Dogs are known to help humans live longer because of the happiness they bring to their owners. They help reduce stress and even boost your mood. So, if you’re a dog parent, you probably agree with these facts and enjoy all these benefits. However, like all relationships, you need to care for and love them as much as possible. You must ensure their health on top of keeping them look adorable at all times.
If you can’t visit the pet salon due to the pandemic or simply find it more practical to groom your dog, particularly your pet poodle, by yourself, it’s possible to do this task at home. With some basic grooming tools and skills, you can foster a stronger relationship with your dog and even save money from your pet salon expenses. The good news is that any pet parent is capable of performing basic grooming tasks for their pet poodle.
Here’s an easy guide to grooming your pet poodle:
- Give Them A Trim
Different grooming styles will look best on your poodle. A simple poodle trim can be performed by starting with their paws first. Start by shaving the feet and trimming any hair between the paw pads. Gently trim away hair from between your dog’s footpads by holding their foot in a comfortable position.
You can estimate the suitable length for the hair on their feet before finally cutting the body. While clipping your dog’s feet, remember to scoop the clip between toes, taking care not to nick the webbing between the toes. As for your poodle’s face and neck, you can start trimming from the neck up. Set your clipper at 15 to achieve the proper cutting method. Pull your dog’s neck skin taut by holding the head, with their nose pointing upward.
In a straight line, along the outer corners of each eye, trim the inner ear of your poodle and the outer corners of their face. Connect the area of the neck that’s been trimmed beside the ear with the area trimmed on the throat. Keep your touch light around the eyes and be extra careful. Glide the clipper along the face, chin, and nose. Make sure all the hair length is uniform.
- Prepare Some Grooming Tools
Families thinking of owning a dog need to learn the critical points of caring for them. They need to understand that grooming is vital, especially when taking care of a poodle.
The first thing you need to prepare for when deciding to groom your poodle at home is to ensure you have all the necessary poodle grooming tools. You shouldn’t bother with fancy poodle grooming clips unless you plan to join contests with them. Instead, opt for an easier-to-maintain and user-friendly dog clip.
You can use this tool to groom any poodle you own, whether a toy, standard, or miniature one. Aside from the dog clip, you’ll need to have a few brushes and combs, and that’s about it. Grooming your poodle is very easy, and you can actually learn from online videos and blog posts from fellow poodle parents. You can join forums, learn about hair maintenance tools and products, and apply them to your own fur baby.
- Brush And Bathe Your Poodle
What’s best about poodles is that they don’t shed their hair as much as the other breeds. However, you must regularly bathe them and brush their hair. Poodles especially need a lot of brushing as their hair tends to get matted together quickly as it sheds, so poodles with long hair should be brushed daily. You can generally brush once or twice a week when the dog has shorter hair. The best way to brush their hair is to begin from the neck down to their tail.
Clip away tangles or thick mats with scissors. Be very careful when cutting tangles. Ensure that the skin is far from the tangle before cutting. When they go for long periods without grooming, poodles are susceptible to matting due to the way their hair sheds.
As for bathing, you don’t necessarily have to bathe your dog every day. It could be done twice a month, or you can ask your vet for their personal recommendation. However, when your dog has played outdoors and becomes dirty, it’s important to bathe them. Before trimming your dog with clippers, you should also wash them, as an oily or dirty coat can prematurely dull your clippers.
Conclusion
You don’t have to stress if you find yourself stuck at home with your dog due to the ongoing pandemic. With the right tools and tips mentioned in this guide, you can do the grooming for your poodle by yourself. If there’s any excessive matting, you can consult a pet salon specialist or your vet to groom your poodle more effectively. Grooming your pet poodle by yourself will allow them to get closer to you, so start grooming your pet at home and apply the pointers above.