GROOMING YOUR POODLE
I am by no means an expert groomer, I only know what I have learned by trial and error and what I have learned from others. I do however know how I have groomed the puppies I have raised and sold and hope that these things will help your puppy transition go more smoothly.
TOENAILS: Poodle nails grow quickly and need to be trimmed frequently. I start clipping puppies’ toenails at about 1 week and continue at least weekly, for the health of the puppy and the happiness and comfort of their mother. I also try to trim the adults toenails at least twice a month if not weekly. Puppies: I use regular fingernail clippers for people as long as possible for convenience and ease. Spread their toes apart and clip off the pointy nail. Be careful not to go to close or you will hit their “quick” a blood vessel that runs inside their toenail but will also shrink back the shorter you keep the nails. If you’d like you can also use a file to smooth any scratchy nails.
Adults/ large puppies. Use dog nail clippers and use the same basic principles I have also learned to use a dremel and trim nails which is quick and leaves less scratchy nails. Even my kids can use the dremel!
Bathing your Puppy:
MOST IMPORTANT: Give yourself lots of time. Make bath time fun and easy for both of you, the more often you groom the less time it will take and the better you both will get.
At 3 weeks, the puppies start eating solid food and that means they get messy! I normally give them their first baths at 3 weeks. I use Blue dawn dish soap as shampoo. Some people say that it will dry out their skin, but it was a trick passed down to me By my 4H leader who has raised, trained and showed Belgian sheepdogs for many years, and it has never caused an issue in my dogs. I like to use water that is slightly warm, not hot which irritates their skin or cold, especially this young!
Get the puppy wet first and apply soap, avoid their face, especially eyes and nose. Lather it nicely over the rest of the body and then rinse, start at the head and work back, making sure to avoid getting soapy water in their eyes and nose.
I do like to use a little conditioner afterwards to make them smell nice and keep their hair more manageable. I use whatever conditioner I have for myself, normally I like TRESEMME anti breakage.
*TIP : Use a comb or a slicker brush while they have conditioner on to make the rest easier.
BLOW DRY: When they are tiny I mostly towel dry and then use the blow dryer just a little to get them used to it and keep their hair fluffy longer. Blow drying them completely is one of the most important things for getting the clip to look right later on, I cannot emphasize that enough. Take the time and blow dry!
TIP: a dog blow dryer makes this so much easier! If I had known years ago how much faster I would have spent the money and saved myself hours!
BRUSH: The puppy hair is fine and generally easy to brush. You will need a good slicker brush. After you have blow dried for a while stop and brush. Start at the bottom to brush. Hold the hair up lightly with one hand and use the slicker brush in the other hand to pull the hair from the base of the hair out of your hand and downward. As this is difficult to explain here is a video, its okay, there are probably many others, find the technique that works for you. Again, give yourself plenty of time, this should not be painful for the dog, rather enjoyable for both of you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWrFLxAjJWQ
Clipping your Puppy:
MOST IMPORTANT: Its hair and will grow back, don’t feel bad if you give a bad haircut. Keep trying!
Materials: Clippers: I am asked all the time which clippers are best. The answer is always changing but I have been very happy with my whal clippers. I recomment the Chromado 5-in-1. I like the 5-in-1 because you onky have to buy one size blade to get all the desired lengths. Right now, I have Artero HIT clippers and I love them too, They have a great battery life. but ifyou find a good deal, do some research, see if people like them on their poodles. You will also probably want some blade combs and an extra blade on hand.
Important: No matter what length you are trimming, make sure to check the blade often to see if it is too hot. I just press it gently against the inside of my wrist. If its too hot change blades, or set the hot blades on a cool surface and wait. You want your puppy to enjoy grooming and burning them will not help.
At 4 weeks I bathe the puppies and normally shave their faces for the first time. I like to use a #10 blade on their faces, feet and tails, it is a little long but you don’t have too much risk of cutting them or giving them razor burn.
FACE:
1) Hold their face gently in one hand and set the clippers just between the eyes at the bottom and go towards their nose.
2) Next turn their head to the side, hold their ear out of the way and clip in a straight line from the top of the ear to the corner of their eye. Important! Hold the top of the blade at the line so that you are not shaving above it, hold the skin back so it is smooth and you don’t snag it.
3) Hold the head up and make “V” shape by trimming from the bottom of the ear to somewhere just above the prosternum (collar bone bump)I like a slightly smaller V than most so I go higher up on the neck, some go all the way to the bump, it’s up to you in the end. Remember: put the bottom edge of the clippers at the bottom of the ear so you shave off the hair above the line.
4) Pull the lips back so you can shave all around the muzzle and cheek without cutting their lips, you can shave forward or back to get all the hair, Up from the lips to the eyes, up from the neck to the chin. You want to make sure you get the little tuft of hair on the bottom lip that is in the crease by their canine.
Feet
At 5 Weeks I also start shaving the puppies' feet. Still using the #10 blade, gently hold the puppies foot just above the pad, all the way around their leg. 1)Gently shave just from the top of the pad up a little bit. 2) Starting by the toenails shave the hair up the toes to just above the bend of the foot.
3) Separate the toes and shave in between.
4) On the bottom of the foot "Scoop" from the pad to the toes
Tail
At 4 weeks we also shave a small band of hair at the base of the tail. The band should cover the rectum when the tail is down. 1) Start at the top of the area to be shaved and holding the tail up, shave to where the tail meets the body. Do this until you have gone all the way around the tail. 2) On the underside of the tail carefully shave the hair around the rectum and "scoop" just under it. 3) make a small "v" that centers on the spine just above the base of the tail. (this is optional but is the normal poodle look)
* shaving the tail helps the hind end stay more sanitary but also shows the true color of your puppy, especially on a brindle or phantom, this will show the intensity of their pattern.
Body:
There is too much to cover here so here are a few tips. Know what you want the dog to look like before you start shaving their body, There are a lot of good youtube videos about different kinds of clips and how to do them. try out different looks and Most Importantly remember it is hair and will grow back!