# what clip to do.....



## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

probably a nice simple lamb or german trim will be the best with what hair he has at the moment.


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## WonderPup (Oct 26, 2008)

I have to say a lamb clip is probably one of my favorites, very poodle like in style and easy to care for and maintain. It's the one I do most often to client's poodles. The German is also nice but when I tried to do it on Saleen I found I couldn't bring myself to shave her tail haha, I would miss the pom pom I guess. 

Here is another version of what FD posted above (click the pics get bigger)









and one of what it looks like in action so to speak with the dog walking around








If you're interested this is a #4 blade on the body and a 1 inch gaurd comb skimmed down the outside of the leg (from the hip bone down - so I think its a little different from FD did above) and scissored. I prefer to leave a so called "crest" on the back of my dog's necks but most groomers (at leats the ones I know) won't so if you like the look you'd have to ask for it. It's more brushing though so you might be better with a neck that's the same length as the body. Just depends on how much you want to work to maintain the coat  
Take a picture to your groomer of what you want so it is easier to explain yourself and be sure to specify how long you want the hair left. Don't go in and just say "short" or just generalize what you want or you may be surprised when you come back. Thats why I included the grooming instructions here in case you like the look it will be easy for you to ask for. One groomer's definition of short may be ALOT shorter (or for that matter longer) than what you were thinking lol. I drive some of my new clients nuts I'm sure because I won't let you out the door until I am sure I know what you want and I am sure YOU know what you've asked me for. I don't like unhappy clients


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

yup, the first pic is of Paris ages ago, the second pic I posted is Lukas, and he doesn't get brushed at all really. lol! I like a bit of neck, even on pet dogs but Lukas lives with his big ol collar on 24/7 so neck hair isn't an option for him! He was a 4F blade on his body, and I think a 7/8" comb over his legs.

Photos help a LOT when people bring them in, then I KNOW what they're trying to say! I've also become adept at reading what they want by questioning them a fair bit, so just keep talking about what you like and dont' like, and hopefully the groomer can work it out! lol


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## cbrand (Aug 9, 2009)

Well for starters... clean face for sure! Also, you are going to have to grow out the cap a bit before you really get that Poodle look.

I like the lamb cut a lot. Make sure that your groomer knows the difference between lamb and kennel. The lamb has a fuller leg. I do a #4 on the body down to the pin bone and then scissor in the legs and front. I also like to leave hair on the neck and transition up into the cap. On a dog, I like a pokered tail.

I'm so excited for you!


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## WonderPup (Oct 26, 2008)

what is a pokered tail cbrand? You mean like what a German clip has? Or is it the shape of a pom on the end you're refering to. Just curious.


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

I love the tail on the germn clip- i'm defintly leaning that wy- also the less ear- though i don't think i'd go clipped ears t this time of year - i feed raw nd his ears were already in the food today. 

Defintly tking pictures- nd i've printed out your guys's descriptions of what blades. Come summer i'll probably keep it up quite bit myself (my downside is lck of good tub but i've got the clippers nd ll tht) 

He defintly needs to grow out the hair bit. They clipped him down in the fall so the cot isn't THAT long. I"ve been brushing nd brushing- to hopefully mke it not such BIG job (mmmm bill  ) But i'm just NOT familiar with the clips- (outside the kennel, conti etc etc) and want to be able to go to lorna knowing what i want to work towards so i come out happy. 

you guys have given me some gret help- thank you!

(and just cuz he's that cute- here he is after an hour of brushing out ears and his head last night)


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## cbrand (Aug 9, 2009)

WonderPup said:


> what is a pokered tail cbrand? You mean like what a German clip has? Or is it the shape of a pom on the end you're refering to. Just curious.


A pokered tail is a shaved or closely scissored column tail. It is really not that different from the tail on a German trim except that lots of German tails are wider at the base and narrower at the top, almost triangular in form. I also don't think a German tail is shaved at the base and I'm pretty sure a pokered tail always is. Here is a picture of CH Vetset Stardust Investment with a pokered tail. 

Nevar...One thing about the pokered tail. I would think that this would look best on a dog with a straight 12 o'clock tail. If the dog has a low or curved tail, I think you are better off with a brush tail. Remind your groomer that the tail should only be shaved up about 2 inches. I don't know why groomers feel the need to shave all the way up the tail and leave a Dr. Seuss puff at the end. hwell:


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## WonderPup (Oct 26, 2008)

thats such a pretty dog, I love his back legs... I'm such a weirdo about rear ends and legs lately?? Thanks for the pic of the tail, I'll add that to my list of things to try on Jazz. Saleen's tail is sort of curved so I guess it would be a no no on her, she holds it straight 85% of the time but the rest of the time it looks like a banana lol


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

lol I love poodle butts & rear legs too! And he is a pretty boy....

The german trim CAN have a totally shaved tail, or it can have the 'carrot' tail. It's personal preference really, and you can find lots of german pics with a shaved tail too. It does have to be the right tail though, gay or curled tails look weird, though a curved tail is fine, just not curled right over! lol


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## WonderPup (Oct 26, 2008)

flyingduster said:


> lol I love poodle butts & rear legs too! And he is a pretty boy....
> 
> The german trim CAN have a totally shaved tail, or it can have the 'carrot' tail. It's personal preference really, and you can find lots of german pics with a shaved tail too. It does have to be the right tail though, gay or curled tails look weird, though a curved tail is fine, just not curled right over! lol


hehehe I'm glad I'm not the only person with a butt obsession where grooming is concerned. 

Have you seen the photos on the groomers,net forum of the Euro style or was it called a pixie?? I can't remember off hand. I LOVED the way the back legs were on that dog and the little shaved tail looked so cute. I've been tempted to give that clip a shot.


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## WonderPup (Oct 26, 2008)

neVar said:


> I love the tail on the germn clip- i'm defintly leaning that wy- also the less ear- though i don't think i'd go clipped ears t this time of year - i feed raw nd his ears were already in the food today.


Oh you know what, speaking of ears, why not ask the groomer to go ahead and clip the ears either with a 4 blade or a 2 guard comb and then scissor the edges to neaten it up. That leaves a nice short ear that still has some hair on it so it isn't shaved and doesn't look like it;s been shaved really. I am in the habit of clipping the inside of just about every ear I do with a 10 blade my own dogs included. I like the look of the short but still fluffy ear you get with a short guard comb or longer blade on the outside of the ear. I think I may have clipped Jazzes ears at one time with a 4 blade... but I didn't take pictures, or if I did I can't find them on the computer. Just another idea for you, would be easy maintain and easy to deal with raw food with.


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

do you mean Pixel the dog in the Euro style german trim? http://www.groomers.net/discus/messages/126/239808.html?1251258029









That groomer is amazing, here are some minis she did too: http://www.groomers.net/discus/messages/126/221544.html?1251211052


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

oh well now that's just way to gorgeous- although i like the carrot tail more i think...


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

most people prefer the carrot tail initially anyway, the nekkid tail does take some getting used to! I used to HATE the look of the shaved tail, but I gotta say that after seeing it on so many german trims when I was studying them, I'm more used to it now and I'm not so against it anymore... lol!

I used to not overly like a pom pom either, and I thought Paris was best in a carrot tail, but since growing hers out into a pom pom, I'm liking that more and more now too. hahaha!


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## WonderPup (Oct 26, 2008)

flyingduster said:


> do you mean Pixel the dog in the Euro style german trim? http://www.groomers.net/discus/messages/126/239808.html?1251258029
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YES, thats the one, leave it to me to think the dog's name was the name of the trim. I like the pictures better where he/she is just standing on the table with the tail down. I always love looking at photos of her grooms, though I haven't been on there for a few weeks. I mostly haunt the business sections but since I've had to basicly shut down until after the baby is born I haven't been back on. I found pics of paris one of the last times I was there. I've only posted one photo of Jazz and it's in the creative section haha I had a little mishap with color bleeding which turned out to not be half as bad as I thought it was at the time.

I really wonder now looking at that if I could get away with it with Saleen afterall. Her tail hair is next to worthless and so thin it might make sense to shave it off... just afraid it will look to curved if I do. Then again it grows back.... alot faster than ears do


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

WEll mr bernard is at the groomers. we're just gunna clip him down and start from fresh - as the legs were matted... not badly- she could work through them etc- but we'll just clip him down and start fresh. Then work towards the german clip for his next visits. . . she figures going this route will be best for him and my pocketbook *L*


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## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

flyingduster said:


> do you mean Pixel the dog in the Euro style german trim? http://www.groomers.net/discus/messages/126/239808.html?1251258029
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Wow the scissoring on this dog is amazing!


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

and that is why she was in the winning USA groom team


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

Well he's home- my friend groomed him- as a favour- he had too ,uch matting on his legs to leave a lot of length. 

She's NOT a poodle groomer *L* so no critiques. She left his ears as he hd some scabbing on them so she didn't want to clip them if she didn't have too. but they so gotta go- i feed raw *L* i aint wrapping ears. 

i think he looks a MILLION times better 

only bad thing is now it's ooh so much more obvious HOW thin he is.  he's gained a couple pounds since i got him. So much more to pack on.


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## cbrand (Aug 9, 2009)

Are you kidding?!?! He looks fantastic! She did a terrific job. She really nailed the topknot and the legs look great. What breed does she normally groom? The only thing I would change is that I would round the ear following the natural curve of the leather rather than bobbing it straight. 

He looks about a thousand times better. In the future, given his conformation, he would look super in a "Modern" trim like the German trim above. More hair on the legs will serve to shorten him up.


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## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

I agree, he looks great!!! I bet he feels alot better too!!


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

i think she's said she's done 1 poodle trim before him that wasn't a 'shave him with a x blade all over' type thing- so i was so impressed with him i think he looks FABULOUS. She normlly does pet pets pets- so a lot of mixes- and has a retreiver herself and a shi tsu... 

and considering she came in to make the appointment to do him herself- when 1/2 her day was taken up with a funeral (which of course she only found about last week- and didn't want to rebook me i'm like HELLO i could have brought him tomorrow!) so she was crunched for time on him too. 

the ears are gunna go- they still get into the food a bit (i feed raw) so we'll clip them down- after his scabs all heal up on him. 

only concern now is the 3 of us (another friend works there who i've known for years) agree his hips are iffy i'll have the vet look at them better friday- and another vet will see them saturday when he comes to visit flyball practice. so he'll probably be more of a rally o dog then a flyball dog (um,mm yeah he's a standard- i figured that out already *L*)


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## Harley_chik (Nov 7, 2008)

I agree w/ Cbrand he looks great and he wears that clip really well! (And I usually don't like really short trims.)

I love Winteroo's grooms too. She said she has lots of Poodles; does she breed or are they pets? They are beautiful dogs!


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## redcricket (Dec 5, 2009)

Wow! He looks fantastic!!  I can't wait to get Cricket groomed now...she is long overdue!!


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

oh he does look nice for sure!


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## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

flyingduster said:


> and that is why she was in the winning USA groom team


Hey Mia's breeder belongs to that team. Wow I didn't know it was that big of a deal. Cool!

He does look a lot better. I like how smooth she made him. He's a little on the thin side but nothing really bad. Most poodles are trim.


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## Rachee150 (Dec 28, 2009)

If you get a thing called a "snood" you can put his ears back with that and not have to shave them off. I feed my dogs raw too and my poodle has long ears. Its kind of like a hood you slide over their head. Its not very expensive either. I think I paid $5 - $10 for mine.


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

yeah- thing is- i'm not a big fan of the long ears- ON BOYS- like them on girls- but i like my boys to look like boys *L* 

Groomer already offered me a snood for $5. . .


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## thestars (May 2, 2009)

You can always take a scissors to them or a 1 inch comb attachment to them to achieve the shorter ear look. I do it on my boy Sam and Lucy sometimes.


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## thestars (May 2, 2009)

thestars said:


> You can always take a scissors to them or a 1 inch comb attachment to them to achieve the shorter ear look. I do it on my boy Sam and Lucy sometimes.


Here is a picture of Sam with short ears I like. I just groomed him last Friday.


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

yup that's the length of ear i like- bit nervous to try it with scissors to start- but might pick up an attachment (my clippers purely get used on horses as the aussies we don' clip a darn thing) 

now with teh clippers are we clipping WITH the hair growth right? not against (like i do on the horses)


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## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

neVar said:


> yup that's the length of ear i like- bit nervous to try it with scissors to start- but might pick up an attachment (my clippers purely get used on horses as the aussies we don' clip a darn thing)
> 
> now with teh clippers are we clipping WITH the hair growth right? not against (like i do on the horses)


Clip with the hair growth if you want to test the length. If you want shorter clip against.


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

Ok the ears are gone- my grooming table is covered in hair *L* ok it's not NOW i vacuumed.  

i was too lazy to get my clippers from the barn- and got all motivated (i did the two aussies first *L*) so up he went and out came the scissors  not actually that bad of job- i'm proud *L* fo ra quick snip snip- it could handle being evened out a little bit- i spy a few spots i want to clean up- but he looks so much better (IMO  ) with short ears- he looks like a boy now  


Now my issue- he's peeing on his front leg-  that said it is bitter cold (-25C) out so i'm guessing he's not picking that back leg up s much as he should.


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## thestars (May 2, 2009)

His ears look really nice. You could always put leggings on his front legs.


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

the leggings might happen- silly boy- i didn't notice him doing it before today- so i'm hoping it's just from teh cold- 

jeese gotta make pj's for the small dog  and now something for bernie


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## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

We taught Harry to stretch more. He was doing that too and on the leash my husband would pull him forward while he was peeing and tell him don't pee on your legs. Enough of it and he's learned what that means and moves his legs up if we see him getting close.


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

So smart if
it continues to be an issue I'll try that. When hopefully it's not
colder then antArtic


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## poodleholic (Jan 6, 2010)

> Now my issue- he's peeing on his front leg- that said it is bitter cold (-25C) out so i'm guessing he's not picking that back leg up s much as he should.


My male used to do that, so I left some hair a bit longer on top of the shaft, which directs the spray downward, rather than hitting the back of his front leg. 

Lesly & The PooDells
Maddy, Beau, & Lucia!


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

oh good tip PH!


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## puppylove (Aug 9, 2009)

Wow, he looks great! You both did a wonderful job.

And thanks for the great tip PH.


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