Finishing the back legs

Comb the hair up from the bevel.Shape the hair to look as perfectly as possible and spray with the CCS Thick n thicker.

Starting from the bevel with the shorter curved shear clean up the bevel and start scissoring up the leg

Switching to the straight shear come up the side of the leg scissoring the leg evenly into the hip

At this point stand at the back of your dog and decide where the leg will end and make sure it is even on both sides.We call this point the finish point.

Setting the finish point allows you to scissor up the side of each leg and have them end up relatively even at the end.

Comb and re spray so you can set the very important look of the back leg with ease.Continue scissoring until you have cleaned up all the way around the leg and on the inside of the leg as well.

Switching to a longer pair of straight shears to do the finish work will allow you to take fewer “cuts” and therefore can improve the look of your finish.

The insides of the back legs usually require a lot of scissoring.

Trimming the front legs

Now comb the legs and spray with CCS thick n thicker spray to help the legs hold the shape as you scissor

Comb all the leg hair up from the bevel and shake the leg so the hair lands naturally

Start at the bevel with the short curves and clean up the bevel

Then with a longer straight shear scissor the front leg straight and even paying close attention to the armpit area

You want a nice straight line from the shoulder all the way down the leg

We want the front legs to look like cylinders or stove pipes, we do not want them to taper like a table leg.

Remember to think in 3-d and make sure the leg is even and symmetrical all the way around.

Comb, shake and spray again and scissor with the straight shear all the way up the leg to the area that you already scissored with the curved shears.(shoulder and chest)

To finish the leg you can go back to the curved shear to tidy and check the roundness of the leg.

Make sure the insides of the legs are nice and straight as well.

Check the inside of the front legs from the rear angle as well.

Trimming the chest

Using the curved shears once again in reverse come up the front of the front leg and blend the top of the front leg into the chest hair.Be aware of the angulation you trimmed in in the back legs and be sure to balance the angulation in the front. Again this takes practice and your artistic interpretation of your dog’s angulation.

As you come up the front of the leg and start the upper angulation your curved shears are in the reverse position but as you get to the post sternum you will flip your shears back to the correct position to blend the rest of the chest into the neck

You are combing and re scissoring to get a smooth even look.

Topknot and neck

Taking the grooming noose off of your poodle safely comb out the entire head and neck. Often a little conditioning spray will help here.

To trim the neck and topknot be sure you are holding your poodle’s head in a normal position, you do not want your poodle’s head handling down or straight off the body at this point as this will result in the topline and neck transition not looking smooth when you are done.

Holding the ear up and out of your way you will use your shorter curved scissors in reverse and work on blending the neck into the topline starting at the withers and working your way up.

As you get to the ear flip the shears around the correct way and scissor in the sides of the hear/topknot. You will re comb the hair several times and re scissor until it is nice and smooth.

Let the ear drop down and at the top of the ear you will see a line that you have created from scissoring your neck.

Using the curved shears in reverse continue this line up and over the ear creating a bevel. This will be the base line/starting point of you creating the topknot. Once the bevel at the side of the topknot is done you will then comb al the topknot hair forward and down over the eye. Then take your curved shears held the correct way and trim in a nice visor.

Comb and re trim several times as with the longer topknot hair it will there will be more hairs that pop out and need to be trimmed. Then trim all the topknot all the way to one side and trim out any offending hairs. Repeat on the other side.

Then comb all the hair up and over the head into the neck. Gently grasp the ears and give the head a shake letting the hair fall naturally.

Now come up and over the topknot scissoring the hair as long or as short as you like and as long or short so that you think it looks balanced and pleasing to the trim.***if this trim is for yourself this is an easy decision but in a salon you would think of the client, how “fancy” they like their poodle to look and also how often the dog comes in for grooming.***

Continue scissoring over the top of the topknot and down into the neck so that it all blends together as one unit with no noticeable line between the topknot and neck hair.

As you come down the neck using the curved shears in the correct position, as you get below the occiput you will flip the shears backwards to help you transition the neck into the withers easier.

Be sure to check your trim from every angle and tidy up as necessary.