Home / Poodle Grooming / Brushing & Bathing
Brushing Your Poodle
Brushing is essential to keeping the Poodles coat tangle free and prevent matting, distribute the skins natural oils, increases skin circulation and it feels good to your Poodle.
The time you spend brushing your Poodle increases the bond between you and your dog. This is also a good time to check your dog over for sores, skin inflammation, and lumps.
It is often said that Poodles are "non-shedding". They do shed some, but the loose hair stays in the coat and mats rather than falling out.
A thorough brushing and combing twice a week is usually sufficient. First put your Poodle on a non-slip surface. Start brushing at the hindquarters, move to hind legs, front legs, body, and then to the head and ears.
A slicker brush is needed to pull dead hairs and mats out of the Poodles coat. A pin brush or a natural bristle brush is preferred for the ears, topknot, and other long areas because they are less likely to tear or break the hair.
After your Poodle is brushed, use a metal comb to detect snarls that were missed.
Bathing Your Poodle
Poodles can be bathed as often as once a week. Bathe the Poodle in warm water and use a mild dog shampoo.
Once your dog is in the tub, saturate the dog with warm water. Make sure your Poodle is wet to the skin. Poodles have a dense coat and were bred as water dogs so this may take several minutes.
Shampoo twice and rinse thoroughly, leaving shampoo in the coat irritates the skin. Using a conditioner is recommended for a poodle with sensitive skin and helpful in getting all the shampoo out of the coat.
Before the Poodle leaves the tub is a good time to check and express the anal glands, if necessary.
Left to air dry the Poodle's coat will be curly. For a smooth fluffed look, brush with a soft slicker brush as you are drying with a blow dryer.
