# Need Suggestions to Fix Groom



## kcp1227 (Jan 25, 2013)

Well, I think for your first time doing it, it looks pretty good. I think scissoring will go a long way to cleaning up the look. Some others who have actually done the cut or seen one in person will probably be able to give you more pointers. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Mel (Apr 4, 2012)

lol I had the same urge yesterday. Took one look at Sandy yesterday and said "I can't stand it anymore!". Luckly I stopped before I did anything that couldn't be fixed (just shorted up her coat around her rear..so it doesn't mess up a HCC). She looks so dumpy right now. I'm very tempted to try it but I would hate to screw up. I ended up cutting alot of my own hair instead :aetsch:. 


I can't help you out but there are some top knot video's on youtube that might help you fix the front. Just a little at a time.


----------



## hunny518 (Jun 5, 2012)

I have to say, for never doing it before and not have much practice with your scissoring, you did an outstanding job!! I have seen this cut done by many profession groomers that don't look even half as good


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Lene (Jan 18, 2013)

I think you did a great job... I also think that the reason for her 'look', is that she wanted to go to sleep... 2am is not the time for grooming... lolol


----------



## suhr pickles (Mar 26, 2013)

just clean/tidy it up a bit  looks like a great outline, now just needs those finishing touches with scissoring so no stray fly aways


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Lea (Oct 20, 2012)

Wow! At 2 am I'm either at work or fighting insomnia. Great job with the cut! I have no idea how to cut my spoos hair so I won't comment, other than I think it looks awesome! 

We tried to trim Murphy's top know and made a mess! Lol. So we leave the cutting to the professional! (Except the nails. We can do that. Well, my DH. I'm afraid of getting the quick!).


----------



## Anntig (Jun 9, 2010)

First of all I think you've done a lovely job on a beautiful dog, the only thing I can see that's really wrong is the rosettes which imo is the hardest thing to get right on this clip, they need to be further forward and lower down.
Otherwise there's just some minor tweaking to do, I'd bring the line slightly higher on the front bracelets and lower on the back, they also need to be a bit fuller & the bevels neatened up, shave the elbow marginally higher, round the chest a little more and neaten the top line. 
Don't forget to fluff while scissoring this will give you much neater smoother line.
Excuse my sloppy photoshopping, but this should give you an idea what I'd be aiming for.


----------



## Pashta (Feb 26, 2013)

I did a bunch of scissoring last night (before 2 am). After I worked on his topknot I decided I needed to take off some the length of his jacket as it looked funny to me. Although, truthfully, the whole thing looks funny. I have been trying to make him look 'elegant' and 'balanced' as those seem to be the words that most important in all the poodle grooming articles/videos/books I've been looking at. I don't think I am anywhere near to them yet.
I think I still need to tighten up his chest as he looks a little long to me, and I think I need to shave further down on his neck as his neck is looking shorter than it usually does. I still need to get the hair on both sides to the same length yet (which is a lot harder than I thought it would be).
Can you see anything else that I need to do?
Should I just take off the rosettes?
Thanks for all the kinds words and suggestions so far. They have been helpful and encouraging.
Anntig-I wish I had of waited until your post before trimming him up some more. Thankfully hair grows.


----------



## Anntig (Jun 9, 2010)

I think that's the mantra of every new groomer "hair grows" 
He looks great I think for a first timer you're doing very well, with the rosettes it doesn't really matter too much whether you leave them long or shave off & start again, it will take a bit longer to get the desired shape if you take them off now but on the plus side you won't have to look at them for the next month, the first time I did them I stuffed them up so badly I had to take them off, I grew used to the 'without' look but feel the clip is far more balanced with.
Typically you want lots of chest hair so you can get the nice rounded shape and if you're dog is a bit straight in the shoulder (like Shadow) you can disguise this.
For the neck find his Prosternum (the bone that juts out below the neck) place two fingers above it and shave upwards in a V from there.
Google historically correct continental poodle clip have a look at the images that come up work out which ones you like and which you don't and what the difference is, this helped me enormously when I was trying to set lines I also saved a lot of pics I liked both cc and hcc and set them as my background and screensaver to try to burn the image into my head. 
This one here is my favourite for the hcc


----------



## Pashta (Feb 26, 2013)

Anntig-Thank you for the help. That parti looks awesome. I will definitely take your advice and copy a bunch of pitures to my computer. I think a part of my problem is that when I clip Phoenix I usually take him down with a #4, so I'm used to taking him really short and it seems weird to leave any length on his chest and sides.
What I would really love to do is get to the point where I am comfortable with setting this pattern and then cord him. I love corded poos in a short cc (by short I mean the cords aren't all the way down to the ground). But since he'll be turning 9 in less than a month I'm not sure if it would be a good idea to put him in cords.
Oh well, even if I was to cord him, I really want to get comfortable with this clip first.


----------



## Anntig (Jun 9, 2010)

I just cut Zeph into pattern last week so I can cord her body, the rest has been corded for two years now. It's a great look but be aware cords take a looong time to establish and for the first 6-8 months they look like a neglected mess, at his age it might take more than a year for him to actually look corded, you'd also have to be very careful with an older dog not to let him get chilled while drying which can take a long time with cords, if you want to go ahead there's a few people here besides myself who've done it and can give you advice.


----------



## Pashta (Feb 26, 2013)

Anntig-I not so worried about him looking like a mess for a year, I'm more worried about him getting chilled. He loves to run outside in all weather (I swear that he thinks he's still a puppy), and I'm not sure if I can kep him dry enough. Cording him is not something I'd attempt to do on a whim, I would have to spend a while thinking about whether I could manage to keep him warm and dry enough that he wouldn't get sick before I'd attempt it. Good thing I want to get the hcc clip down pat before I try. In all likelihood I'll end up waiting until I can get another poodle and try cording that one (not for a few years) instead of tryig with Phoenix. My gut tells me it would be better to try with a younger dog than an middle aged one (I just can't think of him as getting older, I doubt if I'll ever be able to call Nix old).
Putting cording aside, I'll probable post some pictures tomorrow of what will, hopefully, be the last attempt at making both sides of Phoenix the same length. I think right now that's bothering me more than anything else.

P.S. I love Zeph's cords, actually I think she's just lovely. I can't wait to see the progress of the rest of her cording... Maybe I could try cording just Nix's tail and see how that goes.


----------

