# Grooming advice?



## muchan (Sep 18, 2011)

I've read about puppy coat changing to adult coat etc etc but I still have something I'm curious on.

What I had in mind is, I want to give a 'poodle' cut for Sugar but her coat is my main question. I've seen many poodles and most of them had this 'coarse' and 'hard' coat where it seems like it's the good coat if I want to give her a 'ball' cut on the legs. However, like shown in the photo, her coat is very soft and totally different from what I've seen on other poodles. Does that means she still have her puppy coat?

I was advised to shave her once to let the new coat grow and possibly her coat might turn into typical 'coarse (or adult coat?)' where it possible for me to give her the 'ball' cut on the legs. But I've also heard that, shaving bald a poodle will make the color fade and this make me confuse if I should keep the coat or shave it?

My other concern was, I have always wanted to give her a poodle cut; to shave her face but as you've seen on the photo, she seems to fall under 'teddy-bear' face where her muzzle is shorter than original/typical poodle and was thinking will she look good if I shave her face? I was having a hard time in choosing what kind of cut I want her to have thou I've been searching and seeing many poodles cut but I just cant seem to make any decision for the cut. Especially her tail, the tail looks 'fugly' for me. Don't get me wrong on this, I love her long and un-docked tail but the tail is not straight long but its actually 'curl' at the end (can't really see on the photo, unless I shave it then you can see it clearly).

Thus my main concern is if I should shave her bald or keep as it is? and should I shave her face or no? Any advices on what kind of cut I should consider for her would be appreciated


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

She looks to me to have a soft puppy coat - small poodles and apricot poodles are prone to soft coats, so it is not uncommon in toy apricots. I have never heard of shaving down to encourage coat growth, or that it changes the colour. It is sometimes necessary if the coat has become very matted, and dogs in show coat are often cut shorter when they finish their show career, but not usually shaved short.

If she were mine I would trim her into a shortish all over, with shaved face, feet and root of the tail, and keep a fairly good topknot on her head and pompom on her tail. A skilled groomer will be able to make the kink at the end of her tail look like part of the pom, and cut her topknot to balance it. I prefer the clean face look even on shorter muzzled poodles - with a little inverted V between the eyes the muzzle will look longer and more elegant. But if you like the teddybear look, that would work on her too!


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

I agree with fjm, she does appear to have a softish coat. A Miami (the "balls on the legs" trim you were referring to) will make her look a bit squatty IMO, as her legs are a bit shorter than would be considered ideal. Plus the poms would always look kinda flat since her coat is a bit soft looking. Iwould personally have her done in something similar to a lamb trim...shave her face feet and base of tail (or you could leave it full and long, since it's undocked), clip her body down to 3/8-1/2" of hair, and leave her legs fuller but well blended into the body. Ill see if I have some good pics of Trev in his modern trim, it's basically a fancier version of a lamb. 

To answer your questions more specifically: I think she'd be super cute with her face clipped. Her face isn't terribly short and she has such pretty eyes, clipping would open up her expression and focus attention on those eyes. 

About clipping her short all over: it will change neither the texture or color of her coat. Some people feel it changes those two things because a) their dog was going through coat change at the time of the clip, so the hair comes in with a different feel to it. And b) apricots, reds, and browns fade over time, and that fade starts at the roots. So when you clip off the top layer of coat, you reveal the newer hair which is lighter. So clipping actually had nothing to do with it other than reveal the new color.  

Oh, just had another thought: since she already has so much coat, why not put her into a teddy bear type trim, sort of like a bichon? You know, cute "pipe stove" legs, round face, cute round butt, all that. I do it with my Lhasa, people can't get over how adorable he is despite the fact that he's not the friendliest soul in the world to strangers. I'll try to find some good pictures and post them for you.


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## muchan (Sep 18, 2011)

Thank you for the advices *fjm *and *mom24doggies* 
I've always wanted to keep the looks of the breed itself instead of going for teddy bear looks. It might not seem tall but on her last grooming (when she was cut pretty short) I realize she had a tall and long legs which surprised me! (will dig out her previous photo and post it here).

Anyho, since I've been wanting to have typical poodle looks and since I got a clipper, earlier I attempted to shave her face myself. This is my first 'real' grooming I can say (usually only shave their pads and did basic grooming for my kids). Not sure if I'm doing it correctly but I LOVE how she looks with her face shaved!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

So do I - she is so pretty! And I rather envy you that black button nose - Poppy's has definitely lightened as she has got older.

If you experiment a little, you will find that cutting her short on her chest, tummy and rump can make her legs look longer - in fact it may only be the length of her hair that is making them look a shade short, if she looked leggy after her last trim. Poodle topiary!


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

She looks super cute with her face shaved. Congratulations for doing such a nice job your first time out.


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## Northern Lights (Feb 26, 2012)

Good job! I think she looks much nicer. :smile:


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## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

So cute!! I prefer a shaved face and she shows it off well!


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## PoodlePowerBC (Feb 25, 2011)

She looks great! Good job


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## petitpie (Nov 16, 2011)

Love her clipped face!


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