Dying Your Poodle Pink: Full How-To Guide

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Poodles are fantastic dogs; they’re intelligent, playful, and easy to train. I might be a bit biased here, but I feel they’re one of the best breeds in the world, alongside Doodles. Because they’re one of the top breeds, you should bring them to the attention of others more.

Instead of vocalizing just how great they are, one way of drawing attention is by dying their hair pink. Yes, pink.

While Poodles are renowned for their hypoallergenic and curly or wavy coats, why not go an extra length and make a bold statement with pink fur?

It is possible; many Poodle owners have done this before. However, to know how to do it safely, keep reading.

Is it legal

You might want to go out and check your local or country laws surrounding dying your Poodles coat pink. There are no country-wide laws most of the time, but in the USA, for instance, there are a few city laws that can make it illegal.

For example, there’s a law against dying or coloring any animal in Boulder. Those who have done this in Boulder have been heavily fined or arrested. Part of the reason this arose was that residents were coloring rabbits and chickens for unnecessary reasons. However, the law just mentions animals and thus includes dogs.

Usually, dying a dog coat is pretty safe to do and not toxic at all, as it’s temporary. But before you do, always check to see if there are any restrictions in place first.

Is it safe

If you dye a Poodle according to the instructions, it’s safe to do so. However, no proper studies have been conducted to show the long-term effects of a Pink Poodle. Ultimately it’s safe to dye them if you use non-toxic substances that don’t restrict their flow, and it’s considered safe.

Do note there is a risk of an allergic reaction happening. Although, this can be the same risk of a Poodle having an allergic reaction to food, laundry detergent, or anything else. Similarly, when coloring them, you should pay careful attention to their ears; if dye or water goes in their ears, there’s a slight risk of an ear infection.

How it’s done

If you plan on dying a Poodle pink, there are five ways which you can do it, which are the following:

1. Take it to a professional dog groomer
2. Use Pet paint
3. Use Vegetable dye food coloring
4. Use Pet chalk
5. Use Sidewalk chalk combined with water

You should also be aware that you may hear of additional methods, some of which might not be safe or suitable for a Poodle. If possible, try and use a method that involves dye and has a lot of evidence to support it, not clogging a Poodle’s skin. The method should also not cause problems with breathing, movement, or anything else.

Chalking method

The chalking method involves colored chalk or food coloring to dye your Poodle pink. This is often seen as one of the safest as it can be rinsed out of their coat quickly and easily. With this method, the pink color in their fur can take 3 days and all the way to 2 months to rinse.

However, if you plan on dying your Poodle multiple colors, i.e., adding blue or green to other body parts, there’s a high chance of this color transferring and changing the color of your Poodles coat. Therefore you should only use this technique if you want your Poodle to be pink.

Tools and products required

• Pink chalk
• Bowl
• Water
• Hairdryer
• Brush/comb
• Thin latex gloves
• Q-tips or a small toothbrush
• Finishing spray specifically for dogs

Steps

1. Before dying your Poodle, you might want to take them to the groomers a day or two prior. Doing this will help ensure their coat is neat and the right length for grooming.
2. When starting, ensure your Poodle is fully dry. Then use a brush or comb and steadily detangle their coat.
3. Next, get the pink sidewalk chalk sticks and soak them in a bowl full of warm water. You’ll want to keep them in there for several minutes.
4. Once softened, use latex gloves and apply the chalk to their coat. Start at one end and steadily work your way to the other end. It might be a good idea to start at your Poodles head and move down when doing this.
5. When applying, speak to your Poodle in a calm and soothing voice. Make sure you praise them for staying still and even offer them a treat if you like.
6. Also, when applying chalk around their eyes, make sure it does not fall in. Ideally, it would help if you used a Q-tip or a soft toothbrush around their eye area to prevent this.
7. Once the pink chalk has been evenly spread across your Poodles coat, blow dry it until completely dry. You might want to do this while sat on a newspaper, so your floors don’t get stained by the chalk.
8. It’s important to note that you won’t notice how pink their coat is until youd. If you feel the pink is too light, you can follow the same process. It’s important to know though you can’t immediately lighten their fur once done. Many people mistake washing a Poodle with shampoo, hoping it will lighten their fur. This only strips away any essential oils and dries out their coat, increasing the likelihood of split ends.
9. If you’re unsure of how it will look, you might just want to dye a small part of their fur as a test patch first.
10. Finally, you might want to use a finishing spray to help the color set for your canine.

Food coloring method

If you want your Poodle to have pink hair for a longer period, you may be interested in this method. When done the right way, it can allow a Poodle to stay pink between 2-6 months. Compared to the chalk method, the color takes longer to fade.

Another important tip when using this method is you will want only to use vegetable food coloring. This type of food coloring is non-toxic to dogs. If you’re confused, you should always check with your veterinarian first.

Food coloring also comes in paste form, which you can access from baking stores. When it comes to buying paste, you will likely be able to buy pink specifically. This saves you from experimenting with other colors and causing an uneven look on your Poodles fur.

Tools and products required

• Pink food coloring – Manic Panic or vegetable-based dye
• Bowl
• Water
• Vinegar
• Sponge
• Hairdryer
• Brush/comb
• Thin latex gloves
• Q-tips or small toothbrush

Steps

1. Like the previous method, you might want to have your Poodle clipped a day or two before doing this.
2. Next, get a large bowl and fill it with 1 gallon of lukewarm water.
3. Add 3 drops of food coloring into the water.
4. Get a spoon and mix it to see if it is the right depth of pink you want. It’s also important that you won’t be able to see the real color until it’s fully dry on the Poodle. Plus, depending on the size of the bowl, the water may only be slightly pink. Therefore if you do not want a Poodle to be a pastel color, you might want to add more drops. Moreover, if the water looks dark red, you should add more water to even it out to make it pink.
5. When you add the drops, make sure you start only with 3, then slowly adjust 1 drop at a time. It’s important to know that drops can change the color and depth quite slightly.
6. Following this, add one-third of a cup of vinegar into the water for the color to set.
7. Once doing this, if you’re satisfied, brush your Poodles coat to remove the tangles.
8. Get the sponge, dab it into the water, and then pat your Poodle coat in the areas you would like it to turn pink. Try and start at one area and move to the other end on a Poodle.
9. When dabbing their coat, always double-check to see you’ve not missed any areas and that it’s consistent. You’ll also want to brush or comb through their fur to make sure it’s well spread.
10. Let the coloring on their coat sit for 30-45 minutes to set. If you rinse their coat off sooner, there’s a likely chance it could turn into a light pastel pink.
11. After this, blow dry it until your Poodle is fully dry. Again, you’ll want to do this over the newspaper.
12. If the pink is too light, repeat the process. You might also want to use some hairspray to help their coat color set.

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Conclusion

To summarize, when dying your Poodle pink, you should always check with your state and local laws first before doing so. While there is a range of options, two of the safest are using vegetable food coloring and pink chalk. Regarding the two, there’s a slight difference in how long the color can stick; one is 3 days-2 months, the other is 2-6 months.

Whatever method you choose, always make sure you continue to groom your Poodle. You should never stop grooming them or opt to groom less just because you want the color to stay on longer. You should also never use human dyes as they can easily sting your Poodles skin. The hygiene, health, and safety of your Poodle are important.

Would you dye your Poodle pink? Let us know in the comments down below.