Cavoodle

Paris is growing into a new look. Tay’s goal is a fuller teddy bear style with longer legs, a reshaped face, lifted ears and a better-balanced overall silhouette, but getting there doesn’t mean simply letting everything grow.

Instead, Tay shows how to use each groom to progressively build the new shape. The body is taken shorter to create the illusion of longer legs, existing coat is refined rather than unnecessarily removed, and the face is carefully sculpted to encourage the coat to grow in the direction needed for future appointments.

PARIS

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Part 1 | Growing out without looking grown out

Tay begins with a #4 wide blade on the body, deliberately taking it tighter while preserving more length through the legs. A 13mm attachment comb is then used to skim or “dust” the longer coat, removing the fuzzy outer layer and reducing the amount of scissoring required.

This is a useful approach for a dog transitioning between styles: identify what needs to grow, remove what doesn’t contribute to the new shape, and keep the dog looking manicured while you wait for the coat you need.

Part 2 | Building longer-looking legs

Paris’s legs are shaped to look fuller without simply leaving everything long. Tay establishes the feet first, bevelling the coat upwards to create neat little “tippy toes”, then uses those reference points to work upwards and join the four sides of each leg.

The rear is shaped to show more angulation, while the front legs are kept straighter and more column-like. Tay also demonstrates small handling adjustments around the hock, elbow and feet, and explains why she takes only small amounts at a time when Paris is likely to move.

By keeping the feet lifted from the floor and the legs tidy while retaining length, the owner gets something manageable now without sacrificing the coat needed for Paris’s future style.

Part 3 | Reshaping the teddy bear face

Rather than taking the head straight back to the occiput, Tay deliberately retains coat to create a softer dome and blend the head into the neck. She opens the corners of the eyes, works with Paris’s natural stop and carefully removes heaviness without creating the wide-eyed, surprised expression that can happen when too much is taken away too soon.

The donut muzzle is a work in progress. Paris has cowlicks and areas that need to regrow, so Tay relies heavily on thinners and layering to remove bulk without sacrificing the length she needs. Shorter supporting hairs help lift the longer coat, beginning to retrain the muzzle into the rounder shape she wants at future appointments.

Part 4 | Lifted teddy ears & finishing the new shape

Paris already has perfectly acceptable short drop ears, but Tay changes them to help the whole face. By layering from underneath and blending the ears upwards into the head, she creates a lifted teddy bear ear that draws the eye up rather than down.

This isn’t just about the ear itself. The shorter supporting layers help lift the longer coat, and Tay plans to continue developing that shape as Paris grows into the style.

Finally, the tail is reshaped while retaining the coat needed to grow towards a fuller bottle-brush style. As with the rest of Paris, the goal is to make today’s groom look finished while quietly setting up the next one.

Study Notes | Key Concepts

  • Growing out a new style doesn’t mean leaving everything untouched. Tay continues shaping Paris at each appointment, keeping her looking groomed while preserving the coat needed for the eventual teddy bear style.

  • Taking the body slightly shorter makes the legs appear longer. Tay uses the same thinking throughout the groom, adjusting where length and weight sit to change the overall silhouette rather than simply following the existing coat.

  • Tay “dusts” over the longer leg coat with an attachment comb, removing fuzz and bulk without taking away the length she’s trying to grow. It leaves much less work to finish with scissors

  • This is especially important while rebuilding Paris’s face. Thinners and chunkers allow Tay to reduce heaviness, work with cowlicks and encourage the coat into a new shape without sacrificing valuable length.

  • Paris isn’t leaving with the final version of this groom. Her muzzle, ears, legs and tail are all being shaped with the next groom in mind. Each appointment moves the coat a little closer to the intended style while still giving the owner a finished-looking dog today.