Hey everyone,
i signed up for the forum hoping to get a little advice. My wife and i were walking our english bull terrier the other night and we came across a stray black mini poodle (maybe a mix, cant tell). I chased it for blocks and blocks and it finally stopped on our front lawn! We took it to the emergency clinic and they gave us a topical solution to kill the fleas. The next day, we took it to our vet for tests. We are waiting the results. The dog is not neutered, and seems to have damage to his hips. We gave him his 1st bath today to try to clean him up. It seems he was living on the streets for at least 4-6 months. How he survived the hurricane is a miracle. He is about 7-8 yrs old and 6 pounds. He is very sweet.

My questions are:

1: about what is the normal weight for a mini poodle ? It depends on his height and to some degree, his build. I have two miniatures and they are 14" or so and one weighs 9.8 lbs, the other 12.4 lbs. My 17.5" oversized mini weighs 18 lbs. (Height measurement taken at the withers, like a horse.)

2: any special care we need for this breed? The usual: good food, love, lots of grooming, interaction to keep them mentally stimulated, exercise.

3: what should we do? lol Are you planning on keeping him? Did the vet do an x-ray on his hips? If you keep him, I'd get him neutered ASAP. If you can't keep him, contact a local Poodle Rescue in your area for help placing him in a forever home. Where are you located--city or upstate NY?

Our bull terriier is very rambunctious but not aggressive. We are worried that she will hurt the new dog by accident. We are going to see how they get along in the house once the tests get back, but we are kind of nervous that our bull t will be too rough. i believe a bull terrier and mini poodle are as odd of a couple as could be lol If you keep him, I'd have him neutered. Some dogs (male/female) will antagonize an intact male.

Sorry for the long winded 1st post, we are just looking for an overview on the breed and any help we can get would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Chris

Welcome to the forum! :welcome: If you have time, post some pictures as that might help with the weight issue. (And to determine if he's a purebred poodle.)

The fact he stopped on your front lawn is almost a sign. It was good of you to take him in!!! Poor little fella.

 

Welcome to the forum, Chris!

i believe a bull terrier and mini poodle are as odd of a couple as could be lol

Odder than a cat and a deer? . . which we've all seen videos of. Odder than adult dogs and bunnies? . . there's instances of that too.

JK, really . . but my point is that most animals get on well, given time. Unless yr Terrier has a high Prey Drive they could easily settle down together . . . just like Felix and Oscar!

 

thanks guys for the replies. We live on Long Island NY.

the vet did not do any real work with the dog yet, other than bloods and fecal. We want to make sure the little guy doesnt have any serious issues yet before we move onto treatment for anything. Basically due to monetary restraint. We are kind of tapped out at the moment, but if the dog is healthy we will do whatever we need to do to make him live a long healthy life.

I will work on getting pics when my sis-in-law gets her camera over here.

He is about 9-10'' to the withers and 7 pounds. He is a treat to take care of. Walks on lead like a pro, doesnt bark or have any bad habits. He stopped itching himself non-stop last night and has just chilled out with me and my friends. We are doing the doggie shuffle between him and our bull terrier. Basically until we know about the bloods. The biggest issue between them is that our BT plays rough and the little guy is just too small. We are worried that Teddy (BT) might run through the other dog.

If we keep the dog we will get him neutered, prob will get him neutered anyway as most adopters would prob. prefer that.

THe one thing i noticed, and its been 12 yrs since i had a male dog, is that he is prone to getting very "excited". when we had my BT out, he tried to mount her and she tried to lick his private area. I think that this will be a big problem for us because it seems to get them both very worked up. Our female dog tried to mount his face too lol. Do you think he is overexcited due to not being fixed? I was a kid when we had a male dog, so i never paid attention to the frequency of these "moments". Our dog is dominant but not aggressive and i think this little guy is slightly dominant as well.

Our dog has a decent prey drive, but nothing super aggresive. Mostly chases birds and stuff, but not cats or other dogs.

On of our theories is that the little guy was a stud dog for a mill and he outlived his usefulness. This based on him acting like a little pornstar 20 hours a day lol. We are grasping at straws though

 

we will keep him if we can get the two dogs to coexist peacefully in a relatively decent time period, but we also are trying to have a baby and just had our sister in law and brother in law move in so its been hectic.

 

Welcome.
My mom has a English bully who is more crazy then you average BT, she was taken from her mom at 3 days old and has crazy OCD. She is off the walls and has a lot of issues.
She loves with a 6 pound Pom, a chinese crested, and a Italian grey hound.
How old is your BT?
I also have a Italian Mastiff and a Anatolian Shep x with my toy poodle and they play fight all the time.
I'm also pretty involved in the world of showing BT's and know a lot of people who have several bullies and small breeds.
My friend has 4 BT's a Chinese crested and a xolo plus cats.

Your Bull Terrier can be taught to play nice but chances are they can work it out themselves and the Poodle will tell your BT when enough is enough.
Dont think just because hes small he cant hold his own.

 

our BT is also crazier than the average dog lol. OCD in many ways, tail chases, but that has gotten much better as of late .And very attentiion starved. She is 1 1/2

 

Omg lol thats the exact same as my moms, she will chase her tail all day if she could. I'm starting to think they all have OCD just in different ways, I know its very common in the breed but I'm just gonna say they ALL have some form of OCD.
If you can handle a bull terrier you can handle anything!

 

Welcome!

Thanks a million for giving this little guy a chance :angel:

I think that his "moments" will decrease after his neuter. You'll have to give it a little time for the hormones to run out after surgery too.

If you are unfamiliar with the grooming needs of a poodle, you'll have some reading and research in your future. Because poodles don't shed, they need to be line combed and brushed often or they turn into a matted mess and it can turn into a health issue. The type of coat will dictate the frequency. He'll need a haircut about every 6 weeks - so, either you learn and buy the equipment or take him to the groomer. A low cost/maintenance option is a kennel cut (very short all over) but near as much fun!

Keep us posted...

PS ~ did the vet check for a microchip? Just wondering...

 

Sounds like you likely have a toy poodle rather than a mini, toys are under 10". I'd definately urge that he be neutered ASAP, it's a simple, quick recovery proceedure on males, much less expensive as well. It can take a few weeks for complete hormonal change but I believe that all but the most aggressive dogs learn to get along. I'm sorry to hear about the 'hip problems', it does sound concerning. Small dogs are less likely to have hip dysplasia, perhaps the issue is just a conformation issue since he's obviously still able to put his hips to use in other ways . A vet can often tell you a good deal through manual examination. Getting a good exam and/or x-rays can be obtained while the dog is anesthetised for the neutering. That would save some tauma and money. Poor sole, I hope you're able to keep him.

 

I am trying to post a picture of the dog but am having problems. Anything specific i need to do? I am familiar with

 

 

He sounds around the same size as Poppy, or slightly smaller - she weighs around 9 - 9.25 pounds. Could the hip problem actually be knees? Luxating patella (slipping knee cap) is very common in toys. If it is very bad it may need an op, but it can often be managed by building up muscle - if he is an ex-breeding dog, and has had poor diet and little exercise, it could explain a great deal.