After and Before

One of my, ah-hem, "readers", emailed me and asked me if we gave her regular baths and haircuts. We certainly do!

Poodles are one of the more high-maintenace breeds out there, because they have "hair" instead of "fur", which means that instead of shedding like most dogs do, they hair just grows and grows like human hair. Azuki's hair grows like a wildfire spreading through a dry forest, so she needs a trim every 4 weeks, not 6-8 weeks as suggested. She also gets a bit stinky after 10 days or so without a good bath, but we usually give her a bath every 2 weeks as recommended by the vet.

Matt is in charge of giving her a bath, because when poodles are wet, they look like LARGE RATS WITH LONG, SKINNY LEGS. Seriously, they are that ugly. The only thing that keeps the toy poodle looking so cuddly and teddy-bear like is their fur. Without it, they are just a bunch of NY subway rats. The first time I gave Azuki a bath I was in shock, in a "oh my gosh my baby is so freakin ugly underneath all that fur" kind of way. After that, Matt took over the job because he didn't mind looking at a trembling alien dog that keeps trying to scramble away.

I have posted pictures above, first one with Azuki after a trim, the second is Azuki in dire need of a trim. She has that wild lion look in the second picture.