Keeping your poodle well-groomed is essential, as poodles are intelligent dogs, and he would know if he wasn’t looking his best.
Originally poodles were groomed this way with a mane of hair around the poodle’s vital organs to keep them warm during winter, and when swimming in cold water to retrieve ducks shot in the hunting season.
The hair around the joints was also left in place for protection from the cold to avoid arthritis in the joints. The strange cut has remained fashionable even though most poodle’s now live in warm houses.
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Grooming Your Poodles – How It Is Done
In the old days when the poodle was a hunting dog, grooming the dog in this way was essential, as if the coat got long and thick he would be at risk of drowning in the pond when he went after the game birds.
Trimming around the eyes and mouth of the dog meant that he could see and retrieve birds easily from the water.
Getting a poodle ready for the show takes up to two days of grooming before a major competition. First, their hair is given a rough cut into shape and then on the day of the show, they are properly blow-dried, shaped, and styled.
The poodle cut is quite exacting, and the hair must not get matted so brushing every day will take out the tangles.
Start at the neck and move down towards the tail, any part of the coat that becomes matted should be cut off using curved scissors.
Bathing Poodles – How Do I Bathe My Poodle?
Poodles should be bathed regularly to keep their coats free from dirt. You can either bathe him at home or call in the mobile dog wash who are equipped to do an excellent job for 30-50 dollars a time.
If you bathe the dog too often it can remove the natural oils from its skin, and animal health experts say to bathe your poodles every 6-8 weeks.
If he is going to be in a dog show, he would be bathed a bit more often using the appropriate dog product.
How To Groom Show Poodles
- Practice grooming your dogs using the right blade, when you are starting out a 9 or 10 blade should be safe.
- Shave from ears to eyes.
- Shave between the eyes
- Shave nose and face, shave the hair from different directions.
- Shave the neck area.
- Leave the hair long above the eyes as you are going to form a topknot, trim the ends off
- Move to the feet and shave the back of the feet.
- Shave the feet leaving the ankles covered with fur
- Then move to the body and cut the body fur and leg fur at an even length
- Leave pom-poms above the feet and at the end of the tail.
- Chest, head, and ear fur are left long and trimmed.
All this grooming is time-consuming, and if you have a good local dog parlor they are the experts and do it all the time. The nail clipping can be tricky, especially when the dog moves his foot. It might be easier to leave the dog with them and pick him up later.
Your Poodles Coat
The poodles do not have the plush double coat associated with many breeds, and their coat is often referred to as hair, and the single-layer coat evolved because they were often in water retrieving.
They need brushing regularly because they do shed, but the fur doesn’t drop it just becomes matted. You will often hear people say that they have a poodle because they are allergic to dog fur.
Other dogs drop their fur and the dander causes allergies. The poodle fur just mats and can be cut away not causing any allergic reaction to people. Often people base their choice of a dog on this fact.
Poodles Come In Different Sizes
There are three sizes of Poodles, toy, miniature, and standard. They are thought to have originated in France or Germany.
If you have a small toy poodle who lives indoors with you, you probably don’t really need to trim and groom him, as he won’t be going in the water very often.
Once a year will probably be enough to present him at his best. They love to swim, and if you have a dog beach near you, you can throw a ball into the water, and they will retrieve it.
If you take your poodle to the pond in the park keep him on a leash, or he will run into the water and retrieve a duck for you, and this causes issues with the Ranger.
Crossbreeds and Mixes of Poodles
There are now more than 60 different mixes of poodles, and crossbreeds, and mixed breeds all seem to be bred for their hypoallergenic qualities and their lovely natures.
I have noticed with many of the new mixes the owners are leaving the coats natural, and they are not going through the rigorous grooming routine of the purebred poodles.
This natural look suits many of them perfectly, and if you have a crossbreed pet poodle or poodles they seem to be very hardy, healthy, and low maintenance dogs.
Pure Bred Poodles
Purebred poodles don’t look right unless they are properly groomed, and once your dog has been groomed he will probably feel the cold in winter.
So you will need to buy him some coats to wear outdoors. they seem to be very tolerant dogs, and don’t appear to mind when their raincoat is put on before a walk.
Unless you are showing your poodles, it might be kinder to leave them unclipped during winter and to let their coat get long and warm.Especially if you live in a climate with frost and snow.
If you show your poodles regularly they must be kept in comfort and warmth to prevent them from developing joint problems later in life, and usually, they live to around 15 years or more and often seem happier in pairs as they make good company for one another.
