How to Wash Your Poodles Face (5 Easy Steps)

Key Takeaways

Wash the face with a damp cloth or a damp cotton pad, not a running tap.
Use plain warm water or a pet eye wipe. Keep soap out of the eyes.
Clean the folds and the beard, where food and dirt collect.
Wipe from the inside corner outward, one stroke per pad, then dry.
If the eyes are red or the skin in the folds is sore, see a vet.

Why you need to clean your Poodles face?

Keeping your Poodles’ face clean is an important grooming task. Some Poodles may like it, while others may turn away and run. They’re constantly placing their faces and noses into the dirt, sniffing objects, and straight in the food, so it’s not uncommon to see something tangled in their beard. This means anything from soil to old food particles can linger in their face drying up and increasing the likelihood of smell, bacteria, and infection. A clean face is also a healthy face.

How to properly clean a poodle’s face?

Cleaning a Poodle’s face is not a difficult task; it’s really easy once you get to grips with the cleaning regime. Ideally, it would be best if you cleaned their face once a week by doing the following:

Prepare the cleaning items

Gather a large bowl with warm water, not too hot or cold. Place the bowel near you and ask your Poodle to sit.

Brush

Get a brush and brush downwards around its face and ears. Sometimes you might want to use a slicker brush, and in other areas that have less hair, you should opt for a comb.

Wipe the face

Get a clean cloth, place it into the warm water, and then wring it out with a towel. Then get your Poodles jaw, cup it in your hand gently, and slowly wipe its face downwards. When wiping their face, make sure you remove any additional food particles, crusts, and dirt from around your dog’s mouth.

Don’t forget their eyes!

Get a cotton ball and slowly dab it around your Poodles eyes. You must cover the eye area and do this gently to remove any dirt and light tear stains. If you’re not familiar with tear stains, they’re basically dark blotchy areas that form under their eyes due to crying or watery eyes—the stains from the reaction with bacteria in the hair.

Tear stains cannot be washed off. The fur stains red due to the oxidation and porphyrin. For many lighter-coloured Poodles, it is accepted that they will have these stains. It is worth having a conversation with the vet, to confirm there is not more going on (like underlying eye disease)

Clean in and around their ears

Grab a cotton ball and slowly lift your Poodle’s earflap. Then begin to clean the crevices of the outer ear. Make sure you don’t force the cotton ball into the ear canal as it could perforate a Poodles eardrum. Once you’ve cleaned one, get a fresh cotton ball and then clean the other one.

Conclusion

Overall, grooming a Poodle is a task you should do every four weeks. However, certain areas like their face and ears should be cleaned every week. This is because food, dust, and dander can easily get trapped in their fur, increasing the risk of skin infections. After all, their face is one of the areas that become dirty the most easily due to them placing their face in food bowls, sniffing the ground, walls, and more.

Plus, when cleaning their face, you should always use a gentle cloth that’s placed in lukewarm water. Be careful of detergents you use, as some fragrant ones and chemicals can trigger an allergic reaction. To avoid this, you might want to speak to your local veterinarian, who can suggest some good face wash to use.

Do you have any tips regarding cleaning a Poodles face?

Frequently asked questions

How do I wash my poodle's face without getting water in its eyes?

Use a damp cloth or cotton pad and plain warm water, not a running tap. Wipe from the inside corner outward and keep the product out of the eye.

How often should I clean my poodle's face?

Daily is fine for a poodle that gets tear stains or food in its beard. A couple of times a week is enough for others.

Can I use shampoo on my poodle's face?

Only a tearless dog shampoo, and only if you can keep it out of the eyes. Plain water or a pet eye wipe is safer for routine cleaning.

Why does my poodle's face smell?

Usually food or saliva in the beard, or a skin problem in a fold. Clean and dry the area, and if the smell persists, have a vet check the skin and teeth.