# Billy and Grace getting show prepped



## jester's mom (Nov 25, 2008)

Well, we are starting to get serious about getting Billy and Grace ready for the show ring. They turned 1 year old on the 18th so can now go into the ring in their continental clip. Oh, we had a birthday party for them at the nursing home with our mom.. I'll let Spoospirit start that thread as she has the beginning of the "party" pics and then I will add the ones I have.. but that will be another thread. 

We have been letting both Billy and Grace grow out coat without a lot of serious clipping till they had more coat. Well, for their birthday (to get ready for their birthday pics...lol) we clipped them up closer to the proper clip. They both need to grow more top knot and pack coat but we got them closer to the shape.... actually took quite a bit of hair off both to shape them and found we still need to take more off as they still have too much on both front and belly.

Anyway, we took pics of them after we got them all done.. of course..  ... and here are the pics. Hopefully we will have them in shows in Nov/Dec.

First, Billy pics. Billy is Spoospirit's boy.


----------



## jester's mom (Nov 25, 2008)

Now Grace shots. Grace is my girl. Billy and Grace are brother & Sister.


----------



## Harley_chik (Nov 7, 2008)

They both look amazing! Did you do all of the grooming yourselves?


----------



## jester's mom (Nov 25, 2008)

Harley_chik said:


> They both look amazing! Did you do all of the grooming yourselves?


Thank you! Yes, we do our own grooming.


----------



## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

Wow they are lovely!


----------



## FUZBUTZ (Aug 23, 2008)

Billy and Grace both look absolutely fantastic and so mature for only being a year old.


----------



## Cdnjennga (Jul 30, 2009)

Great job! Wow, I am impressed with how they both look.


----------



## Harley_chik (Nov 7, 2008)

jester's mom said:


> Thank you! Yes, we do our own grooming.


:adore:


----------



## jester's mom (Nov 25, 2008)

LOL, Harley.... no need for that. It is just a matter of doing it over and over and studying photos of the cuts and slowly working on them till you get an eye for it and learn what is right. Believe me, we had a few Ooopppses where we had to grow back hair that shouldn't have been removed etc. Like everything else in life, practice makes perfect.. and we have a long way to go yet with practice to get to the perfect part...LOL.

Thank you all for your kind words. We are extremely proud of our dogs and hope to produce some lovely, intelligent babies in the future. Grace & Billy are training for obedience also. So, hopefully by summer of next year we will have some sort of titles on one or both of them. They are getting their DNA and VwD testing done in a couple weeks. The first of the tests that they will have. We love this breed so much!!!! 

EDIT: OH... and in case anyone gets the idea we are planning on breeding the together.... NO! I have begun to keep my eyes open for possible future mate for Grace, I want to find one that compliments where she is weak and accentuates her strengths so figured I'd start keeping my eyes open for possible future ideas.


----------



## MericoX (Apr 19, 2009)

Looking good!! Is Grace a black or blue?


----------



## *heather* (Jul 30, 2009)

they look great!! I can't believe how much they grow in ONE YEAR!! No more puppy look!! (makes me a little sad!! ) Way to go on the grooming!!! I'm hoping to learn all I can, and do most of it myself too!


----------



## spoospirit (Mar 10, 2009)

MericoX said:


> Looking good!! Is Grace a black or blue?


_Grace is either a gray or silver but we are leaning toward silver. Billy is blue._


----------



## jester's mom (Nov 25, 2008)

Well, actually I am leaning toward gray.  I did wonder about maybe blue for a little while but it is not a blue color. But, her finished clearing will tell. 

In person, she is a definite gray color, not blue, and she is getting lighter and lighter gray continually. She has a lot of brownish tint to the ends of her coat where the coat hasn't changed fully yet, but where it is changed she is a solid gray color. She may lighten enough to say silver, but I still think she is going to be a solid gray. Her color is gray at the body under all that darker coat.

But, as I said, time will tell.


----------



## jester's mom (Nov 25, 2008)

*heather* said:


> they look great!! I can't believe how much they grow in ONE YEAR!! No more puppy look!! (makes me a little sad!! ) Way to go on the grooming!!! I'm hoping to learn all I can, and do most of it myself too!


Thank you! No reason why you can't. Sure, you are going to make some mistakes to start with but you will get better and better at it and will also enjoy the time spent with your baby. We love the time spent grooming, it is a bonding time as well as needed work. Billy and Grace get their baths and when put on the table to blow dry, they both lay out flat and go to sleep as they are blown and brushed out. lol. And, there is a certain pride in knowing you are the one who did your buddy!!


----------



## *heather* (Jul 30, 2009)

jester's mom said:


> Thank you! No reason why you can't. Sure, you are going to make some mistakes to start with but you will get better and better at it and will also enjoy the time spent with your baby. We love the time spent grooming, it is a bonding time as well as needed work. Billy and Grace get their baths and when put on the table to blow dry, they both lay out flat and go to sleep as they are blown and brushed out. lol. And, there is a certain pride in knowing you are the one who did your buddy!!


Totally! I agree!! I'm already finding it cool when people ask about who did Rogan's face, I love to say, I DID IT myself!!


----------



## SECRETO (Aug 20, 2008)

They both look great! I really like Gracies ecspression in her pics. She has that classic, look at me Poodle face. 

Also, blues are really a gray color. As far as I know there isnt a gray color in poodles. Just silver, blue and blacks that gray out early. The blacks that gray out early look nothing like Gracie though. From her pics she looks like a blue standard to me.


----------



## jester's mom (Nov 25, 2008)

SECRETO said:


> They both look great! I really like Gracies ecspression in her pics. She has that classic, look at me Poodle face.
> 
> Also, blues are really a gray color. As far as I know there isnt a gray color in poodles. Just silver, blue and blacks that gray out early. The blacks that gray out early look nothing like Gracie though. From her pics she looks like a blue standard to me.


Thank you for the compliment on Grace's expression. Yes, we love her face for sure!!

Yes, they do have grays. I know they are talked about really but they are in the color listing. This is from the AKC Poodle Standard:
Color
The coat is an even and solid color at the skin. In blues, grays, silvers, browns, cafe-au-laits, apricots and creams the coat may show varying shades of the same color. This is frequently present in the somewhat darker feathering of the ears and in the tipping of the ruff. While clear colors are definitely preferred, such natural variation in the shading of the coat is not to be considered a fault. Brown and cafe-au-lait Poodles have liver-colored noses, eye-rims and lips, dark toenails and dark amber eyes. Black, blue, gray, silver, cream and white Poodles have black noses, eye-rims and lips, black or self colored toenails and very dark eyes. In the apricots while the foregoing coloring is preferred, liver-colored noses, eye-rims and lips, and amber eyes are permitted but are not desirable. Major fault: color of nose, lips and eye-rims incomplete, or of wrong color for color of dog.

Parti-colored dogs shall be disqualified. The coat of a parti-colored dog is not an even solid color at the skin but is of two or more colors.


Also, this is an excerpt from Poodle Colors(they do consider the darker, grayish color to be gray and the light to be silver):
Gray By Mrs Hoyt -The Book of the Poodle 1982 

A solid, even gray, lighter than an elephant but darker than a Bedlington Terrier. 
The lighter shades of gray are often called “Silver.”
The eyes are very dark, almost as dark as the eyes of a white. Eye rims, lips, nose, and toenails are black. Skin compatible with the tone of the hair, a gray tone, but can be almost black. 

Common Faults: Such dogs vary in color . Some are quite dark, others very light. These tones, if even, are not a fault. 

Such dogs can be almost white, an oyster- white in color. This is a fault in the ring, and the breeder should breed away from it. That is, never breed a gray dog of this color to one of a similar color . 

Such dogs may have these oyster-white areas on the inside of the legs, above the eyes, under the chin, on the inside of the ears, and under the tail. This is a form of the black and tan pattern. Unfortunately it is quite common. It is a very serious fault, and it is to be condemned by the breeder. 

Such dogs may have many darker hairs throughout the coat, particularly on the back and ears. This is a minor show fault, provided the black is not so numerous as to constitute streaks and patches. If the latter, it is a disqualification. This is also a fault from the breeder's angle, but not serious. 

Such dogs may have brown hairs scattered throughout the coat. If there are enough to give a "pepper and salt" appearance, this is a fault in the show ring, but not to the breeder. If, however, there is enough tan to cause spots (in other words, a parti-color) this is a fault to the breeder. Such a dog is better not used, for the color gray may not be inherited by the puppies. 

Such a dog may have darker colored ears. This is a very minor fault and should not be penalized in the ring or by the breeder . 

Such a dog may have a dark, almost black, spot back of the ears, or if it has had skin trouble or an injury such as to cause loss of hair, a black spot will appear where the new hair grows in. In fact this is the new hair. This must, if noticeable, be considered a fault in the show ring, but it need not trouble the breeder. Such a spot will eventually turn gray. 

Such dogs, particularly if they are a very light gray, may have brown or hazel eyes. This is a fault and must be penalized in the ring and somewhat, although not as much, by the breeder. Remember that although it can be done, it is not always easy to breed out light eyes in light-colored dogs. 

Some grays are whelped gray with gray eyes, eye rims, nose, lips, and toenails. The coat color of these dogs is extremely solid and even, as well as being quite beautiful-a pale blue tone, somewhat like a platinum mink. It is not a correct color, however, and should be penalized in the show ring. The breeder need not condemn this color, but should realize that it is so recessive that it will probably not reproduce bred to an ordinary gray. Bred to a relative of this same color, the offspring will probably be oyster-white with blue or pale gray eyes. Such dogs should be bred to a true, unrelated gray or to a related black.


----------



## taxtell (Sep 17, 2009)

So pretty.
Though I kept reading it as 'will and grace'.

lol


----------



## bigredpoodle (Sep 13, 2009)

What pretty faces ! Good luck to you ! Lovely grooming job ! It is not an easy task to keep poos in show coat my hat is off to you .


----------



## roxy25 (Dec 18, 2008)

They look great good luck in the show ring , how are you guys doing with Billy ? I know you said you have problems with him not being showy in the ring.


----------



## spoospirit (Mar 10, 2009)

_Roxy, we did have problems with Billy not wanting to show at 9 months. Sometime in his 11th month he came out of his shell and decided life was good. He is a happy, extremely outgoing dog now and curious about everything. We are going to give him another try now that he has matured more.
_


----------



## BFF (Jun 10, 2009)

They both look stunning. I'm really impressed with your grooming. They both look like they are very expressive and confident. Best to you when you get in the ring!


----------



## thestars (May 2, 2009)

They are a really special pair. I like the cut!


----------



## poodlelover (Oct 19, 2008)

Very beautiful poodles, great grooming job.


----------



## spoospirit (Mar 10, 2009)

_Thank you all so much for the compliments and the encouragement.
_


----------

