# Will his tail get fluffy?



## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

It might....puppy hair certainly doesn't make for a nice, full tail.  I wouldn't give up hope until he's done with coat change. As far as thin spots, is there a reason for it? Does he chew on it? Is it so short that the end rubs on the ground when he sits? Otherwise, it may just be genetics, or it could be a bad docking job too I suppose.


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## Anntig (Jun 9, 2010)

Shadow's coat to forever to fully change (he started at 9 months) and his tail and legs were the last to change, he only just started getting adult hair on them a couple of months ago (he turned two yesterday) so your boy could still have a while to go.


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## Sawyersmomma (May 28, 2012)

Thanks! Hopefully you're both right


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## qtpoodle (Jan 15, 2012)

I was wondering the same thing. My toy, Westen, is also 13 months, and his coat is starting to change. His tail and legs look kind of wimpy, but his body hair has always been very thick. It sounds like we have a long way to go on his coat change.


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## Sawyersmomma (May 28, 2012)

How long does the coat change normally take? his Just started now


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

Sawyersmomma said:


> How long does the coat change normally take? his Just started now


 Standards take a long time...I've heard that they don't finish completely until 2 yrs. my mini took from about 7-8 months until about 15-16 months to completely finish up. You're going to be dealing with this for a while.  Hopefully his coat is like my mini's and it won't be too difficult...my mini didnt mat at all. I literally did nothing except for bathe him once a week and brush him a coupe times in between.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

My girl started at about 9 months old and she is 17 months now. She has mostly changed except a little on her ears and a little on her tail. Those two areas seem to be the last although I noticed her ear hair is getting really thick. Most of her is densely curly. Her tail is now over half thick curly hair, but not all of it yet. She has a long dock, but I think the tail is last.My last standard has a short dock and her tail never got thick. I think because there wasn't enough of it to make a nice puff.


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## Anntig (Jun 9, 2010)

I've groomed a couple of white standards that took three years to develop an adult coat but I'd say the average is 12-18 months. toys and minis seem to start younger and complete the change faster.


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## 3dogs (Nov 3, 2010)

Do you have a picture of your Spoo's tail? My Spoo has a short & bad dock job & he has thin hair at the tip & it won't grow in. I do a "carrot" tail on him so it is all short but in one area it is almost bald. I have another groomer friend with a brown Spoo & again a very bad short dock & there is pink skin & bald area at the end of her dogs tail.

As for coat change I have no idea. My Louisa is now 18 months old an OT/mini & she has most of her adult coat in. No mats at all. A bath about 1x a week maybe once every 2 weeks. I think her coat must have changed at about 5 1/2 months when her soft puppy hair ended up with pin mats & bald spots on all 4 of her legs. I used a fine tooth comb 2x daily to get out the pin mats. Lasted maybe 2 weeks then nothing. So, I was blessed with a very easy gradual coat change that has been taking months a section at a time. Her head was the 1st to get a really nice adult curl to it. Her back legs are still working on changing.


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## pgr8dnlvr (Aug 7, 2011)

What exactly is a "pin mat" How do you know if your dog has them?

Rebecca


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## 3dogs (Nov 3, 2010)

Pin mats are just like the name describes it. They are long, very thin mats. They often go through a regular comb. I used a fine tooth comb & sometimes my even finer face comb to find them. Most likely the cause of larger mats to come if not removed. I did this routine 2x daily for about 2 weeks. She had bald spots on her legs where these mats occurred usually because they were fine & hard to removed they just kinda pulled out vs. brushed out. If I had let her go a few days I am sure I would have had much larger mats to deal with. I have been very lucky that she has had an easy if not a very long time in changing coat. I think they must go through multiple stages of changing. Louisa is now 18 months old & she is almost done but her legs need a bit more adult hair to be complete. I think by 2 she should be done but that means that she has been changing coat for 19 + months.


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## Agidog (Jun 4, 2012)

*encourage coat change/growth*

I have been told by some pretty savy long time show people that like humans having regular hair cuts/trims, the more you scissor the puppy poodle wool the quicker the coat change will come in and also you get better quality coat, I have been gently scissoring my mini now for 4 months shaping her and trimming black tips off and everyone has commented how quickly her coat is clearing from black to silver, also she is nearly 7months now and already has good undercoat of mature hair. she still has good quantity of coat as amount taken off each time is minimal once a week, but it certainly has made a difference.


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## Michelle (Nov 16, 2009)

Atticus' didn't get fluffy until recently and he is about 2 and a half. It has always been limp and flat but it has FINALLY gotten some volume to it. His hair is still pretty soft for a poodle so it doesn't stay up as well as it would if he had corser hair. 

Here's his tail at about 8 months









A little over a year









From a couple months ago at 2 and a half years old, but it is shaped better now (I don't know why rounding tails is so hard for me...lol) and even fuller, not nearly as limp and wispy as it is in the previous photo.

Finished product! by adayinmylife9, on Flickr


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Cairo's tail at 9.5 months old. He actually has pretty good coat, though his tail is a PAIN to get straight, it has these really wide curls, but it keeps volume decently.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Here is my sister in laws little poodle. He just turned a year old 4 days ago. He has a long dock with an incredibly thick coat (she has his ears feathered because they are so thick). His actually holds a ball shape, which I am impressed with at such a young age. 

I think it depends on the length of the dock, if the end was done properly, color (well, this dog is white), genetics (black Russian sire had thick, almost crunchy, wirey coat correct to the poodle standard), diet (I believe diet has a lot to do with it) and a little luck. Smaller dogs seem to mature younger than standards. Most standards aren't through their coat change until near or over 18 months old.


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