Modified Town and Country

[RevWind]

I guess you can only do 1 attachment per post, so I'll send the 2nd picture in a separate post. So here's a Std. Poodle I've groomed for a little over a year (nearly since I started grooming). He's massive and not really properly shaped, which makes it a bit difficult to groom him "correctly". He's got a huge tuck-up flap that makes working around his hips and thighs a pain in the arse. He goes through weight fluctuations which doesn't help.

His mother lets me do whatever I want with him and for a while asked for a totally different cut each time I saw him....which was quite fun. I get to try weird clips on him. His ears are short because the last style I had him in (over the summer/fall) was the Euro? (based on "Notes" titles) It was the shaved ear and carrot tail look. He's about 7years I think and it was the first time his ears had been shaved. It didn't go over well for him. He shook his head so much he had hematomas on his ears and they kept bursting. So we're growing them out again as well as his tail. This cut is a kind of modified Town and Country (I think). His owner have me a 2 inch side view terrible black computer drawing from a poodle website to go by. I basically went by my notes book, but the varieties and names are a bit overwhelming. This is my 3rd time for him in this clip, so I've been adjusting it each time. The band around the ribs was much larger the 1st time and the neck was much lower. I tend to go a little crazy with hand scissoring (I like it too much) so I tried running a boot over him to try and cut down on time. It didn't help. I still hand scissored over the boot work. His hair is good and thick, but I've only got an 8.5 inch straight to work with that's starting to get a bit dull. It usually takes me about 4 hours to do him start to finish, no matter what cut I have him in. I bathe first, use moisture magnets, HV to nearly dry then fluff dry. That alone takes me half the time.

Any advice on the clip itself and any advice on shaving time off him?

[SpikeyTheYorkie]

I'm not so good at poodles so I wont say anything, but I did want to say that those ears are cool looking! They're like buns! Hair buns, that is. They look so THICK!

Tammy in Utah

[RevWind]

I like to think of them as ear muffs for the winter. His hair is incredibly thick all over!!

[Poodlefluff]

I do my town and country a little different. The back legs look like how I do mine but I do my front legs differently. I set my line to just a little past the elbow up to the shoulder and then I shave a strip down the front of the dog between both legs and shave the armpits too. So it looks cute but much easier to maintain. Mine is almost like a non blended lamb clip set higher up on the legs. The jacket on your dog looks more like a dutch than a town and country on your pattern, but as you said it is a modified clip, and it looks very nice. But if you want to shave time off though do the front legs much smaller like an (!)shape if you get what I mean. As long as you don't blend the lines in it will still look sharp not like a lamb. By the time I shave the strip between the shoulder blades and follow the shoulder blade around the neck to set the pattern and make a strip down the front of the dog between the legs. I only have to spend about 10 minutes scissoring this top part of the leg --much fast than having to trim a whole jacket like shape.

[sheilabgroomer]

Beautiful scissor work. I am like Poodlefluff and I do my T&C's w less hair on the front part which helps w/scissor time. I love to scissor too, so if the owner is willing to pay for my time I would be happy to scissor away!! That is neat that she lets you "experiment" w/his cuts. Were they upset w/the hematomas?

[RevWind]

Poodlefluff,
I'm a bit confused from "though do the front legs much smaller like an (!)shape" to the end. I think I got the "clip the chest short" part, but I'm not picturing the whole thing.

Sheilab,
No the lady is soooooooo understanding about whatever happens (even if I'm usually later than I tell her....like all day). She's got the wonderful view of "hell, it grows back". She also said that there's a big name poodle groomer in her area that all the local poodles see, but all the dog owners have been commenting on my work. Apparently, they all look the same, but this one poodle keeps coming around in the "interesting" clips. (hee hee).

[Poodlefluff]

http://www.bichoonline.com.br/Petshop/poodle_town.htm
Hear is a link to a drawing I go by a pattern similar to this

[RevWind]

Ohhh, so you mean make no angulation for the stifle and hock? Wow, that's a big waist band.

[pamperedpups]

RevWind- Do you have Notes from the Grooming Table?

I go by "Notes" and in it the Town & Country clip DOES have a big waist band, but I like the more angled hind legs shown by Ms. Verplank vs. what is shown in PoodleFluff's example.

[Poodlefluff]

I do make an angulation in the rear leg, but in the picture shown is how I do the front legs, a dutch clip has less of a waist band -which starts at about the last rib to the front of the back leg. But I think ever pattern should be modified to what looks good on the dog, ya know and I think you did a wonderful job at scissoring. My favorite pattern to do on a poodle is the European trim. I want to put my girl in it when she is done showing. It is a continental jacket, with puppy legs on the front and back.

[RevWind]

Beautiful picture. Anyone have any idea on what I should do for a large tuck-up? You might be able to tell in the pic, but he has tight form around his ribs and his belly just drops which causes a large flap in the tuck-up. I never know how to shape the hair around it.

[sheilabgroomer]

Poodlefluff, wow what a little beauty you have there and what a beautiful groom!! Looking at these picts makes me wish I had a "groom" dog of my own instead of sht hairs (and a ckr w/yuck skin..lol)

[Poodlefluff]

most of the time I just cut the hair right to the edge of the flap so it looks as small as it can for being a mudflap lol.

[barkaboutus]

This is my new guy... a mini that came to me in the Scandinavian Lion trim so I've decided to try it in the competition ring at Atlanta. He's not done great in this pic (front legs too big and hock hair smooshed down) and his hair is driving me crazy right now as he's 10 months old and changing coat..... but I love the look of this trim.... His name is Cody
Wendy

[DAPER DAWG]

Wendy,
that's a nifty trim. Where does everyone find the euro and scandanavian trims? Wish I had my own standard poodle because most customers get one short length all over.