Get Ready For An Audiovisual Assault On Your Mind. And Your Poodle.

[Quick note to new visitors via viral poodle action: Thanks for coming! If you like these poodles and want something just as dramatic but even more awesome, check out my story on This American Life this week!)

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On to the poodles!

Listen:

And look:

Yes, that is a teenage mutant ninja poodle. Get it? I know, I know. Which one? Leonardo, obviously. Duh. I mean. Just look at the color of the mask.

MORE CREATIVE GROOMING!

Comments

[Megan]

This is outrageous, I have a standard poodle and i absolutely love her, i could never do something like this to her. Yes, its true, poodles are groomed from day 1, and yes, they do get used to it, but, when a poodle is groomed, they can be embarrassed if there cut isn't flattering, they show embarrassment when people laugh at them, this just isn't right.

[A Dog Groomer]

It's great to see dogs in tip top condition and loving their new characters. News for all those who condemn these groomers - if the dogs didn't like it, they wouldn't stand still long enough to sculpt their coats in such an intricate way, they wouldn't perform in the show ring, and they certainly wouldn't stay still long enough for a photographer to take their photograph.... If you want to condemn someone, try all those dog owners who don't brush their dogs regularly and let their coats get all matted - no wonder the poor things don't like being groomed (imagine getting knots and mats tugged out of your hair for two hours!). Lecture over.... I love the buffalo (I saw it in another article) - it's brilliant!!

[MissK Los Angeles]

By the way....click here and go tell it to Doris Day - a woman who's been fighting for animal rights longer than most of you have been alive.

http://www.seraphicpress.com/images/doris%20day%20poodles-thumb.jpg

Then go visit her and donate so animal victims of REAL abuse can be helped.

http://www.ddal.org/

[MissK Los Angeles]

I have regularly kept my darling Miniature Poodle bright pink since I plucked her poor little neglected butt out of a shelter last year! She likes being dyed as much as she likes a bath (which is not much), but that's all it is, one more step in the bath process.

On a white Poodle, the dye (MADE EXPRESSLY FOR DOGS AND NON-TOXIC) takes less than 2 minutes to take before rinse time. By the time I get from her head to her little powder-puff tail, she's ready to rinse....just like shampoo time.

She ADORES her grooming time as she loves being primped and spoiled with my undivided attention to boot. She also adores every moment of attention she gets from people who stop on the street to bestow compliments, pet her & take pictures.

Perhaps instead you can attack the people who spend NO time on their pets grooming. (novel concept, I know!) I see far too many neglected Poodles that smell of urine & have formed dreadlocks throughout their poor coats.

I can honestly say that my girl is happy, healthy, well adjusted and spoiled rotten with not a single bad habit....she is definitely happy in her natural, if slightly tinted, state with a clip for all seasons and no dress, tutu, bandana, tiara, jacket, scarf, et alii.

For those who think we would "dip" our beloved dogs in "a can of paint" then leave them to dry...in the words of the L.A. Valley: Dude! You're the moron!

[Barbara West]

This is absolutely disgraceful. Such regal creatures deserve better. Better that the perpetrators be dipped in a can of paint and left to dry. Animals, who rely on us, should be better served and I don't care what other mere morons think.

[industrial strength]

this is awesome collection
thanks for sharing this post... :)

[Event planning and production]

this is really good post
thanks for sharing....

[Patricia]

Niki, they are not photoshopped...and those of you who think this is abuse need to lighten up. People dress their dogs for heaven's sake. Other folk's decorate their house. Poodles are fun to groom, so ease up. No one is hurt, maybe odd, but for them it's a whole lot of fun.

[Jean-Marie]

Poodles are groomed from just a few months of age. They grow up being groomed, and often, even if it's just in the puppy clip. Unless the dog shows signs of stress during grooming, and these look like they take quite a lot of time, I don't think it's hurting the animals. As for dignity, I think it's more a matter of bad taste. I have a Standard Poodle...and adore her more than words can say. I'd never do this to her, because I would feel I am making a fool out of her, and she deserves. Would we do this to one of our children? Don't answer that.

[Karen Pauli]

This si just plain wierd!!!It's like the book,"Why Paint Cats?" I thought that book was computer generated images until I had read it several times. If this is done for a competetion, with wash-out dyes, and the color is removed and the dog trimmed normally after the photo shoot is over, OK. But i would not take a dog out on the street looking like this.

[Dana]

You do a wonderful job! The poodles look great. What fun for them. Don't listen to the people who bad mouth. Their lives must be unhappy. Live and let live.

[Giana]

That is just revoulting. Poodles are not meant to be dressed up like that you should be ashamed of your selves. I have a poodle and that is defenetly not something you should do to them. They are living ceatures.

[Steve]

these dog owners should be arrested and haul to jails. where is PETA when the dogs need them.

[varna]

dog has to stand motionless for hours, while the lady fiddles with his hair. Standard clip was bad enough for my poodle, she would be ashamed to be in the street for a couple of days aftewards. and don't tell me - dogs like that- people like that- it seems rather sick people.

[Kerry]

Re message :- Do you call letting your children dress up for fun abuse.

THEY ARE NOT CHILDREN THEY ARE DOGS. GET SOME THEREPY!!!

[Kerry]

Disgusting, haven't these owners heard of paint and canvas?

Get a life and leave these poor poodles alone

[celeste]

More power to the wild inventors of these "do's". in a hour or two the dog will lose the look anyhow. at least the dogs can see without a mop in front of their eyes. i doubt they care about most of the rest.

[A poodle lover]

My father and I had a standard poodle as my childhood dog. He was the most intelligent and dignified guy you could imagine. We had him in a traditional hunter's clip that we did ourselves.

I think that I just heard his spirit scream in pain as I looked at these pictures.

[Totemic]

Spending hours of undivided attention on your dogs, how dare you! Clearly, you've humilated the poor creature! You can tell! ...right after he finishes licking his genitalia in public and eating that turd he buried in the yard (to get rid of the taste, you know), and then washing the whole thing down with a nice cool drink from the toilet.

But seriously, I need to get me a camel poodle (Camoodle? Poomel? Poodamel? Cameloodle?).

[Brandon]

The second one from the top looks like a dragon. And so does her dog.

[Kdub]

Completely harmless and, as stated by a dozen people, dogs love to be groomed and attended to.

I wouldn't worry about their self esteem. The concept of self-respect is a human one. Dogs (unlike their owners) are not egomaniacs and likely could care less if they look like a flower arrangement or a rottweiler. We should all be so free.

[Chloe]

Also, dogs eat their own fecal matter, so, dignity... not so much. I love dogs... but yeah, they do that. This isn't a loss of dignity, in fact, making a dog look like an adorable camel is pretty rad, I whole heartedly approve.

[Chloe]

Also, other people who left comments... you are a bunch of Negative Nancys. If you go to the site of the woman who grooms the dogs, she obviously really loves them, seriously, why would she want to harm them in any way? They actually seem to like all the attention. Dogs are pretty amiable, and this lady loves her dogs, so lay off.

[Chloe]

You guys are my heroes... I judge prospective dates on whether or not they agree to let me have a camel poodle now. Thank you for this.
:]

[Deb]

Assuming they are using temporary dyes meant for that purpose it is definitely not abuse. I have watched them prepping and designing and the finished product at contests during some of the grooming expos. The dogs definitely love the attention!