# A New Haircut for Lola?



## littleredjenn (Jul 3, 2012)

*Posting pics*

Uh oh. Didn't realize I couldn't upload pics directly from my phone. Will post tomorrow a.m. from my desktop.


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## littleredjenn (Jul 3, 2012)

*Lola in the flesh*

Here she is! Sorry for the bad lighting.


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## Lily's-Mom (May 31, 2012)

Congratulations on the new doggy. She's very cute. Lola's tail may not have been docked so that's why it's longer. I have used Angel's Eyes in the past and had good success with it, but mine was not a white dog. White dogs are very hard to keep eyes clean for some reason. We used to have a pekingese-poodle mix and he was white and had terrible tear stains and I didn't know much about dogs or remedies for stains other than some of the bleaches sold and I wouldn't use those - seemed too drastic and dangerous for an amateur like me to be putting a bleach near my dogs eyes! As far as the new clip, I think that's a personal preference. I have my miniature poodle in a kennel clip, easier to keep a shaved face clean and so far the clip is easy keep up with brushing and combing.
PS - Looks like Lola made herself comfy on your pillow, huh? LOL


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## RileysMommy (Jul 18, 2011)

She's adorable!! Congrats to you and HER!


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

Lola looks all poodle to me  Poodles aren't born with short tails, they are docked soon after birth. Because of the practice of docking, many undocked poodles will have a curved tail (breed standard calls for a straight tail, but for years the tails have been docked below the point of the curve so the tail appears straight, making tail-straightness something that breeders don't tend to select for; this results in most poodles having a "gay" tail when left undocked). 

Good luck with the tear stains. I understand that it plagues a lot of white and light-faced dogs. I'm lucky in that neither my silver or my white girl get tear stains. I will say that sometimes, staining can be associated with food. Make sure you are feeding a high quality food with lots of meat protein (as opposed to plant protein). Others with more experience will chime in, I am sure. 

As far as a haircut, your imagination is the limit! You can have her cut into a Miami even if her legs aren't that long. This will help keep her cool in summer heat. The German leaves a good bit of hair on the topknot and crest. I _think_ this is the main difference between it and a lamb. The German also does a "carrot" tail. I think if you are hoping to cut her into a Miami, your best bet would be either: 

1) Go ahead and do a Miami and deal with the shorter legs until they grow in. This doesn't take an eternity, and she will be comfortable. 

2) Go for a short lamb, which will set the topknot and tail pattern for the Miami (tail should have a pouf, not be clipped into a carrot shape like the German), will leave the ears longer, and tell the groomer not to take any length off her legs. 

But I'm not a groomer. Someone with more grooming experience may chime in. Whatever you choose, I'm sure she will be adorable!


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## littleredjenn (Jul 3, 2012)

Awww, thanks for saying she's cute, ladies! 

We actually already had two small dogs, but they were going to...I can't even type it...you-know-what at the shelter if she didn't get a home by the end of that week. I slightly know her previous owner who had to turn her over because she moved to some non-pet housing, and she was telling me about her predicament...well, I went to get Lola to keep her temporarily until a home could be found, and now we seem to have a new dog. 

She's very funny. She "talks" back a lot, and yes, she really seems to enjoy lying on my pillow. She has just settled right in to our lives and our hearts! We just have never had a "hair" dog before--both of our others are short-haired, so I am trying to learn all I can about taking good care of poodle coats, etc. 

The Angel's Eyes has worked wonders on my Jack Russell's face. I had never heard of it until the vet recommended for Lola's tear stains. Hers are progressing more slowly due to her infection, I think, but Daisy (my JRT) has practically no tear stains after less than a month. It's so crazy. She's seven years old and I just thought that was part of being a white dog. Oops.

Anyway, the vet also said keeping a poodle's face shaved can help prevent future eye infections (in case stray hairs stick to her eyes and/or introduce contaminants via touching the eye), and I want to see what kind of clip she looks best in. Her sheared-lamb look wasn't doing much for her at first, ha ha.

I will investigate what a kennel clip looks like. Maybe she is 100% poodle and just no one docked her tail? I didn't realize poos needed tail docking at birth. It's a whole new world, I tell ya.


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## LEUllman (Feb 1, 2010)

She looks all poodle to me, and the fact that she immediately found the most comfy spot in the house to plop down on all but confirms it. :smile:

What is she eating? Tear staining has never been a problem for us, but Beau has always eaten a grain-free raw diet. These days it's Nature's Variety frozen raw, which is a bit pricey but a convenient way to feed raw. We think it's well worth it, for this and many other good reasons.

If you put her in a lamb trim now, she'll grown into it nicely. It's then easy to go to a Miami for summer -- we go back and forth every year. Shaving her face might help with the tearing. If not, it makes wiping up easier, plus, her poodleness will shine through!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Congratulations to both of you - and I am sure she will repay your kindness and compassion a hundredfold in the years to come.

The staining may improve once the infection is cleared. Sophy tends to get runny eyes when she is stressed - she had quite bad staining as a pup but it is rarely a problem now. Whether she grew out of it, or because of the raw/home cooked diet, I'm not sure! 

I'd be tempted to have her clipped in a style that makes the most of her growing coat, and enjoy making her look poodley. You can always have her cut shorter next time. Poodles are no longer docked in the UK, so we have got used to having a plume rather than a pompom - just the first few inches of the tail shaved, and the rest shaped with scissors. I'm lookinh forward to seeing how she looks!


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## Bunny (Jun 14, 2012)

littleredjenn, I got a dog from the shelter in April. I grew up with a toy poodle (about 1000 years ago), and I thought this girl was a poodle mix, too. I did a DNA test (LOL) that I found on Amazon. It was about $60, I think, and it came back that our Cookie was 100% miniature poodle (all ancestors back to great-grands). 

It was the undocked tail that confused me, plus she was totally ungroomed, just an adorable shaggy mess. I got her kind of poodle-y at the groomer's last week, and my son and husband hate it! LOL I have to say I like the teddy bear look, too, and I'm going to let her hair grow out and keep her kind of messy looking. 

I dropped my son at camp today, and the only picture he wanted to take with him was of Cookie. LOL Mom and dad = chopped liver!

Your new baby is sooooo cute!


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## ambitious groomer (Mar 21, 2011)

*hmmmm...*

I think she'd look great in a pony clip! I don't have any pics but you can search one in the forum search. I think it looks better with a full tail! She'd make a great pony.


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## littleredjenn (Jul 3, 2012)

So many styles to choose from! Having a dog with style-able hair is going to be fun! :act-up:

Sookster and LEULLman, we don't feed raw due to the dachshund having stomach trouble with that, but we do feed grain-free premium food. I had switched over to Merrick Before Grain a few months ago and they really seem to like that--the JRT lies in front of the laundry room when it's close to feeding time, anticipating me opening the door and wheeling in the dog food bin.  

I suspected a year or so ago that my JRT had food allergies, and grain-free has helped with her shedding soooooo much (yet another benefit of poos--NO SHEDDING! YAY! ). The only thing is, the area I live in (Texas/Mexico border area) is consistently ranked as one of the worst spots to live in the U.S. for allergens. My allergies are consistently a problem here, and I think that's probably what has caused both my girls to have such terrible staining. I started thinking about it, and I really haven't seen many light-colored dogs down here that don't have staining.  When I was investigating groomers the other day, I even saw a dog leaving the salon that still had some staining on his/her eye area, despite being freshly groomed. I am guessing it's something in our environment. We have lots of funky tropical flora and fauna not found anywhere else in the U.S.!

I hope I made a good choice with my groomer! They were one of the places recommended by our vet, and I went and "spied" at all of the salons and then asked specific questions to those that were still in the running after my covert visits, ha ha. The person I ended up making an appointment with had some pictures of poodles they groom, but they were either bikini or continental clips.........but I'm confident if I bring him some pictures of what I am wanting, he will at least try to attempt it. 

Bunny, good idea on the DNA test--it really doesn't matter to me if she's pure poo or not, but it would be nice to know just because I am a silly dog mom like that. It drives me slightly crazy that I don't know her actual birthday. My husband keeps saying "no 'poodly' clips!" but he will just roll his eyes and go back to loving on her no matter what she loooks like, ha ha.  

I just googled "poodle pony clip" and nearly died laughing. So cute! but I think hubby _might_ draw the line on that one. He might not walk her with that style! 

I'll post a photo of Lola with her new style tomorrow, and I'll try to get a better 'before' photo for comparison. I'm going to print a few styles and talk to the groomer about which one he's most comfortable with. I still really like the Miami, and since it's always at least 75 degrees Farenheight here (and usually more like 90!), I think she'll be comfy year-round in that. I feel like a mom waiting on her little girl's hair to grow enough to put it in pigtails, ha!


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## dogs123 (Jun 14, 2012)

Lola is darling....

I vote for the lamb clip....or the 'puppy' clip...

I have as apricot poodle, and she doens't tear, but I do have a white schnauzer, that does have tear stain....

What I do is to put distilled water in their bowls, and feed grain - free dog food, I feed "Taste of the Wild", but there are many others to choose from.

Also, daily I put human eye drops in her eyes, it is called "Collyrium for Fresh Eyes" eye wash....I had read about this on another dog forum, and it does dissolve the dark, crusty stains that develop during that day. Plus, when I have used it on my eyes, it is very refreshing, and makes the eyes feel good.

I think combating tear stains is an ongoing process, but if you keep up on it, it helps alot.


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## littleredjenn (Jul 3, 2012)

*She's BACK!*

Awww I just went and picked Lola up from the groomer's on my lunch break and I am THRILLED with how she looks! The groomer is a definite keeper; he was very patient with me trying to explain what I am looking for eventually and was really nice and calm with Lola. He said she did *not* care for her face shaving but that she was pretty cooperative.  I can only imagine. She's a bit hyper, ha ha. 

I decided to go with a very basic face, feet and sanitary shave for now as her hair is still only appx. 1/4" long. (Besides her tail. The hair on that sucker _grows_!) I didn't realize until after I picked her up a while ago that her toenails were in such bad shape--they definitely haven't been trimmed on a regular basis and the quick is pretty long, but hopefully lots of play time on the (concrete) patio and walks on the sidewalk with her sister will help that. 

I have attached a few before and after photos for your viewing pleasure. You can see how much prettier she looks now that some hair is growing back, and I am simply amazed at how much better her eyes looked after shaving her face. The groomer explained that the Angel's Eyes may have, indeed, been working, but that once light hair is stained, the stain sometimes may not come out, but the hair that's growing back in won't be stained (makes sense). 

I'm just so happy that we found a nice groomer and Lola seemed happy enough to be there. She was definitely excited to see me, but she didn't seem stressed and wasn't shivering or going bananas or anything. I call it a success. She definitely looks more like a poodle to me now.  Thanks for all the advice!!


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## TrinaBoo (Apr 3, 2012)

I love the first 2 pics! Her smile is adorable! The diversity in that kitchen is amazing! 
: )


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

She looks adorable in her new cut. I also think she looks like an undocked poodle. That is one happy dog!


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## LoveMyDogs (Jun 13, 2012)

Lola is so cute! She is lucky you adopted her and are dedicated to giving her the "princess" life she deserves. 

My little white girl had eye stains as well. She always looked her best after she was freshly groomed because they shaved her little face. 

She is beautiful...stains and all!


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## Lily's-Mom (May 31, 2012)

She's such a pretty thing anyway, but I love the new haircut and it looks like she's happy with it too.


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## Bunny (Jun 14, 2012)

littleredjenn, here are before and after of Cookie. The really dark part on her upper back is gone, but it's definitely still dark there. I don't like her clipped short like this and we'll let her go back to a teddy bear look and keep it.


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## littleredjenn (Jul 3, 2012)

Bunny,

Thanks for posting those! I went out of town for the weekend and I am just now getting caught back up. 

Lola still has her dark spot across her shoulder blades and around her ears, but I don't care.  I love her no matter what. 

She pulled her bows out within the first hour of her new clip, of course, but it's been so fun to see her prissing around in her little lamb clip.  My hubby said her feet look like monkey paws. He's slightly freaked out about it, ha ha. 

When I woke up this morning, I found Lola dangling upside down on my pillow so that she was hind toes to the wall, nose to my shoulder, lying on her back so she could stare at me with one eye. SUCH a silly girl. We're just loving our little poodly baby. I feel as though it's the start of full-blown poodle <3.


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