# What to do?



## Jacamar (Jun 2, 2012)

You should just browse through at all the different clips you can find on the net, and choose one you like. Happy shopping!


----------



## Abbe gails Mom (Nov 8, 2012)

Welcome to you and that sweet little MAN, Thats the wonderful thing about a poodle, you can get them cut anyway you like , then if you dont like it . you can change it up the next time.Your groomer might have a book of hair cuts to show you, ( ask them ) there is a puppy cut, lamb cut, cleen face, cleen feet, so on. Whatever you get, I allways start simple, (puppy cut ) because, mine are not for show, there just at home lovies, and I want them to like going to there groomer, so i keep it simple. So very sorry, about his little broken leg, hope all is going well with him now. He has such a sweet little face. There are a lot of groomers on this forum, that can help you, very nice people, all of them. Wish some of them were up here in Denver, we have many of them here, not many that are good at what they do, the good ones are booked up for 5 to 6, mon.in advance. Anyway, welcome, and good luck with Gibby.


----------



## Anntig (Jun 9, 2010)

What I recommend for my new to poodles clients is to keep the face feet and sanitary shaved (every 4-6weeks) and not clip the coat at all for the first five months (with the owner brushing at home) , that way your pup gets used to being groomed regularly, which is VERY important, and you get some idea of whether you'll want to maintain a longer clip or are more suited to a simple shave off.
For my own dogs I love long hair so I keep them in full coat until 8 or 9 months.


----------



## tattoogirl73 (Nov 18, 2012)

i've got tricky booked in next week for her first cut, and after a chat with the groomer we are having her face and feet shaved, with a light trim over her body


----------



## My babies (Aug 14, 2012)

I have 2 toys and I change their looks every 8 weeks. Well the groomer changes their looks. Their hair grows like weed so if you don't like you can have it changed again for the next groom. So far I haven't had them in the same cut yet. It is easier to have a shorter cut during their coat change cuz it tends to Matt up easily even if I brush them every day. I say keep the puppy cut for now and enjoy the puppy look.


----------



## My babies (Aug 14, 2012)

JMFutures said:


> I dislike the tear stains very much - what do I do for that?


Does the tear smell? My Miu Miu use to have bad smelly tear stains. I didnt want to give her Angel Eyes because its an antibotic. I started both my toys on apple cider vinegar. 1 tablespoonful mixed with 1 gallon of water purified water(don't give tap water). They've been drinking that since they were puppies. After 1 week Miu Miu's tears didn't smell anymore and I trimmed off the stained hair. So much better now. She still tears but not as much and it doesn't smell. Just a little bit of tear stains at the inner corner of her eyes. I heard the apple cider vinegar is good for them so I've been giving it to them still.


----------



## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

For tear stains, what do you feed? Food can really influence the level of staining you see. 

Once stained, you won't get rid of the stain. Best thing to do is shave off the hair and start again. Keeping the hair on the face short will make it less noticeable. Keeping the eyes clean and free of hair will keep the eyes from tearing. 

If you think you would ever like to do clean face/feet at any point in the dogs life (and you probably will), I'd recommend having that done asap and have it done regularly. It's hard to get them to accept it without a fight when they are older and have never had it done.


----------



## Debra J (Dec 8, 2012)

Sookster said:


> For tear stains, what do you feed? Food can really influence the level of staining you see.
> 
> Once stained, you won't get rid of the stain. Best thing to do is shave off the hair and start again. Keeping the hair on the face short will make it less noticeable. Keeping the eyes clean and free of hair will keep the eyes from tearing.
> 
> If you think you would ever like to do clean face/feet at any point in the dogs life (and you probably will), I'd recommend having that done asap and have it done regularly. It's hard to get them to accept it without a fight when they are older and have never had it done.


What do you suggest to Fred them to help with staining. I am having that problem with my 1 yr old spoo. I have never had it with any other. I feed them a limited diet duck food and have been thinking about switching.


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Debra J (Dec 8, 2012)

Sorry for the typo I mean "feed" not fred


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

Foods with really crappy ingredients (lots of low quality grains like corn, chemicals, artificial colors, etc) can cause excess tearing and eye gunk. I feed raw, and prior to that fed grain free kibble and have never had a problem with staining in any of my light colored poodles (a silver and several whites). 

I'd pick something high quality and grain free if possible, though 2 of my white pups were fed Natural Balance original as pups, which isn't grain free, and they never stained. Some of it can simply be due to genetics of the dog, unfortunately.

ETA: I don't have much experience with tearing and stains since I've literally never had much of a problem with it. I don't know if it's because my dogs eat good food, because I keep their faces shaved (every 2 weeks at minimum), or simply because I've been lucky. There are some threads on here about staining that may have much better info.


----------



## JMFutures (Dec 31, 2012)

My babies said:


> I have 2 toys and I change their looks every 8 weeks. Well the groomer changes their looks. Their hair grows like weed so if you don't like you can have it changed again for the next groom. So far I haven't had them in the same cut yet. It is easier to have a shorter cut during their coat change cuz it tends to Matt up easily even if I brush them every day. I say keep the puppy cut for now and enjoy the puppy look.


He is booked on Monday the 7th....just trying to decide what to do to keep things more manageable! So puppy cut....do you have any pics to show some of the ones you have done on your babies?


----------



## JMFutures (Dec 31, 2012)

My babies said:


> Does the tear smell? My Miu Miu use to have bad smelly tear stains. I didnt want to give her Angel Eyes because its an antibotic. I started both my toys on apple cider vinegar. 1 tablespoonful mixed with 1 gallon of water purified water(don't give tap water). They've been drinking that since they were puppies. After 1 week Miu Miu's tears didn't smell anymore and I trimmed off the stained hair. So much better now. She still tears but not as much and it doesn't smell. Just a little bit of tear stains at the inner corner of her eyes. I heard the apple cider vinegar is good for them so I've been giving it to them still.


No smell at all!  I also do not want to do angel eyes because of the antibiotic. I'm a more natural kinda gal  He has been on distilled water for a good 2-3 weeks. And I have been trying to clip away at the stained stuff. He does seem to tear easy though


----------



## JMFutures (Dec 31, 2012)

Sookster said:


> For tear stains, what do you feed? Food can really influence the level of staining you see.
> 
> Once stained, you won't get rid of the stain. Best thing to do is shave off the hair and start again. Keeping the hair on the face short will make it less noticeable. Keeping the eyes clean and free of hair will keep the eyes from tearing.
> 
> If you think you would ever like to do clean face/feet at any point in the dogs life (and you probably will), I'd recommend having that done asap and have it done regularly. It's hard to get them to accept it without a fight when they are older and have never had it done.


He is now on instinct raw (a.m) and nutrisource kibble weaning to instinct kibble (p.m). He was on nutrisource before and so thats what I got.


----------



## 3dogs (Nov 3, 2010)

A few things can effect tears. 1. Genetics & if that is the case then not any luck in getting rid of but need to manage 2. Your pup could easily have an infection in which case antibiotics are good, your vet can of course diagnose that issue, 3. Allergies can cause bad stains , ask your vet about this & benadryl to help, 4. Food as mentioned.

As far as looks you can still have facial hair if you want but shave out the tear stain area. For groomers a "puppy cut" means nothing. What you want is how much hair you want LEFT on your dog. Do you want a pattern? Tons of photos on the internet so pick some out.


----------



## My babies (Aug 14, 2012)

JMFutures said:


> ....do you have any pics to show some of the ones you have done on your babies?


Of course. Here they r. Sorry if it's a lot. I know when I want to try a new cut I need to see pics. Hope this gives you an idea. 

Gucci in a puppy cut. I left his face and feet unshaved. I wanted to enjoy the puppy fluffiness.









Shaved his face down a bit but left a mustache. He also got his fluffy bracelets and shaved feet









Big boy cut. I wanted to grow out his hair


















His newest look. I made this cut up. I combined things. Shaved the top half of his ears, shaved neck, shaved feet. Then the body is cut shorter with more hair on the legs.I think this cut makes him look fat, especially his butt. He looks like a groundhog when he walks. lol


















Miu Miu with a shorter cut with shaved face and feet










The cut on her legs goes from thinner to thicker. Sorry I don't remember what the names are of the cuts.








Shaved face and feet with bracelets


----------



## JMFutures (Dec 31, 2012)

SERIOUSLY - -AWESOME!!! Thank you! 



My babies said:


> Of course. Here they r. Sorry if it's a lot. I know when I want to try a new cut I need to see pics. Hope this gives you an idea.
> 
> Gucci in a puppy cut. I left his face and feet unshaved. I wanted to enjoy the puppy fluffiness.
> 
> ...


----------



## My babies (Aug 14, 2012)

Please post pics after the groom. I'll be waiting anxiously for them. Also when you go to the groomer ask and see if they have any experience grooming poodles. Otherwise this is what you get. I was so embarrassed with this cut from Petco. Luckly my vet recommended this new groomer that I use now. She owns and shows her mini poodle. This is the ugly Gucci. Go ahead and laugh. 










He even looks upset about it. lol


----------



## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

My babies, love the photos. It is great that you have fun with the cuts. I agree, Gucci does not look like she liked the Petco cut but she rocks the others.


----------



## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

Then sounds like diet isn't an issue with the instinct! I was reading on a group in facebook about someone dealing with tear staining in a young (~4-5 month old) standard puppy and lots of folks said it could be due to teething. I'm not sure exactly how, maybe just something along the lines of teething causes stress and in some cases fever which can mess with the natural balance of things in the body and contribute to tear staining, so it could clear up as he finishes up teething. 

When people say "puppy cut" they can mean a lot of different things. I think of the cut a puppy is shown in, which is a TON of hair, like this: 









With puppy hair, I would probably go with a shortish lamb trim. 
This is a lamb-type trim (again, can be interpreted differently)









But it doesn't even have to be an official clip. Whatever you like. And the great thing about poodle hair is IT GROWS and if you don't like it, you can always change it.


----------



## My babies (Aug 14, 2012)

Sookster said:


> And the great thing about poodle hair is IT GROWS and if you don't like it, you can always change it.


Exactly. It's fun to try different things. It definitely grows back...and fast too.


----------



## JMFutures (Dec 31, 2012)

I'd like something to keep him warm in the north Dakota winters but not into the fancy cuts.


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


----------



## JMFutures (Dec 31, 2012)

3dogs said:


> A few things can effect tears. 1. Genetics & if that is the case then not any luck in getting rid of but need to manage 2. Your pup could easily have an infection in which case antibiotics are good, your vet can of course diagnose that issue, 3. Allergies can cause bad stains , ask your vet about this & benadryl to help, 4. Food as mentioned.
> 
> As far as looks you can still have facial hair if you want but shave out the tear stain area. For groomers a "puppy cut" means nothing. What you want is how much hair you want LEFT on your dog. Do you want a pattern? Tons of photos on the internet so pick some out.


Genetics I am curious about now...our little guy came from a pet shop with papers and so I know nothing about his bloodline etc. I would think infection would have a smell to it - and i have had my nose right in it (the nurse in me). Allergies I suppose - will look into that a bit more - - no other symptoms though. The nutrisource puppy kibble does have beet pulp? and its also not grain free. We are still getting off of that stuff. We will see what comes of it as we switch to all raw  you guys are all so amazing...than you all for the great info!!


----------



## Oreo's Mommy (Dec 18, 2012)

My Fifi had tear stains and I would feed her 1 tablespoon of canned pumpkin...not pumpkin pie...every few days and the stains would stop.


----------



## My babies (Aug 14, 2012)

Fifi said:


> My Fifi had tear stains and I would feed her 1 tablespoon of canned pumpkin...not pumpkin pie...every few days and the stains would stop.


I haven't heard of pumpkin doing the trick. Did Fifi still tear? Just no stains? I might have to give it a try. Miu Miu still tears a little.


----------



## Oreo's Mommy (Dec 18, 2012)

She didn't tear either. Very, very strange. I was using the canned pumpkin for her upset tummy and to give her some extra calories. She didn't like it much but it did help the potty issues and the eyes were just a bonus. You can freeze the extra in ice cube trays for single servings later so it won't go bad.


----------



## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Tear stains are hereditary. The best way to avoid a dog with tear stains is to see the parents and if they have tear stains. They come from tear ducts that are angled incorrectly so the tears drain onto the face instead of into the nasal passage. Tears are clear, but there is a specific yeast that turns orange that feeds off a particular type of bacteria found in tears and saliva. So, it is the yeast that causes the staining in dogs with the bacteria and incorrectly angled tear ducts. Dogs with tear stains will often also have orange stains around the mouth. 

People don't want to use angel eyes, but it works. Often you only have to give it for one course of treatment and it kills off the bacteria and doesn't come back, or comes back only occasionally. The yeast dies when there are no bacteria to feed it. Then shave the stains off. You will still get the wet face on and off because that is hereditary, but at least it isn't orange lines. You can also wipe the eyes every day and the tears don't have time for the yeast to grow and stain. Dogs tear more when they have an ear infection (like a fungal ear infection). Get rid of the fungus and the tears mostly stop. 

Sometimes the tear ducts are blocked so the tears drain out instead of in. Eye vets can flush the tears ducts, but I have never heard that works all that well. Sometimes dogs with digestive issues like diarrhea or loose stools tear more, too. Pumpkin helps the stools and they tear less. 

Some dogs outgrow it. Sometimes dogs tear more if they are sensitive to things like wheat or corn or chicken even. Change their diet and it can get better. It is most common in small poodles. Hardly any standard poodles have it, but I have seen a few. 

If you have no ear infections, no eye infections, no diarrhea or any other physical problem, I would try angel eyes once for a couple weeks because often it works and the tears improve or go away and the stains are gone (after you shave them off). But, that's just me.


----------



## Ryker-&-Canyon (Dec 12, 2012)

This thread has been very helpful not only for clip styles but also about tearing and tear stains. Thank you!


----------

