# trimming a natural tail



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I trim Poppy's into a plume - shaving the bottom quarter or so, and rounding the rest into an oval that sort of balances her topknot. In general, I've found shaving less rather than more works best.


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

Fjm is correct, less is better! I hold the tail down flat n their rear and use the bottom of the rectum as a guide, that usually gets it just right. On a baby, you'll be shaving probably no more than an inch.


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## BigRedDog (Mar 2, 2011)

*Trimming Natural Tail*

I might get in trouble for this but I left my puppy's tail long..very long..it looks now like a feather duster and we like it this way. It's not breed standard I know and I am a former groomer and teacher....go figure!


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## AngelsMommy (Nov 3, 2012)

Zmyjka has a beautiful standard named Loki that has a wonderful plume that I adore. You could check her pic threads out to see what she has. European Union doesn't allow for docking so they have more with long tails. You could google that as well to see if you can find a Euro baby pics. Your baby looks precious though. Good luck.


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## AngelsMommy (Nov 3, 2012)

Also AgilityIG has some pics of her Vinnie, that show off his plume to perfection as well. http://www.poodleforum.com/3-poodle-pictures/6411-got-tail-hair.html
I am going to see if I can get a long tail on my next baby I get if at all possible. 

Here is a thread about undocked tails that might help as well. 
http://www.poodleforum.com/9-poodle-grooming/14073-un-docked-tail-grooming-suggestions.html


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## Lea (Oct 20, 2012)

Your baby's tail might just be wispy thin hair! You might not be able to do much at first! 

Eventually we had Murphy's tail cut "boy style". Lol. All one length. Now it looks like a sausage! It's super cute! Have fun tomorrow! Hope it's not too cold for him!


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## frankgrimes (Nov 28, 2011)

Ralph's tail is kept the same length as his body. All one length, except about 1" of the under side of the tail, which is kept short (as in face, feet, sanitary - short) at all times.


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