[nagdu] Calling Poodle People

[Tami Jarvis]

Meghan,

Oh, the grooming! With two poodles on hand, I can answer all of your 
questions with "not often enough." /lol/

1. My husband and I have worked together to trim Mitzi, but I've never 
gotten brave enough to use clippers on her face or around those other 
sensitive areas where the cut needs to be especially close.

2. I brush the beasts daily, except for right after grooming, then I 
just brush the topknots and tails. I have to confess to going through 
periods where I miss a poodle, depending on where they are in the 
grooming cycle, especially now that one is retired and one isn't ready 
to need that little extra for indoor access. Loki's getting close, so 
I'm going to have to get back on track to keep his coat clean and neat.

3. I use a pin brush and a comb and sometimes a bristle brush. I have a 
slicker brush but Mitzi hates it. I haven't tried it on Loki yet. I 
really need to add a good grooming spray but haven't gotten around to 
getting it yet. I've used olive oil with Mitzi at times, but in this 
drier climate and with two poodles to brush, I need to get something else.

4. I haven't done the full monty line brushing, but I do like to brush 
Mitzi out, then brush her or comb her against the grain, then brush the 
right way again. It makes her coat feel awesome and cleaner, especially 
when it is long. It takes awhile, so I'm more likely to do it if we're 
watching a movie or something, since we both find it relaxing. Sometimes.

5. I hand pluck the poodles' ears between groomings, but I let the 
professionals do the deep down stuff with tools in the ear canal.

6. We have the poodles done every other month. Sometimes we go longer in 
winter, and we do monthly in summer.

7. I like a modified field cut. So it's the same length all over, down 
to the skin in hygienic areas, with clean face and feet. I also have the 
ears trimmed up to the flap when the dog is working. I leave a "hint of 
poodle" in the tail and topknot, though I've started having the fan tail 
and letting it grow out. I don't like the round knob tail at all. I 
tried just having the whole dog shaved without the poodle embellishments 
but got tired of having to tell people she was a poodle. So I've learned 
to love the topknot and puffy tail. /smile/ People want to put their 
hands on the topknot, which is obnoxious, so I try to watch out for that.

8. They don't shed, but they do pick up debris like you would not 
believe. If you have your dog sit or lie down, it helps to remember to 
brush over the coat with your hands and remove anything you don't want 
to take into the meeting with you. If you keep the coat fairly short, 
you can get away with a lick and a promise and even just wipe off 
surface dirt with a damp wash rag, so that's nice. Once the coat starts 
growing out, you don't want the tangles to get ahead of you, especially 
if you go longer between groomings.

Mitzi's eyes don't tear too badly, so I can just take the little crust 
off with my fingers during petting a couple of times a day. Loki's eyes 
tear more, though he's growing out of some of it, so I have to clean his 
eyes with a wet rag every day. He's starting to hold still more for 
random gunk removal, which does help keep ahead of the buildup.

hth,

Tami

On 07/02/2015 01:06 PM, MEGHAN WHALEN via nagdu wrote:
> Hi all:
>
> I am currently evaluating a seven-month-old poodle puppy for the
> service dog organization I volunteer with, and I am seeking advice on
> grooming. I am curious of a few things.
>
> 1. Do you ever trim your dog yourself, and if so, what kind of cut do
> you do/what techniques do you use to do it nonvisually?
> 2. How often do you brush your beast.
> 3. What grooming tools do you use?
> 4. I have read a lot about "line brushing" poodles...and am not sure
> if this is only if said poodle has a longer show coat?
> 5. Do you pluck your dog's ears, or do you leave that up to the professionals?
> 6. How often do you have your dog's coat cut/trimmed?
> 7. What type of cut do you prefer for your poodle?
> 8. Anything else I should know but didn't ask about poodle coat maintenence?
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> Meghan
>
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