By Kendra Otto
If your poodle’s feet get shaved, it is important to follow the correct pattern on the feet. Kendra Otto, Andis grooming ambassador prefers the ProClip Pulse Ion Adjustable Blade Clipper: “The 5-in-1 adjustable blades offers versatility. Lighter colored, red and apricot poodles have very sensitive skin, so be sure to keep blades running cool and you might want to use a 10 or 15 blade on their feet. For dark poodles, a 15 or 30 blade will work well.” She offers the following tips:
A. When shaving a poodle foot, the easiest way to start is under the foot. After shaving the pads, find the crescent shape at the back of the large pad and clip that area out being careful not to clip higher than the ends of the crescent.
B. Next, to shave the front of the foot, follow the line from the back of the foot all the way around to the front. To shave toes, push your fingers up between them to spread them apart; this will open them up for a cleaner, closer shave between the toes.
C. Reversing the Pulse Ion blade around the toenails will help your clipper lines be neater.
D. To set your bevels, comb out the coat and run your hand down towards the foot. You will see that the coat has gathered nicely around the foot. Check to see where the clipper line is on the foot and using a 30 blade, cut the bevels in to match where the clipper line is on the foot. Be careful to not shave too high up to your hand, you do not want the dog wearing “capris,” it will look silly. Tidy up the edges with shears.
