Fluffy vs Shaved - The Impact and Importance of Grooming
Canary & Snickers’ Brown Tri-colored Poodle Girl “Raven”
Among a few of our older puppy social media posts, we’ll ask whether our followers prefer a face to be left fluffy in a teddy bear cut, or if they would prefer a shaved poodle face. Though the popularity of fluffy face seems high up, our followers are actually pretty evenly split each time we ask this question. Generally, we get a 50/50 answer, but at times it’s been 60/40 in either direction.
Why We Shave Poodle Puppy’s Faces
There comes a point when we decide that it’s time to shave a puppy’s face. For us, the first time we’ll consider doing so is generally when they are unreserved and hit their 20 week mark. Part of it is curiosity of whether they’d look good fluffy vs shaved. Another part of it is the knowledge that they aren’t being reserved as-is. Begging the question, could we groom their hair differently so that their forever home finds them faster? In a lot of cases, shaving a puppies face garners a lot more interest in them— perhaps its knowing the difference between two haircuts and what best suits them? Or perhaps its the fact that they truly look better with the shaved face. It depends on the dog!
Cagney & Rover’s Red Abstract Mini Girl “Marcie”
In our experience, we’ve found that the fluffy face is typically more popular in younger/smaller poodles, and we see more and more popularity in shaved faces for older puppies and adult poodles, especially in the large mini/moyen/standard sizes. We try and match whatever we personally think the puppy would look better in. Sometimes we’re certain that fluffy is the way to go, but then we’ll shave it off and find an even cuter pup underneath the fluff! The “Too Long Didn’t Read” is that our ultimate goal is to get our puppies into their forever homes, so we’ll try and give them the haircut that makes them look their best.
The Health Impact of Shaving a Poodle Face
Among other breeds, poodles are generally prone to tear-stains and watery eyes. When not properly taken care of and kept clean, these tear stains and eye boogers can block and clog up the eye area of our precious fur-babies. A lot of dog owners actually prefer the shaved face because it prevents the constant trim up and maintenance that fuzzy faces may demand in the eye area. If this eye area isn’t properly taken care of, it can lead to an infection. As cute as they can be, for some dogs who get super teary eyes, it may be necessary for their own health to have a shaved poodle face rather than a fluffy teddy-bear look.
Bella & Durango’s Teacup Poodles “Piper & Emmy”
When to Groom Your Poodle
Our general rule of thumb for when you should groom your poodle is every 6-8 weeks. But of course this depends on how fluffy you’d like to leave your dogs. We keep our poodles trimmed rather short, so they’re done every 8 weeks. If you prefer a fluffy look, you may want to groom your poodle more often. 4-6 weeks might be a better timeframe for you. One thing to watch out for is if your poodle develops matts and tangles in certain areas. If this is occurring, you may want to consider a shorter haircut or more frequent grooming for the sake of their own health. It’s incredibly uncomfortable for them, and it’s a horrible experience getting those removed without cutting or shaving it all off.
