lily cd re

Lily's open stays are rock solid! She has had dogs get up right next to her in trials and the worst she ever did was lay down on a sit (once) or stand from a sit (once), but both times she stayed where I left her.

The beauty of training a poodle is that it won't be boring for us since we can't let them be bored.

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Catherine
Lily AKC: CGC CD HIT CDX RN RA RE RAE NAJ; APDT: RL-1; CPE: CL1-R, CL1-H, CL1-F
Peeves AKC: CGC BN

AngelsMommy

Yes I totally agree on the mix things up and keep in interesting! lol
If I did something too many times, it was boring and my mpoo wanted to go do something else.... But if I kept it mixed up we were good. But my moms male mpoo was the best! He was a pleaser though and would keep doing the same thing many many times. But I agree his personality was that he was so wrapped up in my mom that if she would look cross eyed at him, he wanted to figure out what that meant she wanted him to do. The combination of pleaser, and smart was unbeatable. I have found in many rescues that they become pleasers in that they are afraid if they are not they will be abandoned again. So you might luck out on finding the mix through rescue. I know that my new spoo has that pleaser personality, but I am not sure if that was hers to begin with before adoption or if she became that way because of me. She has many of the other traits of my mom's mpoo so she could have been born that way.

Just my two cents. Good luck in your hunt.

HerdingStdPoodle

Thank you for your question about the differences between Belgians and Spoos.

I have very limited experience with Poodles and presently own one (1) Standard Poodle---compared to numerous years of owning Belgians.

Belgians and Poodles are completely and wonderfully different breeds.

But I would not recommend Belgians for everyone. They are herding dogs that need to work and require socialization [a lot!] from an early age. I took my last Belgian Shepherd to three puppy classes for exposure! We used to stand outside of Walmart and [hopefully] wait for someone to come up and want to pet and give a treat to my Belgian. Many people were afraid! Belgians can have separation anxiety issues and do not do well without their chosen person. Vacations can be extremely difficult. My Shepherd lived to work and excelled in obedience. He would have taken a bullet for me.

My Louie (first Spoo) loves to play and have fun. Everything is fun, especially when Louie is around. Even chores. And I laugh more now than I ever used to.

Ranch chores for my Belgian was serious business (more like a mission). He would "sit" behind the gate while I was checking the cows and calves and ten to fifteen minutes later, when I returned, my Belgian would still be sitting and waiting for me.

If people come on my property, my Spoo will bark and let me know someone is here---but my poodle will let the people into my house and bring them a toy. My Belgians would have never left my side and continued guarding me until the people left.

When I take my Spoo into stores---people say, "It's a Poodle!" and they leave whatever they are doing and come over to pet Louie. If that were my Belgian, unfortunately, they would give us lots of room and hardly ever want to touch him.

Poodles take a lot more grooming maintenance but do not shed. Belgians have beautiful long hair that you will find in the vacuum cleaner and you have to keep them brushed, but they are fairly easy to maintain.

Louie lives for Louie and to have fun! He loves attention and the limelight. My Belgian lived for me and did whatever I wanted, without question.

If I desired to do some serious obedience competition, I would get a working dog or a herding dog. Personally, I would get a puppy from a very well-known breeder with a super reputation! Any dog is a serious investment of time and money. For me, puppies are great because I can bond with them and imprint on them obedience commands without having to undo a lot of bad habits. Plus, some rescues can be fear bitters because they have been abused.

HerdingStdPoodle

lily cd re

I would say much the same general (more cautious about strangers and greeted more warily by strangers) comments for Peeves (GSD) as HerdingStdPoodle said about her Belgians. They are much more serious dogs. I can't say Peeves is as "drivey" as Lily though. She is an extremely hard worker. Peeves is happy on the couch. All of which goes to show each dog is different, pre-loaded with dog-ness, poodle-ness (or substitute any breed), male/female-ness and then genetically unique in potential and shaped individually by experience.

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Catherine
Lily AKC: CGC CD HIT CDX RN RA RE RAE NAJ; APDT: RL-1; CPE: CL1-R, CL1-H, CL1-F
Peeves AKC: CGC BN

Ladyscarletthawk

Yes poodles are totally smart. In my experience toys tend to be a lil more stubborn.. as in what will this get me? She's a real Napolean, and constantly questions what I say. Of course any individual can be like that tho. But she learns very quickly, esp if you use food to motivate her. My mini is more eager to please. My breeder says she has a more standard poodle temperment. She is fearless, but respectful.. unless someone comes on her turf lol. She has bounds of energy but is just as happy laying around all day. As for training, it takes her 3 times to learn something. First is what are you asking me? Second, is oh like this?! The third is PPFFT!! IS that ALL you got? What's next!

Like others have stated they do get bored easy so short training sessions is best! As for poodliness both girls love people! They know no stranger! They love to play and be goofy. They always want to stay by your side, if that means walking to the ends of the earth so be it. Both are very athletic dogs altho my toy has slowed down some

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Laura, Eve, and Fergie