Poodle Puppy

[PnC_GA]

Hey,
I am a new groomer and need some help. I have my drop coat breeds down pat and the panda heads, but.... I need help with the curly coated breeds. Particularly this one poodle. The pup Ava is a new edition to a great customer's family. Her coat is terrible. I had no clue what to do with her other than bathing and trimming her. Her coat is like a shih tzu! she's 4 months pld and has her puppy coat. Ive heard of shaving to change the texture, but will it work? the owner is disappointed with the hair, not me. I do other poople pups with great thick curly coats from a local breeder. Possibly she shaves them? Or is ava just poorly bred? she is a pet store dog(yikes!) what can I do to help this nice lady with the poor poodle?

[lvdobes]

Really only time will tell if the puppy is going to develope a nice coat. As she gets older it may change or shaving it short may help get rid of the icky puppy stuff faster. Since it's a pet store puppy tho I don't know as that I would expect a whole lot. She may never have a good coat.

Lisa

[PnC_GA]

thats what I was afraid of

I have thought about calling the breeder I know who's poodles are wonderful, coat and temperment and ask her if she shaves hers before they go... time will tell for ava I guess. thanks

[Poodlefluff]

A 4 month old poodle puppy will have a very soft coat and not really curly, just a little wavy. At 10 months old to 1 yr old the puppy will go through it's coat change. they puppy will mat up very quickly during this time, and many people aren't warned and end up having to shave their puppy.
If I were you I would do face feet and tail and just scissor the puppy in a puppy trim. Or use a long guide blade if they like. But a short poodle puppy is not too cute. Let them enjoy their fluff while it last one day it will all be gone and replaced by harsher curly hair. At 4 months the fluff doesn't look to great but by 6 months you can actually scissor is really cute in a puppy trim.

[PnC_GA]

Thanks...

I'll try that. Get her used to the feet and face shaving then see what happens. I was just curious why two of my 4 month old poodles(from same local breeder) have great, thick, curly coats and this one little pet shop girl looks bad. but I'll suggest to the owner that we try to wait it out.