Toy Poodle
THEO
Michelle takes you through one of her favourite and most requested teddy bear trims on Theo the Toy Poodle.
Theo might be tiny, but he’s a bit of a local celebrity. Between puppuccinos, cafe visits, and charming everyone he meets, he needs a groom that still looks cute long after leaving the salon. In this tutorial, Michelle shows how she creates a practical teddy bear style that’s soft, youthful, easy to maintain, and comfortable for everyday life.
Throughout the groom, Michelle shares the little tricks and habits that help her work efficiently while still achieving a polished finish, from prep and coat preparation through to shaping the head, blending the body, and creating Theo’s signature cutie pie expression. With touches of TED fusion influence throughout, this is a fun, commercially wearable style you’ll be able to apply to plenty of poodles and mixed breed clients alike.
This tutorial is also available as a fastForward
Part 1
Body Preparation, Clipping & Teddy Bear Foundations
Michelle walks through the full preparation process behind a successful teddy bear groom, including prep timing, bathing, fluff drying, and coat preparation. She explains why thorough prep work is essential for achieving a smooth finish and demonstrates her preferred commercial body lengths using wide blades and comb attachments.
Watch as Michelle sets up Theo’s practical teddy bear outline, blending the body and legs for a soft, wearable finish while discussing maintenance schedules, owner expectations, and salon efficiency along the way.
Part 2
Teddy Bear Head Styling & Expression
In this detailed head styling section, Michelle demonstrates how she creates Theo’s signature teddy bear expression using a combination of clipper work, comb attachments, straights, curves, and thinners.
You’ll learn how Michelle builds the head shape step-by-step using her “floor, walls, roof” approach, along with techniques for creating clean eyes, practical kissy lips, rounded cheeks, short ears, and soft circular balance throughout the face. She also shares several Asian Fusion-inspired finishing techniques that help create a youthful, polished look without sacrificing practicality.
Part 3
Column Legs, Feet & Commercial Finishing
Michelle demonstrates how she creates neat column legs and compact rounded feet while keeping Theo comfortable throughout the process.
This section focuses heavily on blending, balance, and finishing techniques, including how to avoid bulky elbows, refine transitions from clipper work into scissored areas, and create clean, polished outlines suitable for commercial pet grooming. Michelle also discusses workflow efficiency, timing expectations, and the importance of continually checking your work from multiple angles.
Part 4
Tail Styling & Final Polishing
To finish the groom, Michelle shapes Theo’s tail into a soft, practical feather-duster style while discussing balance, tail carriage, and blending techniques.
She also shares her final polishing process, including how she checks outlines, removes stray hairs, and ensures the entire groom flows evenly from every angle before completion. The result is a clean, commercially achievable teddy bear trim that remains practical for both groomer and owner.
Study Notes | Key Concepts
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A smooth teddy bear finish starts long before the scissoring begins. Proper bathing, fluff drying, de-matting, and coat preparation are essential for achieving an even result and reducing finishing time later in the groom.
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Michelle demonstrates how to create soft teddy bear styling by first “boxing” shapes before rounding them off. Establishing structure first helps produce more balanced, symmetrical finishes.
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Throughout the tutorial, Michelle explains how grooming decisions affect maintenance, matting risk, comfort, and owner upkeep. Shorter ears, clean mouths, and manageable body lengths all contribute to a more wearable commercial trim.
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A large portion of the final finish comes from blending transitions smoothly between blades, comb attachments, and scissored areas. Continually checking the groom from multiple angles helps create a polished result.
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Michelle shares realistic timing expectations and grooming workflow habits developed over years of experience, including prep management, working efficiently with blades, and knowing when to move on from an area.
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