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New Standard Poodle Owner

2K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  Sookster 
#1 ·
Hi everyone! I just picked up a 6 year old standard poodle & named her Brûlée. She is the absolute sweetest dog I have ever met. She's very relaxed and goes with the flow. I am a bit concerned, however, because she is a "show quality dog" so when I picked we up she knows zero commands... I was told that show dogs are discouraged from sitting.. Is that true? It looked like they had a bit of a puppy mill going in when I arrived. None of the dogs were groomed. When I arrive home after a 1.5 hour drive from picking her up, my hand was BLACK because she was so filthy. I had her groomed and she looks amazing! My daughter who's also six is absolutely thrilled since she has had dog allergies her whole life and we finally have a dog! I paid $400 for her... The guy gave me a copy of her pedigree.. Is there a way I can obtain an original? Do you guys think I got ripped off and if I were to have a litter of pups, is she too old now? Also when I take her outside she takes forever to find a place to go potty, and a couple times she didn't want to come back inside, i worry she stilk has to go but im speding 30 min at a tine outside in the rain with her! Dog Mammal Vertebrate Canidae Standard Poodle
is this a personality thing or is this common? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

We are so happy to bring her into our home to show her a rich life full if love!


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#3 ·
Welcome to the forum! Brulee looks like a sweetheart. First off, if you want to do it right, with the intention of improving the breed, breeding a poodle is a hugely complicated and expensive affair. It is a real hot-button issue around here, so don't be surprised or put off if you get some, um, strongly worded replies.

I don't think you were "ripped off"; $400 is a reasonable price for a nice standard.

I would take the "Show Quality" claim with a huge grain of salt. Dogs that are actually shown tend to be highly trained, or they go nowhere in the ring. I bet Brulee simply was never trained. But she's a poodle, and will learn like a sponge.

As for the tendency to "shop" for exactly the right spot to go potty, yep, that sounds all too familiar. Beau used to be a real slow poke, but now he (mostly) goes on command if we tell him "Go potty, quick, quick, quick." He's also very reliable about going right after we start off on a walk. Again, all this can be trained, and I bet she learns fast.
 
#9 ·
It's so nice that you took a six-year old poodle into your home rather than a puppy! To echo LEUllman, breeding is complicated and expensive, and six years old is a bit old for a dog to start in my opinion. But you have her pedigree, so you could always choose another puppy from her line if you wanted a second dog. Her pedigree just shows her lineage, like a family tree; if she is registered, she will also have registration papers which usually are transferred into your name from the previous owner for a small fee from AKC or CKC, whichever one she is registered with. You might contact the previous owner to ask for those registration papers, not that it makes a big difference for a pet though. Some show dogs ARE taught not to sit, because they are supposed to be "on" all the time in case the judge looks over. But again, as mentioned above, poodles learn so easily so you can teach her all the things that are important to you in a dog. All you have to do is just make it fun and keep at it until she does what you want. Oh and about the food, in another thread you mentioned that you just started her on the Blue wilderness, and it seems like she doesn't really enjoy it as much. She will probably learn to like it more with time, but if I were you I'd buy a small bag of Blue Buffalo (the stuff she was eating before) and mix it with the new food so she will have some of the familiar until she makes the adjustment. But to answer your question, no, not all poodles are picky...my two are like hoovers, they eat everything and try to eat much more than just their own food, ha,ha! Anyway it sounds like you're off to a great start, and you have the advantage of having a sister who is a trainer! Welcome to the forum and I look forward to hearing lots more about Brulee!
 
#10 ·
It seems that most breeding bitches are retired around 6 years old. I don't think you should breed her. I bought a retired female ( 7 years old) last year that was already spayed for $800 . She was fully trained, and the best gift I have ever given myself. I think you paid a fair price for your dog. She is a poodle and training will not be an issue.

Enjoy your dog, she is a very pretty.
 
#12 ·
I am new to Poodles too, and have learned that Walter will try to second guess and out smart me every step of the way. He can also be very stubborn. I love the moment when he realizes that I'm even more stubborn than he is, and he does what he's supposed to with an attitude of "Just kidding, I was planning on doing this in the first place", lol. He has now progressed to the point of knowing what i want, just by my facial expression and body language. I am loving this guy! As far as breeding your girl goes, I think that you'd find it less stressful and more cost effective to buy a puppy!
 
#14 ·
If you suspect the breeder is a puppy mill, which you mentioned in your original post, then I guess it's likely that brûlée has already had a couple of litters.

I'm no expert, but think you should spare her the stress of having a litter at this age.

You're her chance for a happy ending. She has possibly had years of neglect, so I think you should just shower her with love and attention, to make up for it!
 
#17 ·
The only reason one should ever breed a dog is to improve the breed. Does the dog in question have attributes that you don't want to lose and feel like would be a huge benefit to the breed? Brulee is a beautiful dog and I'm so happy she found a home, but you really should never breed a dog "just to have one of their puppies". To me, that is a selfish reason to put a dog through a whelping. And what of the other pups? You can't keep them all. Whelping can be very dangerous to the bitch, especially if she's older or has already had several litters.

Is she registered with a legitimate kennel club (AKC, C[anadian]KC, UKC)? If you don't know, she shouldn't be bred.

Has she ever produced litters in the past? If the breeder didn't tell you and you don't know, I don't think you should breed her.

Does she have any titles? If she was indeed a show dog, she could have a championship. If you don't know, she shouldn't be bred.

Has she been health tested? There are MANY health tests that poodles should have before being bred. Hips, eyes, elbows, heart should all be tested, in addition to tests for genetic diseases. If she hasn't had any of these tests, she absolutely should not be bred unless you intend to get these tests.

I personally can't believe any reputable breeder would have sold you a dog that wasn't spayed, which means she probably didn't come from a great breeder (and you already said it looked like a puppy mill situation). This means that, despite her being gorgeous and having a great personality, she probably comes from bloodlines that have been bred over and over without health testing or regard to the dogs personality. This means that it's really a toss-up on what type of health and temperaments you would end up with. $400 is a pretty standard rehoming fee for an older standard, even if you get one from a rescue, so regardless of where she came from I think you paid a fair price and got an awesome dog out of the deal. I hope you and your daughter have many wonderful years ahead with her, and I hope you don't decide to breed her. I'm sure you can find a puppy from her "bloodline" without having to breed her, and even if you don't, there are many wonderful poodles in rescue, and tons of amazing breeders who are doing every thing right for you to choose a second companion from. Don't bring more puppies into the world for reasons that aren't sound and aren't going to benefit this breed we all love so much.

I don't mean any of this to sound harsh, just to be informative. If you really are interested in breeding, find a very good breeder to mentor and help you. Attend some shows, meet some people, learn more about the breed and what goes into breeding. There is a right way to go about breeding dogs, but there are so many people doing it wrong. Don't be one of those people, and don't get caught up with others who are breeding irresponsibly.
 
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