[m8ttb]

Hi all
I'm new to the forum and thought it the best place to get some advice and feedback on Toy Poodles.
Sorry if this has been asked before, but I am strugging to naviagte round the forum so please bear with me...
What is your thoughts on the Toy Poodle?
What is their temprement?
Are they a 'barky' dog?
Do they 'smell'?

I figure this is a how long is a piece of string type question, but I hope you understand it is so I can widen my knowledge and get first hand info. Thank you

 

[lily cd re]

Welcome to PF. Although you are asking questions that others have asked in the past those answers tend to disappear as the threads and posts get older and older, so no harm in asking again.


Well groomed poodles just don't smell, no matter what size.


My poodles are alert barkers, but otherwise quiet. Since mine are standards I will defer to others on the temperament issue other than to say good breeding and good puppy raising contribute to nice temperaments.

 

[MollyMuiMa]

Welcome to PF! As far as your question about poodles smelling......nope, at least mine doesn't! Even when wet, they do not have that 'doggy odor' that is familiar with most dogs! Then your other inquiry about barking....well that depends on the dog's temperament, a nervous high strung dog is most likely gonna be a barker compared to a even tempered dog that was bred by a breeder who made temperament part of her breeding criteria. Alert barking is normal.....but 'yapping' at all hours of the day or night is usually a dog who is high strung or fearful...........
Find a breeder who keeps breeding for temperament high on their list!

 

[Dechi]

Hello and welcome to the forum !

Toy poodles are great dogs. Very intelligent and sensitive. They need a soft hand, as it doesn’t take much for them to understand what you want.

Barking and smell depend on the individual dog. My female likes to bark and even though she doesn’t most of the time because I taught her, she will if someone is at the door or if she hears unusual noises. My male rarely barks.

Once she went to someone’s house for a day while I was away and that person had dogs who barked. My female came back and she had barked so much she had lost her voice... So education does a lot.

As for smell, my female has a very nice smell, even many weeks after she’s had a bath. My male, on the other hand, has a tendency to not smell so great. 2-3 days after a bath, he starts smelling like dirt again. I have a very sensitive smell but my daughter smells it too. It’s not a terrible smell but it’s a smell.

 

[fjm]

Welcome! Poodles are not smelly dogs, as long as their coat, ears and teeth are not neglected. They do tend to be very human focussed, which means they can get very upset when left alone and may bark to try to bring their people back. I did have to work hard with both my small dogs when they took on alerting responsibilities at around 8 months old, and they will still get very excited if they hear a friend passing the house, but poodles are very trainable and most behaviours can be modified with patience and perseverance.

If noise is an issue for you I recommend Turid Rugaas' little book "Barking - the sound of a language" - best o be prepared, just in case.

 

[Skylar]

I’ve had 3 poodles in my life and none of them smelled. I also have met many poodles in the park and at training classes and none of those smelled either. I also have a very sensitive nose. Poodles just don’t have that horrible oily smell that many dogs have. Poodles are bathed regularly as part of their grooming where as some people never or rarely bath dogs that shed. I personally can’t stand that oily dog smell and my DH refuses to visit one colleague’s house because of their dogs oily smell. We will visit outside but not inside. So I completely understand you asking that question.

My childhood minipoo and my current minipoo are not into barking. I actually thought there was something wrong with my dog because she wasn’t barking....until one day when she was watching TV and there was a very aggressive dog...then she barked. My tpoo barked excessively at people at the door but not other noises outside. It was annoying. We had our tpoo years ago before the internet and before I knew there was training I could have done to limit her barking. We traveled with our tpoo so she stayed in hotel rooms and in my mother’s condo and she was never a problem with barking. My mother’s condo had rules against owners owning dogs but they allowed my tpoo to visit - and we visited regularly. My tpoo rarely barked in her condo probably because strangers rarely came to the door. There were no complaints and if there were we wouldn’t be allowed to take her.

All my dogs had an off switch...which allowed them to be couch potatoes but were always ready to have a nice walk or game of fetch.

 

[Dogs4Life]

Most definitely find a good breeder who will choose your dog based on temperament. Also be committed to training and grooming. Poodles are a wonderful breed.