How to Groom a Poodle's Feet

The poodle breed originated in Germany as a water retriever and is one of the most popular breeds of dog, according to the American Kennel Club. The poodle comes in three different sizes: toy, miniature and standard. All of these sizes come with the poodle's thick, curly coat, which can be clipped in many stylish cuts. As part of a poodle's grooming, its small, delicate feet must be clipped and its nails kept short. Groom your poodle's feet yourself to get the look you desire without having to send your dog to a professional groomer.

Things You'll Need

  • Electric clippers,blade
  • Pet nail clipper
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Instructions

    • 1

      Place the poodle on a kitchen or dining room table.

    • 2

      Shave the front of the poodle's feet using an electric clipper with aclipper blade, with the dog facing you, holding each foot up in your hand. Feel the top of the foot for the ankle and shave up to this point.

    • 3

      Turn the dog around, with its head facing away from you. Lift its foot back toward you, with the paw pads facing upward. Shave the back of the foot up to the same point as in the front, which should fall just above the large foot pad. Carefully clip the fur around the large foot pad with the electric clipper, starting from the pad and shaving outward. Repeat this procedure for each foot.

    • 4

      Clip the hair between the toes by using your thumb and forefinger to hold and separate each toe. Make sure to clip the hair around the toe pads as well, shaving the fur from the toe pads down toward the large foot pad. Do this for each of the poodle's feet.

    • 5

      Turn the dog around, facing toward you. Hold each foot up and clip away any hair remaining between the toes, extending the toes between your fingers.

    • 6

      Restrain the dog with one arm while holding one of its feet with the hand of the other arm. Clip the tips of the nails, above the quick, or bottom portion of the nails. Hold the toes between your thumb and forefinger and use the nail clipper to cut the top portion of each nail. Cut all of the nails, including the dew claws, or thumbs, of the dog's front paws. Repeat this procedure to clip the nails of all of the dog's feet.