# Is there a reason why the muzzles are always groomed really short?



## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

Poodle hair grows like human hair, facial hair can and does get dirty.
If not brushed and combed out regularly poodle hair will painfully mat, the grooming of a longer coat is time consuming, personally I rather play with my dogs than groom them daily.
Poodle grooming is considered high maintenance.


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

There are actually lots of poodles with furry faces and "teddy bear" cuts. They may simply be less readily identified as poodles! I personally love the shaved face because it is very clean and allows you to see the lovely face of your dog. But the important thing is that the dog is kept clean and healthy. Furry faces means more careful maintenance for dental and facial health as fur that gets in the mouth will rot the teeth. This can be mediated by careful removal of any fur that is getting sucked into the mouth. Additionally, fur tends to collect discharge from the eyes and requires daily cleaning if it is long around the eyes. Otherwise bacteria will grow and create sores under the eyes. Fur around the mouth also can get dirty and wet with food and may need regular cleaning. But if you monitor these things there is nothing wrong with the furry face look. Many people start out thinking they prefer furry faces, but then once they try a shaved face once they fall in love and can't go back. The fun thing with poodles is the hair grows back and you can try any look you want.

BUT I will say that for puppies, it is recommended to shave faces because it helps them get used to the grooming process. If you keep a furry face when young and then decide you prefer shaved... your dog may react very poorly. If you really want a furry faced puppy, regular desensitization with vibration on the face would be my recommendation.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Personally I love the elegant appearance of a well trimmed face and feet with whatever else is going on to be neat and well maintained for the comfort of the dog.

I also really don't like having dirty smelly faces trying to give me kisses.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

I like the look of a clean face better, but even when I try to let them have longer hair on the face, I just can’t. It’s not hygienic enough for my taste : runny eyes, hair that gets into the food, smelly face.... Nah, I don’t want that !

In summer I clip shorter and in the winter, since I live in a very cold climate, I leave the hair a lot longer. You could do what you want, really, as long as your dog isn’t matted and dirty. Grooming is very time consuming in a poodle (or costs a lot of money, or both).


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Three weeks after a groom, I'm already itching to get that face hair off again! And we _swore_ we'd never do a "poodley" clip. Lol. It's just so much easier to keep clean, it's silky soft, and I had no idea how much I would love seeing Peggy's eyes clearly. It's made training easier.


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## Spottytoes (Jul 28, 2020)

PeggyTheParti, you said exactly what I was going to say. Bobby gets professionally groomed about every 6 weeks and by week 3, I want his snooter groomed again. I used to go between grooms for his face because Bobby had runny eye issues and we liked his face super short for ease of keeping his eyes clean. He doesn’t have that problem anymore. Never figured out why because we didn’t change food. I just decided he must have grown out of it. Anyway, LOVE a freshly groomed “clean face” for all the reasons above. It’s so velvety and kissable and I love to see Bobby’s sweet eyes. Someday I will learn to do his face myself but don’t feel ready for that yet. 😉 It is definitely a preference thing though. Then of course, there are those shaved poodle feet. 😁


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Spottytoes said:


> PeggyTheParti, you said exactly what I was going to say. Bobby gets professionally groomed about every 6 weeks and by week 3, I want his snooter groomed again. I used to go between grooms for his face because Bobby had runny eye issues and we liked his face super short for ease of keeping his eyes clean. He doesn’t have that problem anymore. Never figured out why because we didn’t change food. I just decided he must have grown out of it. Anyway, LOVE a freshly groomed “clean face” for all the reasons above. It’s so velvety and kissable and I love to see Bobby’s sweet eyes. Someday I will learn to do his face myself but don’t feel ready for that yet. 😉 It is definitely a preference thing though. Then of course, there are those shaved poodle feet. 😁


I still find Peggy's feet a little creepy. Ha! But I'm hooked now. The best was in winter, when she didn't get snowballs between her toes like my last girl did. 

As for those goopy poodle puppy eyes, here's a possibility:

*Follicular conjunctivitis*_ is an allergic eye condition of young dogs. It is most commonly seen in large-breed dogs under 18 months of age._









Follicular Conjunctivitis | VCA Animal Hospital


Follicular conjunctivitis is an eye condition that primarily affects young dogs, under 18 months of age. Follicular conjunctivitis is often caused by allergens, such as dust, grass, and weeds. As the immune cells within the conjunctiva are stimulated by allergens or other irritants, the lymphoid...




vcahospitals.com





I'm hoping that's what Peggy has. Our vet just says "allergies."


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

Sanitation is my reason for keeping the face hair short. Long face hair gets really grotty unless you wash and comb the dog's face daily. I've also noticed that Pogo starts having trouble seeing when the hair around his eyes and on top of his muzzle gets too long.

Cleanliness is also the reason I shave my dogs' feet. I don't stop with the toes; I have the groomer go up to the wrists and hocks. The boys track enough snow and mud into the house even with trimmed feet; long hair is a total mess.


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## Spottytoes (Jul 28, 2020)

PeggyTheParti said:


> I still find Peggy's feet a little creepy. Ha! But I'm hooked now. The best was in winter, when she didn't get snowballs between her toes like my last girl did.
> 
> As for those goopy poodle puppy eyes, here's a possibility:
> 
> ...


Thank you for the information! That makes great sense. I didn’t know anything about this! Talked to the vet a couple times and he was treated for conjunctivitis a couple times. I thought for sure we would be dealing with this his whole life but it just seemed to magically go away. Interestingly, the change happened soon after his neuter at 13 months so I thought that was possibly the reason. I think you just may be right though.


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## Cosmo (Aug 2, 2020)

We were pretty shocked when Cosmo came home from his first grooming with a shaved face. (Shocked in a bad way....). He's 4 months now but I can tell that the clean shave will keep him cleaner. Interesting about the hair in mouth/teeth. I do like seeing his eyes and sweet face -- hard to see on a black poodle. This Friday, we are heading to the groomer to get his coat and legs trimmed (they only did FFT the first time). I've researched so many cuts and looks -- can someone tell me what length clipper would be a good summer cut but not too short? I want to see the curl pattern but want him to have lots of time to grow it out. Something like a "5" or "4"? 

It's miserably hot & humid in Central Texas.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Cutie Cosmo!

Here's Peggy freshly groomed with a 5 on her body:











Two weeks post-grooming:


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## Cosmo (Aug 2, 2020)

wow - she is GORGEOUS. And thank you, the photos are very helpful.


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## Starvt (Nov 5, 2019)

When we were looking for a poodle I was sure we would do a shortish all-over cut with a shaved face. Then I fell in love with his soft floofy baby hair, plus he was a fall puppy, so I kept Raffi's hair as long as possible and the rest is history.
I took me a week or two to realize that untrimmed poodle feet track in SO much debris, so I started with just face and feet. Then sanitary became necessary and I did the tail base at the same time. From there I have progressed to ever more "poodley" trims lol.
@Cosmo : I find I can go much shorter on Raffi now that he is older and has much thicker hair. I did the main part of his body with a 10 and this is after about 1 week.
















When he was younger I don't think I would have gone shorter than a 3. Will see if I can find a pic.


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## Starvt (Nov 5, 2019)

Cosmo said:


> only


Raffi was 8 months here, and I trimmed his back half with a #1 clip on comb- which is 1/2"


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## RJF (Aug 3, 2020)

jphil77 said:


> Sorry if this is a silly question.. I'm a little new to the world of Poodles. Ive noticed most people have their dogs muzzle(face?) generally groomed to have really short hair. Is there a specific reason behind this look or is it just personal preference? Also.. is having their hair be the same length throughout considered good/bad? I guess what im trying to understand is if there's specific reasons behind certain looks or if theyre just the owners taste. I'd love to hear your thoughts.


Long faced dogs like Poodles tend to be homely with hairy muzzles. Plus it's nasty when dogs have hair on their muzzles because food and water make it dirty.


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## bluegirl1997 (Aug 10, 2019)

Funny I’ve never really found mine tracked in more debris with furry feet vs shaved, but I prefer shaved feet anyway because all that fur and possible weeds or seeds are removed from between paw pads. I also love their faces shaved so you can see their lovely faces and expressions, and I love short hair on hindquarters because you can see those powerful muscles. But it’s all personal preference really 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I find it interesting that most dog breeds naturally have short hair on their muzzle and paws - most species of wild animals do too. That to me indicates that there are survival benefits to the trait, although how relevant they are to our cosseted poodles I do not know!


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

If I let Annie's paws get too long, she gets burrs in them, which is miserable. Plus snowballs, mud, etc. Mud or food sticks to her face when her face gets long too. I actually feel sorry for long faced doodles now! 

I also had thought I would do a simple cut on Annie... all one length , including face, no silly poodle face or feet. And ahem, she is 1.5 years old, has been in a HCC with a banded topknot, often a Miami, a lamb cut, and right now is in a simple kennel cut. Growing her out again to do something more interesting, I miss her topknot. Poodle grooming is addictive.


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

For Want of Poodle said:


> If I let Annie's paws get too long, she gets burrs in them, which is miserable. Plus snowballs, mud, etc. Mud or food sticks to her face when her face gets long too. I actually feel sorry for long faced doodles now!
> 
> I also had thought I would do a simple cut on Annie... all one length , including face, no silly poodle face or feet. And ahem, she is 1.5 years old, has been in a HCC with a banded topknot, often a Miami, a lamb cut, and right now is in a simple kennel cut. Growing her out again to do something more interesting, I miss her topknot. Poodle grooming is addictive.


Haha same! We have sandburs where I live (among other velcro seeds) and they are extremely painful if they get caught in the feet. I actually carry a comb in my purse in case Misha gets into sandburs. That's something I try to remove immediately. I have seen fluffy-pawed doodles get into them and scream, and I've lent my comb to their owners to get them out. I also know that every fluffy faced dog I encounter at the park is always very wet-mouthed with long discolored mouth hair. It makes me very hesitant to engage with them. People with fluffy faced dogs often say they aren't dirty... but I do wonder if we just have different definitions of dirty. I imagine it would take a lot of daily cleaning to keep the face hair truly clean. And then it's still going to get wet frequently. I think I'm spoiled with Misha's clean face. He gets a shave or lip trim every week so he never grows it out.

As far as why wild canids have short muzzles... if you're sticking your face into a dead deer to rip out flesh, you're going to need short hair to avoid getting it filthy and matted.


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## demileone (Apr 7, 2020)

My pup has a really soft coat, not too thick and curly. More wavy and curly! So his coat doesn't really tend to matt and it means we can grow his fur longer without worrying. I have never actually shaved his face short, he's only 9 months old now. I will try it someday, but we just think he is so cute as a fluffy teddy bear! When I realised his coat wasn't turning thick and curly I was upset, as wanted the "proper poodle" coat - but we have come to terms with the fact he will never have those tight curls - and on the upside it does make him easier to groom and care for his coat.


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## PaulinaMiamiBeach (Mar 29, 2019)

PeggyTheParti said:


> Cutie Cosmo!
> 
> Here's Peggy freshly groomed with a 5 on her body:
> 
> ...


 what a beauty!


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

demileone said:


> My pup has a really soft coat, not too thick and curly. More wavy and curly! So his coat doesn't really tend to matt and it means we can grow his fur longer without worrying. I have never actually shaved his face short, he's only 9 months old now. I will try it someday, but we just think he is so cute as a fluffy teddy bear! When I realised his coat wasn't turning thick and curly I was upset, as wanted the "proper poodle" coat - but we have come to terms with the fact he will never have those tight curls - and on the upside it does make him easier to groom and care for his coat.


I wouldnt give up hope  At 9 months, your dog is still a puppy, with a puppy coat. Typically sometime around 1 year, give or take a few months, they go through several months of coat change as their adult coat comes in. It's almost impossible to keep them matt free at that time, but after it's done, they have a coarser, curvier adult coat.


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## demileone (Apr 7, 2020)

For Want of Poodle said:


> I wouldnt give up hope  At 9 months, your dog is still a puppy, with a puppy coat. Typically sometime around 1 year, give or take a few months, they go through several months of coat change as their adult coat comes in. It's almost impossible to keep them matt free at that time, but after it's done, they have a coarser, curvier adult coat.


Ahh thank you, I do secretly have a some hope that it will come in. We have a few poodle puppies in my area and their coats are SO much thicker, so I tend to compare his coat with theirs! Fingers crossed it happens for him. He was the runt of the litter and has always been a bit slow reaching milestones lol! x


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## PaulinaMiamiBeach (Mar 29, 2019)

Paulinanyc said:


> what a beauty!





Paulinanyc said:


> what a beauty!


Peggy's absolutely GORGEOUS!


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Paulinanyc said:


> Peggy's absolutely GORGEOUS!


She says thank you


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## RJF (Aug 3, 2020)

Taste and pragmatism.

Poodles with smooth faces are not only "prettier" to the eye but they don't get nasty around the mouth and muzzle every time they eat or drink.

Shaved feet, tail base, etc... help with matting.


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