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.

Foo in Hiding

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).

Hair Grows...Right?

I can't keep away from the Poodles with scissors; even though I am still relatively new at all this. Barbie was very patient with me, and almost fell asleep standing up! In trying to fix the problem I made a couple of days earlier where she was looking roached in the back I think I took off too much of the topline angle. It is supposed to be an unbroken line from base of tail to top of head. Oops. Back to the drawing board...I think another couple of months growth and then I'll leave it to a pro.

Barbie 7 months

Barbie's big hair! Another day at the parlour...and this time we used hair spray. She's a few months away from being shown, but she's definitely starting to look the part.

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!

Baring it all!

I finally broke down and shaved Bunny. I used a 7 blade, but with her matts, I had to go even closer and by the time I was done, she was naked!
She seemed a bit embarrassed and it hasn't been hot enough for her to enjoy the benefits.

I have to say; it isn't my favorite look, but it was necessary.
I took the pom-pom off her tail, and the ears were thinned as they looked out of balance.

She should look good again by October!

Barbie 15 weeks: Table shots

After the photo shoot yesterday, I realized I needed to take off a bit more hair to get the look I wanted. Poodles are supposed to be a square dog, with the legs appearing to be long. So I took more hair off under her chest to bring her legs "up", and I am pleased with the result. I feel she has the right shape for the breed. So here is a record of Barbie at 15 weeks.

Bunny's New Do

I finally succumbed and gave Bunny a shorter "do". Between the coat change and Barbie's rough housing, her coat was continually matting. So we shortened it all over particularly on her head and neck.No more elastics to try to scratch out...no more hair in the eyes; she's a happy Poodle!

Tangles, Matts, Knots and Rats Nests!

What a nightmare! When we returned home from Georgia, Bunny's coat had become all clumpy. At first I thought it was too long between baths, and some time out in the rain. That may have contributed slightly, however, it is the dreaded coat change that Poodles go through!
Apparently this is a real test of what I'm made of...of whether or not I'm cut out to be a "Poodle person"! I worked all last week at it; with combs, rakes, slickers and pin brushes and the blow dryer. One session was two hours on one side, only to have it clump back up by the following day! Well, to be honest at this point, I'm really close to giving her a buzz cut! I'm going to try a product called "Cowboy Magic detangler" and that will be the last resort. She may be sporting a shorter "do" pretty soon, if I can't get this under control!