Hi

Okay, so I am learning about Poodles (mainly Toy), and I know they are groomed every which way, one thing has always confused me. I know the typical groomed poodle has short to no hair on it's muzzle, and I've seen photos of "ungroomed" poodles with short to no hair on it's muzzle..then I'll see the cute "teddy bear" poodles that do have hair on it's muzzle usually the same length as the rest of it's body.

I've included some photos of different Poodles, some are puppies, one reason why I doubt the differences are simply down to grooming. Anyways, my question is - Are the differences in the following Poodles down to grooming or are they actually different types of Poodles? All of the pix below states pure-breed Poodle, so I'm really lost.

Even lengthed:


Even lengthed:


Shorter in muzzle/face:


Shorter in muzzle/face:


Second question - does the hair on Poodle's ears grow faster or longer than the rest of their body, or is it simply how some people groom their Poodles? See pic:
http://images-cdn01.associatedconten.../300_76696.jpg

While there can be differences in coat quality between individual dogs, and even different colors, what you're talking about is all grooming.

The typical groom on most poodles includes a cleanly shaven face and feet, but one can create different styles of mustaches or leave the feet unshaven and just scissor tidy them. It's just personal preference.

The ears don't grow faster or longer, it's still a matter of grooming. They can be left to grow long, or trimmed shorter, depending on what you want. Some styles call for the ear to be shaved like the face and feet, too.

As vetgroomer said, these are not different types of poodles, just differently groomed poodles.

If you aren't wanting to show your dogs, how you groom them is really up to you. Poodles have fast growing coats, high maintenance coats. Because they don't shed (ie. drop dead hairs), you must brush them regularly to remove the dead hairs manually. If you don't your dog will develop terrible matts in the hair that will likely need to be cut out. (usually right at skin level, which seems to be where these matts like to form) This can look pretty unsightly and typically a badly matted dog needs to be shaved right down.

It's really up to you whether you like the shaved face look or the fuzzy faced look. The shaved face is definitely easier to keep clean, but I find those fuzzy little faces are pretty darned cute.

Same thing with the feet being shaved. It's a lot cleaner, but if you don't like that look, you don't have to shave their feet.

The nice thing about poodles is that even if you don't like the haircut, the hair grows so quickly that you can change it again in a month or two. The not son nice thing about poodles is that their hair grows so quickly that you're constantly having to groom (ie. clip) them. Some people love this, but others find it tedious and costly which is why it's good to research your breed before buying.