How to Do a Banded Dutch on a Poodle
Create a banded dutch trim by shaving a band around your poodle’s neck and waist. Also, shave a vertical line down your poodle’s back starting from between its shoulder blades and down to the base of the tail. From above, the lines should form a cross on your poodle’s back. Finish the trim by clipping the hair around your poodle's paws and tail, and the rest of its body.
Shaving the Face and Neck
1. Hold your poodle’s head with one hand.
With one hand, hold your poodle’s head with your fingers on the top of its head and your thumb under its chin. Then, place a number 10 clipper, with the blade flat, and clip from the outside corner of the eye to the ear. Also, shave the coat in front of the ear.
- When shaving your poodle, make sure to let the blade rest in between shavings. This will allow the blade to cool down.
- If you can, use "silent" or quiet clippers for your dog's face. The noise of regular clippers so near to your dog's ears can be startling or uncomfortable.
2. Clip the cheeks.
Continue to clip your dog’s cheeks and the bridge of the nose up to its eyes. Form a slight inverted “V” between your dog’s eyes, and continue to shave down the sides of the face to the throat. When clipping the throat, a good standard is to clip down the approximate length of the muzzle.
- For example, if your dog’s muzzle is five inches, then clip five inches down the throat.
- Once both sides of the face and neck are shaved, a “U” shaped pattern will appear on the throat.
3. Finish shaving the neck.
Clean up the neck with the clippers. Shave all hair off of the throat. When shaving the throat, you may shave against the direction of the coat. However, if your dog’s’ skin does not tolerate this, then do not clip against the direction of the hair growth.
4. Clip the neck band.
Starting at the back of your poodle’s neck, begin to clip the neck band with a number 10 clipper. Start at a half-inch to an inch above the shoulder blades, and shave a band around your poodle’s neck. The band should be where your poodle’s collar usually rests.
- Go over the line once more with your clipper to set the line.
- Try to avoid clipping too low so you have room to clean up your lines.
Creating the Back Lines
1. Secure your poodle.
Before you begin clipping the back lines, secure your poodle at the front by placing your hand on your dog’s neck. If your dog has trouble standing still, use a slide collar to secure your dog. Attach the slide collar to a table or a cupboard to secure your poodle.
- Your dog should be standing throughout the entire process.
2. Shave a line down your poodle’s back.
Standing at the rear of your dog, use a clipper with a number 10 blade to shave a vertical line down your dog’s back. The vertical line should start between your poodle’s shoulder blades, i.e., at the base of the neck band, and continue down to the base of its tail. To set the straight line, go over the line again with your clippers.
- Make sure your poodle is standing completely straight throughout the process.
- A number 10 blade is appropriate for standard poodles. If you have a smaller poodle, use a narrower toe blade instead.
3. Shave a horizontal line.
Starting at your dog’s last rib, shave a horizontal line down your dog’s right side. The line should end at your poodle’s underside. Go over the line once more with your clippers.
- Placement of this line will depend on the size of your dog. On very long dogs, this line will be a bit more forward in comparison to dogs with shorter backs.
4. Create an angled line.
Once you have completed the horizontal line behind your dog’s last rib, create an angled line. Create the angled line by clipping the corners of the pattern, i.e., where the vertical and horizontal lines meet.
- Repeat steps three and four on the left side of your dog. Once both sides are shaved, the lines should resemble a cross when viewing your dog from above.
5. Trim the body.
Use a snap on "E" comb to trim your poodle’s body. Trim just enough so that the lines a more visible. Then, create a “bevel” on your poodle’s patterned lines. Create a "bevel" by combing the longer coat over the clipped lines. Scissor the edges of the coat.
Cleaning Up Your Poodle
1. Clip the paws.
Hold your poodle’s paw by placing your hand around the cuff. Use a number 40 blade to clip the coat around your dog’s paws. Clip the hair around your dog’s toes, as well as the hair on top of the foot.
- When shaving the paws, use light pressure to avoid digging the blade into the skin.
2. Shave the tail.
Similar to the cut between the eyes, clip an inverted “V” at the croup. The croup is the muscular area on your dog’s rump, i.e., before the onset of the tail. Then, clip a two to three inch band at the base of the tail. Make sure the band goes all the way around the tail.
3. Shape the coat.
Use curved and straight shears to shape the rest of the coat. Use curved shears for curved lines and straight sheers for straight lines. Follow the natural lines of the dog’s body when shearing the coat. Use the shears to shape the hair on your poodle’s hips and legs (insides and outsides), rump, sides and undersides, front, and end of the tail.