# newbie question about grooming 2 yo spoo



## Aidan (Mar 4, 2009)

Well the unfortunate thing about having a spoo is that they are very high maintainance dogs! When the coat grows out you really have to brush/comb it to avoid those matts.. 

But spoos have so many good qualities that make the grooming requirements not such a bad thing! They really are good dogs and with patience and practice can be very easy dogs to groom. Mine just lay over on their side for brushing and I usually brush them while watching TV at night or something like that. It's very relaxing for them and relaxing for me as well.

There is nothing wrong with keeping the poodle curly instead of having the dog fluff dried to straighten the hairs out but it does get tangled more easily or so it seems to me.

You could choose to have the dog shaved down all over top knot, ears, tail, etc... I don't see anything wrong with doing that if you want an easier coat to maintain. Also, I personally thing poodles are adorable shaved. I believe Todd shaves down his spoo Moose really short and it looks adorable. 

I shaved my younger spoo down awhile back with a 4 blade all over including his ears and tail, topknot, took it all off to grow out his adult coat and I thought he was super cute as well.

Other than that though there isn't a way to get out of brushing the dog. If you can afford it and want to maintain the poodle coat find a groomer you trust and ask about getting set up on a schedule. I like to have all my regular clients on a 4-6 week schedule depending on the dogs coat and how often they need grooming to keep it well maintained.

Some of my regular clients even come to me in between grooms and just ask for a brush out and I only charge $11 as long as the coat isnt matted and just needs a good brushing and it takes some time but id rather they do that then come to me with a matted dog that has to be shaved.

Good luck!

Also, always ask for a groomers references and be sure to call them. There are so many bad groomers in the industry and good, reliable groomers will be HAPPY to turn over there references. I know i'm proud of the customers I have that trust me with their dogs completely and don't mind one bit if a new customer wants to check up on me.


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## Aidan (Mar 4, 2009)

Here are some different poodles shaved down. I LOVE the first one although I think its a 10 blade all over, not sure i'd go that short with mine but it's actually cute. Maybe the guy feels he actually has a manly dog without the fluff, lol.


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## doggielover (Apr 10, 2009)

thank you so much, aiden. i ran into a fellow spoo lover and found out a good local place for grooming. we have an appointment for wed. i'm very excited. i think we're going to go with the short sport cut. it's probably best for us.


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## T o d d (Sep 25, 2007)

Aidan - cool pics. I think moose gets #10 all over and shorter on his feet when we take him to one place. He LOVES it in this heat!


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