 1/4" comb.

 

Ah thank you, that is really helpful.

 

I think this is the post of Starvt's that I was thinking of.

For anyone who can't brush their dog, you can still clip as long as you use a shorter blade, not a comb. A 4f or even a 7 will get through most tangles. A 4 will get through all but the worst matts. I have used a 4 on a dog so terribly matted that most came off in one giant piece.
I would also suggest to not bathe first if you can't brush out. Bathing will tighten the knots up. The blades will dull faster on a dirty coat but it will work perfectly well for a short trim.

It seems that the 5 in 1 blade with a comb probably wont work too well. You can give it a try but if the clipper gets caught by a mat, I'd just back out as carefully as you can and go straight either for the longest setting with no comb or see if you can get him to groomer, maybe even your vet can do this, as soon as possible. If you saw Starvt's thread about the consequences of matting left too long, you won't wait.

This probably isn't anything you'd want to do deliberately, but if it's got to come off, you might as well clear out some of the less matted hair first by going for one of the "vintage" poodle trims. Of course, this will depend on where the matting is worst.

Something like this

JACKET AND PANTS CLIP

Face, neck area, body, feet and base of tail are shaved closely. The legs, top knot, and tail are left fluffy and are rounded. Length of the legs depends upon preference.

 

If your dog has mats, those combs that fit over the clipper will get stuck on a mat. If it's your only mat you can comb/brush it out and continue to clip. However if you have lots of mats this will not work.

You have two options:
1- use a clipper that takes a variety of blades - depending on how bad the mats are you might be able to get a longer length.

2- use the Arco #10 or blade setting. My silver minipoo gets very hot in the summer - seriously hot. I clip her down with my Bravura set on #10. I go with the grain, not against it - going against it will clip even closer which you don't want with this short blade.

I used to take Babykins to a groomer for about a year - one where I could be with her during the grooming session (she had a bad experience at PetSmart and was traumatized so I had to be with her). I used to see them dealing with badly matted Labradoodles - OMG they hated those dogs. They used #10 blades on them.

 

Yes the combs get stuck on the mats which Rusty was most unimpressed about (me too).

There are just a few close to the skin mats under his belly and all round his boy bits. Not easy areas to reach esp with a wriggly 'no thanks mum' young poodle!

Gonna have to be a groomer trip and lots of treats coupled with daily brushing and combing. Gradually.

Planning ti buy the book about taking the grr out of grooming.

 

I usually do the 'undercarriage' with a 10! Inner thighs, around the boy bits, up to the sternum. Armpits too if I can.
I found two ways to get at those areas in the beginning (now I can just hoist a leg in the air).
One way is to have your dog facing you, and put his paws up on your shoulder/back. Then you can kind of duck down and take a few swift swipes at the belly.
The other way is to sit on the floor and get your dog to lie down for a belly rub. Sneak in a swipe with the clipper in between pets.
Might not be pretty but once the mats are put of the way it's easier to touch up.