Tips on Hair Care in Poodles

Poodles naturally have long, curly coats. Without proper hair care and grooming, your poodle might end up with a tangled mop, rather than a smart and coiffed hairdo. When properly groomed, these dogs look extremely striking. However, improper hair care will leave your dog uncomfortable. If you're thinking about owning a poodle, make sure you're prepared to put in the grooming hours.

  1. Clipping

    • If you want to keep your grooming requirements down to a minimum, consider clipping your poodle. Popular pet cuts include the short lamb trim and the mid-length teddy bear cut. If you want to show your dog in American Kennel Club shows, you'll need to have her clipped in one of the three approved cuts. Poodles younger than 1 year should be shown with a puppy cut, and poodles of 1 year and up should be shown with either the continental or the English saddle clip.

    Brushing

    • Just because your poodle doesn't shed her coat all over your house, it doesn't mean she's not losing any fur. Rather than falling straight out, their loose fur gets stuck in the rest of their thick coats and stays there, which can lead to matting. The only way to avoid this happening is with frequent brushing to remove loose fur. Ideally, you should brush your poodle every day.

    Bathing

    • Bathing your poodle is another important part of her hair care routine. Bathing too frequently can cause dry skin or other irritations, so leave it a couple of months between baths. Use a specialty dog shampoo, as this will be kind to your pup's skin and fur. With such thick fur, it can be hard to rinse all the shampoo out. However, it's imperative you do so or it can irritate your dog's skin, make her fur look dull or greasy, or cause more mats in the future.

    Drying

    • After you've bathed your poodle, the best thing to do is to blow dry her. If you leave her coat to dry naturally, her hair will dry in tighter curls and may cause her coat to become matted. For the best results, you should brush your dog's coat while you're blow drying it. This initially will cause her coat to look fluffy, but it will soon settle into curls. If you're unsure about doing this yourself, get your poodle bathed and dried by a professional dog groomer.