The Poodle Kennel Clip is a trim that can be easily executed by even the more novice of groomers. It is also easily maintained by the owner at home between grooms.
To achieve this clip, start with a well-prepped dog that has been properly bathed and fluff-dried. The first step is to do your clipper work on the face, feet and tail. I prefer a five-in-one clipper with the blade on the second to the closest setting as not to clipper-burn or irritate the skin on the dog.
Fig 1) Clip the face starting from the front corner of the ear, going across to the corner of the eye and out through the tip of the nose, making a clean line from the bottom corner of the ear on both sides down to the neck, finishing with a “V” shape.
Fig 2) Clip the tail starting from the base up, finishing with a “V” shape on the back to accentuate the tail set.
The feet should be clipped just up over the top knuckle.
Fig 3) Next, moving onto the body, use a #1 clipper-comb over a #30 blade starting just behind the shoulders and work your way back, following the natural contours of the dog’s body, and clipping down the rear angulation and side of the hips.
Fig 4) Also clip just under the ear and clean up the neck and shoulder area down to just above the elbow.
Fig 5) To clip the legs, switch to a #0 comb.
Fig 6) Now that the length is set on the dog, you can start the finish work with doing the bevels on all four feet by combing the hair down around the foot and scissoring the hair off with a small curved or straight sheer. Then comb the hair back up on the legs and even it out with your shears.
At this point you can do your tail and neck line bevels as well.
Fig 7) Next scissor the tail round or slightly oval-shaped with a small pair of curved shears.
Fig 8) The ears are beveled with a pair of curved shears as well. Always check to make sure you are not near the ear leather.
Fig 9) On the head, use your curved shears to trim the visor around the eyes.
Fig 10) Then, flip the curved shears around the opposite way to do your bevels up over the ears.
Fig 11) Next, bring the shears up over the top of the head to create a nice rounded shape.
Fig 12) Once again, flip the shears in reverse to blend the neck line down into the dog’s shoulders.
Happy grooming everyone! ✂️
Julie Wilkins
Julie Wilkins has been grooming since 1994 and owns Best In Show Pet Salon in Gloucester, MA. She has won Best in Show and Best All Around awards at grooming competitions, and was a Top 10 member of GroomTeam USA for many years. As an AKC Breeder of Meritt, Julie has finished many of her own Poodles from the bred-by class, as well as many Toy, Mini, and Standard Poodle Champions with multiple group wins and placements and Specialty Best In Show wins. She is a member and has held board positions in The Poodle Club of Massachusetts and North Shore Kennel Club, always striving to better the breed and educate the public on the purebred dog.