[powerstroke73L]

Hi-my fiancee and I are both dog lovers who are currently dog-less. We both grew up with dogs, but she has since developed an allergy to shorthairs since moving out of her parents' home when she left for college. Her mother raises seeing eye dogs which she can only be in contact with (petting, etc...) for a short time. If she doesn't interact with or touch the dogs directly she's ok. Her allergist told her that she is only mildly sensitive to dander and saliva. In light of that we've decided that we definitely want a Standard Poodle. We both love large dogs and we are both active. We have a large (soon to be completely fenced) yard and live in a rural area with lots of parks, trails, etc...

First and foremost though we are concerned with timing. We hope to get a dog within a year, but we would also like to start having children in three to four years. We are both hesitant because we're concerned about the change in dynamic of the household once the baby comes. We have heard of cases of dogs becoming resentful when the focus shifts from them to the new child. We would never want to put a dog or ourselves into that kind of a situation and have to find a new home for it. Above all its not fair to the animal and it would be heartbreaking for us. Are there specific things we can do early on in training the dog which would solve this problem before it started?

 

[CurlyDog]

Welcome to the forum! Good questions. You're smart to do the research and think of future variables. My husband and I got two dogs before our son was born. I always wanted collies and they are so gentle so we figured that would be good breed to be around kids. I think a standard would be great as well.

I think the main thing is training and socialization. If you get a puppy, I'd definitely recommend that he/she spent time around kids (as well as lots of other situations, noises, chaos etc... By the time there's a baby in the house, the dog will be obedience trained and I would make sure that he knows his place. We tried to imagine rules that would apply so that they wouldn't change when we did have our son. (for example, we chose not to allow them on the furniture).

We also did the other things that they recommend such as bringing home an item with the baby's scent and give the dogs treats and praise. We had no problems, in fact the female was very motherly. She followed me everywhere when I was pregnant. After we brought him home she followed the baby!

Now we have a different challenge. Our son is 7 and our standard is 11 months old and bigger. He is starting to mount him all the time. Ryan is learning how to teach a dog who is in charge!

 

[IPP]

Welcome! Good for you for doing research BEFORE getting a new addition!

As long as you train a standard poodle properly, they can get along with any age of child! You just have to be diligent about not leaving the children or dogs around each other unsupervised! I have 3 children under the age of 8 yrs old and they all LOVE our dogs...and I think their life is better for knowing the love of a dog!

Poodles are great around children, but just be sure the breeder you do choose socializes their puppies around children...or even better raises their puppies in their home with children present at all times!

 

[SECRETO]

Im one who owned dogs prior to having children. My husband brought home a baby blanket from the hospital with our son's scent on it for the dogs a day before me and my son where released. Doing that, the dogs where able to get familiar with the scent before we came home. When I got home the dogs (3 Pitbulls) all wanted to see the baby and were interested in this new little thing mommy was always holding. All the dogs loved him from the start and it was wonderful. My girl Malibu would walk in the babies room during nap time and quietly check to see if baby was ok. Then she would come out. She also did that every morning when she got out of her crate. She had to physically see the baby and then she would go about her business. i miss her...~getting sad now~

Anyhow, I think as long as you still include your dogs/pets in your life with the new baby, they will understand there place and adapt well. As for getting a Standard Poodle I think thats a great family dog and you couldn't own a better breed. I have always owned Terrier's and now I own 2 Standard Poodle's a Rat Terrier and a Pitbull. They are all great but my Poodle's are grand!

 

[powerstroke73L]

Thanks everyone. This doesn't seem as daunting as it once did and I feel like if we are conscientious enough that everything will be fine. I should have added that I am lucky enough to have a dog friendly office and I can bring my dog to work where he will become very well socialized as there are always varied sights, sounds, smells, and people. My boss raised her dog this way and he has a wonderful temperament. Now some other questions. I recently came across this site:

http://www.parispoodles.com/Welcome_To_Paris_Poodles.html

This particular breeder emphasizes breeding strong working dogs over smaller, more graceful "show dogs." Is that common? I ask because as I said before, we prefer a larger dog that we can really have fun running, wrestling, and playing ball/frisbee with. First and foremost this dog will be a companion for our family, not a show dog, etc... I don't want to make it sound as though we're "against that," it just doesn't fit our lifestyle. Anyway, we are located in New Jersey and getting a Poodle from Canada would like be very cost prohibitive, so I was wondering if there are likely to be other breeders with a similar philosophy near us. I also like the look of Poodles with full tails-is it common to request that a breeder not dock the tail? Finally, I love the look of the coat on the golden colored dog near the bottom of the page. Would that be considered a very maintenance intensive cut?

 

[IPP]

If you are talking about the dog in a longer coat, no that style just requires brushing I would say at least 5-10 minutes every other day to keep the tangles out.

I keep my 8 month old female st poodle puppy in a similar cut but she is a girl so I keep the face shaved down, and I brush her about 10 minutes everyday...basically when I bring her in from a walk I brush her, pretty simple.

Sorry I can't recommend any breeders closer to you, but I am sure someone can!

 

[Jako]

Welcome to the forum!

Standard Poodles are not dainty! Unfortunately the show clip gives a froufrou impression, but underneath the fluff they are all dog! Any well-bred, healthy Spoo should have no problem with a very active life. You will probably get tired of playing before they do.

Standard poodles come in a range of sizes, from 15 to 30+ inches at the shoulder. My standard is at the larger end, 28 inches at the shoulder, and is a rough-and-tumble dog. He's bigger than a labrador.
He loves to run. When he plays I have very little concern about him getting hurt. I'm more worried that he will knock somebody flat on their back.

As for the haircut, poodles can look almost any way you want them to. Right now my dog is clipped very short because it is mud season here. Even a grand champion showdog would look as shaggy as the dogs on the website if he was not trimmed and blowdried.

 

[CurlyDog]

I got Max from a breeder that is all about showing and the whole poodle look. (not that there's anything wrong with that...) Her dogs tended to be on the larger size and all had awesome temperaments. I guess my point is that you most likely can find the dog that fits your family anywhere. She was horrified when I brought him for a visit looking very much like a rough and tumble sporty dog.

He is anything but dainty! In fact at the dog park, he always seems to pick the biggest Rottweiler or Lab to wrestle with! He's not a bully at all but I've seen Dobermans cowering under the picnic table! People just don't get poodles.

 

[Blue Fox]

I agree with what everyone has said, kids growing up with dogs is a wonderful thing. I just want to put one word of caution - all dogs have teeth, dogs are pack animals and do not reason like humans no mater how human like you may think your dog is he/she is still a dog. DO NOT leave young children unattended with any type of dog.

We had an incident only last week here were a 3 year old was mauled to death and her sister very badly injured. These were children known by the dogs and it is still not clear why this happened.

In Australia children under the age of 8yrs are the most likely to be bitten. Children can not read the dogs body language like we can, they are more likely to torment a dog and they are often at face height. Definately get your dog now, ensure they understand the rules and make sure those rules can stay the same once the bub arrives but please do not leave young children unattended with any dog.

 

[Purple Poodle]

Welcome!

The others had some great advice but I would like to suggest checking out local rescues to find a Poodle. Dogs from breeders are great but it never hurts to check out all of your options you can to searches on www.petfinder.com and www.adoptapet.com

I agree kids should be supervised around all dogs but when dogs are taught to respect children and children to respect the dog they can and do live happily. My sister has 4 kids (aged 1yr to 8 yr) and they have grown up around my dogs and the only time a bite has happened was when my nephew (7) was poking and making faces at my Toy Poodle mix Cher. No blood was drawn but ever since he has never made a face or poked at another dog!

Good luck!

 

[txtori]

power stroke- you can also have puppies shipped to you via airplane. sometimes it will even come in the price of the dog. I just had my first litter today, 7 cannot wiat to show y'all pictures.

 

[txtori]

goodness I cannot spell today sorry about that

 

[Blue Fox]

T was flown to us, we never saw him and allowed the breeder to pick him. I think if your comfortable with the breeder then this is a great way to go. I figured the breeder has watched them grow for 8 weeks so she knows which one will fit our situation temperament wise far better than if I go and spend an hour with them and try to pick.

I think our breeder made things so much easier for us - T has begun crate training, walking on a lead, clipping, drying, hrdobathing, rides in the car, mixing with outher people,kids and dogs all before he came to us at 8 weeks. I will one day be looking for a silver and if possible will stay with my breeder for another pup. I am also seriously thinking about an Afghan and will be looking for the same from the breeder of the affie to when I finally get to buying one.

 

[txtori]

What is the dirrerence between the standard poodles? I have heard of a few different kinds? I thought they were just standard, toy or mini. I didn't know there were different types of them.

 

[IPP]

What is the dirrerence between the standard poodles? I have heard of a few different kinds? I thought they were just standard, toy or mini. I didn't know there were different types of them.

Not sure what you mean by "types"? Can you put the types you are talking about in "quotes" for us? I am sure we can tell you more!

 

[Blue Fox]

There is no difference only standard, mini and toy anything else is a sales gimmick. There is no such thing as a King, Giant or Superior Standard Poodle - they are just standard poodles. There is no such thing as a Tiny or Teacup Toy Poodle - they are just toy poodles.

This really gets up my nose as I hate sales speel which is designed to make people think they have bought something special (and probably paid more money for it) when there is no such thing!! These dogs may be smaller than or larger than the average poodle in their ize range but they are still only either standard, mini or toy poodles.

 

[IPP]

There is no difference only standard, mini and toy anything else is a sales gimmick. There is no such thing as a King, Giant or Superior Standard Poodle - they are just standard poodles. There is no such thing as a Tiny or Teacup Toy Poodle - they are just toy poodles.

This really gets up my nose as I hate sales speel which is designed to make people think they have bought something special (and probably paid more money for it) when there is no such thing!! These dogs may be smaller than or larger than the average poodle in their ize range but they are still only either standard, mini or toy poodles.

I thought that is what she was talking about...wasn't sure. You also heat them called "ROYAL" standards...another one that means they might be larger than "normal" standards but its a marketing ploy to make you think its special.

 

[Poodle Lover]

Welcome to the forum.

You've got a lot of good advice already. I just thought I would mention something that hasn't been recommended. In order to find a good, reputable breeder in your area, go to the poodle club of america website. They have all the information about poodles of all three sizes plus a breeder referral by state. Here's the link: www.poodleclubofamerica.org/breederref.htm. There is really nothing quite like a well bred poodle, and don't worry show breeders very often have dogs, especially males that have grown too large for the show ring. Just three months ago my friend adopted a silver, 7 month old standard show prospect that was going to be too big for the ring. He is incredibly beautiful, large male and he is so very active!!! Plus the reputable show breeders do all the recommend health testing to make sure their breeding stock is healthy. Another great way to meet the breeders would be to attend the local dog show. If you go www.infodog.com home page and click on the top left link "show information" it will take you to the next page where you can click at the top right hand corner on "search by state" and it will show you what's coming in or near your area.

The website of the breeder that you listed gives me a bit of pause. Claiming that poodles have no health issues is just not true. There are planty, but still in my personal expeirence, standrs are much healthier than other large breeds.

I personally also like to be able to meet my future member of the family and would be uncomfortable getting my furry baby site unseen. This is just something to consider.

Best of luck to you,

 

[txtori]

Thank you so much for clearing that up for me. Well, my camera is loading the pics to the computer as I type. I can't wait to show off my new babies. How can I get rid of them? I am already in love. My DH keeps saying "we are going to need more dog food...ten... going to need more dog food" it is so funny!

 

[Sasha]

Hey only 5th post I have read and already have got some great links and information. This site is great!