Foo at Two

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...

Foo's Newest Doo

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.

White on White

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.

2009 Poodle Review

One of my favorite photos of "Foo"...her playing with a balloon. She would carefully pick it up by the tab. She was about 7 months old in the photo.

In March we added Barbie to our group. She was a show hopeful and Bunny's half sister. She was a gorgeous puppy and we had a fun time with her.
A very photogenic baby...

The joys of having a white poodle (times two). The Poodle girls got lots of baths this year.

She and Bunny were best of pals.

They loved to run together out back.

Though it was hard to keep the grasses from grabbing her coat!

They especially loved to play bitey face.

We had a really fun year with the two girls, but unfortunately, Barbie wasn't what we wanted in a show dog and so has gone back to her breeder. Bunny seems to miss her, bringing me her ball for me to throw to her. Is there another Poodle in the future? Probably in a year or two...I love this breed, they are so much fun.

Mud Pies

It was a beautiful morning and my friend Brenda's last day visiting. We went for a walk with the gang and they were their usual wild selves.

Bunny loves to start the run with some steeplechase jumping...

Barbie didn't hesitate to go wading in the ditch with the Shelties! She doesn't mind mud, but hates things sticking to her!

The thing about starting the day off with a walk like this is I know what I'm going to be doing for the afternoon...:-)

I can't wait to see the pictures that Brenda got!

What was I thinking?

Someone at a show recently asked me if all I did was wash Poodles...yep, sometimes I think that is the case!

(This picture was at the start of our run. I don't think I could duplicate this shot if I tried! This was not staged, and all I wish was that I had taken them out a bit earlier so that this spot was in the sun.) So take a look at Barbie on the right. Beautiful white coat which was bathed on Sunday, Bunny was in the bath Monday... It was about here where the trouble started. Barbie joined Juno, Emma and Bridgit in the ditch...those darn Shelties led her astray. The dirt falls off the Shelties and other things like picks and burrs rarely cause problems.
This is how she looked when she came back! ((Sigh))
The long grasses stuck to her coat like Velcro! I don't think this is the suggested method for coat care and maintenance!
Yes, she enjoyed herself; but guess what? It is bath time again!

Foo didn't fare any better. She has hundreds of picks on her legs!

Rough-housing

The girls enjoyed a quick trip to the back field to blow off some steam.
They had a lot of pent up energy...

...and were particularly boisterous in their play!

Toothy grin...

I'm not sure I have a shot of Barbie ever going for Bunny; but in the house, she gives as good as she gets!

Zoom zoom

Walk In Fields of Gold

I was out with the lawn tractor earlier in the week blazing a trail through the thick weeds in the back field. Our alfalfa field has been overtaken by goldenrod.
Even though I mowed a nice path...
...the girls like to go cross-country!
Both were bathed and trimmed today, and I'm hoping they still look good on Tuesday when Rui and family arrive (Mont'Alves Shelties and Laekenois, Portugal).

See ya!

Poodle in puddle

Barbie went out with the Shelties for a walk this afternoon after a thunderstorm. The field had standing water and where she was running with Bunny the other day was soaking wet. She seemed a bit bewildered; she kept stopping and dropping her head to check it out.

Quite a different picture from the other day...hair undone, wet and having a ball! Who says Poodles are foo foo dogs!

Sisters

It is fun to take the two Poodle girls out by themselves for a walk. They both went to "the parlor" today and got cleaned up. I risked them turning green by bringing them out back on the freshly mowed lawn, but luckily all that happened was they got a bit of mulch in their hair. No biggie.
There is no doubt that Barbie idolized her big sister Bunny.
And Bunny loves playing with her little sister...
Playing chase... ...and hop the fence
(both directions)

A ball is always a good time...

A ball and something to jump is even better!

Love this shot

Poodle style!