[Martin42new]

I'm a senior citizen and am wondering if that will be a deal breaker for breeders. I really prefer a bigger dog, so I want a Standard.
I don't have any mobility issues and I don't work, so I'm home to care for the dog. Due to COVID, however, I prefer NOT to fly to get a dog, so it will have to be within about 4-6 hours from me, so parts of PA, DE, NJ, NY and VA. I've really become a fan of dock diving and frisbee dog activities. I think Poodles could proabbly excel in either of those, provided they were sturdy enough.

If anybody has any suggestions, recommendations...

Thanks.

 

[Michigan Gal]

As long as you can give your dog a good home, I am sure age won't be an issue. You will want a plan for if you die or go into a nursing home while you still have the dog.

You might want to look into poodle rescue.

 

[Martin42new]

I have children very close by. I had looked into rescue but I'm a little wary of ending up with a sick dog. When I did check, there weren't really any dogs in the area, either.

 

[Raindrops]

I don't think it's a deal breaker for breeders. Seniors, generally being retired, often have more time to spend with a dog. As long as you have a plan to make sure your dog gets the necessary exercise, I think it should be fine. The only thing I think of when I think about risks is that some seniors are less able to deal with very energetic mouthy jumpy puppies. My miniature puppy broke skin on a senior lady's arm with just usual play mouthing, so I know there can be risks for some with more fragile skin. But I am sure it varies with the person. You know your own abilities best. If you are confident you can physically handle a larger dog, then you should be fine. Your breeder, if reputable, should help to pair you with a puppy that is a good temperamental match.

 

[Dianaleez]

My husband and I bought a mini last year despite the fact that we both are in our 70's.

I assured the breeder that we have a backup plan. And explained how well we would treat this, what we expect to be our last dog. (not happy words!). We've had no age-related problems with our dog.

If you do get a dog, my advice is to train him well from the beginning. Obedient, dependable dogs are even more important for older people. Poodles are up to the challenge.

Good luck.

 

[For Want of Poodle]

I have a standard poodle. She would be way too much dog for my senior mom, who is unsteady on her feet, and my senior father, who has low mobility. My mom, who Annie adores, and who is the former owner of numerous large breed dogs, up to 185 lbs, has admitted she would be worried if she ever had to take care of Annie long term. She is just So MUCH bounce and so MUCH brains (she is very well behaved, but it is a lot of work to keep her that way). Other seniors? My uncle who walks 5 km each day? Yeah, sure, it would work well. She has a ton of energy, needs plenty of exercise and fun, but could do well in an active senior household with experience with positive reinforcement/access to a great trainer, and experience with large dogs.

Annie would love frisbee, but hates the water. I don't think her conformation is great for swimming. She would love the leaping after a toy and flying through the air part of dock diving, but the water part would be astrong NO. Apparently her mother hates it too. If dock diving is a dream, i would ask the breeder what the parents think about water, as I know many poodles love it.

 

[Rose n Poos]

I didn't ask in your other threads if you are only new to owning poodles, or new to dog ownership entirely.

This is absolutely not to put you off. If you've had other dogs in the past, well, poodles are a very different experience. They are very smart, very sensitive to their people, sensitive to correction, challenging, and, oh, they have a sense of humor .

A quality breeder will consider your seniority but not likely to automatically rule you out. In fact, a sign of a quality breeder is that they will request that the puppy they raised for you, even as an adult, would be returned to them if something changes in your circumstances. Many rescues will rule you out due to age because they don't want to put a dog thru a second or third rehoming if it can be avoided.

Here comes another link. This one is to the Versatility In Poodles website, specifically the Activities page. VIP is another great resource. Poodles need their brains exercised as much as their bodies.

Versatile Poodles - Versatility In Poodles, Inc.

Versatility In Poodles, Inc.

vipoodle.org

 

[Raven's Mom]

I would encourage you to check out the Face Book group Standard Poodles Rescue and Rehome. You may find an adult but still young and healthy dog looking for a new home. I got my wonderful boy in this group and he was 24 months old and had some obedience training. I did have to drive several states away but the dogs change frequently and I am sure you could find something in the northeast.

 

[Martin42new]

I have owned dogs in the past. I was not aware that rescues had any kind of age bias. I understand the rationale but I had never heard that before.

I didn't ask in your other threads if you are only new to owning poodles, or new to dog ownership entirely.

This is absolutely not to put you off. If you've had other dogs in the past, well, poodles are a very different experience. They are very smart, very sensitive to their people, sensitive to correction, challenging, and, oh, they have a sense of humor .

A quality breeder will consider your seniority but not likely to automatically rule you out. In fact, a sign of a quality breeder is that they will request that the puppy they raised for you, even as an adult, would be returned to them if something changes in your circumstances. Many rescues will rule you out due to age because they don't want to put a dog thru a second or third rehoming if it can be avoided.

Here comes another link. This one is to the Versatility In Poodles website, specifically the Activities page. VIP is another great resource. Poodles need their brains exercised as much as their bodies.

Versatile Poodles - Versatility In Poodles, Inc.

Versatility In Poodles, Inc.

vipoodle.org

 

[Rose n Poos]

I have owned dogs in the past. I was not aware that rescues had any kind of age bias. I understand the rationale but I had never heard that before.

It wasn't a direct communication from any of the rescues we applied to. We were looking for an older puppy/young adult poodle to adopt in our region and only got a response from one of the several we applied to. The one response turned us down because we weren't in the same state and a required home visit wasn't possible. They wouldn't accept a video call as a possible solution. Their dogs, their rules so we kept on.

With continued crickets as our only response I turned to the internet to search out what we might be doing wrong. Age was one of the factors that came up, as well as euthanizing prior pets (never mind that they were 16 and 17 years old, each had an unrecoverable diagnosis, and quality of life was gone). There's no single set of criteria across the board but there are many common requirements.

So, I can't state that a rescue or shelter specifically told us we were denied due to age, since none of the others even replied to us but that made more sense than euthanizing a suffering dog with no chance of recovery. On paper, we met every other requirement.

If you search "age discrimination in adopting pets" you'll see some examples. Search "pet adoption discrimination" for other reasons.

It wasn't age but the irony of this article struck me so at the time that I saved it for future reference.

https://greatergood.org/blog/2016/01/05/why-i-was-turned-down-by-a-rescue-group/

I don't know if things have improved.

 

[Mufar42]

I don't feel it will be a problem, many of us seniors make good pet parents as we have the time and finances to properly care for them. And if your active that is a plus and on top of that you already are considering where the dog will go should ou not be able to care for it. I am nearing 70 and my standard is near 3. I do have mobility issues on and off but mostly I am active. My children would care for him in a heartbeat. I am considering getting a 2nd as he is really loving to play, we also have a small dog in the house who he loves but his size could hurt it accidentally. I think though I'd rather not go thru puppyhood again so I'm waiting for the right one to come to rescue.