Deneph pointed me to this travesty of a photo. I did a little digging and came up with the story behind it.Sanday Hartness of Yucaipa Valley, Calif., turned this poodle into a Ninja Turtle named Leonardoodle at SuperGroom 2007, a contest in creative dog grooming where first place winner gets $5,000.
Hartness did not win.
Full story, with gallery and video in the Orange County Register.
For comparison, another freshly – but correctly – groomed poodle:
How can you make a circus of your pet like that?!
ReplyDeleteSophie's a beaut!
I must confess that I don't know much about grooming. Why are poodles groomed almost down to their skin?
Oh, those poor dogs. My cousins had a wonderful dog when we were all small who was half poodle and half border collie. She was embarrassed every time she was trimmed. I think if anyone had done something like this to her she would have jumped off the balcony.
ReplyDeleteOh, that poor baby!
ReplyDeleteWhy is there a contest for creative dog grooming??
I suppose they have contests because it's got to be kind of boring doing the same standard clips day in and day out. Like the human hair design contests where they get all wacky with the extensions and color and stuff.
ReplyDeleteManisha, poodles don't shed, so if you don't clip them, they turn into a big matted mess after a while. The hair just keeps growing and growing, and it's curly, too.
The frou-frou show clips are actually a stylized version of how poodles used to be clipped for hunting. They originally were use for water retrieving, so they were left shaggy around their chests and joints to stay warm, while the hindquarters were shaved for better swimming mobility.
There are still people who use them for hunting, but they have been eclipsed by the more powerful breeds with smooth coats and more subcutaneous fat, such as Labradors. Check out WorkingPoodle.org.
Paying for grooming Sophie (or doing it myself) is a small price to pay for not having hair all over my house and my clothes from a shedding dog. I shed more than Sophie does!
I had to think the dog was happy to be wearing the mask to hide his shame. While it's kind of interesting to see what can be done with Poodle fur, you should try to keep some dignity for the poor dog.
ReplyDelete(now I'm feeling a bit guilty of painting my dog's nails purple when I was a teenager)
Good grief...poor pooch! We trim ours very close too even though I like it better after he's grown it a month or so. Our dog spends a lot of time outside and he would be full of burs if left long. Your dog looks great.
ReplyDelete