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Puppies all have fear stages, what we do during these fear stages can really set the stage for how this puppy matures and reacts to people, places and things.  It's important to recognize when your puppy is going through a particular fear stage so that you can do everything you can to minimize any negative reactions.  

AKC has a really nice write up on fear stages the link is here:   Puppy Fear Periods: Why Is My Puppy Suddenly Afraid? – American Kennel Club (akc.org) 

The one thing that can make it better or worse is YOU!  Are you nervous?  Is your heart beating fast?  Your puppy looks to you for direction and if you are fearful of how they will react, your puppy will pick up on that.  If you don't think it's a big deal your puppy might not necessarily approach this new thing right away but your anxiety won't get in the way of your puppy exercising its natural curiosity.  

If your puppy doesn't want to approach something don't force it, let them get comfortable with walking far away from it, then you can get closer until eventually your puppy doesn't even notice it.  This may take some time patience and practice but don't lose hope.  In a month everything can change just keep the training positive.  

There are a list of health concerns from PCA, I also like to watch OFA statistics to see which ones are testing at a higher percentage rate as well.    

Breed Statistics | Orthopedic Foundation for Animals | Columbia, MO (ofa.org) 

Health Concerns - The Poodle Club of America 

• Addison’s Disease
• Atrial Septal Defects in Standard Poodles
• Bloat
• Chronic Active Hepatitis
• Cushings Disease
• Epilepsy
• Hip Dysplasia
• Hypothyroidism
• Legg-Calve-Perthes
• Neonatal Encephalopathy (NEwS)
• Patellar Luxation
• Progressive Retinal Atrophy
• Optic Nerve Hypoplasia
• Sebaceous Adenitis
• Von Willebrand’s Disease

Ok so I'm still learning a lot about grooming, I am absolutely no expert in this matter but I will say after practicing and failing and practicing I've become a lot better at it.  As long as your poodle is comfortable and you are comfortable doing minor touch ups at home in between grooming can not only help your poodle stay cleaner in their sanitary areas but also help with desensitizing to the tools.  The more frequent they are used the better they get with them.  I purchased a force dryer and a good quality shampoo to start out with.  After I got really good with the shampooing and drying I moved onto clipping the face and fanny.  There are some amazing youtube videos showing how to do this.  The feet was the last thing I ventured into doing because they are so small and I wasn't confident enough to dive right in there.  I actually went to my groomer and asked her to help me by showing me the best way to do the feet!  She obliged me and I now groom all of their feet face and fanny before sending them to the groomer.  I let the groomer do all the creative scissoring work :)  

 Poodle Face, Feet and Tail clipping - YouTube   I've enjoyed watching this one however I use an andis clipper with a 10 blade.  For my poodles that show I use a 30 blade for a nice close shave.

I use a dremel for their feet , scissoring spray, chris christensen styling milk as a diluted spray, slicker brush and steel comb.  I do have some other cool grooming sprays but they are just extra and not really necessary.