The Continental trim

In puppy trim (before).	In Continental at show.
First, rough in the front with scissors. For a long bodied dog, leave less fur in front to shorten the length of the dog. Then, clip the upper part of the front leg a little at a time. Often check the balance of the dog. You would usually clip half the length of the front leg (from the elbow), the other half is for the bracelet. For a Toy, the clipped part should be mostly one third and the bracelet should be mostly two third.
Clip the hindquarter. Start 1 inch to ½ inch above the hock and go upward. Trim it a bit at a time. Visualize where the hip rosettes should start, point B (mostly one to two fingers from the base of the tail). Clip the lower part of the flank, the right side of the dog (non judge side), the point A being slightly BEHIND the last rib. For a dog with long loins, the point A will be more behind the last rib in order to shorten the loins. Always trim a little at a time. It is easier to trim more later than to wait for the fur to grow back.
The front bracelet should be round and in balance with the size of the dog. The size of the hip rosette should be in proportion with the size of the dog and round in shape. For a long bodied dog, the hip rosette may be slightly oval in shape. The hip rosette should be separate from the jacket by a half inch clipped area.    Always work on a clean and well brushed Poodle.
The front jacket should be in a U shape. At the point A (under the ears) you should have an indentation, shorter coat at the side of the throat and going longer to reach the length of the coat of the topknot. This indentation under the ears at the side of the neck will accentuate the length of the neck and the layback of shoulder.