It was hot for New Hampshire during most of the month of May. Because Cooper was clearly being affected by the heat we had him sheared down from his normal teddy bear appearance.
(Notice, he’s being bad. He’s sitting on the top of the back of the couch to look out that window in that way).
We had him shaved down to almost nothing on Monday
He always looks so strange to me when he’s shaved down. He’s all lean, skinny, awkward legs.
He doesn’t look like a fluffy teddy bear to me anymore, instead he reminds me of some weird guy streaking across a sports stadium’s field. His gait even seems to change when he’s naked. He almost looks like some kind of fluffy headed Gazelle.
But the vet’s office was very impressed with him when I brought him there. He weighed in at 36 pounds which is tiny for a standard poodle. A vet tech and I started talking about how huge Standard Poodles have gotten and how many poodle owners seem impressed with Cooper’s size. She told me that a lot of their huge standard poodle patients are not as well behaved at Cooper, they seem more hyper. Clearly she hasn’t met my poodle when he’s out running on the trails.
So we shaved him down, brought him to the vet and got him ready for summer. And what happens? It gets cold. Rainy, wet cold. The kind of cold that only happens when you just shaved down your dog, planted cold sensitive plants in your backyard, and need to mow your lawn.
I pulled out one of Cooper’s hiking coats.
It’s a Ruffwear Cloud Chaser softshell jacket, I wish I had one as pretty for myself. (I bought it last winter at a serious discount)
It does pretty much fit him perfectly when he’s shaved down to nothing. And I’m not going to pay to get him a bigger one for when he’s fluffy.
Of course Cooper being Cooper, we need to demonstrate that he can still run in the jacket.
Now the real question is, how do I make it warmer again? Do I give my dog hair extensions?
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I like the way my poodle looks when she’s fluffy but she sure smells better when she’s shaved. Cooper is a lean guy! Curlisse weighs 45 pounds and she is considered to be on the small side for a Standard.
Of course, she doesn’t get anywhere NEAR the exercise Coop does.
Considering Coop doesn’t have an ounce of fat on him :-p He’s about 20-22″ at the shoulder (I’d have to measure). I’ve met some that are close to 30″ at the shoulder. Started wondering if it was some kind of GreatDanoodle.
Wow! Cooper sure is a small guy! We have a four month old boy who already weighs 25 lbs! =)
But your Cooper is adorable, no matter his hair cut!
He’s tiny for a Standard, we get asked if he’s a giant Mini. Perfect size for me. But I haven’t noticed anything different about the bigger guys. They all love to snuggle, it’s like a genetic trait.
YeS! They are wonderful pets! And don’t you just love how EASILY the learn? I’m amazed with our poodle daily! =)
I love your blog by the way! =) I started reading it when I was trying to decide whether or not to get a poodle! =) I have to say that your Cooper’s pictures won me over!! =)