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Grooming Poodles

by Melinda Smith

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. To increase your skills you just need patience, and willingness.

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. Sometimes you and your poodle need a break. 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.

You'll have to decide which trim you prefer. Poodle fur works well with many different styles, but your choice will depend on your willingness to devote time to the dog's grooming. 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. Each of these cuts, as it turns out, is a derivative of the famous "poodle" cut that is seen so often. 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.

There are many more choices for poodles that do not compete. If you opt for a shorter trim, you'll find maintenance easier, especially during the winter months when it's easier to dry. Although longer styles are more glamorous, they require higher maintenance, so look at books or poodles you see elsewhere to identify what you like.

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. Short clipped feet don't pick up grass seeds, and mean that your dog won't track in as much dirt, and remember that shorter coats are easier to wash and dry, and they don't need as much brushing as a fluffy, long coat. Make sure to wash your poodle first to keeps scissors and clippers in good shape, and opt for quality equipment. Since it is quite expensive to start with, but it will help in making poodle grooming much easier.

Poodle grooming is an important part of owning a poodle. Find out how grooming poodles properly can really be a fun thing for you to do with your dog.

Published June 19th, 2008

Filed in Pets