One of the most expensive things about owning poodles is keeping them well groomed, but if you learn to do this yourself, you'll develop a better relationship with your pet, and you'll save a lot of money in the long run. Grooming poodles might seem hard, but it's actually a task that just about anyone can learn to do. To increase your skills you just need patience, and willingness.

It takes about three hours to groom a standard poodle once the skill is mastered, but you may need to divide the task over multiple days during the learning process. This is both to give you a break, and for your poodle. If you're not willing to learn poodle grooming on your own, or are worried about the time it takes, you'll have to choose a professional to do it, but remember to pick this person out carefully. The best way to find a good groomer is by talking to other peoples who owns poodle.

You'll have to decide which trim you prefer. Poodles have coats that lend themselves to plenty of different looks, however, your choice will in part be dictated on how much time and effort you're willing to put into keeping your dog's coat in shape. The sorts of activities you and your poodle engage in will also affect the style, since show poodles are limited in the type of trims they can wear.

Show poodles wear variations on the standard lion cut, which comes in three variations: continental, puppy, and English saddle. All of these are related to the standard "poodle" tradditional style people are familiar with. This cut originally was designed to help dogs swim better when fetching birds in the water -- the long fur on the chest protected the heart and lungs, while the extra fur on the legs protected the joints.

For non-competing poodles, there's a lot more to choose from. You can choose a shorter trim, which is easier to maintain, and especially easier to dry in the winter. Longer trims are showier, but they'll require more maintenance, so check some grooming books, or take a look at a few poodles to figure out what you prefer.

Most people choose to clip the fur at the base of the tail and on the feet and face very short, as this works better for the dog's hygiene, since long hair can trap food. Short clipped feet don't pick up grass seeds, and mean that your dog won't track in as much dirt, and remember that shorter coats are easier to wash and dry, and they don't need as much brushing as a fluffy, long coat. To keep your clippers and scissors in good shape use high quality equipment, and always wash your poodle before grooming. Since it is quite expensive to start with, but it will help in making poodle grooming much easier.

Poodle grooming is an important part of owning a poodle. Find out how grooming poodles properly can really be a fun thing for you to do with your dog.