[For Want of Poodle]

That lady would be horrified with me. My 10 blade needs sharpening and I only have one, so I have shaved Annie with a 15 blade in the past.

I imagine she'd also be shocked to hear what blade show groomers use on the shaved parts of the body! And vets!

I try to shave Annie down before she gets matted when I know I'll be too busy to keep up. She's been in everything from a continental to a royal dutch to a complete shave down.

As for non traditional cuts, not really sure what those include? maybe some of the creative grooming, Modern trim, etc? Yes, I'll try anything unless it has long hair on the face. Although If I had an apricot or red poodle, I'd be very tempted by this trim:

My biggest problem with some of the fun trims like the Modern is that my hands hurt if I spend too much time brushing, and my dog likes to run into patches of burrs on our walks!

 

[Cariboo Poodle]

In the summer I clip all my dogs bodies down with a number 10 blade. My Golden Doodle I even clip her head right down but on the more Poodles I try and leave more topknot and clean off their feet. They are never matted and do very little brushing if any even when they grow longer. Don't know if it is the texture of their coats but even the times I have taken them into a groomer, they always remark that I must brush them a lot because no matts, even though they have not been brushed.

 

[Cariboo Poodle]

Gypsy, the dog on the left has completely lost her black front legs now, they have faded to grey, Bonnie, in the middle is the Golden Doodle, Gypsy's mother by a purebred Poodle and Izzy is my little rescue Poodle.

 

[Skylar]

I’m not even sure what a Traditional cut is or what a Non-traditional one is?

Who is deciding which is what? Someone can argue a Miami is not traditional because it’s not a clip allowed in AKC conformation. Styles change over time so what was allowed in the conformation ring 30 years ago has been tweaked by time into something a little different if you look closely at the details such as the length and shape of the jacket or the topknot.

Is a German clip traditional? It’s not in my 1972 edition of Shirlee Kalstone poodle grooming book. The Summe Miami is in the book.

Perhaps if you defined what you meant and posted photos I could better understand the question and answer it.

I don’t mean o be snarky but I just don’t know what you think traditional and non-traditional means.

 

[reraven123]

Is a German clip traditional? It’s not in my 1972 edition of Shirlee Kalstone poodle grooming book.

The German clip in the Kalstone book is not the same as what is described or shown in photos on PF. The body and leg hair is much longer. This photo is what is described in her book (with optional mustache).

 

[Skylar]

Reraven that is an impressively groomed dog. Wish I could achieve such a polished look on Theo.

There’s several editions of her book Mine was the 8th printing in 1972 and has no German clip at all. I wish it did. Maybe one day I’ll buy another edition that has it.

Like many things overtime styles change, get tweaked etc. Lots of poodle clips have subtle changes even in the AKC conformation ring

 

[NaturalPoodle]

I’m not even sure what a Traditional cut is or what a Non-traditional one is?

Who is deciding which is what? Someone can argue a Miami is not traditional because it’s not a clip allowed in AKC conformation. Styles change over time so what was allowed in the conformation ring 30 years ago has been tweaked by time into something a little different if you look closely at the details such as the length and shape of the jacket or the topknot.

Is a German clip traditional? It’s not in my 1972 edition of Shirlee Kalstone poodle grooming book. The Summe Miami is in the book.

Perhaps if you defined what you meant and posted photos I could better understand the question and answer it.

I don’t mean o be snarky but I just don’t know what you think traditional and non-traditional means.

I understand Skylar, I anticipated this question and should have clarified it more in my original post. "Traditional" is my novice way of simply describing clips commonly associated with poodles, those which are most commonly spread across groomers' and poodle grooming books' repertoires. I realize not all poodle grooming books will have a German clip, but it has come to be a recognizably common clip on poodles to me at least. From my limited experience, I would brand the Continental, Miami, German, Scandi, English Saddle, Kennel, Puppy, Lion, Lamb, perhaps Asian Fusion, etc as examples of poodle clips.

Some "traditional" poodle cuts would fall on a sheet like this for instance:

"Non-traditional" I would describe as what falls outside of the expected styles for poodles, for instance a doodle-type clip, as I indicated in my first post, or creative grooming could be a good addition to that category, as For Want of Poodle mentioned.

One example of a "non-traditional" clip for a poodle in my eyes could be something like below. Some associations I have with a non-poodley clip include a furry face, shaggy body, more or less naturally grown out or the same length all over.

I hope I explained myself a bit better this time. Thanks for your feedback

 

[NaturalPoodle]

Here's another example of what I would consider "non-traditional" for a poodle. Not much topknot, furry face, mostly one length.

And of course there's always something like this Gotta love creative grooming.

 

[Tulsi]

Ooo I love the not much top knot furry face, mostly one length look.

 

[94Magna_Tom]

Got to mix it up!

 

[Skylar]

Thanks Naturalpoodle - that helps - although all the traditional looks have clean faces - but there were mustaches that were popular in the 50's and 60's too.

I'm all for any style that the dog is comfortable with and the owner can keep mat free and tidy. So I'm open to almost anything. But I do prefer a clean face because it's easier to keep the dog clean.

 

[Raindrops]

I think when most people say "non-traditional" they mean without shaved faces. But I'd also say pony clips and all-over clips are non-traditional. I think people who are involved with the breed have a dislike for fluffy faces because they cover up the structure of the dog's face that breeders consider so important. But I think most are fine with their puppy buyers choosing any style so long as they maintain it well.

I have on rare occasions seen those weird people who believe poodles should be long and fluffy. But I think that's obscure pet people and not groomers or breeders!

Personally I have a huge dislike for grossness on a dog's face like eye gunk buildup or wet beards. Most dogs with fluffy faces seem to have issues with these. But definitely not all of them if the owner keeps on top of cleaning the face. I grew Misha's face out once and I enjoyed the change for a bit, but after a while I felt like I couldn't connect with him as well without seeing his facial expressions.

I think a lot of people look at the shaved face/feet poodle cuts and think they are frou frou. To me it's the opposite. A shaved face is always dry and clean and the eyes are easy to keep clean. Shaved feet don't track in mud and don't get painful burrs caught between the toes. I feel like the shaved face/feet developed as a practical method for keeping these dogs clean.

Here are pics of Misha in various styles.

 

[NaturalPoodle]

@Skylar I was thinking of those mustaches in the 50s and 60s, they were definitely more "coiffed" than an all over shaggy face though. I think Winston Churchill had such a one he adored. Actually I saw one on social media recently as well, it's a funky style.

@Raindrops Misha is a gorgeous poodle in any clip! BTW I occasionally show your YT video of Misha doing the flying trot to friends and family, he's lovely.

I do like the long and fluffy look on a poodle as well as almost any clip, so I may just be one of those weird people ha ha.

I think I would come to the same conclusion after trying a full face though, I am a bit averse to the feeling of wet whiskers on a dog, not to mention the potential discoloration around the mouth and eyes on light-coloured dogs with a shaggy face.

Thanks for the input!

 

[curlflooffan]

I wonder what a traditional clip is though? because there are 'old-fashioned' pet clips also, I think most people will have seen poodles in those clips in real life rather in a contintental. I think people are most likely to be surprised to see a poodle in a teddy bear style.

Personally I don't care as long as the dog is matt-free and comfortable. I much prefer to see a poodle who is shaved completely naked than a fluffy one who is matted. Yes when I look at pictures online of course I prefer one style over the other and I do have great affection for the old fashioned styles including the show clips. But I don't judge people for not styling their poodles that way. I experiment with Evra, she is currently in a very uneven miami clip because her behaviour on the grooming table needs improving (we are working on it!). Also when she was a puppy and my brushing technique was still in development and I discovered little matts under her front legs I shaved her down. When she started coat change and she would get matts in her topknot and ears literally every single day despite brushing I switched her from a banded topknot to a scissored one. As a result her behaviour with brushing has improved a lot because I didn't push on with painful dematting.

I would have loved to have kept her in a (show) puppyclip or a scandinavian but behaviour wise she just wasn't ready for that kind of high maintenance style. Its still my goal. We have made a lot of progress with the brushing (although still some work to do there) and her behaviour towards the hair dryer is MUCH better now. So my plan is to keep her short over the summer, keep going with the training and see if we are ready to start growing into a scandinavian next winter. But we will see, whatever my personal style preferences are her comfort comes first.

 

[curlflooffan]

It does annoy and confuse me though how emotional people get about poodle hairstyles and its very often from people who don't have poodles!

I have seen breeders/groomers/handlers harassed online when they are showing videos of themselves grooming their show poodles. The poodle is literally asleep on the grooming table, even snoring, while the person is banding the hair and the comments are like 'that is so cruel!'

Honestly, and I include my Evra in this!, I think the grooming of a lot of 'pet poodles' and dogs is 'crueler' not because of the style but because the dogs are not trained and desensitised to the grooming process like the show dogs are. The show dogs are super chil and relaxed while my Evra is still convinced that the clipper is a beast thats going to eat her tail!

 

[ShelleyDickison]

I would love to have Miss Shay in a Continental or English Saddle clip, but I know me. I just wouldn’t be able to spend all the time needed to maintain it everyday. She goes to the groomers every 4 weeks and gets the face, feet and lady bits shaved and she is keeping her top knot and ears long with a poof tail. It works for her and me and I think she looks cute. This is a week before her grooming appointment. My only problem is when she comes back from the groomers she’s all blown out and straight looking. Someone told me to just miss her down and she’ll go back to curly so I’ll try that this time.

 

[Kait]

I just thought it was really weird how upset she was over it. And she would not shut up about it, so I was just like "Whatever, bye", and blocked her.

I had someone else jump on me recently because I said I used a #10 blade to do the Miami pattern. She wanted to know where on earth I'd ever heard it was okay to use that close a blade on his body. For some reason, she never replied to my comment, which was this photo of this page from the Shirlee Kalstone book.

View attachment 491280

I’m pretty sure I saw that thread on Facebook and my eyes rolled so hard it nearly gave me a migraine 😂

 

[Kait]

Personally I actually find the shaggy face “doodle” look pretty cute when it’s not all matted. The maintenance to keep it that way sucks though, and the longer face always leads to water dribbled everywhere from the bowl, and his beard picks up crumbs from his food which end up in his water and then he refuses to drink until I get him fresh water, so clean face it is. Plus it stops the constant “what kind of doodle is he?” comments.
I typically keep Tuck in a modified puppy clip. He doesn’t get clean feet because he won’t tolerate it (maybe some day), and I don’t have his groomer shave the base of his tail, but his tail is kept longer than his body.

The before here is the result of a bunch of back to back storms and Covid issues making several attempts at rebooking his appointment keep getting cancelled, so he went 12 weeks between grooms instead of his typical 6. Poor dude could barely see and his face was always such a mess.

This is how he is most of the time. Not quite traditional poodle clip, but still very poodley IMO.

 

[Raindrops]

I would love to have Miss Shay in a Continental or English Saddle clip, but I know me. I just wouldn’t be able to spend all the time needed to maintain it everyday. She goes to the groomers every 4 weeks and gets the face, feet and lady bits shaved and she is keeping her top knot and ears long with a poof tail. It works for her and me and I think she looks cute. This is a week before her grooming appointment. My only problem is when she comes back from the groomers she’s all blown out and straight looking. Someone told me to just miss her down and she’ll go back to curly so I’ll try that this time.

Yep, wetting her down will definitely bring back the curls. I'm the opposite and love the blown-out look so I'm always trying to keep Misha out of the rain to keep it longer. For best curls I would recommend spraying with a solution of water with a bit of conditioner added. I use a leave-in conditioner but a dash of their normal conditioner often works fine.

 

[Skylar]

Here is one of Churchill’s brown minipoos. I’m not sure if this is Rufus1 or Rufus 2. It was taken in 1950. There’s photos of his dogs with fluffy faces. Bulldog spirit, but Churchill was a softie when it came to his dogs. Source of photo.