# Embracing the curls



## Nkogneato (Jun 14, 2010)

I've seen a few pics, but not many. Anyone have any good pics of a poodle that didn't blow dry the curls out? I would love to see them. I love the continental style cuts but with curls and not blown straight. Not sure why its not that popular, but I like it. Any pics?????


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## partial2poodles (Feb 11, 2010)

Not sure why its not POPULAR? Maybe because they get heavy, matted close to the skin and attract dust, pollen and filth more than any swiffer. If you bathe the dog, it takes days to dry and the air doesn't get to the skin. It is impossible to get a brush thru the coat.

IF poodles had rather thin, loose curls, then the style you describe would be soooo popular. But they dont have that unless they are unhealthy. A healthy poodle has an abundance of dense, coarse, kinky coat that is like a sheep left out in a pasture without grooming. Grooming totally defeats the curls because the tangles and mats have to get separated and combed, brushed, shampood and dried...and this creates FLUFF, not wavy loose curls.

The hardest to achieve, the most expensive grooming bills produce those loopy curls. They take hours and hours and can be achieved with time and money and lots of products.


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

i love temperance's curls. i have her in a short jacket right now for a very modified hcc. so i have a bit of both: the hcc and curls.

not sure how this will play out yet because she hasn't gone through coat change. i may end up having to blow dry and brush.


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## Purley (May 21, 2010)

I am getting a bit disheartened. I guess I should have done more investigation before I decided on a miniature poodle. I thought I could have the coat cut short - maybe two inches or so - and then leave it in curls. The more I read, the less it sounds like a non brushed out coat is an impossibility.

Is it impossible to have a curly coat of any length on a mini once it has its adult coat? If so, then I guess I will have to put up with clipped short, which wasn't really what I wanted.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I keep Poppy around half - 1 inch on her back, a bit longer on her legs, with a tail and top knot. Yes, she is fluffy when first brushed out, but it quickly falls back into curls, expecially if the weathern is damp. She is brushed and/or combed at least once a day - more if I need to check for grass seeds after a walk, so is never tangled or matted. Here is Poppy just after bathing/brushing/clipping, and another of her au naturelle!


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

temperance's hair goes back to curls within moments of me brushinng. like my hair can't hold a curl, her hair can't hold a straight ... LOL


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## pudel luv (Jan 23, 2010)

Nkogneato, we leave curls on both our spoos. We simply (ha, ha ): brush, wash, blow dry, cut and then re-wet at the end. We use a leave-in conditioner like Coat Handler and they stay curly, but clean between trims. Because we are leaving a slightly longer coat, we trim our boys (full body) every 4 weeks. Both spoos also have full undocked tails, so the curls look quite natural on them.

I'm not able to access my photos right now. Planning on posting some photos later in the week. I love the tiny ringlets that form on our boys coats. It is a little more work, but worth it if you like the "au naturale" look.


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## onlypoodles4me (May 18, 2009)

You can have the poodle groomed as usual, then spritz him or her with water and kind of scrunch to get the curls. If you brush well before a bath between grooming, you can have curls. For a good precise cut, the poodle MUST be blown out well.


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## Locket (Jun 21, 2009)

Here are some recent pics of my boy Mitchell. We were at a friend's cottage this weekend, and I was a terrible poodle owner and let him air dry, and on some occasions I even towel-dryed him! :O He's a beautiful curly boy now.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

If you take good care of your poodle's coat by brushing daily and following others' advice about blow drying and then rewetting, I bet you could leave the coat curly. BUT, I am not sure you would be able to do this with a Continental...only if it was a very modified with a short jacket (similar to what my Henry and faerie's Temperance currently have). I think it would be difficult to maintain a FULL Conti with a curly coat w/o matting...

Ex: In a Kennel or Sporting clip, we have occasionally left Henry curly after a bath in-between professional grooms. We brushed him before and after his bath and he was fine - no mats. Just be careful to brush often..


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

pudel luv said:


> Nkogneato, we leave curls on both our spoos. We simply (ha, ha ): brush, wash, blow dry, cut and then re-wet at the end. We use a leave-in conditioner like Coat Handler and they stay curly, but clean between trims.


I AM NO GROOMER: 

We do a similar look at times. The same process. I too have the leave in conditioner (and it smells great) 

I like this look also, but you just have to comb it several times a week. And always use a good conditioner.


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## spoospirit (Mar 10, 2009)

_I have spoos in the continental and even in a modified it is difficult to keep them from matting on a daily basis even though they are groomed every day. They have gone through the change to the adult hair. I would try this with a short clip only.
_


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## Purley (May 21, 2010)

So tell me fjm - is that lovely looking coat only 1/2 to one inch long? If so, then that would be perfect for how I want mine to look. I am willing to brush her every day. I guess everyone has said to use a slicker brush which I already have.


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## Gorky (Jul 14, 2009)

Gorky has a curly look. We comb out before a bath and we shampoo and condition. We blow dry until he is almost dry and then we let him rest a bit. Then we go back and rake, comb and use a slicker brush. We use a finisher before starting to comb. Also we groom Gorky every day so matting does not occur. Alot of work but well worth it. Here is a recent photo of Gorky.


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## Nkogneato (Jun 14, 2010)

Gorky is exactly what I am talking about. He looks wonderful and love the curls. Im glad you posted some pics and he does not look unhealthy lol. Anyway what kind of leave in conditioner do you guys use?


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## Nkogneato (Jun 14, 2010)

Olie what kind of conditioner you using??? ty in advance for any help....


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## Gorky (Jul 14, 2009)

We use on Gorky Pure Pearl Luxury Conditioning Shampoo and Pure Touch Luxury Finishing Spray. PurePet products are 100% natural and organic and made in the USA. It does not engage in animal testing. The website is PurePet - Dog & Cat Grooming Products


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## bluespoomommy (Feb 25, 2010)

i am letting mochi's top knot go curly cause i'm trying to cord it. i have not brushed it in more than 9 days. and i let air dry after washing.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Purley said:


> So tell me fjm - is that lovely looking coat only 1/2 to one inch long? If so, then that would be perfect for how I want mine to look. I am willing to brush her every day. I guess everyone has said to use a slicker brush which I already have.


It is a short lamb clip, Purley, so depending on long I want it to last I take her back down to around half an inch or a little more, leave the legs a bit longer, and longer again on the tail and top knot - last night's clip was probably a little on the longer side. It is still short enough to brush/comb easily every day. By the time she is ready for another clip, her back will be not much more than 1 - 1.5 inches, at most. If you needed to bath your dog in between, towel dry, comb through and leave to dry naturally and you will have all the curls you could wish for! 

Very few poodles other than show dogs are clipped in any form of the Continental in the UK - I suspect we are too idle! Remember that puppy fluff is naturally straighter than the adult coat, and that curliness varies from one dog to another - the parent's coats should give you an idea of what to expect.


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

Purley said:


> I am getting a bit disheartened. I guess I should have done more investigation before I decided on a miniature poodle. I thought I could have the coat cut short - maybe two inches or so - and then leave it in curls. The more I read, the less it sounds like a non brushed out coat is an impossibility.
> 
> Is it impossible to have a curly coat of any length on a mini once it has its adult coat? If so, then I guess I will have to put up with clipped short, which wasn't really what I wanted.


My mini is in a sort of teddy bear clip all over, and the only time his hair is straight is right after he's been to the groomer. It is nowhere near two inches, though .... maybe right before he goes to the groomer, if I've left it six weeks rather than five.

We've been learning to swim this summer, and there is a brook right near my house, so he is wet nearly every day. I brush through it all with a slicker twice a week, more often if he's picked up vegetation, and we have no mats. 

I suppose if you were dedicated to brushing, it could be managed. Especially if the dog likes water! Or move to the UK ... bit of rain on a poodle and they curl right up.


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

i don't have a dryer so temperance's hair is curly after a bath. it pretty much stays that way. like i said, i'll brush and she'll sproing back into curls.

mind you, she's still a puppy and just starting into coat change, so it's still fairly soft, but you can get the general idea. this was taken a few weeks ago.


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## Pamela (Sep 9, 2008)

Purley said:


> I am getting a bit disheartened. I guess I should have done more investigation before I decided on a miniature poodle. I thought I could have the coat cut short - maybe two inches or so - and then leave it in curls. The more I read, the less it sounds like a non brushed out coat is an impossibility.
> 
> Is it impossible to have a curly coat of any length on a mini once it has its adult coat? If so, then I guess I will have to put up with clipped short, which wasn't really what I wanted.


I keep my dogs coats short enough not to mat and long enough to have some curls - I use a Andis clipper #7a blade and that's a bit short but it grows really fast - I can't do the blow dry with the long hair as much as I love the feel of it lol - its a lot of work.


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## FozziesMom (Jun 23, 2010)

JE-UK said:


> My mini is in a sort of teddy bear clip all over, and the only time his hair is straight is right after he's been to the groomer. It is nowhere near two inches, though .... maybe right before he goes to the groomer, if I've left it six weeks rather than five.


Yes, that's what I'm doing with Fozzie, at least till his adult coat comes in. May grow longer then depending on its tendency to mat.

Nice part is that I can bathe him every other week, trim nails, trim eyes and sanitary and he won't matt because coat is too short. When I bathe him and blow dry he just looks even more black and inky. And bathing is fun (well for me at least, but afterwards you KNOW he knows he's clean by the way he prances about).


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## frostfirestandards (Jun 18, 2009)

Willow is in a CC and she *SIGH* will not lay down for drying, so I Wash her, wring her out, let her shake and get some of the excess water out for awhile, and then finish drying her with my force dryer. and then I brush her, she is still a little curly (curlier than if I had used a stand dryer) but she is matt free down to the skin. 
(Willow is the black one with the fro)


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## Purley (May 21, 2010)

fjm said:


> It is a short lamb clip, Purley, so depending on long I want it to last I take her back down to around half an inch or a little more, leave the legs a bit longer, and longer again on the tail and top knot - last night's clip was probably a little on the longer side. It is still short enough to brush/comb easily every day. By the time she is ready for another clip, her back will be not much more than 1 - 1.5 inches, at most. If you needed to bath your dog in between, towel dry, comb through and leave to dry naturally and you will have all the curls you could wish for!


She (I hope its a she) looks just great. I thought they would look a lot more "bald" than that with just half an inch!!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Purley said:


> She (I hope its a she) looks just great. I thought they would look a lot more "bald" than that with just half an inch!!


A little poodle fluff goes a long way - especially if you forget to close the door while you are clipping!


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## Feathersprings (Jul 15, 2010)

Hoolie is still a puppy ( 5 1/2 mos) but I plan to leave him pretty curly.He is still in puppy coat now but i do groom him daily. I find that combing him now works well for leaving the curls and making sure there are no mats. When i was grooming I used to groom a Poodle that was about 2" long all over and left curly. it was very pretty but I dont know it will work with all coats. Hoolies coat is pretty soft right now and softer than his littermates ... I will just play it by ear .


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## Mumzilla (Aug 4, 2010)

At what age do spoos usually get their adult coat? Zee just turned a year old and the only wire patch is on her rump. We keep her pretty short (shaved right now) because she is the farm dog, but when she is due for a grooming she is pretty curly. My mini never developed an adult coat. He was soft and curly his whole life.


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## SnorPuddel (Jul 8, 2010)

It is all a matter of personal preference, but you do have to make sure that they are totally brushed out as you don't want matts


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