To be Shaved!

Jazz had a short back and sides at the weekend, its not a tradional poodle trim and in all his 11 years he has never had his feet shaved (why would you!) I have only ever shaved his hair on his head once, boy are poodles ugly nude, they may have an elegant gait, but the trims on them do disguise the small heads and long legs, the good news is that his lumps and bumps remain the same size, shaving an older dog is like an MOT for them. Betsy had a bath and groom, so thats her sorted for the next 4-6 weeks. My aim is normally to get one dog clean and tidy a week, ears , nails and a good groom out, that way with 5 dogs at present, its a bit like a rota. Bepop is short at the moment, trimmed like a spaniel as she is sometimes out on a shoot, some call her the 'hearth rug' but on a positive note she has never yet suffered an injury, dogs are ofton scratched or get caught on barbed wire or even tough old brambles. I have not ever shaved my barbets nude, some people do and there is a mixed opinion whether it is right or wrong. A Barbet is a dog, so those who think it wrong must be anti any shaving of dogs, those who think its right or ok are on my wavelength, does it really matter! its up to the owner of the dog what they prefer. I do hold the breeders responsible for making pet owners feel like failures however, poor quality coats on dogs are usually the ones that end up as pets and yet still the owners are told that the dog should be groomed in the manner expected in a show ring.