Beautiful Standard Poodle calendars with photography by Sherri Regalbuto. Sherri visited with us this summer and she has included a shot of "Foo". Would make wonderful Christmas gifts for the Poodle lovers on your list!
Standard Poodle Calendars from Zazzle.com
Hard to believe, but "Foo" is two years old. We got her at ten weeks of age on October 2, 2008 and it has been an adventure. I love this breed. They are fun, smart, manipulative and driven, but Foo has been a great house pet. She lives for a ball...loves her squeaky toys, flashlight beams, chipmunks, baby puppies (we watch that closely). She has had all kinds of hair dos...from puppy fluff to completely shaved. It is still trial and error trying to find something that is practical but pretty. She has a soft cottony coat, so it tends to mat with any humidity.
In the two years, I've learned a thing or two about the clippers. :-)
But I haven't learned a whole lot about proper Poodle hair maintenance. . . 
I groomed her Thursday and into Friday. It took easily over six hours and that is because I don't brush her regularly and she was matted down each leg, a bit on her neck and her tail. It seems overwhelming to see so many felt like mats of hair, which is why I procrastinate and it becomes a bigger job. 
I could clip her down, but Foo loves her hair, and she is very good about me grooming her. I gave her (and myself) lots of breaks! I scissored her body as well, so that took a fair amount of time. When all was said and done...she was so pleased with herself.
She still has rabbit ears!
OK! Ship shape for another few weeks...
It has been awhile since I've blogged or posted pictures of Foo. She is well and has been growing hair since February. She's also been occupying herself with de-stuffing her toys and chewing on Pete's shoes. You know, the usual...:-)
I gave her a trim two days ago to try to tame her wild hair. I shaved the body close and am trying to see if I can keep her legs and neck a bit longer. She has a very soft coat that the white ones can have and it mats the minute it gets beyond one inch long....which is annoying.
However, she clearly thought she was the bees knees after her trim and smiled a silly grin for hours after. She is definitely at our place for comic relief...she is such a kick. 
Due to her extreme haircut, it has been a few weeks since Foo has had a chance to run outside. She has been running (a LOT) indoors after her tennis balls. She is just getting the essence of hair and Pete is already saying to me to brush it so it doesn't mat...he doesn't want her to have to have another scalp job (neither do I). There isn't enough hair for mats yet, and although I was never of fan of this look for Poodles, it certainly is practical. Actually I have warmed up to the beauty of this cut...sort of like a curly coated whippet; very sleek. However, I'm thinking another inch of hair will probably make a perfect length for this farm dog. 
I shaved Foo down last Saturday. Everything is gone; topknot, ear fringes and tail pom pom. I had planned to wait until Spring before doing this, but couldn't take her matted coat any longer. She was as mortified as she was the first time. She loves her hair, and she was very cold, so Pete found an old hoody of mine and we made her an outfit. She really seemed to appreciate it, and you could tell it helped; even her ears felt warmer. She's only worn the hoody twice, as the house is quite warm with the sun shining in. She is like a whippet or a doxie; she is finding the sunny spots...sleeping on our bed now (I'm sure she'd crawl under the covers if she could).
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