# Teddy bear cut



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Hi there. It is actually really helpful and important that the breeder has groomed your pup. Javelin had been groomed 3X by the time I picked him up and it made it so much easier to help him to be really relaxed during grooming. No matter what clip you want your dog to have they have to at least accept and preferably be really relaxed during grooming. With a fuzzy face I suspect there is even more work than with a clean poodle face since the face will always be getting wet and potentially food can get stuck in the facial hair. Personally I really like clean poodle faces and do faces at least one every 10-14 days. I suspect it will be months before you would really have a full teddy bear face.


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## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

Because grooming will be so much a part of your poodle's life, I think you should keep her face clean shaven for several months, to ensure that she is accustomed to it being clipped. After the initial training period, then you can choose whatever style you like. Make sure you have her paws clipped, too. There is nothing like the nightmare of dealing with an adult poodle that never got used to be clipped. Hang in there, that teddy bear clip will be just as cute when your little girl is a year old!


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## asuk (Jan 6, 2017)

i agree with both posts. but to answer your question how long the hair grows? could be a couple of months, could be 6 months, i think it depends on the poodle. i tried growing my poodle facial hair for a teddy bear cut for halloween, after 2 months, the attached picture is how much it grew from a clean shaven face= not very much. so i think for milo, it would be at least 6 months before its fluffy.

in the beginning, i groomed milo probably every 2nd day just to get him used to grooming, we may not do anything at times, perhaps just running the clipper minus blades on him.


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## chinchillafuzzy (Feb 11, 2017)

I agree with what has been said above - my neighbor got a spoo puppy a few months ago and wanted the teddy bear look, but I convinced her that teaching the puppy to tolerate grooming is more important than having that clip right away. After a few times of clean face and feet (with about a 10 blade, so not super short) she decided she preferred that look and now keeps her face and feet shaved because she likes it. I am so happy that we did those first few shaves when she was small because an adult spoo that hates to be groomed is about the worst nightmare for any groomer. If you are really against it, make sure to use electric toothbrushes on her face and feet every couple of days to simulate clippers, and use clippers with the blade taken off, just held up against the face so that she can feel the vibrations. Good job to your groomer for shaving the pups already. Hopefully she will plan to do it a few more times before your girl comes home. It will probably take a few months to grow long enough for a teddy bear clip, depending on how long you want it.


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## Cortneyelise1 (Aug 27, 2017)

Ugh so change of plans. I ended up going with a breeder closer by and paid the down deposit before I read this! She hasn't yet groomed the dog, which I thought I wanted, but after reading your response I'm a little concerned!


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## Cortneyelise1 (Aug 27, 2017)

asuk said:


> i agree with both posts. but to answer your question how long the hair grows? could be a couple of months, could be 6 months, i think it depends on the poodle. i tried growing my poodle facial hair for a teddy bear cut for halloween, after 2 months, the attached picture is how much it grew from a clean shaven face= not very much. so i think for milo, it would be at least 6 months before its fluffy.
> 
> in the beginning, i groomed milo probably every 2nd day just to get him used to grooming, we may not do anything at times, perhaps just running the clipper minus blades on him.


Your puppy is ADORABLE!! I haven't purchased blades but I will look into it. Can I learn to groom him myself?


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## asuk (Jan 6, 2017)

Cortneyelise1 said:


> Your puppy is ADORABLE!! I haven't purchased blades but I will look into it. Can I learn to groom him myself?


Thank you! Yes, you can learn to groom your puppy yourself. Tons of YouTube videos. I don't have a groomer close by so I have been grooming milo since day 1. He did go for his very first pro grooming when we were on vacation when he was 5 months old. The groomer was shocked? that his clean shaven face was done by me. So I am glad that I am doing it right, But she was also impressed how good he was at the grooming table. Grooming is really a part of a poodle's life.


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## Cortneyelise1 (Aug 27, 2017)

asuk said:


> Thank you! Yes, you can learn to groom your puppy yourself. Tons of YouTube videos. I don't have a groomer close by so I have been grooming milo since day 1. He did go for his very first pro grooming when we were on vacation when he was 5 months old. The groomer was shocked? that his clean shaven face was done by me. So I am glad that I am doing it right, But she was also impressed how good he was at the grooming table. Grooming is really a part of a poodle's life.


Okay, I'll have to check those out! IS it true they need to be groomed about once a month?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

You should look at some of the grooming threads. I generally do maintenance combing several times per week and FFT every week to ten days and depending on how things are with dirt, rain, etc. I give baths and full grooms once or twice a month.


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## Cortneyelise1 (Aug 27, 2017)

lily cd re said:


> You should look at some of the grooming threads. I generally do maintenance combing several times per week and FFT every week to ten days and depending on how things are with dirt, rain, etc. I give baths and full grooms once or twice a month.


Thanks so much! This is my first poodle so I just want to do everything correctly.


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## chinchillafuzzy (Feb 11, 2017)

Cortneyelise1 said:


> Ugh so change of plans. I ended up going with a breeder closer by and paid the down deposit before I read this! She hasn't yet groomed the dog, which I thought I wanted, but after reading your response I'm a little concerned!


I would think really hard about it, and if you can stand to have a shaved face, I would definitely request that the breeder do the face feet and tail/privates once a week until your puppy comes home. The first 3-5 times are going to be the most difficult, and you do not want your very first shaving experience to also be the very first shaving experience for the puppy. That is a recipe for disaster.

Puppies are adorable, doesn't matter if the face is shaved or shaggy - most of us here are partial to shaved, but it is totally personal preference. But even shaved the pup will still be adorable. Seriously think about it, and have the breeder start doing it NOW if you decide to try it out. Otherwise you will definitely need a pro groomer for the first many times. Even if your breeder does the shaving a couple of times, I would have a professional groomer groom the puppy at least once or twice before you start in on it yourself. Just my opinion! I used to be a pro groomer, and hated having to groom the dogs that weren't worked with as puppies!


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## Cortneyelise1 (Aug 27, 2017)

lily cd re said:


> You should look at some of the grooming threads. I generally do maintenance combing several times per week and FFT every week to ten days and depending on how things are with dirt, rain, etc. I give baths and full grooms once or twice a month.


Thank you so much for all of your input! I will check out that thread. One last question- Im picking my puppy up and its going to be about a 10 hour drive. I feel nervous about putting him on a plane so decided to get him myself. Do you have any tips for traveling that amount of time with a new puppy?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Will you have someone with you in the car? If you weren't planning on it I would recruit someone to travel with you. Is it ten hours round trip or one way? You should figure that a five hour trip with a young puppy may be closer to six hours with stops. Our GSD came from about five hours away it was a long trip home with lots of stops. Neither of our poodles came from that far away, but even though the trip home with Lily was only half an hour she managed to poop all over herself in the crate. 

Make sure you bring some towels to use as "disposable" bedding. Make sure you have a crate to keep the pup in if you can't directly hold her. Bring plenty of paper towels in case of messy accidents. I would bring potty pads to put her on for potty stops if they are in areas where other dogs are frequently present. I would say make sure she has eaten at least an hour before you start driving. Don't give much food on the drive, but do make sure you keep her well hydrated. If the pup is a tpoo then I would also say you want pedialyte or other sweet liquid supplement in case she gets hypoglycemic.


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## Cortneyelise1 (Aug 27, 2017)

asuk said:


> Thank you! Yes, you can learn to groom your puppy yourself. Tons of YouTube videos. I don't have a groomer close by so I have been grooming milo since day 1. He did go for his very first pro grooming when we were on vacation when he was 5 months old. The groomer was shocked? that his clean shaven face was done by me. So I am glad that I am doing it right, But she was also impressed how good he was at the grooming table. Grooming is really a part of a poodle's life.


Thats awesome! I'm a little nervous to try but I suppose I have to start somewhere!


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## Cortneyelise1 (Aug 27, 2017)

chinchillafuzzy said:


> I agree with what has been said above - my neighbor got a spoo puppy a few months ago and wanted the teddy bear look, but I convinced her that teaching the puppy to tolerate grooming is more important than having that clip right away. After a few times of clean face and feet (with about a 10 blade, so not super short) she decided she preferred that look and now keeps her face and feet shaved because she likes it. I am so happy that we did those first few shaves when she was small because an adult spoo that hates to be groomed is about the worst nightmare for any groomer. If you are really against it, make sure to use electric toothbrushes on her face and feet every couple of days to simulate clippers, and use clippers with the blade taken off, just held up against the face so that she can feel the vibrations. Good job to your groomer for shaving the pups already. Hopefully she will plan to do it a few more times before your girl comes home. It will probably take a few months to grow long enough for a teddy bear clip, depending on how long you want it.


Thanks for all of your advice! If I do decide to keep that cut the electric toothbrush thing sounds like a great idea. I watched a youtube video of an older dog getting groomed and it looked terrible!! He was moving all over the place and had no tolerance for it. So I will def keep that in mind!


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## pao_uk (Dec 30, 2017)

perfecting "teddy bear" takes forever to get it right AND you have to make sure groomer knows how to do it. 

we now found japanese lady who knows this cut my heart and we are only using her. having said that we are not there yet and with each cut we are improving.

previously we had a horrible surprise when Biscuit came back clean shaved :afraid: even though we asked groomer not to do that.

second groomer styled her on cockapoo, which was also a fail.

hair grows back...yes...but on face seems like forever...:suspicious:

good luck !


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## mommymunoz (Nov 4, 2017)

I got my spoo when she was 16 weeks old. She had only been groomed once by the breeder before she went to her first home and those people never groomed her. Here is what she looked like when we first got her. I suspect this is about 8-10 weeks of growth








She is now 24 weeks old and I have been grooming her twice a week (short sessions) for the last 2 months. She fights her face being groomed so bad. She is doing really well with her feet and tail now but at first that was even nearly impossible. I had also never groomed a dog before or even turned on clippers for that matter. I did lots of reading on this forum and videos on YouTube and we are getting a lot more used to grooming but it would have been great for her to have come home already somewhat familiar with what was happening. 
This is her now. I did her feet and tail yesterday and it has been a week since I did her face. So far I only have a 10 blade so it’s not super short.










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Lorib64 (Dec 28, 2017)

lily cd re said:


> Hi there. It is actually really helpful and important that the breeder has groomed your pup. Javelin had been groomed 3X by the time I picked him up and it made it so much easier to help him to be really relaxed during grooming. No matter what clip you want your dog to have they have to at least accept and preferably be really relaxed during grooming. With a fuzzy face I suspect there is even more work than with a clean poodle face since the*face will always be getting wet* and potentially food can get stuck in the facial hair. Personally I really like clean poodle faces and do faces at least one every 10-14 days. I suspect it will be months before you would really have a full teddy bear face.


Yes. my dog has a teddy bear cut (he is a mix) and when he drinks he gets wet. 

I think it was his first time being groomed, and he did pretty well with the groomer. He seemed startled the first time I just brushed him. He is used to that now.


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## pao_uk (Dec 30, 2017)

oh yes its a palava! face gets wet when they drink. (we have towel next to her bowl and she is a very good girl and after she drinks she just sits there like a princess waiting for human to wipe her mouth!)

gets stinky when they eat wet food. 

gets dirty when they sniff in wet grass...all that jazz! but thats the perks of having a hairy dog! :act-up:


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## tardigreat (Mar 3, 2017)

We brought Myshkin home at five months with a clean shaven face. At seven, we had his face fur evened out to a sort of awkward teddy bear, and by nine months, it was a full fledged beard. It doesn't take too long to grow out, but you might want to weigh your choices of clean vs. teddy bear. I came into poodle owning absolutely hating the shaven face, but after having to clean Myshkin's furry face of water, sticks and leaves, and chunks of food, the poodle look has grown on me a lot.


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## Marie Griffin (Jul 19, 2020)

Hi I have a 6 month old teacup poodle! She has a shaved face and full groom at 12 weeks old and luckily for me adores the groomer and is never any trouble she is a model pup as the groomer calls her I keep her in a long cut normally but after she kept getting matted / stuff stuck in her hair all the time I got her body and legs and top of her head cut shorter this time this is her face now after 3 months of growing her hair out around her muzzle etc before and after her groom


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## Nooshi (Feb 14, 2021)

Guys,

I am new standard poodle owner and I am waiting for my puppy. I have been reading a lot about poodles clippings. Here is the confusion:
First of all, I really don’t like poodle classic/standard clip. I don’t like the shaved face and long nose. I like the teddy bear cut and a shaggy and cute look. Honestly, because of that I wanted to get a doodle but my husband convinced me that poodles can have the same look with teddy bear hair cut and we should get a purebred poodle who is 100% non shedding and smarter. I was convinced and I love them.
Now after searching and reading forums, people keep saying it is not sanitary to keep hair on the poodle’s face and etc.. I also cannot find enough pictures of standard poodles who look like doodles. 
My question to all: how come people don’t say this for doodles? Or other fluffy breeds? They don’t shave dogs faces and ppl don’t say that is required for them. Is there anything specific about poodles that everyone suggest shaving their face?


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Nooshi said:


> Guys,
> 
> I am new standard poodle owner and I am waiting for my puppy. I have been reading a lot about poodles clippings. Here is the confusion:
> First of all, I really don’t like poodle classic/standard clip. I don’t like the shaved face and long nose. I like the teddy bear cut and a shaggy and cute look. Honestly, because of that I wanted to get a doodle but my husband convinced me that poodles can have the same look with teddy bear hair cut and we should get a purebred poodle who is 100% non shedding and smarter. I was convinced and I love them.
> ...


I think this is a very interesting question, that could generate some good discussion. Since this is an old thread, with a very specific question from the OP, it may cause some confusion or not get much attention. Would love if you’d copy and paste your question into a new thread!

Let me know if you have any questions about how to do that and welcome to Poodle Forum


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## Basil_the_Spoo (Sep 1, 2020)

Nooshi said:


> My question to all: how come people don’t say this for doodles? Or other fluffy breeds? They don’t shave dogs faces and ppl don’t say that is required for them. Is there anything specific about poodles that everyone suggest shaving their face?


I think it comes down to culture. There's a posh and elegant aesthetic with poodles that some of us are drawn to, but not all of us are - and that's okay. At the end of the day, you can totally do what you want to your furbaby.

Here's the analogy - Imagine if your husband had a teddy bear beard (lol, I'm a guy so I'm imagining this myself too) but he couldn't take care of it by himself. You had to. You might find bits of beef jerky, dried slobber, residue from gum, and everytime he drank water his beard would hold it like a sponge and get all over you. He wouldn't be able to keep it clean with just his tongue, like a dog. After a while, that might get old because YOU have to take care of it. It would be easier to maintain if it's shaved.

Your puppy will get sap from pinecones, dirt from grass clumps, pine needles, and water in there. You and your husband are the furparents and it is going to be easier to take care of if there's no hair for it to nest in. If keeping it clean feels like a chore then buzz it off. At the end of the day we all just want clean puppy kisses, not gross ones. If your happy to maintain it (like a guy beard), then keep it. By all means see what works best for you two and what your willing or not willing to tolerate. You're getting a poodle, so both is an option. 

The other thing to consider is that grooming can get expensive since they're single coat breed that always grows and never sheds. Hence why a lot of us choose to groom at home. it's a simple decision to just shave the face too while your at it by the time you start the process from nose to tail. Its like cleaning your car, checking your fluids under the hood, and cleaning your windows while your filling up your tank. You might as well do car stuff since you're already taking the time to do it.

Hopefully this gives you some clarity and peace of mind.


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## Nooshi (Feb 14, 2021)

Basil_the_Spoo said:


> I think it comes down to culture. There's a posh and elegant aesthetic with poodles that some of us are drawn to, but not all of us are - and that's okay. At the end of the day, you can totally do what you want to your furbaby.
> 
> Here's the analogy - Imagine if your husband had a teddy bear beard (lol, I'm a guy so I'm imagining this myself too) but he couldn't take care of it by himself. You had to. You might find bits of beef jerky, dried slobber, residue from gum, and everytime he drank water his beard would hold it like a sponge and get all over you. He wouldn't be able to keep it clean with just his tongue, like a dog. After a while, that might get old because YOU have to take care of it. It would be easier to maintain if it's shaved.
> 
> ...


Thank you! Why don’t ppl consider shaving face for other fluffy breeds like doodles? Are these hygiene issues still there for doodles?


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

Nooshi said:


> Thank you! Why don’t ppl consider shaving face for other fluffy breeds like doodles? Are these hygiene issues still there for doodles?


Oh there definitely is! Any dog with a beard has the same hygiene issues. Beards take a ton of work to keep clean and maintain. Most doodles I know have filthy beards that are always smelly and dripping with slobber. It's totally possible to maintain them properly but most owners just don't. I have an aversion to wet slobbery mouths so I don't think I'll ever let my poodle's face grow out to the point it can get like this. I do know doodles (and poodles) kept with a moderate amount of face fluff that's trimmed enough to keep it relatively sanitary. Poodle owners tend to prefer a shaved face because it's cleaner. Honestly the reason doodle owners don't shave their faces... is usually because they don't want them to look "like a poodle." But I definitely have seen some that do shave their faces like a poodle because they cannot stand the beards. You probably would just think they're a poorly bred poodle if you saw them on the street. Chinese crested powderpuffs are also maintained with a shaved face. I've even seen yorkies groomed in the same style with a shaved face.

I'm so glad your husband knows the secrets of how great poodles are. You can experiment with coat as much as you want. The fun part is you can get a totally different dog every time you groom. Poodles look fabulous no matter how you groom them. It's just important to pick a cut you have the time to maintain.


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## Ava. (Oct 21, 2020)

I see a common trend with doodles.. overgrown coats, matting, and ICKY beards. I think _most_ doodle owners are just negligent, or ill informed

I am glad your husband convinced you away from doodles, I don't see the appeal to them. Sure they are cute, but the dark world of doodling is horrifying.


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

I owned a doodle. Yup, the beard got wet or smelled. Ask a Bouvier owner - does the beard smell? Yup. I often think of shaving our Yorkies face because I hate the wet beard and saliva stains, but she is very nervous of clippers so I haven't 

I intended to do a really simple cut on Annie when I got her. All one length, no poodle nonsense here! But, I read recommendations that for future grooming ease, you work on clean face with the puppy. So I did. 

Now, I can't stand the look of fluffy faces. If I go a month between shaves, I am itching to shave it off. I find her expression is much easier to read with a clean shaved face. Plus, no year stains, less eye boogers. I also noticed that all of the long haired breeds (think rough collies, shelties, huskies, Afghan hounds, golden retrievers) have short hair on the face. She looks more like a dog to me with a shaved face than like a teddy bear or toy.


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

For Want of Poodle said:


> I owned a doodle. Yup, the beard got wet or smelled. Ask a Bouvier owner - does the beard smell? Yup. I often think of shaving our Yorkies face because I hate the wet beard and saliva stains, but she is very nervous of clippers so I haven't
> 
> I intended to do a really simple cut on Annie when I got her. All one length, no poodle nonsense here! But, I read recommendations that for future grooming ease, you work on clean face with the puppy. So I did.
> 
> Now, I can't stand the look of fluffy faces. If I go a month between shaves, I am itching to shave it off. I find her expression is much easier to read with a clean shaved face. Plus, no year stains, less eye boogers. I also noticed that all of the long haired breeds (think rough collies, shelties, huskies, Afghan hounds, golden retrievers) have short hair on the face. She looks more like a dog to me with a shaved face than like a teddy bear or toy.


I feel the same way about dog-ness. I have a strong dislike for the way doodles are marketed like living teddy bears and not dogs. I think some of the old fashioned poodle mustaches are cute and could try one some day. I think a short but plush face is cute and am actually growing out to try one right now. But I cannot do those long wet stained beards. Trying to maintain one would drive me nuts because I'm so picky. I love bearded collies and sometimes I ponder what they would look like if shaved powder puff style.


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## Ava. (Oct 21, 2020)

ADORABLE! (found on google)








Not powderpuff style, but I do like the "terrier" type beard. Easy to clean.

I've also seen old english sheepdogs shaved. I think poodles are clean faced for historical reasons, but since its so convenient, its still around


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

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