Cut Like a Dog

 

This cutie is no bigger than a quill pen. From 1799

Joanna here, talking about dogs again, for which I hope everybody will pardon me.

 

I am not actually more partial to dogs than to cats, but I have decided to talk about the history of Extreme Grooming. About fur topiary — a subject doubtless of burning interest to the generality — and there doesn’t seem to be much history of humanity trying to do this to cats.

Cats, if asked, would explain to you why this is so. Or you could experiment.

Thus I am not speaking of mere dog washing or dog brushing or the ever-

Groomers clipping dogs on the bridges of Paris c 1900

popular “Take that thing out and don’t come back till he doesn’t stink to high heavens” which is doubtless the origin of dog grooming back in the days when a nice dry cave was the most des res available.
And I’m not looking at yer King Charles Spaniel or Papillon getting the most delicate and minimal of snip, snip, snips to become even more perfectly beautiful, worthy though that subject is.

 

I’m looking at Dog as the canvas of the fur butchers art.

Dog grooming as a profession has to date back to the earliest hierarchical societies. The same Sumerian or Babylonian noblemen who tossed the reins of their horse to Hobbins the groom with a “Rub her down good and give her extra mash.” doubtless had a dogsbody washing mud off the hunting dogs and checking their footpads for thorns.

Our earliest specific references to dog grooms date to the Middle Ages. We know kennel boys lived with the dogs, cared for them, brushed their teeth, washed and groomed and curried their fur.

Somewhere along the line,
things gets kookie.

Poodle 1795

These stalwart Renaissance kennel lads decided to sculpt the hair of their fuzzier dogs
in patterns.
Can I just say “Poodle Cut?

 

How? When? Why?

How?
Well, proper shears were in hand in the Fifteenth Century.
There were the dogs, docile and good natured and furry.
There were the kennel lads. I imagine they got called out to help defleece the sheep.
It was just a matter of time.

Maybe everybody got drunk one night during the sheep shearing a

Another poodle, this one by Stubbs, before 1806

nd the guys from the kennel started making bets …?

When?

We got visuals from the end of the Fifteenth Century.

Why?

I’ve come across all sorts of explanations as to why somebody would denude dogs in those particular patterns.

Folks say maybe they took fur off the water dogs so they’d dry out faster but then they left a sort of hair jacket to protect the vital organs of the chest.
And, like, the joints.

And yet another poodle, by Northcote, about the same time

None of these whifflings convince me whatsoever.
But I kinda know what they were really up to.

Consider the Lowchen or “Lion Dog”.

 

 

Lowchen , the "lion dog" c 16

Anotherdog in a lion cut 1505

Agnès Sorel (1422–1450)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The name says it all. The cut makes these handheld dogs look like little lions with a mane and tufts of hair on the ankles and a pom pom at the end of the tail.
At this point the Lion Dog was not so much a breed of dog as an idea and a cut that could be handed out to any of several kinds of small companion dogs.

The idea of a lion cut took.
It became popular on two breeds of large working dog, the Portuguese Water Dog and the Poodle
— maybe because those water dogs had bushy medium-length hair that sculpted well.

The rest is history.

 

Portuguese Water dog 1665

 

 

 

Portuguese Water Dog today

 

Though in 1800 what we think of as the poodle cut was not so standardized as you see above and to the right.

It was not ... ahem ... cut and dried.

 

So. What do you think?

Are we less creative than Fifteenth Century Kennel lads? Is it time for novel shaved patterns on guinea pigs? Ferrets? Gerbils? Teenaged boys?
Cats?

 

Comments

[Kareni]

Or perhaps someone should try to give a lion a poodle cut...emphasis on 'try'!

Thanks for an informative and entertaining post, Joanna.

[theo]

I have a blue doberman. They're notoriously afflicted with alopecia due to the dilute gene. He has a bit of hair on his head and neck and then on his legs. The majority of him is hairless. I don't have hair problems in the house, no shedding, no grooming other than the occasional shower and towel off...it's a wonder thing :) And he's a pretty awesome boy.

The whole cut/blowdry/dye thing is silly. The dog could care less.

[Mary M.]

This was a lot of fun, Jo. Being a long-time Siamese cat custodian, my favorite line was (of course), "You could always experiment."

[Faith]

Joanna, starting my day with one of your wry, dry, punny posts is such a treat! Enjoyed this thoroughly, as usual.

[Sue McCormick]

A fascinating post. I was a cat person (Alas! we have truly past the age when we can care for pets.) partly because unlike most people, I have a sensitivity to dogs, rather than cats. But I like dogs as long as they're not close enough to give me headaches. So I was fascinated by this post.

And like Mary M. I laughed at the "experiment."

[Christina Courtenay]

Great post, Joanna - I'm firmly a dog person but as the owner of Tibetan Spaniels I can attest that you would groom them at your peril! They don't take well to any interference with their person. Having also had a show dog (well, he was supposed to be but failed dismally), I really felt all that grooming was a bit excessive. I think they should be left in their natural state. As for cats ... :-D

[Mary T]

I loved this post. It made me laugh and it didn't have anything to do with a virus.

Yeah, I'd love to see someone try to give a cat a haircut. I tried to put a collar on one of mine once, and ... well, I don't want to talk about it. It was not pretty. (smile)

[Joanne Bourne]

I could see somebody very, very carefully giving a lion one of these cool hair dye jobs.

Like ... russet or electric blue.

I don't know quite why somebody would DO that, but it would expand my world to see it.

[Joanne Bourne]

I had a fluffy collie/husky mix dog. She suffered in the humid heat of Virginia so in the height of the muggy summer I would shave her and then make sure to keep her out of the sun.

I'd leave a stripe of hair down the middle of her back,
like a mohawk.

It made her look so punk.

When we went out in the cool of the evening for a walk everyone would stop by to grin at the "costume" and she lov ecd the attention.

[Joanne Bourne]

EMT: Good God, man! What happened to you.

Fellow: Siamese cat.

[Joanne Bourne]

Thank you so very much.

I fear I'm doing irreparable harm to the serious business of history ...

[Joanne Bourne]

I have twice taken a cat to the vet -- both times from dire necessity -- to get it washed.

I turned the cat over and left the Vet's and did not ask how they managed.
I am picturing full body armor.

[Joanne Bourne]

I have so many reservations about dog shows and pedigree dogs and breed standards.

I think every breed should compete in agility or obedience or speed or strength trials -- whatever is most appropriate.

Only those animals that finish at a certain level can be allowed to compete for conformation.

How one would apply this to cat shows I cannot imagine.

[Joanne Bourne]

I have, with much patience and over a goodly long time, managed to clip the ... ahem ... hinder portions of a long-furred cat to keep her neat and cleanly.

I would rather conduct union negotiations between the city and hefty, reeeally annoyed garbage workers, frankly.

[Mary Jo Putney]

LOL,JO! As delightful as the poodle cuts were, and as much as I'd like to see your punked up collie/husky, naturally my imagination was caught by the cats. Or the idea of trimmed and over groomed cats. And the sad state of medical insurance in this country...

[Pamela DG]

Lately, I have seen longhaired cats trimmed in the summer. Supposedly it is to help keep them cooler. As for my cats? Heck, no. I have enough scars. I think animal topiary is more for the human than the animal.

[Joanne Bourne]

The original long-haired cats come from warm countries -- Persia and Turkey. So maybe they adapt well to heat, long hair and all.

I think one can, cautiously, clip fur away. I've done this myself from time to time on an older, arthritic longhair when her fur got matted and she really couldn't take care of her own coat.

She was ... annoyed with me.

[Quantum]

I have a long running battle to keep cats from invading my garden where they frighten the birds and scratch up soil which is freshly planted. I tried a model gorilla but the cats just seem to cuddle up and lick its face. Lion poo is supposed to work but its hard to come by and anyway would ruin the scent from my roses. Maybe a statue of a poodle cut lion would do the job ... I'm thinking on it!

[Joanne Bourne]

I have never put my mind to the problem of keeping cats out of the garden. I would probably go out onto the back porch and shake my fist or something.

An automatic sprinkler system maybe, as it would do no harm to the cat and also perform a useful secondary function. They have some that are motion activated ...