Poodle Grooming Made Easy

If you own a poodle, you will find that one of the expenses that will start eating away at your pocket book is grooming them! Many people are finding that grooming poodles themselves can both help them save their money and help them get to know their pet a little bit better as well. While the art of poodle grooming might seem a little esoteric, the truth is, anyone who has a bit of patience and a willingness to help their pet look the best that it can can do a fairly accomplished job.

When you are looking into grooming standard poodles, you will find that the process will generally take around three hours once you have had some experience. When you are just getting started, you may find that you need to spread the grooming out over several days, to give you and your dog a bit of rest. After a few sessions, you'll get the hang of it, but if the time commitment isn't really for you, you'll find that you can get a dog groomer to do it for you.

Remember that you have a choice of trims available to you when you are thinking of grooming poodles. You'll find that the poodle's curly, stiff hair will allow you to take advantage of many looks. Remember, also, though, that some looks are more care intensive and require more maintenance than others. Show poodles will certainly require more maintenance and a more conservative cut than pet poodles.

If you have a show poodle, remember that it will have a lion cut of some sort. A lion cut has three standard variations, including a puppy cut, an English saddle cut and a continental cut. You'll find that these all have the same standard look and they all come from a time when poodles were used to retrieve birds that had been shot into the water, as the long ruff of fur on the chest would protect the lungs and the fur on the legs would protect the bones.

If you are not going to show your dog, you'll find that you have quite a few more options when it comes to making sure that your dog looks tidy. You can do an all-around short trim, which is ideal when you are considering how to make a good grooming job last, but if you are looking for something more flashy, consider looking at pictures online and in books to get some ideas.

When thinking bout grooming poodles, remember that most people will clip the fur at the base of the ail, on the feet and on the face very short, to make sure that it does not get very dirty and to make the dog easier to care for. Remember that the shorter you keep the fur clipped, the less dirt will get into your househhold, and the less the dog will need to be brushed over all. Remember to wash your poodle before you groom them, and make sure that if you clip yourself that you use high-quality tools that are kept sharp.