# Which cut for a 5 month old?



## bumblethespoo (Oct 28, 2017)

Bumble is 19 weeks old. Bumble had a bath, dry and brush out yesterday - unfortunately, his second this week! We're gradually getting him comfortable with the clippers - he was quite happy for me to roughly clip his feet yesterday, without any struggle. I wanted to end yesterday on a good note, and not clip his face - so that will be done in a few days! 

I don't want to run the risk of drying out his skin, but he has about 3 inches of hair at the moment and I can tell that the white is starting to change from the fluffy puppy coat. It's getting more difficult to brush, and I don't want to make him uncomfortable and make him wait for ages every day for me to brush it out!

*I just wanted to know what clips you guys would recommend for him? *I haven't taken scissors or clippers to his body yet - he's only had the standard face, feet and tail done since he was born. I didn't know whether your traditional poodle clips would be suitable for him yet as he still has the soft puppy coat - not a thick poodle coat. I would like him in the continental/english saddle when he's completed his coat change - but for now, i am open to anything! 

Thank you in advance! :act-up::act-up:


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

Buck has a big coat and I decided a sport clip, leaving tail and top knot and ears enabled us to avoid the dreaded matting of coat change. It also made sense since he was a summer puppy and it gets very hot here.


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## bumblethespoo (Oct 28, 2017)

Mfmst said:


> Buck has a big coat and I decided a sport clip, leaving tail and top knot and ears enabled us to avoid the dreaded matting of coat change. It also made sense since he was a summer puppy and it gets very hot here.


Thank you so much! 

We live in Dorset, England, so it's pretty cold in my opinion - but I think Bumble disagrees, he gets so hot and always opts to sleep on the cold floor as opposed to his bed. So, i think a shorter clip will be kinder to him.

Do you have a picture of Buck's clip? I don't think I've heard of a sport clip before.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I would go for a basic utility cut - quick and easy to do, adjustable in length, and adaptable later on. For Poppy I start by clipping her face with a 10 blade, and do a few swipes over each foot and her tummy. I put a 3/4 inch comb on the clippers and go over her body, legs, chest and neck, leaving some hair at the back of the neck to blend into the top knot later on. I then do her body and chest with a shorter comb on the blades, blending into the legs, and scissor her topknot, ears, and any bits sticking out on her legs. Finally I clip the root of her tail and sanitary area with the 10 blade (the clipper has cooled down again by then), scissor her tail pompom, and finish her feet with round nosed scissors (she doesn't like the tickle of clippers on her feet!). When she was a puppy I spread it out over several days - now we can romp through it all in well under an hour.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

fjm's clear description of how she grooms will give you a bit of length but not so much to be unmanageable. I would do something along those lines until coat change is done and then you will be able to use that base to build to whatever cut you like. You can do a Google images search and you will find all sorts of options.


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## bumblethespoo (Oct 28, 2017)

fjm said:


> I would go for a basic utility cut - quick and easy to do, adjustable in length, and adaptable later on. For Poppy I start by clipping her face with a 10 blade, and do a few swipes over each foot and her tummy. I put a 3/4 inch comb on the clippers and go over her body, legs, chest and neck, leaving some hair at the back of the neck to blend into the top knot later on. I then do her body and chest with a shorter comb on the blades, blending into the legs, and scissor her topknot, ears, and any bits sticking out on her legs. Finally I clip the root of her tail and sanitary area with the 10 blade (the clipper has cooled down again by then), scissor her tail pompom, and finish her feet with round nosed scissors (she doesn't like the tickle of clippers on her feet!). When she was a puppy I spread it out over several days - now we can romp through it all in well under an hour.


Thank you so much, this is amazing! I'll have a go and post pictures of the results here - I'm not expecting for me to produce anything amazing as I'm still learning and he's only young!


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## bumblethespoo (Oct 28, 2017)

lily cd re said:


> fjm's clear description of how she grooms will give you a bit of length but not so much to be unmanageable. I would do something along those lines until coat change is done and then you will be able to use that base to build to whatever cut you like. You can do a Google images search and you will find all sorts of options.


Thank you so much!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

The advantage of starting with a longish comb on the clipper is that it limits how much you take off. It is a lot easier to cut it shorter than to wait for it to grow back again, but you will soon learn the mantra of the amateur groomer - "It is hair; it will grow back!"


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

bumblethespoo said:


> Bumble is 19 weeks old. Bumble had a bath, dry and brush out yesterday - unfortunately, his second this week! We're gradually getting him comfortable with the clippers - he was quite happy for me to roughly clip his feet yesterday, without any struggle. I wanted to end yesterday on a good note, and not clip his face - so that will be done in a few days!
> 
> I don't want to run the risk of drying out his skin, but he has about 3 inches of hair at the moment and I can tell that the white is starting to change from the fluffy puppy coat. It's getting more difficult to brush, and I don't want to make him uncomfortable and make him wait for ages every day for me to brush it out!
> 
> ...


19 weeks (4 months) is a bit young for coat change. Usually that doesn't hit until at least 8-10 months if not closer to a year. At this age, you really shouldn't have to do a lot of brushing if the coat is properly bathed and dried. I have two puppies in show coat right now - 6 months old - and I've been a bad dog show mom waiting as long as 4 weeks between baths. Not a single mat on either dog. I don't brush between baths, either. Photo of white puppy is the evidence, LOL. If she'd been matting, she wouldn't have so much coat!

You could always just do a typical pet clip. 4 blade the body, or even clipper comb it at a slightly longer length, and clipper comb or scissor the legs to be a little fluffier and blended into the body.

But - I'm still confused about how it's taking you ages a day to brush him out. Is he by chance getting any baths without his coat being fluff dried? He really shouldn't have tangles at this age!


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Just saw the photo of him. Definitely clean up his body with the clipper comb like suggested by some other people! I think that will make things a lot easier for you.  Have fun! I love trimming puppies! Fun to give them shape before they get so big! I am jealous. Ha!


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## chinchillafuzzy (Feb 11, 2017)

CM wow! I love the beautiful picture of your show puppy. My girl is almost six months and I don't know that she has that much hair. She doesn't matt either though yet, which is a blessing!


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## bumblethespoo (Oct 28, 2017)

CharismaticMillie said:


> 19 weeks (4 months) is a bit young for coat change. Usually that doesn't hit until at least 8-10 months if not closer to a year. At this age, you really shouldn't have to do a lot of brushing if the coat is properly bathed and dried. I have two puppies in show coat right now - 6 months old - and I've been a bad dog show mom waiting as long as 4 weeks between baths. Not a single mat on either dog. I don't brush between baths, either. Photo of white puppy is the evidence, LOL. If she'd been matting, she wouldn't have so much coat!
> 
> You could always just do a typical pet clip. 4 blade the body, or even clipper comb it at a slightly longer length, and clipper comb or scissor the legs to be a little fluffier and blended into the body.
> 
> But - I'm still confused about how it's taking you ages a day to brush him out. Is he by chance getting any baths without his coat being fluff dried? He really shouldn't have tangles at this age!



She's beautiful and thank you very much!

Each time he's been bathed, he gets fluff dried. I'm brushing him every day at the moment, but he's just getting the standard tangles from going out on walks etc. It doesn't take too long, about 10 minutes a day is good enough - he is well behaved, but not too happy to be brushed. Down his spine and a bit around his neck, his coat is starting to go curly at the root too - I know it's early for a coat change, but it seems to be making him uncomfortable when brushing it and it's a bit coarser than the rest of his hair.


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## bumblethespoo (Oct 28, 2017)

CharismaticMillie said:


> Just saw the photo of him. Definitely clean up his body with the clipper comb like suggested by some other people! I think that will make things a lot easier for you.  Have fun! I love trimming puppies! Fun to give them shape before they get so big! I am jealous. Ha!


I've just clipped him for the first time and it was quite exciting! I'll post a couple of pictures in a second! Thank you!!


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## bumblethespoo (Oct 28, 2017)

I've just clipped and scissored him! 

This is my first ever clip and scissor - I've only been prepping for over a year now! It's not anywhere near perfect, but I don't think it's too bad for my first ever attempt. 

I used a 12mm blade over his body, keeping his legs long and blending them in as best as I could! He also let me clip his face! I still need to straighten some things up with some scissors tomorrow, but he had been on the table long enough. I am amazed by his patience!

He already seems more comfortable - he gets hot so easily and he's definitely panting less! He probably feels like the weight of the world is off of his shoulders, haha! He's bring springing around ever since getting off of the table!

Thank you so much to everyone for their help and advice!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

That is an impressive clip for a first attempt!


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

WOW! You did fantastic for your first clip! Looks really good!


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## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

I remember the dreaded coat change with Wilson. His coat was incredibly thick; when it hit three hours for a through line combing, I couldn't take it anymore. He was ten months old when I caved.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

bumblethespoo said:


> I've just clipped and scissored him!
> 
> This is my first ever clip and scissor - I've only been prepping for over a year now! It's not anywhere near perfect, but I don't think it's too bad for my first ever attempt.
> 
> ...


Wow, I'm very impressed with your grooming - beautiful.


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## galofpink (Mar 14, 2017)

Great job on the grooming!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## bumblethespoo (Oct 28, 2017)

Charmed said:


> I remember the dreaded coat change with Wilson. His coat was incredibly thick; when it hit three hours for a through line combing, I couldn't take it anymore. He was ten months old when I caved.



He's so beautiful - I do love the longer coat, but I'm a sucker for a shorter clip with long legs! :act-up:


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## bumblethespoo (Oct 28, 2017)

Thank you SO much to everyone for the kind words and feedback! :act-up:


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

bumblethespoo said:


> I've just clipped and scissored him!
> 
> This is my first ever clip and scissor - I've only been prepping for over a year now! It's not anywhere near perfect, but I don't think it's too bad for my first ever attempt.
> 
> ...


Wow! Great job!


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