# Tons of hair? Just bathe? How often to clip?



## outwest (May 1, 2011)

:cute:Hi,
My puppy seems to have a LOT of hair, much more than my last Standard poodle did. The breeder had groomed and clipped her including her feet several times before I got her at 12 weeks, so luckily she is calm and good about brushing (actually seems to like it!). The breeder told me to have her groomed again at 14 weeks, which I did. I took her to a professional and they said she did very well. I have been brushing her every few days since. 

Here it is only 2 weeks later and her hair is already a lot longer- she looks like a giant cotton ball! I can't afford to have her groomed every two weeks (have budgeted for once a month), but her hair seems so huge and thick! LOL 

There is a poodle at the dog park where I go that only has to be trimmed every few months and even then his hair doesn't look very long. His hair is tight curls, very coarse, grows super slow with a tail with hardly any hair. 

I know Bonnie has puppy hair, but her face is already covered in soft hair. Should I just brush her out like I have been doing or should I ask them to cut her shorter next time? I like all her hair and don't really want her to look scrawny, but I can't imagine how big her hair will be in another 2 weeks! I guess I will find out. :bulgy-eyes:

I am used to having an adult poodle without enough hair, so all this thick hair is new to me. She is cute and cuddly this way, just wild looking! :waving:

How often do you brush, groom, clip, scissors your puppies that have a lot of hair? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.


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## sandooch (Jan 20, 2011)

I'm new to grooming my own poodle but I'm getting better each time; although, I keep her in a simple puppy clip. Would you ever consider grooming her yourself? It definitely saves a lot of money in the long run. I bathe Gigi weekly and at least shave her face and fanny area each time. She can usually go about 3 weeks or so without having to trim her body.

It would be great if I could afford to take her every month or so to a groomer, but like you I like to keep her hair relatively short and love the just-groomed look, so I have no choice but to do it myself.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

sandooch said:


> I'm new to grooming my own poodle but I'm getting better each time; although, I keep her in a simple puppy clip. Would you ever consider grooming her yourself? It definitely saves a lot of money in the long run. I bathe Gigi weekly and at least shave her face and fanny area each time. She can usually go about 3 weeks or so without having to trim her body.
> 
> It would be great if I could afford to take her every month or so to a groomer, but like you I like to keep her hair relatively short and love the just-groomed look, so I have no choice but to do it myself.


I had an incling to groom my last standard poodle myself. I do have an expensive clipper and all the combs and such. The only thing I don't have is the table. Unfortunately, I was really crappy at it and my poor dog looked all flea bitten after I tried to do it myself. I gave up because it was very time consuming and she looked so much better when I took her to the groomer. I just work the monthly grooming costs into my household budget. 

Perhaps a little trim done by me in between groomer visits is something I could handle? It's a little scary because I remember how horrible I did with Clara. It's been a good 5 years since I tried to do it myself. Heck, I should probably check to see if the clippers even work any more. It isn't like my puppy is horrible looking right now, I just like her all beautified the best. 

By the way- the groomer used to paint Clara's toenails and I thought it was cute. I asked her not to paint Bonnies toenails because I was worried in her puppy chewing stage she might want to chew the polish off. Do any of you paint your poodles toenails?


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## 3dogs (Nov 3, 2010)

Well it really depends how often one goes to the groomer but for now if she is a big cotton ball then I would have the groomer take your pup down shorter on the body (body grows faster than legs), leave the legs slight fuller & then if you budget for 1x monthly it should last. My mini pup is in a Japanese style but her body is taken down with a #1 comb, with scissored full legs (just because I am going to comp soon). So, 2 wks out she still looked good but again I am working her into a grooming comp so I scissored some on the body. Anyway, find out what blade or Snap on comb they used & then we can help you from there.


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## Trixie (Apr 13, 2011)

outwest said:


> I had an incling to groom my last standard poodle myself. I do have an expensive clipper and all the combs and such. The only thing I don't have is the table. Unfortunately, I was really crappy at it and my poor dog looked all flea bitten after I tried to do it myself. I gave up because it was very time consuming and she looked so much better when I took her to the groomer. I just work the monthly grooming costs into my household budget.
> 
> Perhaps a little trim done by me in between groomer visits is something I could handle? It's a little scary because I remember how horrible I did with Clara. It's been a good 5 years since I tried to do it myself. Heck, I should probably check to see if the clippers even work any more. It isn't like my puppy is horrible looking right now, I just like her all beautified the best.
> 
> By the way- the groomer used to paint Clara's toenails and I thought it was cute. I asked her not to paint Bonnies toenails because I was worried in her puppy chewing stage she might want to chew the polish off. Do any of you paint your poodles toenails?


I used to paint Trixie's nails a few years ago  I think it's cute, but I know there are people out there who think it's "abusive".......
I'm thinking about doing it again but I'm going to wait until I find some good polish made for dogs. My girl didn't seem to even notice it was on so I never had any problems with chewing. OPI used to make "Pawlish" for dogs, but I think it got discontinued.


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

you might find shaving face feet tail between visits is all you need to do. I start thinking the face looks wooly after a week


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