Best Grooming Tools For Poodles
All of the dog’s breeds require some sort of grooming for both health reasons and for overall aesthetics and poodles are no exception. This breed of dogs fall into “high-maintenance” category and a regular grooming session should be done every three to six weeks for regular, house poodles, and even more often for the ones that compete to keep the coat in a good condition.
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Some people decide to let the professional groomers take care of their poodles, while others decide to do it themselves with the help of a poodle-grooming tutorial and correct set of tools.
List of Grooming Tools for Poodles
Curved Slicker Brush
The curved slicker brush is one of those tools that should really be at your disposal if you own a poodle with a thick, curly coat.
Its main purpose is to remove any dirt, knots, and residue hair that is stuck at the bottom of the coat.
They usually come with the rectangular shaped head equipped with wire bristles. For safety reasons, bristles are angled slightly to protect the skin of the dog from scratching so if they are used with the correct amount of pressure there is absolutely no need to worry about injuries.
For this type of tools for poodle-grooming, our main pick is Oscar Frank’s Universal Plastic Slicker Brush. This particular brush comes in two sizes with the lightweight, contoured plastic handle to make the use of it as easy as possible for all dog sizes.
It is worth mentioning that it’s important to consider dog’s type and length of hair before purchasing this product.
Two-sided steel comb
Dog combs come in many different shapes and sizes, with or without handle, two-sided or with just one type of spacing between the pins, and so on. All of these varieties have pros and cons attached to them but we think that the best overall quality is provided by the two-sided steel combs.
This type of combs offers a variety that can help you finish the grooming in short period of time. After you are done with overall coat cleaning, all you have to do is turn the other side of the comb for some fine grooming and the job is done for that day.
A comb that we use and find really practical is Pettom Stainless Steel Grooming Comb. It is an affordable piece of equipment that is perfect for fluffing and other parts of the grooming process for the dogs of all sizes.
Pin Brush with a Cushioned Pad
This is an essential item to have for anyone with a pet that has mid to long length fur. The idea is to use this tool on the daily basis to take out the larger pieces of dirt and hair that clog dogs coat. It is a perfect piece of equipment to use if your pet spent some time outside of the house playing or just to treat your poodle’s fur at the end of the day.
The cushioned pad on pin brush is an advantage as it is easier to use it if the pet’s fur has knots that require a bit of special care. Our recommendation for everyday pin brush has to be Chris Christensen Oval Pin Brush with 3.5cm long stainless steel pins.
With a body made out of wood, this brush keeps the shape even with the poodles with messy coats.
De-matting Comb
Matting of the coat can be a real problem for poodles and other animals with longer fur. It is usually an outcome of poor grooming and can cause a potential health hazard because dogs tend to scratch and chew the places where the matting happened.
De-matting can be done with brushes but they can only get you so far. If your poodle has longer fur, your best chance is a tool like HDP Safari De-matting Comb. The items like this one offer a great solution for de-matting and preventing it from happening if it’s used daily.
If you decide to buy a tool like this one we advise you to look for the ones that are made out of stainless steel. These are more durable and can be used in any kind of situation.
Dog Grooming Scissor Set
If you take grooming of your poodle seriously than you should definitely consider buying a professional set of grooming scissors. This item will make all the difference if you want to take the whole process to another level and it will allow you to do more detailed work.
Since poodles can have coats in different lengths, our recommendation would be to go with Rubolt Salon Cut scissor set. This set contains three types of scissors, a comb, and a cleaning cloth packed inside a stylish case for convenience.
For extra durability and usability, it is a good option to have scissors made out of stainless steel with the rounded tip for extra protection. Professional scissor set can be an expensive item to add to you poodle-grooming toolbox so our advice is to do the proper maintenance after every use in order to avoid any possible early damage.
Professional Grooming Clippers
This is a big one if you’re really serious about grooming your poodle yourself. Having a properly groomed dog is not possible only if the professionals are involved. If you don’t plan to take your pet to the competitions and tournaments, then we think that there is no need to go to a grooming studio and spend money every month. Majority of people is capable of doing a decent job themselves.
In this kind of situations, we always advise people to invest in a professional level device like Andis ProClip AGC2. The reason why we do this is to prevent people from choosing the bottom-range clippers that usually have a very short life-span.
To get the most out of the dog grooming clippers you buy, spend some time with the user manual and inform yourself about the blades that come with it and the ways of proper maintenance.
Dog Grooming Table
A grooming table is an item that you might not need from the beginning. For the first few grooming sessions, just a regular large table or a floor in your house would do just fine, and if your poodle is still a puppy this might be the perfect time to invest in a grooming table.
Flying Pig Grooming Table with Arm is our go-to item for this purpose. It is a heavy-duty table that can support your poodle throughout the whole life-span and foldable arm with harness is a great feature if your pet is a bit restless when you want to do a more delicate fur cut.
Keep in mind that dog grooming can be a strenuous activity and a grooming table can help you avoid back and leg pain by allowing you to finish the job as quickly as possible.
Other Items You Might Need
We covered the essentials in the previous section of the article but items that we’re about to present should also be considered and used regularly.
Dog Paw Wax is the next item on this list. It is used to heal and protect dog paws in different conditions like hot pavement, ice, and sand, and it can prevent burning, drying or cracks.Nose Balm is a moisturizing mix of ingredients used for dry, cracked or sore dog nose. There are numerous recipes on the web for a DIY balm or you can simply buy a pre-made one. Just make sure that it is completely natural and your pup’s nose is going to be just fine.
Eye hygiene is another part of the grooming process which can be done with Eye Wipes. Not taking care of tear stains or dried mucus secretions around the eyes can lead to eye infections and irritations so make sure that eyes are cleaned properly.
Nail clipper is the item that most people forget about when they decide to do the dog grooming. Nail hygiene is an important part of the grooming process and should be done with a lot of care. If dog nails are not treated as they should, they tend to crack and break and this can cause problems and unnatural movement.
Nose balm – poodles are known to be prone to dry skin issues, which extends to the nose as well. What you can do is apply a canine nose balm or butter in the summer to protect your dog against the sun and in the winter to prevent chapping from happening.
Final Thoughts
Building your toolbox for poodle grooming does not have to be a one time action. Just deciding to go with the smallest item on the list like a two-sided comb or a pin brush can be a step in the right direction. Get in the habit of buying new tools as your skills go up.
It is important to not give yourself a hard time if your first few tries in poodle grooming don’t come out as a success. You can always consult your regular dog groomer or a tutorial on the web for advice.
So, be patient, use the proper tools and your poodle grooming is going to be top-notch in no time.