[cowpony]

Hi all. I found this forum while doing some research in preparation for eventual dog ownership. Eventual, in that I currently have an 18 year old cat who would have a hard time adjusting to any new pets. I'm waiting for him to pass on before adding the next generation of 4 feets to the household. As my screen name hints, I have horses in addition to the ancient cat.

I'm really excited about the prospect of being able to choose a dog for myself, for the first time ever. All my previous dogs were strays or dumped dogs I ended up taking in. Well, the two trailer trash mutt puppies weren't technically strays, as they weren't old enough to wander far under their own power, but they definitely needed an upgrade in their living situation.

I'm pretty close to settling on a standard poodles as the next canine addition to the family. I want a dog which is athletic enough to run along with me when I take the horses out on trails. I also want a dog which is large enough to help handle trouble but sensible enough not to provoke unnecessary incidents. I've long admired poodles. One of my early strays was a poodle cross which followed me home when I was out walking another dog. He turned into a smart, sweet scamp of a dog. I realized later that the traits I liked best about him were all poodle traits.

My husband had been pretty unenthusiastic about poodles as a breed. He just didn't want a fluffy dainty dog. Even my suggestion that we could get a spiked collar and shave a mohawk down the spine so the dog would look tough instead of frou-frou failed to convince him. His opinion finally changed this year, when one of my friends acquired a parti-colored standard. This dog's admirable behavior as a farm dog has finally convinced my husband of the true coolness of poodles. I, meanwhile, am just blown away by the boy's beauty in motion. He's got the most lovely floating trot with beautiful extension. I keep teasing his owner that she should saddle him up for a dressage test.

 

[cowpony]

Thanks for the warm welcome Olie.

I love dealing with the farm dogs. They have such a great life. Funny story about my friend's poodle. One day We were out riding and came across a group of people, foreign born, walking through the farmland. They thought we were the landowners and were going to set the dog on them for trespassing. (I guess they came from a rough corner of the globe.) They started to run away. Of course, running away just made the dog think they were playing a game. (Keep in mind he's only a year old at this point.) He bounded after them with a big doggie grin on his face. The foreigners ran harder. Things were getting ugly, and we felt bad for scaring them. My husband finally called out, laughing, "Oh come on, Who runs away from a POODLE?" This comment got two of the men to stop, and we were then able to get the situation sorted out.

This pup has grown into such nice dog. I'd like to get another dog from the same place, but I think the breeder has gotten out of the business. Sigh. I've been keeping an eye out for other breeders. I'd prefer not to have the tail docked, which seems to limit my options quite a bit. I've checked out a few breeders who seem to be puppy mills in all but name. (Here are the pictures of our 30 bitches, all colors available, we ship anywhere in any weather, get your pup in time for Christmas.) There are a few more which just seem, well, weird. (We think heartworm medication is unhealthy, we want you to sign a contract that you won't neuter the dog before 12 months because that's unhealthy too, and we want you to sign a contract that you'll never let the dog off leash even though we advertise our poodles for field trials.) Hopefully I can find one I like in the next few months.

 

[cowpony]

Plumcrazy, how cool to meet another horse person on a dog forum.

I used to keep my horses at barns where dogs were banned. Unfortunately, the usual reason dogs were banned was due to some incident involving a poorly managed dog. In one case a dog wandered out into the pasture and got fatally trampled when the herd spooked. In another case an over protective dog started threatening any horse or dog which came near its owner. Both incidents resulted in total dog bans.

Happily, we have large numbers of dogs roaming the farm right now. The minimum at any given time is six, and one day we had 14. The understanding is that anyone is expected to discipline any animal which gets out of line, regardless of who owns it. People who don't have the same discipline standards tend to get uncomfortable and leave. I love it, because my horses are very comfortable around dogs now. The dogs run past in a baying pack, and the horses barely flick an ear. Though, one of my horses did once cock his tail and deposit a pile on a fluffy white toy poodle, which was standing behind him yapping. Farm visits add the poo to poodle! Poor owner must have had a devil of a time getting the stains off him; the little dog was green from nose to flanks.

Arreau, yup, love the critters.

 

[cowpony]

Aww, Spoospirit, that's so sad you had to sell your horses. This economy really bites. I hear so many stories of people losing their jobs and having to get rid of their horses. We have one horse at the barn right now whose owner is in big trouble right now and can't pay board. Fortunately the owner is well liked, and the trouble came with plenty of advanced warning, so the horse is staying as a charity case. Hopefully the owner will get herself back on her feet and will bail someone else out later. What goes around comes around.

There is nothing like riding through the mountains with you spoos by your side!!

I'm looking forward to it. I do want a pair of dogs. Another dogs and horses story explaining the reason. A group of us were out riding with my friend's big poodle, a retriever, and a sheep dog. We had an inexperienced horse with us, so we had sandwiched the greenie between some of the steadier horses. I was bringing up the rear. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something large hurtling towards me. It was the size and color of a deer, but it didn't quite move like a deer. Loose pony? I spun my mare to face whatever the heck it was. It turned out to be an adolescent Great Dane wearing an orange vest for hunting season.

From a horse's perspective, this animal did not look like a harmless doggie. Heck, from my perspective it didn't look like a harmless doggie. It was big enough to put its paws on the front of my saddle and lick my face, and it looked like it might try to do just that. Not many horses will put up with that kind of personal space invasion. The owner was calling the Dane, and he was totally blowing her off. I was envisioning a nasty wreck with the green horse dumping his rider and bolting and the rest of our horses following suit. Fortunately our dogs ran up and intercepted the Dane. The pack just kept circling him with a firm but friendly demand that he exchange social pleasantries. They kept him pinned until his owner was able to catch up and get a leash on him. We then called our dogs back and went on our way. That incident told me that I want to have at least two well socialized dogs with me when I go riding. Having a canine greeting committee definitely saved my bacon that day.

Sigh. I wonder how I'm going to persuade a responsible breeder to sell me not one but two puppies. I'm sure that at a casual glance I raise all kinds of red flags. I don't currently own a dog. I want two puppies at the same time. (Been there, done that. Raising the trailer trash mutt pups together worked out pretty well, as they romped each other into exhaustion every day and collapsed into a happy snoring pile.) I intend to walk the dogs off leash. (You simply can't walk a dog on leash from the back of a horse.) Eek eek! Clueless yuppie dog buyer! Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!
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