Hello!
I’ve been reading discussions on this forum for about a week and have learned so much (and VERY much enjoyed cute doggo pics!). We are getting our first mini in June, we put a deposit on him weeks ago from an absolutely wonderful breeder. We are long time rescue dog owners but this will be our first poodle of any kind, so ever since we committed to him I have been trying my best to learn everything I can, but oh my the world of poodles is vast!
I have read quite a bit about grooming and training so far but am hoping to hear some advice from poodle owners. ANYTHING- whatever you would want someone getting a poodle to know about, read about, learn about.
We are nervous but excited!
Picture attached of our little guy who my daughter has already dubbed “Hank” exploring outside. He will be about 8.5 weeks on June 19th when he can come home.
Hi! So cute—I love black poodles. He looks a little like my toy poodle when he was a puppy.
One thing I wish I had known when I first started to groom our poodle is that plastic combs do not get through the hair very well. Metal ones are much better.
Welcome to the site, you’ve found a great resource!
Congratulations, he's a beauty! You or the breeder may not want to wait beyond 8-1/2 weeks, but if he can stay with his mother until he's 10 weeks old, he'll get more dog socialization from his mother and any remaining siblings. Mother dogs are generally very good at teaching manners to their puppies, which are important lessons for getting along with other dogs in their lifetime.
At 10 weeks old, he'll also have a little extra weight and body fat on him, which will lower his risk of developing a sudden episode of hypoglycemia (drop in blood sugar), which is pretty common in very young toy breeds. This happened to my black toy poodle at 10-1/2 weeks old, and once more a week later. Order a tube of NutriCal before he comes home so you'll be prepared for immediate action in case this happens. A few dabs of this when caught early can mean life or death in a matter of hours or less. These blood sugar drops can happen up to 12 weeks of age depending on size/weight, whether he's a picky eater, etc. It may never happen, of course, my white male poodle never had a problem with hypoglycemia and is not a picky eater.
Hi! So cute—I love black poodles. He looks a little like my toy poodle when he was a puppy.
One thing I wish I had known when I first started to groom our poodle is that plastic combs do not get through the hair very well. Metal ones are much better.
Welcome to the site, you’ve found a great resource!
Congratulations, he's a beauty! You or the breeder may not want to wait beyond 8-1/2 weeks, but if he can stay with his mother until he's 10 weeks old, he'll get more dog socialization from his mother and any remaining siblings. Mother dogs are generally very good at teaching manners to their puppies, which are important lessons for getting along with other dogs in their lifetime.
At 10 weeks old, he'll also have a little extra weight and body fat on him, which will lower his risk of developing a sudden episode of hypoglycemia (drop in blood sugar), which is pretty common in very young toy breeds. This happened to my black toy poodle at 10-1/2 weeks old, and once more a week later. Order a tube of NutriCal before he comes home so you'll be prepared for immediate action in case this happens. A few dabs of this when caught early can mean life or death in a matter of hours or less. These blood sugar drops can happen up to 12 weeks of age depending on size/weight, whether he's a picky eater, etc. It may never happen, of course, my white male poodle never had a problem with hypoglycemia and is not a picky eater.
Thank you! I saw something about this in another post today. We haven’t set up an official day to pick him up yet, so maybe I will set it up for when he’s closer to 9 or 10 weeks
Vita’s advice leans toward people getting a toy poodle. Hank is a miniature so he should be large enough not to worry about hypoglycemia.
There’s a lot of great information on this site on raising a puppy. Look over all the grooming posts to prepare your puppy for grooming. Also consider learning how to groom yourself.
Welcome from me and Willy! I recommend reading about ear plucking and ear cleaning. Some poodles tend to get ear infections due to the way their ears are. That’s something I wish I would’ve been more careful about from the start.
Vita’s advice leans toward people getting a toy poodle. Hank is a miniature so he should be large enough not to worry about hypoglycemia.
There’s a lot of great information on this site on raising a puppy. Look over all the grooming posts to prepare your puppy for grooming. Also consider learning how to groom yourself.
That’s what I’ve been reading the most about because I’ve never had a dog who required grooming! Mine have all been short haired. I do intend to try and learn myself to at least do touch ups in between grooming and hopefully be able to just groom him myself one day. From what I’ve been reading here it looks like you need to just find the right tools and take the plunge 😬! Haha!
Welcome from me and Willy! I recommend reading about ear plucking and ear cleaning. Some poodles tend to get ear infections due to the way their ears are. That’s something I wish I would’ve been more careful about from the start.
My sister is a vet tech and she schooled me on this. Watching them rip it out with the hemostats looks so painful but I know that’s nothing compared to chronic ear infections! Your pup is so adorable ❤ I just love seeing pictures of all the different poodles with different trims and coloring.
I agree with skylar that vita's advice is geared toward toy poodles. you should be fine with getting him at 8 wks. Minis usually don't have the issues with hypoglycemia like the smaller toys do. although a few extra days with mama never hurts
I have had poodles for over 50 years. I use ear powder so the ear hair is easy to grasp. You shake a little powder on the ear hair - even down into the ear - the pull the hair out a few hairs at a time. Most poodles seem to enjoy the process (most dogs love having their ears messed with so long as they do not have an infection). When you bathe, it's a good idea to put a cotton ball in the ear, but I've never managed to keep it in there for the entire bath. I use R7 ear wash on Zoe from time to time to ensure her ears are thoroughly clean.
If the ears ever have an odor, you need to make a trip to the vet ASAP. Other signs of ear problems are shaking the head frequently or walking around with the head tilted to one side. That can also indicate that a tick has gotten into the ear. A tick inside the ear canal also means a trip to the vet to have it removed safely.
Do you have a picture of your puppy with his face clipped? That would be nice to see.
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