Need "poodle in a continental clip" advice

[Gracie's Mum]

Now, I have only been grooming since July so be gentle!

I have a st. poodle coming in on Saturday. He is usually groomed at a shop I used to work at, but they must be booked up til Christmas. He is usually shaved in a 5f, with poodle feet, ankle poms, tail pom, clean face and throat m/o, long ears, and top knot. Mom wants to get him started in a continental clip, minus the rosettes. Other than a few pictures i've found, I'm not totally sure what she is looking for. He was last groomed in the end of October, so the jacket wouldn't be to long. But as a "pet" trim, how short should I take the other end of his body, and where does the jacket end? And do I still do a throat markout? What do I do with the back of the neck?

Also, I want to do the top knot where it has the shelf? over the eyes, instead of chopped off flat above the eyes. I read about it on "Notes" but without a visual I am not really understanding it.

I am so frustrated because the school I went to taught us how to groom 1985ish, and where I used to work, that's the only way they know how to groom (all went to the same school). Then I see all the beautiful pictures here and I want to be able to groom like that!

Thanks!

[Moonpiepoodlz]

OH goodness!
I hate to be a negative nellie but you may want to let your client know the maintenance that's invovled in caring for the con't trim; it's a pretty dedicated committment. I just took my mini OUT of the con't. after 8 months. I LOVED having her in pattern but the maintenance was too much with working full time and finding the time to squish Emi in for a brushout at least every day.
If all goes as planned good luck and take pictures!!

[green_dog]

Well I can't help you with the Continental but as far as style goes, here's an option: http://www.petgroomerforums.com/chat...ighlight=layla It's one of PoodleMom's puppies cut into a pet continental. Thought of this thread when I saw your post. Good luck, and be sure to post pictures!

Natalie

[OntheBRINKofDisaster]

But as a "pet" trim, how short should I take the other end of his body, and where does the jacket end? And do I still do a throat markout? What do I do with the back of the neck?

Also, I want to do the top knot where it has the shelf? over the eyes, instead of chopped off flat above the eyes. I read about it on "Notes" but without a visual I am not really understanding it.


Thanks!

Shelf, definitely. It's hard to describe, but instead of holding your scissors completely straight up and down angle them out so some of the hair falls over the eyes. Hard to explain! But it completely changes the expression, lemme tell you! Can't wait til my poodle grows into it, lol. BBird on here has a good blog entry where she details (with pics) how to do a poodle topknot.

Also, for the continental pet trims, the blade I take on the hind end depends on the color of the dog usually. #15 for white or creams, #30 for browns/black.

Still expose the throat, even dogs in the show ring have it. For the neck, you grow it out and build it up into the jacket. Kind of like a bichon, but a different shape obviously. The bigger the topknot the better the neck build up will look. Make sure to keep it balanced so the head and neckpiece look like they belong on the same dog! Here is a poodle in an English sporting clip that is a good example of what to do with the head/jacket.

http://www.bijoupoodles.com/Grooming_data/Apricotsportingclip.jpg

Hope this helps.

[Poodlestar]

ok... here goes

The front of the neck is shaved in a "U" shape. The back of the neck grows out super long (or you can keep is shorter for a pet) the front of the jacket is blended in nice and short where it meets the shaved part of the neck, then rounded to just below the elbow. The jacket ends at the last rib, unless the dog is REALLY long in the loin, then go a little farther towards the butt... but if you aren't sure, just cover all the ribs with hair. the tail is unly ringed "three" fingers width from the base. the back bracelets should start just above the hock bone, and make the front ones match.

If they don't want a pony-tail topknot... then just comb the hair forward over the eyes, cut the hair on a 45 degree angle rather than 90 degrees, then round it into the head shape.

I hope that makes some sense... If i was standing in front of you I could draw diagrams for you. hehe.

[Mamabearwith2]

I Loove Doing Poodle Top Knots.

On my pet trims, I always have the neck blend into the jacket and top knot. Never shave the neck so you get a top knot that looks like the dog is wearing a round hat. I lower my table so I can see right over the neck and hold the dog's muzzle. I work from the neck to the occiput, then do the sides of the topknot. Rather than just cut above the ears to define your top knot like Notes says, I like to hold the ear forward towards me, then scissor around starting at the bottom making a backwards "c" starting around the base of the ear. To better explain, if you were to make a backwards 'C' with your hand, your would be at the bottom part of the ear. Then I hold my scissors at a 45 degree angle, comb the hair forward, then scissor right in front of the ear starting at the corner of the eye, then go all the way around to the other eye. This probably doesn't make any sense, but hold your scissors at a 45 so you get that shelf. Hope this helps! Also, get into the habit of taking pics and print them out. Then you can see where you need to scissor more or less. I like to outline these areas with a pen.

[Gracie's Mum]

You all make perfect sense! I am getting good visuals thanks to you! I'm guessing that she is not going to want a full (long) jacket, but a shorter pet version. I will be calling her friday to pick her brain about exactly how she wants it, since he husband is dropping him off Saturday.

[WinterElixir]

Try googling "HCC trim" or "Historically Correct Continental". I think this may be what your client is looking for. I have this trim on one of my dogs right now, its really stylish. Depending on your client's preferences (and the thickness of the dogs coat), you can use pretty much any blade on the clipped areas (legs etc.). We used to do a client poodle in this trim, used a 5F on the butt and clipped areas, and it looked great. You can go shorter or longer, no big deal. Remember to use the dog's last rib as a general guideline for where the jacket should end, and make sure you clip all the way to (and including) the elbow. For the topknot, comb all the hair forward, then take your curved shears and hold them tilted out, not straight up and down. Trim in tight at the eye corners, then make a U shape from outer eye corner to outer eye corner. It takes a few times, but you will get it. Just remember not to hold your shears straight up and down, its holding them so the blade is angled out that is the key.

Here is a standard groomed in the HCC trim with no rosettes, groomed by Jennifer Dege. This is a really good example of how it should look. Of course, for pets, you can tighten the topknot over the ears for a tidy look if you like, and give it a regular topknot. The back of the neck is longer and flows into the jacked.

[Gracie's Mum]

success!!

Thanks everyone for the great advice! He looked so good! I had initially thought I was in over my head, then I was excited, and now I am proud! Only my second time doing poodle feet out of school, first time doing ankle poms, and of course, first time setting a continental pattern!

And I can't believe I forgot my camera!

I ended up doing the short part in a 5, (except the face, throat, feet and tail MO of course) just neatened and blended everything else. He is growing out a mohawk from Halloween, but I was able to get a decent shelf in front, above his eyes.

Mom said he looked good and would definately be back!