# My little spoo is 6 months old!



## Apres Argent (Aug 9, 2010)

Go for it! She is a pretty little girl! UKC is a very relaxed show and people win with all kinds of clips. I have seen lots of small almost shaved bald Standard Poodles win over big hair and bigger dogs.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Thanks. Trimming a couple inches of hair off her rear legs would show she is square? She looks somewhat longbodied in the pictures. She measures square, but you can't see it with that three inch mass of fluff pointing straight back on her rear. No girl likes a big butt! LOL. Maybe that is what is throwing her balance off, too. 

When she is sopping wet her conformation looks great, which is why I am thinking of completely cutting her down to a sporting cut. If it is a mistake, it takes months to grow out again, though. 

I have an appointment with the groomer in a couple of weeks, so any suggestions would help, keeping in mind I have a very sweet young pet groomer who is trying hard to please me, but maybe I do need to contact a more show groomer to help me out. 

I have a couple months to figure it out, but this lamb thing isn't working.


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## Fond of Poodles (Feb 1, 2011)

Here is a rough outline of where to trim to accentuate a puppy trim. _Critique/input welcome from other members._ I just thought it would be easier to have a "pic" to look at (for me it is, LOL).

- at the back of the pin bone, and leg to the hock, leave the hock long though
- roughly baseball shape front leg with the narrow part being closer to the body (not extreme though, just enough to give definition to the rib and front of chest)
- tuck up slightly forward and close to the skin
- more hair on sides needed
- topline close to the tail shorter, blending into longer coat up the back to the neck
- neck where it's shaved closer with slight rounding to indicate chest blending into leg

Colina

PS I love the captions and pictures, LOL!
The back legs don't look too far back to me if she holds that stack comfortably. We are seeing more and more dogs with more exaggerated back legs. According to the standard the feet should line be placed slightly behind the point of rump I believe, but the current "fashion" seems to have the feet placed further back. Are her hocks at a 90 degree angle to the ground?


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Wow! Thanks so much Fond of Poodles! That looks like what is messed up. I asked her to trim her back shorter last time, but she left it longer on top near her tail and cut her sides down and then blended it into her too fluffy legs. 

sigh- she is trying and so sweet and Bonnie loves her. I really want to try and use her. Since I don't have to have as strict a cut as AKC, I think I can work with her for a couple more months. I will give her one more try in 2 weeks and post pics. Then I will decide if I need to get a more experienced groomer or not. 

From your diagram it looks like Bonnie shouldn't have any trouble with the cut. I am going to print it out and take it with me next time. What a great help you were.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Fond of Poodles said:


> Are her hocks at a 90 degree angle to the ground?


She normally stands with her rear legs behind her rump, but not as much as I did. This is how she normally stands. Maybe somewhere between this and the full stretch is right:


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Outwest - she is definitely a pretty bitch! She is looking more mature and I love how she holds her body. Her color is very nice and I love her pigment. I think she will look stunning in Fond of Poodles suggested grooming adjustments.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

CM, you don't know how much I appreciate your comment in particular. Thank you.


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## catsaqqara (May 20, 2011)

I saw your 4 month old post but didn't have an account yet, so here is the pic I altered from then if it still helps now, and the new one.

I don't show but practiced this cut on my puppy with the guidance of my breeder who shows and many reference pics so that I would be more prepared in the future if I decide to get into showing and breeding. 

One of the easiest parts to set on this cut is the bum, I would set the length to ~3/8 in with clippers then do blending.

I was given advice to shave the neck down to almost the chest bone, cut the front chest and under chest short, cut the bum and down the legs to the bend short, leave more hair on the back of the front legs and the front of the back legs all to shorten the body and give the appearance of longer legs and neck.


Green-grow out
Yellow-good length
Red-cut closer


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## catsaqqara (May 20, 2011)

Ok sorry, I'm having to much fun with the photo manipulating. Here is another.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

THANKS! I don't see why she couldn't be cut like this. She has too little hair where it needs to be longer and too much where it needs to be shorter. I keep asking the groomer, but she isn't getting it.I am going to give her another chance to get it right. I have two months before I thought I would try showing for fun (Bonnie will be 8 months), so should be able to grow hair out some. I won't be doing rubber bands, but her hair stands up pretty well and seems to be getting thicker and curlier, so hopefully I can get some height on the head and just keep it trimmed out of her eyes.

I'm telling you, when I give her a bath between grooms she does not look short legged for her body at all! I know it is the cut. It has been frustrating trying to relate what I want and not get it. The pictures will help a lot. 

Crossing fingers. I take her in a week, so will take a few pics afterwards and decide if I need to either find someone else or take the scissors to her myself (a scary prospect).


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

PS Catsaqqara: Why don't you try showing? If you don't want the stress of the AKC, try the UKC a couple of times. Your dogs look wonderful in their pic!


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## Fond of Poodles (Feb 1, 2011)

Hopefully your groomer gets it right this time around, it's tough if they are only familiar with pet trims though, they don't understand why we want the hair on the rump and back of back legs to be 1/4 in long, lol. To them, it's not balanced. Same with the tuck up, most groomers are used to following the dogs natural lines, but the tuck up for show clips tends to be moved forward somewhat.

I meant to say baseball bat shape leg, lol, but not as extreme

Catsaqqara - great pictures and editing, I know what you mean about having fun with photo editing! And yes your dogs look great.


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## partial2poodles (Feb 11, 2010)

Im just gonna add my groomers 5 cents worth....this baby fur hasn't begun to change yet and its so awful to deal with.....by getting her in a proper puppy show clip, you will be dealing with a little less coat. She is so beautiful....my baby is 4 months and I treasure every minute of this darling baby coat cuz once its gone, its gone for good.


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## catsaqqara (May 20, 2011)

Not sure if I'm prepared for showing and breeding yet, but both my dogs are altered. I think I may in the future though. Good luck with your groomer, I think taking pictures in will help.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

UKC has altered classes. 
You could do it just for fun and the experience. If you like it you can be like Chocolate Minnie and get a showdog for AKC. I wasn't looking for a showdog, so having Bonnie a smaller dog was a plus for our family. When she started getting so pretty (to me), I thought, "heck, I could do UKC with a little dark cream spoo." If I like it, I may consider an AKC showdog, but I would have to get a show groomer. I can bathe and brush, but don't hand me clippers or scissors.


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

outwest, it may behoove you to take bonnie to a show groomer to get her put into a proper clip and then let your regular groomer go from there to keep it up. 

also, your poodle is not too small. i don't get where you keep thinking that. if she's put together well, she'll do well.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Yammering on again LOL :
Her breeder told me she would be too small for Southern California AKC shows and I believe her. I have seen the SoCal AKC poodle competition plus she is dark cream. She is almost 7 months old and just under 21 inches. Maybe in other parts of the country or in Canada she would fit in, but the competition in SoCal is exceptional, black/white with only an occasional other color. Maybe if she was black. I know of one 21 inch black girl here that finished and she is related to London.  

Her dam was Canadian out of Eastern European ancestors. It took three generations of Canadian dogs before the AKC would recognize them and then the pedigree had to thoroughly scrutinized. This is the first litter out of the Canadian/European line that is registered in the US. It all seems very complicated. When I got her papers the breeder said, "Ten years in the making!" 

I do agree that if I wanted to do an absolutely correct AKC puppy cut I should get a show groomer to do it. I know it is frustrating to those of you who show groom and are involved in shows, but honestly I am enjoying working with my young groomer helping her learn along with myself. Since I do not own a spectacular AKC show dog, I don't see what harm I am doing. She has some really terrific conformation qualities and some not as good. I own a dark cream spoo with loads of character and spark. My husband calls Bonnie 'Bonster' (short for monster). 

Here is how she did today. The rear is much better, but still over an inch long. She said she can always take off more, but she didn't want to take too much. Her front legs still appear short when they really aren't. The hair on the front of her neck is way too long. The groomer did not trim her neck or shoulders down to the rib cage and is letting them grow, but they are pretty short right now. I pay $20 every two weeks plus I give her a $5 tip. It is quite reasonable because I was willing to go with the young groomer instead of the experienced one. 

At least she isn't wearing pantaloons. I think the groomer likes those little bows which last one day. In two weeks I will have her work on the front end. The hair is really long there. It looks like she used a level on her back LOL. 

Thank you so much for the pictures you supplied! I took them and they helped a LOT. She doesn't look long bodied now.  We examined the poodle book together and the show cut. Her goal this time was the rear end:


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## Poodlesrule 1 (Jan 16, 2011)

It sounds like you like your groomer and she is doing well with your dog. That's a major plus. Show grooming is totally different than pet grooming but it sounds like she is really trying which is good. What about getting a really good poodle grooming book and let her study the cuts and scissoring in it. It might make a difference in your dogs appearance and in the groomer getting the cut you want. 
Your dog is definately a very nice bitch. I'd take her to the UKC shows and go for it. Don't worry a bit about her size - my daughter's male is 23" and he finished his UKC Championship and his UKC Grand Championship against much larger dogs. It's not always about size it's about movement and structure. I do have a suggestion how about checking your local dog clubs and check out a confirmation class. It would be good experience for your puppy. The most important this is to go and have fun. You'll probably meet a lot of nice poodle people at the shows and enjoy yourself.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Our local dog training does have a conformation class. I am not concerned about her size. UKC accepts anything over 15 inches as a standard poodle. There is a huge size variance in UKC and that is kind of fun. The obedience classes in the UKC also look fun. My breeder asked for no heavy training in agility until she had full bone development, closer to two years old, so that is something to consider for later, too. Airborn is expected with Bonnie, she loved to jump. 

Dogs are fun.


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