# When to get first real groom?



## usviteacher (Feb 8, 2010)

Hi all - Winston is 4 1/2 months old. When is a good age to take him for his first official clip? Does first clip go by age or hair growth? How do i find a good groomer - that knows what they are doing?

Right now i take him to Petsmart for puppy bath, slight trim around eye and sanitary

thanks in advance


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## *heather* (Jul 30, 2009)

I would get him in for a face feet and tail asap... you want him to become familiar with the clippers from an early age  
The best way to find a good groomer IMO, is to ask other poodle owners where they take their dogs. I don't have anything against the big box stores for grooming, but in my area they don't seeeems to have any idea about Standard Poodles. You might want to seek out and independant groomer that has some experience in Poodles.


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## Aidan (Mar 4, 2009)

You can always ask vets or other people who have dogs groomed who they trust, also if you look up groomers online many have reviews done by previous clients.

I would say the earlier the better. Standard Poodles require grooming for life so it's best to get them used to it to make your groomers life easier as well as the whole process easier on your dog.

If he has had his shots grooming shops would be able to get him in now. Even if you want to grow his coat out you could take him in for clean face/feet if that's what you're going for unless you're growing that out he can at least have a bath and fluff dry to get used to the process.

If he came from a good breeder most likely they started him out getting used to grooming every week doing something new to make the process easier.


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## plumcrazy (Sep 11, 2009)

Ooooooooo! This is one of my favorite subjects (but I don't know much about it yet!!) :lol: Before I got Lucy, I decided that *I* want to do most of her grooming myself (or at least learn HOW to do it so I CAN do it if I WANT to!)

Lucy just turned 5 months old the end of January and I've been keeping her face, feet and tail (plus sanitary area) clipped since I got her at 8 weeks old (I did my first attempt at FFT clipping when she was about 10 weeks because she came so nicely groomed by her breeder I didn't need to do anything right away)

I haven't done any more than FFT yet, but I am itching to try... I will probably take her for a professional for her first "big girl" haircut but then try to keep it looking good by myself. We have the grooming table, clippers, shears, brushes, combs, velocity hair dryer, etc, etc, etc which will help with keeping her looking good!

She's great for me when I work with her grooming tasks - very patient on the table - so I'm hoping that when I graduate to "real" grooming, she'll stay just as patient for me. I also know that even if I mess something up, it'll grow back; so I'm not going to sweat it. She's used to being brushed and combed all the time, so we haven't ever had any matting issues (not sure about when her coat changes from puppy to her adult coat - I'm dreading "the change") 

As far as finding someone to do your grooming for you, can you get any recommendations from any local friends, your vet, people you meet whose dogs look well groomed??  My daughter used to work at PetSmart and she knows exactly how she wants her spoo to look. Chalumeau has been to no less than 4 different groomers (she's 16 months old) and Katy finally found one that she loves and will continue to go to...

Good luck in your search (and don't discount learning to do a lot of it yourself - with the $$ you save in grooming costs you can buy decent equipment for yourself!)


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## Reesmom (Feb 4, 2010)

As a groomer, I love for new clients to ask me questions. Call or go visit groomers in your area. Ask them what they know about poodles, how to groom, dry, how many cuts they know. These are key questions. They biggest thing is that you feel comfortable with your groomer, and they are open to your suggestions. They should not cage dry poodles and should have a pretty good knowledge of some names of a few poodle cuts. Ask them how many poodles they do. Before I became a groomer I would call around and talk to them. If they were rude or I didn't feel right about it over the phone I would move on.

Don't forget to ask how they learned to groom. That can give you some clues as to there experience.

**** luck!!!


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