[Kathryn]

Took my 1-year old to new groomer. She SHAVED his ears! Said it was too matted to do anything else. It wasn’t, he admittedly was shaggy, but still has that soft puppy hair. I’m so upset. In all my years of owning poodles, I’ve never had a groomer do this. He doesn’t even look like a poodle! Will it ever grow back?

 

[cowpony]

Oh dear. Too bad she didn't do a proper German trim if she was going to shave the ears. Yes, the hair will grow back. It will seem like an agonizingly long time, but he will be fluffy again.

 

[reraven123]

It will, but ears take a really long time, sorry.

 

[Skylar]

His grooming is unique and not a traditional poodle style, but he’s still adorable. I think the mustache with the shaved ears looks a little terrier-like.

Good news….. yes they will definitely grow back. Bad news it will take almost a year before they are truly long, probably 8-9 months when they start to look more what you want. Don’t worry about the in between phase because that looks cute as it’s growing out. It won’t look awkward.

At one year of age he’s probably going through coat change which can mean lots of mats and tangles developing quickly, including 10 seconds after a complete combing to the skin. You might have brushed through and not had any problems but you might not have been aware there were mats near the skin. The last time I had a puppy poodle was decades ago and I had forgotten how bad coat change can be… it’s deceptively sneaky. when my puppy Theo started into coat change I put him in a German clip with shaved ears to make coat change easy for both of us. I found the area just behind the ears was the worst.

You and the groomer may have been correct. You may not have noticed mats that the groomer found. Groomers hate to untangle mats, it’s time consuming and they don’t have time because they have more dogs to groom on their schedule. Its a shame she didn’t call you to let you know there was a problem and she would shave the ears.

I happen to love the shaved ear look, poodles look like baby lambs or llamas. I’m keeping my puppy in the German clip…the one with a carrot tail, not the shaved version. It’s very easy to take care of and I think stylish. Several members here on PF have their dogs in this clip. Also take a look at Twyla’s Mr.Leonard Pink. He has adorable shaved ears with a groom that similar to your boy’s but with a shaved face and beard. For future grooms, while your boy’s ears grow out you might want to consider the German or Twyla’s style to make your boy look like a poodle and that the shaved ears were a deliberate choice.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

You might have brushed through and not had any problems but you might not have been aware there were mats near the skin.

This happened to us. I had no idea adolescent Peggy had thick mats along the edges of her ears. And my brushing was actually making them worse.

Our groomer said she’d try and salvage the fluff, but her priority (and ours!) was Peggy’s comfort. And ultimately she ended up in a much shorter clip.

I would ask your groomer to take down your pup’s face to balance him out and get him looking poodley again, and then enjoy his new streamlined look. I’m sure he’s more comfortable now.

 

[PennyDog]

I feel your pain. I’ve had to shave Penny’s ears shorter than that due to matting, twice now. It’s heartbreaking to lose the beautiful ears. But in a couple weeks they’ll be fluffy and match the rest of his head, even if they take longer to regain the full length.
I actually found the in-between fluffy stage so cute that think that’s how I’m going to keep Penny’s ears now. So hold out for a little while and wait for fluffy puppy ears to appear!

Make sure you brush and then comb out the ears fully as they grow back out, including right to the roots along the ear leather.

 

[TeamHellhound]

At around 11 months, I had to take Simon down with a #10 blade due to coat change matting that happened despite me brushing and combing practically every day.

2021-12-7 Simon DSC_6080 by Rosemary Elwell, on Flickr

At 15 months, he was back to being pretty floofy.

2022-5-18 Simon DSC_1294 by Rosemary Elwell, on Flickr

At 16 months, he gotten even more growth back, but I don't have a current picture.

 

[Starla]

I am sorry you are disappointed in the groom.
I keep Phoebe’s ears shaved, and she still looks like a poodle. 😉 I actually like them a bit fluffier, but shaved ears help release heat through vasodilation, and every little bit helps when you live in our hot humid climate.

 

[Spottytoes]

I’m sorry things didn’t turn out the way you had hoped and expected. Your pup is very adorable but if you want a more poodley poodle cut here’s what a German trim would look like on a little white poodle. 😊 It really does help to get you through coat change. Joey is almost one, just like your pup! 😊

 

[ttownjayne]

Spottytoes, Joey is so handsome! I remember when my boy went thru his coat change. I too thought I was on top of brushing. Unlike all of you, Trygve is my first poodle (and dog) so I had no idea what a coat change really entailed. I remember really looking at Trygve's ears and realizing they were like a pair of felted mittens. Like something beautiful knitted out of a fine Icelandic wool that one might buy on Etsy. But definitely not what you want to see on your dog. The solution? The German trim! Which was beautiful. The groomer we saw at the time was meticulous. He looked beautiful and I've kept his ears shaved ever since. But that first time with shaved ears? I almost cried. I'd never seen a German Clip. It just looked so weird to me!

Kathryn, you sound like you have way more experience than I did. But I do sympathize with the shock of first laying eyes on a radically different look for your dog. I bet his adorableness brings smiles to all who meet him. Personally I'd have the groomer go full German Clip, because that's now what I'm used to (and I think it's so nice on a male dog).

I solved the shaved ears problem by getting a second dog! 😆🐩🐩 During her coat change by this time I started grooming them myself.... You want to talk about funny looking! 😱) I brushed her ears with a Chris Christensen long-pinned slicker brush daily. I keep her ears long and fluffy!


Take heart Kathryn! You have a gorgeous boy however he's clipped 💝

 

[ttownjayne]

Here's a photo of Trygve's German trim

 

[EJStevenP]

It'll grow back. Up until about a year ago my Thomas and Ethel had long poodle ears. We switched groomers and she asked if I wanted their ears shaved down. Ethel was going through coat change and Thomas is too cranky and mad to put up with brushing so I said yes. It's been a lifesaver. I absolutely love it. No brushing, no pulling food out of ear hair, no wet ear hair, and NO ear infections. To each their own but it will come back. That's the joy of poodle life after all....GROOMING.

 

[scooterscout99]

I recently shaved both of my dogs for the same reasons as EJStevenP. I won't be combing the puppy nightly during coat change as I did with the older dog. The blow dry was much quicker as well!

 

[Audi]

I’m sorry things didn’t turn out the way you had hoped and expected. Your pup is very adorable but if you want a more poodley poodle cut here’s what a German trim would look like on a little white poodle. 😊 It really does help to get you through coat change. Joey is almost one, just like your pup! 😊 View attachment 493866
View attachment 493864
View attachment 493863
View attachment 493867

Oh my goodness! How precious is he?

 

[Kathryn]

This is Charlie BEFORE being sheared. Yes, I know he is shaggy, he HATES being brushed. He fights like you would not believe. It’s like trying to brush a squirrel. Any suggestions on a good brush to use on him?

 

[Miki]

TBH, I do not like a hairy face on a poodle, and really don't like a groom that makes a poodle look like a terrier. A poodle should look like a POODLE. BUT - but, but, but - your groomer did an incredible job with a poodle going through coat change. The grooming is obvious and impeccable. But your sweet heart Poodle looks like a terrier, which would drive me nuts.

Lose the facial hair and you'll have your poodle back, I guarantee. ❤🐩❤👏🐩👏❤

BTW- Your groomer can train you to train your sweet boy how to submit to grooming. Ultimately, grooming is/can be incredibly zen.

 

[Kathryn]

I will NEVER return to this groomer. To not even ASK if it was OK to shave his ears, knowing how long it takes for them to grow back is completely unacceptable. I like a fuzzy face. What you can’t see in the pic is that his entire body, including his legs are shaved, making his legs look all out of proportion to his body. He’s even embarrassed. He keeps hiding under the furniture!

 

[Heartland2022]

I will NEVER return to this groomer. To not even ASK if it was OK to shave his ears, knowing how long it takes for them to grow back is completely unacceptable. I like a fuzzy face. What you can’t see in the pic is that his entire body, including his legs are shaved, making his legs look all out of proportion to his body. He’s even embarrassed. He keeps hiding under the furniture!

I wouldn't blame you that is unacceptable. Surprising to hear the dog is hiding under furniture. It sounds like more than just a bad grooming. Hopefully I'm wrong and the dog is not traumatized from a mishandled painful grooming. Was this the first time you used this groomer? Maybe they had someone new on the job? I've read it's not uncommon for groomers to shave a poodle that is badly matted. Definitely unacceptable for them to do it without notifying you first. I still think the dog is a cutie though even shaved. Sorry to hear about your experience with this groomer. You asked for a brush recommendation further up the posts. I would use a medium or small size slicker brush.

 

[twyla]

You need to be able to get a comb through to the skin, I use a pin brush or slicker first and then comb my poodles out.
Coat change is brutal for both owner and poodle, that shaggy look hurt your dog when you brushed it.
I home groom, I keep my poodles short when I don't have time to maintain the long look, the first sign of tangling the hair comes off.

Longer coats need to be misted and line brushed daily, there are video under the grooming sub forum.

 

[Spottytoes]

Different groomers must do things differently. We’ve experienced 4 different groomers between both of our poodles. For every single groom time there is a discussion before hand. I think that your pup’s ears should have been discussed before hand and if there wasn’t a discussion a call should have been made to you so as to discuss the matting and options. I hope you will be able to find a groomer that you can work together and have a good relationship with.