Wispy coat

[Ali Kat]

If a poodle's coat is very thin, very wispy, very loose curl and cut short(4-7 body & tk 2" or less) does it need to be hand dried? I've had 2 now with this description and the shop owner(2 shops) has "corrected" me for not blowing them out. Both said coat needed to be straightened. Neither dog had enough length to straighten. And with how thin the coat was, I don't see where it would have made any difference. One, white but 12 yrs old, body was 7 with 1" tk. Other a pale apricot with a 4 & a 1 1/2" tk. I've been grooming my whole life and I've always cage dried this type coat. I just don't see how fluff drying is going to work on a dog with no hair to fluff.

[Doubledogdare]

I always hand-dry those sorts to get the maximum out of the minimum, even if the minimum is next to nothing. Dog willing, with thin coats like that it is faster and easier on the dog, doing them by hand with warm air rather than leaving them sitting and freezing in front of a fan.

As old dogs usually have very unattractive complexions that show through a very short coat, I admit I usually cheat on the length and do them longer than whatever the card states the owner requests.

I've yet to have an owner complain when Buffy walks out with some extra fuzz on her and looks more like a powder puff than a mole rat.

[OntheBRINKofDisaster]

I hand dry everything, and its very obvious to me when a coat has been cage dried. Especially for the sake of getting a better finish on the haircut, I still would.

[Debbiedogs]

Short or not, ANY wave or curl is going to look better fluff-dried. Unless the dog has POKER STRAIGHT hair, it needs hand fluffing to look nicer.

Sure, it's 'easier' not to fluff these thin coats, but if you want proof, just wet down 1/2 the dog and fluff dry it after the kennel dry. There IS a difference! Or you can finish the dog after cage drying it, then wet and fluff dry and see the long bits - much more uneven finish unless you fluff.

[ItzaClip!]

Every dog needs hand drying, even #7 kennels. Think about your own hair, let it dry natural and if it has any curl it will be funky and cow lick and lay funny, now try blow drying and you have volume and uniform shape. Try it, you will notice a difference.

[funkypuppy]

I hand dry em all, especially the tk, ears, and tail since those will be left long. Why not? Especially if you preshaved them, drying only takes a minute. Now that were in strip season my skips are getting a workout, and with the bulk off the body I can turn out a nice finish faster.

I really hate prestripping, so lots of times ill wrap a wet dog in a towel and leave it to drip dry for 10-15 mins before drying it. I dislike kennel dryers during this time because they tend to cause the hair to set weird. If you let them drip it only takes 5 mins to dry em completely

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[Ali Kat]

Thanks everyone. You can indeed teach an old dog new tricks!