Grooming Styles for an Apricot Poodle

Poodle Grooming Origins

• During the 1600s, poodles were popular with hunters and often used as water fowl retrievers. Hunters soon learned their thick coats were troublesome in the water. To make swimming easier and safer for the dog, hunters clipped their coats short. Standard practice was to shave the dog's hindquarters, leaving small amounts of hair covering the joints for warmth. The poodle's coat was left long over the shoulder and chest area for added warmth and buoyancy in the water. The dog's head-hair, or topknot, was tied out of the dog's eyes with ribbon. In 1621, Gervase Markham's book, "The Art of Fowling," was highly touted by hunters as a retrieving poodle training tool. In his book, Markham claims the ideal solution would be to shave the dog all over. Then relinquishes by saying, "It brings such a tenderness and chillness over all his body that the water will grow irksome to him." From then on, poodles were styled.

Poodle Types

• Poodles come in many colors and sizes. Apricot poodles are a burnt-orange color, much the same as a dried apricot. The American Kennel Club standardizes three sizes for poodles; their registry allows for Toy, Miniature, and Standard poodles. The many grooming styles offered for poodles can be preformed on any size or color of animal.

Show Clips

• If you are planning to show your dog, the AKC allows one official grooming style that comes in four varieties. The traditional lion trim is the design for show dogs, and the four types are: the puppy clip, continental clip, modified continental clip and English saddle clip.

  For show poodles under the age of 1, the puppy clip is standard. For this cut, the dog's face, feet and base of tail are shaved. The body is left long and the shoulders and upper back is shaped into the neck and topknot. The hair on the head is left long and pulled into a ponytail.

  The continental clip is much like the puppy clip, only the hindquarters and upper front legs are shaved. Pompoms are left at the base of the tail and on all four ankles. For the modified continental clip, there is no pompom at the base of the tail. The English saddle clip is most like the puppy clip, but the hindquarters are divided with a one-inch, parallel shaved line above the ankles, knees and hip area. Also, the upper portion of the front legs are shaved, leaving a pompom at the ankles.

Pet Poodle Clips

• The most popular companion poodle cut is the utility, or kennel, clip. For this design, the face, feet, and base of the tail are shaved. The whole body coat is left short all over and shaped with scissors. The topknot and tail hair are left longer. The actual length of body hair depends upon personal preference. The lamb clip, also popular among poodle owners, is like the kennel clip but is left a little longer. The summer cut is short all over like the kennel clip and pompoms are left on the ankles.

  There is an additional grooming technique common for oodles called "Poodle feet." All four of the dog's feet are shaved closely to the top. This is to keep them from attracting dirt. Another groomer recommendation is the "sani cut." This stands for a sanitation cut, in which the lower belly, genital area and the anal opening are trimmed short for reasons of good hygiene and cleanliness. Many poodle owners also like to keep their dog's faces short to eliminate the problem of food getting caked and stuck on the mustache. Groomers also suggest regular brushing between grooming visits to keep the dog's coat from becoming matted.