Grooming your poodle at home
Your puppy will go through a coat change anywhere from 9-16 months. This is where their puppy coat will stop growing and their adult coat will come in. Some poodle’s coats don’t have a problem with the transition, but other’s will matt like crazy! If during the coat change, they start matting and its hard to keep up on, save yourself some sanity and have their coat clipped to a much shorter length. It is also very normal for poodles’ coats to change colors as they get older, sometimes they look completely different as an adult than as a puppy.
Once their adult coat comes in, they will need to get a trim at least every 2 months. I like to do every 6 weeks. I highly recommend at the very least getting a pair of clippers for in-between groom touchups. Keeping the hair shorter around the private areas of the dogs is very beneficial.
You will need 2 types of brushes to properly care for your poodle. A slicker brush and a groomers comb. First mist the coat with a spray bottle to make sure you won’t damage the coat, then brush the coat with the slicker brush. Once it goes through the coat easily, use the comb and, most importantly, get into the bottom layer of the coat to comb until the comb goes easily through the coat. Often owners only groom the top part of the coat and it eventually leads to heavy matting underneath which can be painful for the dog and very difficult to get out without shaving the dog down.
Once their adult coat comes in, they will need to get a trim at least every 2 months. I like to do every 6 weeks. I highly recommend at the very least getting a pair of clippers for in-between groom touchups. Keeping the hair shorter around the private areas of the dogs is very beneficial.
You will need 2 types of brushes to properly care for your poodle. A slicker brush and a groomers comb. First mist the coat with a spray bottle to make sure you won’t damage the coat, then brush the coat with the slicker brush. Once it goes through the coat easily, use the comb and, most importantly, get into the bottom layer of the coat to comb until the comb goes easily through the coat. Often owners only groom the top part of the coat and it eventually leads to heavy matting underneath which can be painful for the dog and very difficult to get out without shaving the dog down.
Having a couple matts is inevitable, I have found that putting some corn starch on the matt really helps. I then brush it with a slicker brush, and then with the comb but vertically comb it with only the tip of the comb. It’s also important to note that when their coat is longer and it gets wet and isn’t dried out with a dryer, they will matt.
I learned to groom my dogs by myself. If this is the route that you want to go, you will save a lot of money. There are a lot of poodle grooming videos on youtube, to help you get started. If you are going to groom at home, I recommend getting a quality dog clipper and a high powered blow dryer. Make sure that after washing/shampooing the dog they are fully dry before you start clipping their coat. If you ever want more grooming tips, don’t be afraid to ask.
I learned to groom my dogs by myself. If this is the route that you want to go, you will save a lot of money. There are a lot of poodle grooming videos on youtube, to help you get started. If you are going to groom at home, I recommend getting a quality dog clipper and a high powered blow dryer. Make sure that after washing/shampooing the dog they are fully dry before you start clipping their coat. If you ever want more grooming tips, don’t be afraid to ask.