What kind of cut for a hunting dog.

[bkitchen0406]

I read that the traditional cut is the normal semi fancy cut you see. Big hair around the head and middle. Then fur on the tail and joints of the legs. If that is the best cut for hunting then so be it. I did see a hunter who had his poodle in more of a puppy cut and another that has shave all over except the head and tail. So what do you guys think. You don't have to hunt, but what if you were going back packing in the woods, or your dog was going to go swimming in the fall. No wrong answers here.

[Fluffy]

Do a google on  "historically correct continental" I think you might even find a pic on PCA website.  Somewhere else you might like to visit is the veratility in standard poodles web site.

[bkitchen0406]

http://www.poodlesinaustralia.com/trimsimages/hcc2.jpg


This one is supose to be period correct.

[bkitchen0406]

[Helen]

ooooo.... I LIKE that one.  Very handsome.  Covering all the essentials, yet very good looking!

Helen

[Roland]

I really like that trim, perhaps for summer I'll get that for Oden. But if you want to stay away from the continental; we keep Oden in a "working clip". It's just easier. He is a terror, always raceing through the woods, and wrestling with the big dogs at the park.  It is similar to the puppy cut, but shorter with the face feet and base of tail shaved. In the winter we like it a little fuller, and in summer very short. We have in the past given him a little more attitude, by giving him a Mohawk, right now though we are growing out the top in hopes to "cord" the top of his head. That is one of the fun parts of the breed, if you are not going to show where you have to have one of the acceptical trims, you can really change his trim up based on your and his needs and personality.
Our working cut

when he had the blue mohawk as a small pup

[bkitchen0406]

A little information about cording. The Komodor, a hungarian sheep dog was the first dog to cord. The cording was supose to act as armor to protect him from a wolf. It was said that because of this cording the Komodor could kill a wolf. I love the Komodor look, but he is a very very hard dog to train. He is oposit the poodle. I like the cord look, but I hear it takes a very long time to dry if you give him a bath. That is why I am going to stay away from the cord. I will be doing some training with my poodle in water.

[Roland]

there is someone on here that can help you with cording. I understood that it was allot of work also, but she explained that is was just the oppisite, that in fact it was very easy to care for. I would not guess about getting it wet, but I am sure others can. We are only cording the head to get a fun look.

[Fluffy]

Cords can go mouldy if not dried adequately. ewwww

[auntie c]

as most of you already know, my male white standard has a corded head and tail (i shave his body in the summer months)  we go to the beach most days atleast once for a swim, i just needed to add that we havent done the moulding thing as yet..... here in newcastle we have a black girl with the corded head & tail and also an apricot boy..  we are just lucky enough to own the most low maintenance poodles ever... our dogs have never ever ever been brushed.. we just separate the cords at the base as they grown as they tend to "matt" to one another,  but once separated they are cords in there own right and just grow and grow and grow..
as i type this i have measured some of the cords on harry's head and they average around 20cm or 8 inches.. this is only 2.5 years of growth.

its certainly not a look everyone loves but we certainly do get stopped where ever we go with him. i have a silver girl who has the basic home version of a continental which seems to suit her...

auntie c
harry who and pearl the girl
australia

[zefi]

Personally I dislike the HCC. I think its unbalanced and the hardest trim to make look good. In fact even nice dogs looks awful in it.

I’ve never corded and I’m not sure I’d ever like a dog in cords. I knew a girl with a puli who said it took 5 hrs to cage dry her dog after a bath and they hardly ever washed her for that reason. She was always dirty smelling. She also said she was awful when she got wet in the rain, and that the cords would mould if not dried properly and left wet.

To me it seems like such hard work to create the cords to start with, then the maintenance (ie drying) seems so much harder than a pet trim.

I think a sporting trim or kennel clip would be the easiest to maintain on a working dog.

[dori47]

you can always keep the cords short. Dori took 3 days to dry, or a  few hours in a cage dryer. His cords were over 30 cm long ( my samoyed took a few hours in a cage dryer too)

Carole Ann

[zefi]

Carole Ann is an expert on cording! She showed Dori in cords and did all kinds of things with him. She's the one to ask.

I think that if you keep the cords shaped and not one big shapeless mess they'd be easier on both you and the dog. One lady I met told me her dog didnt want to go out much in summer cause the cords were heavy and she'd get hot. She was in long cords all over.

[dori47]

Carole Ann is an expert on cording! She showed Dori in cords and did all kinds of things with him. She's the one to ask.

I think that if you keep the cords shaped and not one big shapeless mess they'd be easier on both you and the dog. One lady I met told me her dog didnt want to go out much in summer cause the cords were heavy and she'd get hot. She was in long cords all over.

When I cut off all of Dori's cords ( many over 30 cm long) I weighed him before and after removing the coat and there was a grand total of 7 ounces difference. That is it, less than half a pound. So no, they are not heavy, unless soaked with water of course, then he couldn't even hold his tail up, but I did not swim him. it took a long long time to soak his coat with water though. Shorter cords are the way you see them in the US, especially in the show ring, and they would not get weighed down as much with water.
In agility, his tail kept knocking down the bar on the jumps, but his tail cords reached to the ground when he was standing in a normal pose.

A matted coat does not protect against the heat and cold as much as a fluffy coat, since the trapped air is what helps to control the temperature right at the body, but the Marmemma ( spelling is not exact, I don't think) and Komodor etc I understand stay outside all the time as working dogs in cords but they are not black ( although Marmemmma are dark coloured) but their cording is designed to protect them from predators and barbs on bushes etc.

If ( when ) I learn how to add pictures, I will attach some

Carole Ann Brown