3dogs

I think you have a great list going. Now to narrow down the wants. What is the purpose of your dog? Companion, obedience, agility, conformation, therapy etc... Once you narrow that down you can narrow the list. The Coton has the worst coat ever to groom. I have poodles, Chinese crested, pom x yorkie as small dogs. My Crested was my 1 st venture into small dogs. She is a great companion but didn't work out in the Obedience ring due to a soft temper. She could feel me tense up or a slight rise in voice & she would begin to shut down. My 2nd Crested from the same breeder was a disappointment, he was bitey, shy,& a bit on the stupid side. No more Cresteds for me & what I have seen in the ring I am glad I changed breeds. The all did obtain their CGC but that was it. My pom x yorkie was out of rescue & a great running partner he had 2 years of extreme separation anxiety & a barker. Now I have Poodles in all 3 sizes & I won't have any other breed.

spotsonofbun

I haven't decided yet. All I know is that I don't want a big working dog Loved my labs but not the dogs that I want to be responsible for on my own.

I haven't decided between the little shy but loyal to one person couch potato cuddly sweety that doesn't really like long walks.

or the super intelligent hyper dog like the poodle that will always keep me on my toes and will challenge my dog abilities and training knowledge. The one where I can see the wheels turning in its head when I look in its eyes. That will need its daily exercise. Like my former best friend Spot son of Bun the border collie/lab mix.

Or even the tenacious and stubborn terrier that will think about it for a while before obeying a command. But will always be a lively character to live with and brighten my day with their love of life.

I would like to try agility but I wouldn't be devastated if my dog wasn't good at it. It would mainly be a companion, it would be my companion so I wouldn't mind a dog that isn't great with a family. The sort that really bonds with one person.

My greatest issue is that I haven't had first hand interaction with most if these breeds i really want to meet a breed before I get it. I did spend sometime with an Australian Silky Terrier during the holiday and he was a delight. He was high energy but not annoying as I expected a terrier to be. He brightened the room with his happiness and friendliness.

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A home is not a home without a dog or a cat

Panda

I would say you could come meet us as we are only about an hour from Kent however Panda is not exactly the best example of the breed and might put you off Poodles lol! I am actually going to Kent to compete in flyball on the 20th too!

Ladyscarletthawk

Here in the states the all breed kennel clubs have meet the breeds. You can also contact the local breed clubs and see if you can visit breeders and get a feel for their breed and honest fist hand opinion.


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Laura, Eve, and Fergie

fjm

I think you sound a perfect candidate for rescuing a dog - experienced, no fixed ideas as to breed or sex, no overwhelming expectations as to capabilities, prepared to put the work into building a relationship with a dog ... so my advice would be to continue making the time pass with research, and as soon as you are able get to know your local rescues. If you have time volunteer to do some dog walking, perhaps, or sitting with dogs in need of company. You will have the advantage of the rescue's experience with evaluating dogs, get to spend time with possible matches, and sooner or later meet the perfect dog for you. (My guess would be within about 30 minutes of settling in suitable accommodation...!)

One thing I would say is to look to the future. Life is tough and uncertain at the moment. If you are likely to be in shared housing, or needing to fall back on family or friends in the coming years it is not just your decision - they need to be prepared to welcome your dog as well. Perhaps another reason for choosing a small, non-shedding, cheerful character?

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To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

spotsonofbun

Im thinking of volunteering with the cinnamon trust that helps elderly people to keep their pets. So I would walk their dogs and so on and If I am in suitable accommodation later foster if the owners end up in hospital. I do have experience but Im a little rusty I need to re-socialise myself with dogs because I did distance myself after Spot was rehomed when mom decided to move to the UK. He was my best friend.

However I am also going to look for shelters near me to volunteer at one that preferably dedicates a lot of time into rehabilitation. I really want to learn how to do that. I do feel it would be unfair for me to get a puppy from a breeder. I have nothing against breeders I want to become one one day, but I am in a position where I don't have children around me or other pets (except a bearded dragon but he would be kept separate from the dog anyway) so like you said I am in a very good position to rescue.

and yes I am terrified of the uncertainty of life I am not rehoming again its too painful. Thats why have chosen small breeds easier to find accommodation and a bit cheaper if I have to budget and people are more likely to be willing to dogsit a pretty little poodle than a smelly labrador. depending on whether I managed to get it to behave of course

I think getting the dog in my final year in university would be best. It gives me time to save and volunteer and research training and rehabilitation and because of how my degree is structured I will be home most of time. That will give me time to crate train and socialise so I wont have to worry about the dog at home when I start working or I can be confident to send it to doggy day care.

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A home is not a home without a dog or a cat

fjm

Cinnamon Trust and other volunteering sounds like an excellent plan. Not quite so sure about getting a dog before you graduate, though - my university years are long behind me, but as I recall it took very little to distract me from working for finals, and needing to play with/walk/groom/train/feed the dog would have been the perfect excuse! Perhaps it would be wiser to wait until you have found a job and accommodation, and know the demands in terms of time, travel and pet deposits before falling in love ...

__________________

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

Mel

I've had two of the breeds on your list. When me and my husband first got married we got a yorkshire terrier. Unfortunately we really jumped into and drove several hours to buy from a bad breeder. I think when we arrived I knew it wasn't the best breeder to buy from but when we saw the puppies we were lost. At around a year we found out that she had a liver disease (the vet said it was the kind you couldn't operate on) and we made the best of the time we had with her. She was the best, most stubborn, fun, very determind most loved dog. Not raised with kids she would bark at them and try to bite if pushed. Loved to bark when the door bell rang (and wouldn't stop when you asked). She was a big tough dog in a small package. We lost her to the liver disease at the age 8 when we forgot to clean off the table and she got on it (couldn't have protein). It was a horriable time.

The Chinese Crested was from a show breeder and was as cute as a chinese crested could be. We feel in love with her when we saw her at 6months old when she was playing with her siblings. She was fast, fun, but later as we found out as stupid as stuid gets. She turned out to be very timid once away from her pack and then attached to my Yorki. She would follow right behind my feet but if I moved to quick in the other direction she would scream bloody murder (no we never stepped or kicked her). Never really attached to much to us though she would cuddle in our laps (she liked a warm lap). I think she felt lost when Shelby the yorkie past and got more timid without her leader. Will never ever buy a chinese crested again no matter how cute.

Then we got a 3yr old lab off of craigslist. That dog shed all over the house and hair was everywhere. All over the my youngest face, in the food ..it was gross. Loved the dog but couldn't keep the hair problem and placed her with a rescue. She was adopted right into a home that was waiting for a lab that was great with kids.

When we looked at dogs we were between poodles or papillons. One day we will have a Yorkshire Terrier again but when the kids our grown up and if we don't have a farm. A yorkie would run away because of all the things to chase. We choose a mini poodle because of the size. Medium so it wouldn't break from the kids. Sandy has turned out great. She goes outside without a fence with me and goes to the barn and stays near (though has a small fenced area when we aren't watching). She's mouthier than our other dogs and we are still working on that. So far she's got along with every dog that has been introduced to her. She is a bigger mini and I love her size. I've been floating around the idea of another poodle but I'm not sure we are ready yet. If do get a poodle bewarned you really have to keep up with the grooming or you will have a mess. It's worth it though :0).

Anyways that's the story of our dog life lol. Hope it helps.

Travis

I think you asked some good questions and owning only two poodles, I'll give you my input! I have spent a lot of time around other peoples poodles. I think all sizes of poodles are intelligent. My standard was super smart, smarter than many humans I know. She would steal food and try to hide the evidence outside by carrying the wrappers out of the house, she would open doors and when I had the knobs on the inside changed she immediately started letting herself in from the outside just to show she could still open the doors. She was very smart. I now have a mini poodle and she is only 13 weeks old. She may be even smarter! She learned to sit in around two minutes and down in less than 5 minutes. She learned her name in around 24 hours and knows what comes means, although she sometimes chooses not to listen. I think a big difference in sizes is the energy level, and of course that does not hold true for all dogs. I think the miniatures have a huge degree of stamina where my standard was a race horse--she would run the race, rest a bit and then run again. A lot of the miniatures I see are go go go go go go. My breeder had toys too, and I DID NOT want a toy but I left her house WANTING ONE! I have really loved my puppy stage so far but Josie is growing out of her carrier very quickly and I have loved taking her everywhere with me...on beach walks, to the store, etc...that is the big perk of having a toy poodle. They toys I met were amazingly sweet, althletic and smart. I went with the miniature because the breeder thought for my activity level it would be best and while I still considered a toy I did not want to worry about sitting on it or stepping on it while underfoot or with small children who could accidentally hurt it. I am pretty confident that I will have a toy one day as the ones I fell in love with were the funniest acrobats and loved sitting on laps. I think with a toy, breeding is very important as often people have mentioned poor teeth or thin bones that break when they jump off something that is too high. My breeders philosophy for a Toy Poodle is that if they can get up on something then they need to be able to get down on their own without hurting themselves. If they do hurt themselves then they are too fragile and should not be bred. I don't think you can go wrong with any size and there are occasions where you will wish you had one of each size!!! My standard was great to grab onto and she was wonderful with kids and you didn't have to worry about her getting hurt or hurting them. I think either toy or miniature is good for apartment living. My mom is visiting and we are renting a beach condo and Josie has learned to go out to the balcony on the potty grass very quickly. She actually does better there than at the house! I got her a product called Fresh Patch and she loves it (sometimes too much as she will eat it!) which is a fresh patch of grass. After this experience I think a poodle in an apartment is fine as long as they get daily walks. Josie is just a puppy, but has super high energy and after a walk on the beach she just relaxes on the balcony for a few hours before attacking my toes with her teeth. Good luck in your research!

Rhett'smom

Having had a toy poodle (Jip) who was the king of "you will pet me" and the art of "I will get what I want no matter what" . He was very smart and knew when to"play dumb" . Rhett is a spoo. He is very smart... Figured out how to open his crate and other antics. No matter whichever one you bring home it will be an adventure full of love and laughter. Just have fun keeping 2 steps ahead of your poodle:-)


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