Poodles

How to Clip a Poodle?

One of the joys of clipping your poodle yourself is that you can experiment with different types of poodle clips. In this guide we will go with one of the most straightforward – a kennel clip. This clip is not suitable for the showring, but is a very popular clip for comfort. In the Kennel clip the face and feet are clipped clean, and hair is left at a manageable length all over the rest of the body.

How to Clip a Poodle Using Different Blades?

The blades that you choose impact the length of hair left behind. A higher number blade is used for a closer clip. A kennel clip is not suitable for the show ring- it’s purely to keep your poodle comfortable. This is great as you can be flexible, and choose a style and length that suits you. You can leave a moustache, clip the tail clean or leave it the same length as the body – it’s all up to you!

The following guide uses the No 5 and 15 blade, but you can choose whichever blades suit you.

1. Wash your poodle. The cleaner the coat, the easier the clippers will glide through. Take your time and massage the coat thoroughly. Lots of poodles really come to enjoy their baths. They were bred to be water dogs originally after all!
2. Brush out the coat. Use a slicker brush thoroughly across the entire dog. Ensure there are no matts through the coat. The better the brush, the more even your clip will be.
3. Clip the feet. Using a No 15 blade, clip the feet using the ankle bone as a guideline. Using the corner of the blade, clip up one side and up the opposite side of each toe. Be careful to remove the hair from between the pads on the backs of the feet.
4. Clip the face. Typically this will be with a No 15 blade, but use a No 10 blade if your poodle is particularly sensitive. Go very carefully and gently while clipping the face. First, clear the hair from the front of the ear to the outer corner of the eye. Then clip from the bottom of the ear to corner of the mouth. Next, clip under the eye and down the sides of the muzzle, and then between the eyes to the end of the muzzle. If you prefer to leave a moustache, leave the hair on the muzzle from the corners of the mouth to the nose.
5. Clip the tail. For a kennel clip it’s up to whether you want to leave it the same length as the body, or clip it clean for part of its length, with a pompom at the end. If you’d like it clean, use a No 15 blade, going against the grain of the hair on the top, and with the grain of hair on the underside. If you’d like the hair longer, use the same blade as you’ll use on the body.
6. Clip the body. Here you can use a No 5 or 7 blade. Starting at the withers, use a long, smooth stroke to the base of the tail. Smoothly pull the clippers in the direction of the hair growth across the body, as well as under the chest and stomach.
7. Clip the chest and throat. Clip in smooth stroked from the back of the head to the withers. Bring the dog’s chin upwards, allowing you to get smooth strokes down the neck and chest towards the front legs
8. Shape legs with scissors. Some may clip the legs, but often scissoring is all that is required to shape the hair neatly on all legs.
9. Finishing touches. Many dog groomers recommend finishing the clip with scissors. This is where you can shape the topknot, pompom, moustaches, and blend the clip together. For a professional looking clip, pay particular attention to where the chest meets the front legs, and the shape of the hindquarters. Take your time at this stage, every snip counts! 

Top tips

• Clip in the direction of hair growth for minimal lines, and less snagging
• Clean the blades regularly to prevent snagging
• Oil the blades at the beginning and end of the session
• Be very careful around loose skin folds, eyes, ears, and delicate areas.