Please could you talk to me about poodles - suggested as best choice for DC with allergies.

[Beachcomber]

Hello. We are thinking about getting a dog soonish as we will be moving to a house with a garden. The children (7yo and 4yo) would love to have a dog and so would DH and I (we both lived in families with dogs).

Problem is DD1 has allergies and is allergic to cats. Her allergist has said the the best sort of dog to get would be a poodle as they hardly shed and are known to be the best bet for atopic people. DD1 used to go to a childminder who had a poodle and she was fine with him. If the worst happens and DD turns out not to be ok with the dog we hope to get, we have a back up plan. My PIL who live nearby, would take the dog (they have always had dogs but don't have one at the moment). We hope that will not happen of course!

I have read a bit about poodles and they seem to be a reasonable choice as a family pet. A poodle probably wouldn't have been our first choice, but we aren't planning on giving him fancy haircuts but will go for a more 'natural' look!

Anyway I was just wondering if anyone had experience of poodles. I know they are prone to eye problems for example, but am just looking for any general info. I know there are poodle rescue places in the UK but we live in France - I'm currently looking to see if there is anything like that near us.

Thanks for any comments!

Poodles are very popular in France if we're to believe the stereotype!
The poodle crosses are an option too perhaps, but be careful. As they are 'fashionable' there are some unscrupulous people cross breeding poodles with anything to make money (well, there are in the UK anyway)
My grandfather kept poodles, and most went blind in the end. But then, many pure bred dogs have inherited problems as I'm sure you know. Very intelligent breed in general- his knew all sorts of tricks. Standard poodles are surprisingly big, what sort of size dog did you want?
There are other options for dogs that are 'hypoallergenic' e.g. bedlington terrier, bichon frise (I believe). Nothing is guaranteed of course, so you're sensible to have a back up plan. You might find your DD builds a tolerance to your dog over time though, even if there is an initial reaction.
Have fun looking! Wish I'd chosen low shedding dogs (she says, as the sunlight catches the fur everywhere even though I vacuumed an hour ago!!)

I have a labradoodle and would never ever advise anyone to get one purely as a hypoallergenic dog, because you simply do not know until the adult coat comes through exactly how 'hypoallergenic' it will turn out to be. Avoid any breeder who tells you otherwise! Ours is fine for my DH, but not so fine for some friends.

The Obamas went for a Spanish water dog for the same reasons I believe, and our neighbours had one which was a gorgeous dog, great with kids, but big and solid. I think there's a Portuguese version which is smaller (sounds like the start of a joke, isn't really!).

Thanks for replies. Allergist advises against a poodle cross for the reasons you state - some of them shed like any other dog. Have been looking around today and there do seem to be plenty of poodles needing rescued, poor things. I think a standard would be a bit big for us, our garden isn't going to be very big.

The children would love a puppy of course, but now I know there are poodles needing rescued I would feel really bad about not rescuing one.

Will look into the other breeds mentioned by you ellangirl too, thank you.

just wanted to say that I was under the impression that border terrier being double coated and needing stripping did not shed much, this is very far from true, you could rebuild another dog from the contents of our hoover bag each week, so be careful about double and wired coated breeds as they do shed. Poodles are lovely if you dont give them stupid haircuts, my grandma had 2 poodles when I was little and they were gorgeous. obviously you need to research the breed properly and check that it has the characteristics suitable for your family.
Again to second the advice about doodles, you have no idea what their adult coat will be, could be from wither breed.

Poodles might be popular in France but originated from Germany!

They're rated as highly intelligent, which might mneed approaching with some caution. As we've seen on another thread here today, intelligent dogs can go self-employed when bored and create havoc or be problematic.

However, to be fair, GSDs are intellignt too but mine fit happily into family life.

I'd just suggest thjat you do some serious research into the breed traits and personality as well as consider the allergy aspect.

Sorry for crap typing and grammar, have an injured hand.

We had a standard poodle, no fancy cuts here either! She was a lovely dog, very lively and a great family pet - with slighty older kids though as a big dog and prone to be excitable.

Poodles are prone to ear problems, she was also epileptic but lived to 14! I think they are also prone to back leg problems.

Another breed that doesn't moult is an airdale I think? Not sure about the allergy aspect though. We didn;t have a poodle due to allergies but the wool coat menat very little shedding.

Bichons also don't moult.

Poodles are lovely! Tho I believe they still need regular brushing as the coat can get tangled and knotty which can be very uncomfortable for the dog. My friend has a standard and previously had minis. One thing I remember is that poodles regardless of size need plenty of exercise!

Our next dog will be a poodle.

Good luck!

With regard to the eye problems there is not genetic eye testing (Optigen) which as it is a simple recessive gene means that if neither of the parents carry the gene the pup will not go blind.
I love poodles of all sizes and wanted a toy poodle, however, DH said they were too pouncy and wanted a spaniel hence we have the compromise cockerpoo.

With any dog, if you get allergies in the first month or so, I'd ride the storm if you possibly can. My DD1 is tremendously allergic (asthma, eczema, hay fever, severe peanut allergy, penicillin and drug allergies and other food allergies). When we first had both our cat and our younger dog she was terrible, so bad with the cat we thought we were going to have to rehome him. DD1 was on constant antihistamines for about a month and still had runny red eyes, nose, sneezing etc. Same with our dog we got last year.

With both, after about a month, it wore off and she was fine. She still reacts to other people's animals (other cats can make her really ill), but not ours. At the allergy clinic last time she came up as very allergic to both dogs and cats, yet she is fine with ours. The consultant said this often happens.

Obviously, if your DD1 was getting severe breathing difficulties you might have to resort to your other plan, but I thought you might be interested to know this.

Interestingly, when we got our first dog, a sheltie, DD1 had no problems. He does shed a lot but the fur comes out in huge great clumps, not the fine individual hairs our younger dog sheds. Despite having had our sheltie for 8 years before getting our pup, I never really knew what dog shedding was like - I soon realised we're spoilt with our sheltie!

Probably best not to take my word for it that the breed would be fine, but thought it was worth mentioning if you wanted to research further. Pic on profile :)

I have two standard poodles who are great. Friendly, patient, intelligent, brilliant with children. They have been through the births of 3 of my 4 children and are (a) utterly uninterested in babies, after a first sniff they don't even look at them again and (b) brilliant with crawlers and toddlers. They take the most enormous amount of irritating behaviour with nothing more than a sigh and a roll of the eyes.

Other good qualities - they are not chewers. Not at all interested in chew toys or in destroying your house. Polar opposite of labs. They are also not greedy. We leave roasts, meat, food of all sorts on tables and kitchen islands and they would never touch it. Anything on the floor - they will eat but they won't steal. Again the polar opposite of labradors.

They do need cutting every 6 -8 weeks but that means they also get a full wash and blow-dry and manicure so they are never smelly (unless they roll in fox poo - they love that).

I got our poodles because I am appallingly allergic to cats and I have never had a second's trouble with allergies from them. I highly recommend them as lovely kind family dogs.

Oh and our vets have never been to the vet for anything other than jabs and spaying. Fingers crossed. They are 8 and 6 and in terrific health.

uhh... our poodles haven't been to the vets...

just dont believe that labradoddles are non shedders, our boy leaves lovely piles of fur in the corners!

the family i grew up in had poodles (toy poodles)....i loved them but they can be grumpy little sods...so be warned! they dont do any damage but all the ones we had were snappy.

nice little dogs though. very long lived. ours all lived to around 17/18 years old. intelligent and very loyal. and no dog hair with pure bred poodles. they do need clipping though, and their hair does matt up if not clipped.

Wow, thanks for all the replies. Lots of interesting info, especially with regards to allergies. Thank you musicposy for sharing your experience of allergies - will definitely ride it out if DD reacts initially. Very helpful.

Nice to hear that poodles seem to be friendly pleasant dogs - even if there are the odd grumpy ones!

We would be able to give the dog plenty of exercise as we walk to school and live in the country so go our rambling in the woods a lot. Also we live near a river and I have heard that poodles like to play in water.

For the clipping, does anyone do it themselves? I imagine it could get quite expensive to get it done every 6-8 weeks.

I have been looking at the other breeds mentioned but think we will have more chance of finding a rescue poodle than some of the other breeds - this being France and all! I phoned the local rescue and they said they regularly have poodles for adoption. Apparently people often get them thinking they are 'like toys' and then abandon them when they see how much care they need, exercise, clipping, etc. Poor things.

the toy ones are grumpy bitey yappy. stay away. The standards and the middle size are lovely.

I disagree that they need masses of exercise - ours have a good run around and then basically sleep the rest of the day, bit like greyhounds...

I wouldn't clip myself because of all the bathing etc it involves - but I suppose if you were up for that it would be cheaper. Our standards cost £25 each, so that is £50 every couple of months. It does add up.

Agree wih musicposy about riding the storm. I am allergic to cats and when I was younger, my flatmate brought home a stray. I sneezed for 2 weeks and eyes ran etc. and then it suddenly stopped. That cat could lie on top of me and I had no reaction at all. All other cats still affected me though.

Good luck!

OK, will stay clear of toy poodles. We were thinking of a medium size really. I think a standard would be a little big.

The clipping does seem quite pricey then. I think I will look into the price of clippers. I wouldn't mind the bathing, used to enjoy doing it to the dog we had at my mum's.

My friend baths, clips and trims her standard and her two Bichons. The clippers pay for themselves after a few cuts.

I've had poodles all my life, all sizes and colours and loved them all. Currently have a standard pup and 12 yr old toy who is boss. Clipping can be expensive but the majority of popular breeds are clipping breeds (shih tzu, cocker, westie, schnauzer). Stay clear of any poodle cross breeds and there is absolutely no guarantee of no shedding and you'll pay far higher prices for a designer mongrel. With young children mins or stds are great, toys are a bit delicate. Avoid internet sites such as gumtree, preloved etc, look for a good breeder (one who health tests) where the pups will be socialised and raised properly.

As a retired groomer I have seen people who clip there own dogs and I never objected but do recommend you have pups first few trims done with a trusted groomer so the pup is educated on the grooming table before you attept it. Also they will set a pattern on the dog that you can follow. You can always have dog clipped couple of times a year with groomer and do inbetween yourself.

Goood luck with your search.

Thanks again, more good advice! We won't be moving for a few months but I'm going to start looking around. I think we are settled on a rescue miniature. Will heed advice about professional clipping to get started.

Thanks everybody.

We have a mini poodle puppy, 15 weeks, and he's gorgeous! Doesn't shed and normally allergic dh has had no problems with him.
He is a pedigree as that was the only way we could "guarantee" that he won't develop the eye problems that can afflict poodles.
I would highly recommend them. We have bought some clippers and just clip around his nail and eyes every few weeks. He wriggles a bit but doesn't complain too much!