choosing a poodle for obed. and agility

For agility, a mini would be better than a toy, they are a lot more athletic. They’re said to be the most active of all sizes.

Yellow said:

I finally decided on a toy poodle. Had a standard and now a toy and I love the little ones. I will be looking for a toy and have been struggling to find a breeder. Is there something I should be looking for in a breeder to be sure I get a sound puppy for activities? I also am struggling on a color. Both poodles have been black so want a different color this time and I am having a hard time deciding. Any feedback on your favorite color would be great. thanks for listening...

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A good breeder of toy poodles is Mickey Kern in Grants, New Mexico. She breeds primarily for show, but I'll bet she has good prospects for performance, too. Like most toy poodle breeders, she has a variety of colors. If you want her contact info, send me a private message.


Generally speaking, miniatures are better for performance sports than toys, but minis are hard to come by. You might want to get a toy that has gone over size.

I'm another one suggesting a minipoo - they are so fast in agility - a blur as they run the course. Of course tpoos can be wonderful in agility.

I'm biased I have a minipoo - years ago had a tpoo - I prefer the minipoo size. It's easier to train a minipoo for Obedience - you don't have to reach down as far to treat when training compared to a tpoo. Of course both a minipoo and tpoo are equally smart and will learn quickly.

Dechi said:

For agility, a mini would be better than a toy, they are a lot more athletic. They’re said to be the most active of all sizes.

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I disagree Dechi. Some of the flat out best agility dogs I have seen were toy poodles. I used to see a woman with a tpoo in agility. She would leave the dog at the start line and turn in place to direct the lightning fast dog around the course. I also know a number of folks with really nice working tpoos.



I don't necessarily think you need to find a performance dog so much as a physically and temperamentally sound dog from a great breeder. Just so long as the dog has a decent prey drive and a good off switch you should be able to train the performance you want.


As to color I am very partial to blacks, but I also like silvers.

Grin I know that Barbara Hoopes co-owns an awesome toy poodle with G8rcreek that has both his MACH AND his GR Ch. Love watching videos of her toys run.