# My beautiful Apricot standard



## liljaker

She is just beautiful!!!! I believe the puppy cuts shave face, feet, tail, etc. and the rest stay full ---- but I am sure one of the groomers will chime in. Great photo.


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## petitpie

What a beauty! What's her name?


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## tortoise

Rae said:


> She's going to get her first professional grooming and style next week.
> I want to keep her lion-like mane and top not but want her to be cool during
> Summer. It appears that all the cuts that keep the full mane, shave the rest of body. Or are there other options? Would appreciate any suggestions.


There is the scandinavian clip or the desi clip.


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## outwest

Beautiful color! It's hard to do anything too creative with puppy fluff, but here is something a little more creative on a 9 months old puppy that hasn't gone through coat change. Trouble is, you have to have a groomer who really knows poodles and doesn't mind putting in some extra time to do it. It takes a lot of scissoring. My groomer could never get it right, so I ended up with a sporting clip, which doesn't leave the mane:


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## Rae

Hi all:

Thanks. She will be one year old in June. Her name is Simba. I used a Wahl clipper on her when she was about 4 mos. and did just from behind her front legs back but never shaved anything but her face. It all seems to have grown out to same length now. 

So is her fur still considered puppy fur? I combed her out good last night. Used a product I found at local petsmart called Martha Stewart detangler to help with the few small mats I came across. She was all fluffy and pretty. I didn't want the groomer to have to work out the mats. Then my husband let her out on porch and she ran around in the light rain. (Men just don't understand how a girl needs to keep their hair out of rain! LOL)

She's my first poodle. And my first priority is keeping her comfortable (then beautiful :beauty: ) She pants pretty rapidly after playing/walking outside. We have a basset hound that is her BFF and they romp and play for hours on porch. It hasn't gotten hot here in VA. yet so I want to make sure I do best thing for her.

To Outwest: Hi: Re: puppy fluff, you mean her hair will change after she's older? Does the puppy fluff eventually get trimmed away or change when she's older? Your photo is similar to what I was thinking of trying. I found these images on google images similar to that. You think groomer can do the white one? This groomer is supposed to be good. 










and another one in black:


Thanks


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## faerie

she's gorgeous. i love her pretty color.

when she hits coat change, for sanity's sake ... i'd consider taking her down short and letting it grow back. you won't go nuts with dealing with dailiy matting issyoos.


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## Rae

faerie said:


> she's gorgeous. i love her pretty color.
> 
> when she hits coat change, for sanity's sake ... i'd consider taking her down short and letting it grow back. you won't go nuts with dealing with dailiy matting issyoos.


Hi - Thank you! When do they hit "coat change"? So it won't matt as easily then? That will be good.


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## faerie

I love love long hair on poodles. it looks soooo lovely. 

but when their adult coat starts coming in (9 months to a year it starts), so does massive matting. AND it's really hard to keep up with. i got overwhelmed with it (this was w/ temperance). if you aren't keeping a show coat, might as well let them get cut down and make your life easier.

someone advised me that when temperance started coat change and yep. i did.
it's hair. it will grow back. and faster than you think and i put her in a miami so she still had a poodly look.

seelie's 1 and he's in coat change, but he's pretty manageable right now. he's in a nice sporting clip, and was just groomed friday, and next time he will probably get buzzed down.

they are usually through coat change by 18 months or so. it depends on the dog..


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## Rae

Wow. It seems I have a LOT to learn about having a poodle. They are high maintenance. I guess that's what you should expect with a beautiful breed.

Her personality is just so sweet. When we walk, if she gets frightened at someone or another dog, she stands up on her rear legs and reaches up for me to pick her up like a child would do. 

That happened the other day and almost caused the driver to wreck. These black lab started barking something scary to her and she reached up to me to pick her up. This car was driving down the road and saw the whole thing and came to a stop in middle of road almost causing a wreck watching her. Lady yells out of the car how Awwww that is so sweet! LOL.


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## Carley's Mom

The only thing I have missed with only having adult dogs is that puppy coat. I think it is so beautiful. She is a doll. 

Speaking of a car slowing down to look... the other day I was walking Carley and this man slowed down to Check me out... so I thought. lol Then I noticed he had a standard in the back seat...lol


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## faerie

*snork*


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## Rae

LOL...

Yeah, dog owners love to see others of their breed.

She gets at least one compliment on every walk. Everyone says, oh what a beautiful dog! And then.. What kind of dog is she? 

Maybe after her clipping, I won't get that question any more. There aren't many standard poodles in my area.


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## outwest

I cut my girl all the way down in January when she was a year old. Three months later she is pretty fluffy again. The matts can sometimes form over night while the puppy hair falls out and the adult hair comes in. The adult hair is usually curlier and denser and coarser, but with an apricot (mine is light apricot) sometimes it isn't as bad as the darker colors. All poodle coats vary. Unless you are showing her, you might want to bite the bullet and shave her shorter. You'll avoid the matts that way and it grows pretty fast. On the other hand, if you like the longer hair and you aren't having a matt problem, keep it long unless you do. You can always shave her short if you need to. 

It was super fun to see what my dog looked like under all the puppy hair.  Now her hair is almost all adult (she is 15 months old) and it is so nice and curly yet soft.  It holds it's shape well, so I could get a more interesting trim if I wanted, but I am thinking of cutting her short again because it was so cute that way.


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## LEUllman

Your girl's color is amazing, like spun gold. I was delighted to get Beau out of a longish puppy trim and into a lamb (winter) and Miami (summer). That happened at about 9 months, and we haven't looked back. At 2-1/2, his hair is still kind of puppyish -- straight and soft, rather than dense and curly -- and if I go more than three days without combing out his ears and legs, mats begin to form. What till you see her in a Miami. Makes everyone smile. :smile:


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## Rae

LEUllman said:


> Your girl's color is amazing, like spun gold. I was delighted to get Beau out of a longish puppy trim and into a lamb (winter) and Miami (summer). That happened at about 9 months, and we haven't looked back. At 2-1/2, his hair is still kind of puppyish -- straight and soft, rather than dense and curly -- and if I go more than three days without combing out his ears and legs, mats begin to form. What till you see her in a Miami. Makes everyone smile. :smile:


Do you have a photo or link to a Miami cut? Your pup is precious!


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## 2719

faerie said:


> *snork*


double snork


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## outwest

I couldn't locate the other pics I had, grrrrr, but here's Bonnie in a short Miami at one year old to give you an idea. You don't have to go this short. I did to fix a terrible groom. There are lots of better pictures of Miami clips on this forum. Just search for them. Some people keep the head hair long and rubberband it with the Miami. If you like her hair long and it isn't too much work for you, you could ask the groomer to neaten her up and give her some shape. 









Oh, don't forget these babies LOL:









Just kidding. We only did toenails for the holidays. The fun with having a poodle is playing with their hair. Most people end up with an easy to maintain trim, but having the bracelets is cute to me and the Miami is easy to take care of. Some people hate puffs and that's okay, too.


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## tortoise

Here are 2 Miami's. They are short (#7), both the same length

This is a dog "of substance" but also has big fatty masses on her body. She is 14 years old. She used to be in a Lamb clip and came in every 2 weeks, but she can't handle that anymore. Her shaved feet are growing out, she can't stand long enough even with support. Her owner stopped in to get a body sling which makes me sad. :sad: Her ears are shaved because of matting and ear problems. I told the owner "she will be short, but still look like a poodle" he LOVES it.


Parfait Miami by tortoise11, on Flickr

This is a tall, leggy girl. They saw the photo above and switched their dog from a utility cut. They wanted her ears left long - which is the normal way. She is not stacked right, she's hard to take a photo of!


Maizy Miami by tortoise11, on Flickr


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## Rae

The pictures are precious! I do like them. Does their hair stay up out of their eyes without any special sprays? Just keep it brushed upward? I like it almost as much as top not.

Simba looks so sweet with the long top not but she really hates it when I have to put the bands back in which is sometimes more than two or three times a day. I haven't yet seen a Miami with hair banded. I just got a poodle book and will look at photos to see if they have one. But I really like this cut. 

Some of you are groomers? The lady that's going to groom my girl didn't want me to stay. I'm going Fri. She finally gave in when I insisted but said if it doesn't go well, she'll stop the grooming. I think my girl would be terrified if I just dropped her off there. She's never been away from me. I think my presence would make it better for her. Is it normal that the groomer doesn't want owner there?


Here she is from breeder's photos before I got her.


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## outwest

Well, most people take their dogs to a groomer from the time they are little puppies like that cute picture of your girl. Mine has gone every two weeks since I got her and so, yes, I drop her off and pick her up. She loves her groomer! Since you have been doing her yourself it is a little different. I think it is okay for you to stay the first time. Luckily, you have been grooming her regularly, so she should be used to clippers and shaving, right? 

Yes, their hair stays out of their eyes. It is only puppy hair that flops over if it gets too long. Well, some light colored dogs don't have enough shape to hold a good topknot, but your girl looks like she will be able to just fine. 

Please post pictures after her groom!


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## Sookster

Your girl is gorgeous! I absolutely adore the apricots. 

I have to say, I love the long hair as much as anyone. BUT those scandi/desi type clips that you posted earlier still leave a LOT of hair. I don't know how warm it is in VA, but I know that where I am (GA) it's already in the 80's. Nova was in a longish lamb until February, when I had to bite the bullet and put her in a short Miami (pic attached). The other photo of the solid black girl is another one I put in a Miami from a long lamb a couple weeks ago. No looking back here, though we may grow out the lamb again for the winter on Nova. The Miami is very poodley, but very comfortable and easy to keep up at the same time. 

I think leaving her in a long clip is going to be very hard and both of you, especially with her at the age to be going through coat change. It's going to mean hours of combing and de-matting each day for you, and even then it can be hard to stay on top of. Plus she's going to be hot, and itchy if she has mats pulling at her skin. I have to agree with others that if she isn't staying in show coat, take her down short. By winter, she should be out of coat change and it will be cool enough to grow her back out. Plus, the adult hair stays poofy and pretty so much easier and doesn't mat nearly as bad, so it will be a lot easier to maintain. 

Good luck making a decision, and I'm sure that doll will be absolutely gorgeous no matter the clip.


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## Indiana

Wow, Nova is really beautiful! So is Simba. I agree with the above posts, I had my dog in a Scandi and it's gorgeous but when coat change hit in earnest, the kindest thing to do was take her down to a Miami...who wants their hair pulled and pulled every night. Not fun! I'll put her back in a Scandi next winter maybe, if she's done coat change.


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## Rae

outwest said:


> Please post pictures after her groom!


I will. I want to get a good before picture with her brushed out good. Its so hard to get her to stand still!


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## roulette

On your question about your groomer not wanting you there... I worked with my dear friend (and groomer ) for years as a prep person and greeter for dogs being dropped off. You would be very surprised at how some dogs' behavior changes radically, once their owner is out the door. I've had pups tremble uncontrollably or even snarl in a rage..their owners (justifiably) scared to leave them at the shop. Then boom, the owner succumbs and leaves, I drop the dog's leash, and it trots happily to it's crate, never another peep (usually til MOm or Dad shows up) then the histrionics begin again. Now, with puppies, I would want the first few trips to go as smooth as possible, but imagine if you went with your six yr old to school every day...of course they would be clinging to you, not growing into the new situation, and you would inhibit their transition more than assist. So, the first time or two, yeah..hang out for a bit, assure yourself that she is fine. But after that (unless your groomer is a monster..and some are), she can surely handle a simple few hours at the beauty shop without you. If she's a Standard Poodle, she'll have to learn to enjoy it, as it is a fact of her life.


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## Lilah+Jasper

I drop my standards off at the groomer all the time - no muss no fuss. My groomer had excellent references and is so very gentle. And I* know* Lilah is better for her than me. I hand over the leash, we discuss my instructions and I leave without even a backward glance.

When you arrive at the grooming shop make sure not to baby or reinforce any bad behaviors. Jasper acts like he's lost a limb and I pretend not to notice. Be calm and remember that you are setting the foundation of a lifetime of grooming


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## roulette

Lilah and Jasper, that is excellent advice! Meet it with confidence, and your dog will, too.


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## Rae

I guess you are all right about trusting to leave her at groomer. I keep thinking of nightmare stories I've heard. There was recently an incident at a Petco where they left the poor dog in a heater and it died horrible death. Petco no longer uses that type of dryer. I know its probably isolated incident. 

Last time I took my Basset for a grooming. They had her in the neck harness they put around their neck when they groom them, up high on a table and she was only few months old. Groomer's assistant, then turned around to get something and if I had not been there to run over and catch her, my puppy would have fallen from that high table and maybe hung or suffered a serious injury as a result.


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## Lilah+Jasper

Just make sure to vet your groomer thoroughly. Ask for and check references. Discuss the groomer's point of view on the things that concern you. Present some what-if scenarios to the groomer. If you like what you hear, then you've found your groomer and be confident in your choice. Your dog will pick up on your body language, nervousness and anxiety. A good groomer is worth their weight in gold


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## Rae

*Here's a "before" taken today*

Here's a "Before" taken today. Brushed her a little but she still needs a lot more brushing out.

Will post her "AFTER" tomorrow. I'm excited! (and a little nervous)


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## Quossum

Oh my gosh, call me crazy, but I love the "before"! I adore that drapy pajama look, but at some point, yeah, you've got to go short again. Can't wait to see the results after her groom--she's such a beauty!

--Q


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## Rae

Thanks. I agree. I like it too. Its beautiful when she's brushed out well but she gets so hot on warm days. So vanity must give way to comfort, time and practicality.


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## Rae

Rae said:


> Here's a "Before" taken today. Brushed her a little but she still needs a lot more brushing out.
> 
> Will post her "AFTER" tomorrow. I'm excited! (and a little nervous)


Here's a couple of after photos. Hope to get some better ones later. I couldn't believe how skinny she is! Groomer wanted to leave her a little on top. 

I love her this way. Will do longer hair on back of neck later as her adult fur grows in. I think she likes it but it was a cool day. It took 4 hours!!


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## outwest

She looks great in her Miami! It's pretty amazing to see how little dog is under all the hair, isn't it?  She looks fabulous, so cute and poodly!


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## Ms Stella

I LOVE it...the Miami is my 2nd favorite cut  She wears it well!


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## Quossum

Huge difference! I love that you kept the banded topknot. I love that look. Bet she feels much cooler now!

--Q


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## LEUllman

Fantastic! And look at that awesome tail!


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## Carley's Mom

She is so pretty! I love her color, I hope it stays.


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## outwest

Did the groomer let you stay the whole time?


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## Rae

outwest said:


> Did the groomer let you stay the whole time?


Yes she did. The only time I couldn't see her was when she was in some type of cage with forced air blowing her in another room. The air was room temperature, not heated which would have been a concern to me. 
She (groomer) tolerated us both very well. She gave Simba a 2 on the scale of 1-10, with 10 being most difficult. (Not sure what my grad was lol )Not bad for her first grooming!:angel2:

Here's some of the big day. Included the last to show her plume tail. She was not docked as you can probably tell. What a relief. I love being able to feel her muscle tone and skin. Before it was just all fluff. 

And she's still stopping traffic! :beauty:


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## RileysMommy

She was beautiful before...but after...WOW!


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## petitpie

She looks lovely in her new clip!


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## Rae

Carley's Mom said:


> She is so pretty! I love her color, I hope it stays.


I hope so too! Groomer told me often they start out Apricots and change to creme later so guess I won't know for a while. 

She gets a lot of comments and questions about her color. When we were at the register getting some other products, this man said, "well I know she was dyed. That's not her natural color". He thought I had the groomer do it. LOL


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## CT Girl

She looks stunning. If you could get that color from a bottle you would see a lot more of it.


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## Lou

Rae said:


> Here's a couple of after photos. Hope to get some better ones later. I couldn't believe how skinny she is! Groomer wanted to leave her a little on top. I love her this way. Will do longer hair on back of neck later as her adult fur grows in. I think she likes it but it was a cool day. It took 4 hours!!


Thats a gorgeous apricot!!!! Love it! I love her with long hair as well... I'm letting Lou's hair grow for winter, but already trying to figure out a hair cut for the summer


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