How to Groom Poodles

Poodles are expensive primarily due to the grooming costs, so learning to do this yourself will save money and offer time to bond with your pet. Grooming poodles might seem hard, but it's actually a task that just about anyone can learn to do. You just need patience and the willingness to practise your skills.

Grooming standard poodles completely takes about three hours, once you get good at it, and while you're still learning, you might have to spread the job out over a few days. This is both to give you a break, and for your poodle. If you don't learn to perform this task yourself, you will need to carefully select a professional to do perform this maintenance task periodically. The best way to find a good groomer is by talking to other peoples who owns poodle.

We can look at some books and I can suggest some cuts, but you'll have to decide which trim you prefer. Poodles have coats that lend themselves to plenty of different looks, however, your choice will in part be dictated on how much time and effort you're willing to put into keeping your dog's coat in shape. The sorts of activities you and your poodle engage in will also affect the style, since show poodles are limited in the type of trims they can wear.

All show poodles must have a variation on the traditional lion cut, of which there are three variations on this kind of poodle grooming - continental, English saddle, and puppy. All of these are related to the standard "poodle" tradditional style people are familiar with. Originally, this cut was created to help these dogs swim more effectively while retrieving birds from the water, as a long mane of fur on the chest protected the lungs and heart, and the tufts on the legs offered joint protection.

When it comes to non-competing poodles, you have much more to choose from. You can choose a shorter trim, which is easier to maintain, and especially easier to dry in the winter. Longer trims are showier, but they'll require more maintenance, so check some grooming books, or take a look at a few poodles to figure out what you prefer.

Most people choose to clip the fur at the base of the tail and on the feet and face very short, as this works better for the dog's hygiene, since long hair can trap food. Shorter coats on your dog are easier to wash,dry and brush than a dog with a fluffy, long coat. Remember short clipped feet won't pick up grass seeds, which means the dog will not track in as much dirt. To keep your clippers and scissors in good shape use high quality equipment, and always wash your poodle before grooming. Since it is quite expensive to start with, but it will help in making poodle grooming much easier.