Poodle Puppy Hair Cuts

Question
Kim,
I am reading your postings to learn more about poodle puppies.  You mention shaving the puppy prior to eliminate adult hair matting and tangling with the puppy hair.  When should we give our puppy his first hair cut?  He is a 12 week old cream colored standard.  We also have a 5 year old female white standard.  I presently groom her at home and plan to do the same with him and would like to get him conditioned to the clippers.  I will groom her again soon and will have him nearby to watch.

Answer
Hello Lynn,
If you plan on growing your puppies hair out, then shaving when he is young is ideal because it helps bring the adult hair in faster.  If you aren't going to grow out the hair, you can leave his hair until it gets warmer (at least its still cold here where I am) and trim him at around 6 months or so, or whenever the hair gets long and unmanangable.  Until you want to shave him, try scissoring him instead, to make him look nice and fluffy.
You can start getting him on the table now and get him used to hearing the trimmers, being brushed out, having toenails trimmed, ear hair pulled and even running the blowdryer around him.  The more you expose him to now, the better used to it he will be as he nears the age where you will trim him.  

I like a product from Sally's Beauty Supply, called Spray-on Glosser from Proclaim.  It is a spray on conditioner that helps protect the hair when you comb or brush it out.  You should brush him out weekly to keep mats at bay, and comb him also so that you will catch mats before they form.  When you brush your dog, start at the base of the tail and hold the hair down with one hand and brush (toward the tail) with the slicker brush with the other hand.  Brush little bits of hair at a time and be sure to carefully get all the way to the skin.  I say carefully because if you brush too hard, you can scratch the skin which causes irritation.  Spray the hair with the above mentioned spray or with water with a little conditioner added before brushing to prevent hair breakage.

To get your dog used to having his feet handled, play with them nightly until its no big deal to him.  Handle the feet, rub them, and put your fingers in-between the toes and pads.  Gently pinch the toes near the base of the nail and tap on the toenail with your fingers.  This gets him used to having the trimmers around his feet and pads and also gets him used to having his toenails clipped.  Keep doing this until he isn't bothered by you doing this.  

To pull the ear hair out of his ears, you may want to first buy some Ear pulling powder from a Groomer or Pet Store.  The ear powder should contain rosin to help you grip the hair so its easier to remove.  Puff the powder into the ear on the hairs there and pull just a few hairs at a time.  Praise your boy when he will sit still for this.  Some puppies will scream like you are cutting the ear off, but it is more about having to sit while you mess with his ear rather than it hurting that much.

Now lets tackle anal glands.  I don't know if you have tried this before or if you do this or not, but with Poodles it needs to be done.  The anal glands are located on either side of the anus and normally are expressed when the dog has a bowel movement.  Sometimes however, they get filled up and don't express like they should causing an excess amount of fluid in them.  The best time to do this is when giving the dog a bath.  After wetting the dog down, raise the tail straight up and feel on either side of the anus, and you should feel two roundish bulges on both sides of the anal hole.  Using toilet paper or a tissue, place it over the anus and gently squeeze the roundish bulges up and out towards the anus hole.  If you do it correctly, either a thick brownish paste or more of a brownish liquid should squirt out of the glands.  Sometimes this can be a bit uncomfortable for the dog, so don't get nervous if your dog squirms a bit or looks back like "What the heck are you doing back there".  

To get him used to having the clippers around or on him, start by letting him hear the trimmers when you trim your white girl.  As he gets used to this, you can start putting him on the table and just show him the trimmers.  Praise him if he will show interest in them or sniff them.  Next, hold them away from him and turn them on.  Watch his reaction and praise him if he seems curious rather than scared.  Next, bring them closer to him while they are running, and see how he acts.  If he sniffs them, praise him but if he backs off or acts nervous, stop moving them closer but don't back them away.  He needs to know that by acting scared, he won't make the trimmers back off.  Reassure him that he is ok, and try again.  Next, turn the trimmers off, and run them (while off) around his neck, back, legs and rear.  Don't get them near his face yet.  You can make a Rrrrrrr sound like the trimmers are on, but don't turn them on yet until he is comfortable with them going over his body off, and is comfortable with them around his body while they are on.  
The final step is to get them near his head and face while they are running.  Praise him if he is at all calm while they are running near his head.  When he is very comfortable with them on and near his head, you can start shaving his face.  Once you can shave his face, you can procede to any other part of his body.

Be very positive and let him know that grooming can be fun rather than a chore and he will look forward to it rather than dread it.  
Give this a try and if there is anything else I can help you with, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim