Talk poodle to me...

[40somethingJBJ]

I currently have an elderly border collie x poodle, and have always had collies before her. Thinking ahead about what dog I’ll go for next, and, as much as I adore collies, I’ve really liked the non-shedding aspect of my current girl. I’m disabled and it’s just one less thing to keep on top of!

I don’t really know much about pure poodles if I’m honest. I’d want a dog that’s easy to train and eager to please. I use a mobility scooter for long walks, so need a dog I can easily train to trot alongside, but also that doesn’t have a huge prey drive (this is the one thing my old girl has in spades and has been challenging over the years!). I work from home and live fairly rural so plenty of opportunity for off lead walks, so a tendency to good recall is preferred. I would also like to train a future dog to “help” me a bit - picking up dropped items etc.

I know poodles are very intelligent dogs (a collie/poodle cross is NOT a great combination for anyone considering this cross! Too smart for her own bloody good!), but I’ve never actually spent much time with one. Is there much difference in temperament in the different sizes? Would prefer something larger I think. Would a poodle fit my brief?

I’m not looking instantly, but my old girl isn’t going to be here forever, and I’m aware that good breeders tend to have long waiting lists, so doing my research now.

Have long had standard poodles and find it hard to imagine ever getting a different breed. Just love them.

Gentle, fun, loving, soooo clever. Some are easier to train than others because they can, on occasion, be too clever for their own good They need firm, consistent training and you need to make sure you're hot on all the basics from day one- sit, stay, recall, drop etc. Theyre strong so it's important for your safety and theirs that they're well trained and don't pull. They're a little bigger than labs, much slimmer though...

They have a great sense of humour I've never known one to be aggressive, even when faced with aggressive dogs they just seem to wag their tails 🙄

I'd say that if you've been a successful dog parent to a collie/poodle cross then you'll be fine at training a standard.

Standards are less prone to breeding issues than smaller poodles so if you opt for a miniature obviously do sound research for your breeder.

Everything @TaraR2020 said I have found to be bang on. I had labradors who were all fantastic dogs, but we took on a F1B Labradoodle from our family as he was a boisterous teenager and they couldn't cope. Turns out he was fine, just intelligent and a bit frustrated in a family with several children and no boundaries. He has been utterly amazing with us - some consistency in his training and boundaries has worked wonders. He is very poodley in looks and temperament.

He is very quiet, rarely barks - makes howly woo woo noises when playing. He has a wicked sense of humour and can be quite the wind up merchant.

He is enormous though, much taller than a lab. He's 46KG! That said, his manners are impeccible and he walks brilliantly on a lead.

Thanks everyone. I’m definitely going to go for a poodle next. I like that they sound easily trainable and eager to please, as that’s what I’ve always liked with collies. I enjoy training a dog but I know I’m going to have my work cut out with whatever pup I get after my wonderful old girl has gone, as I take for granted how fab she is. Hate thinking about her not being here, but she’s really showing her age recently, and has fallen off her feet a few times recently :(

We had an apricot miniature poodle. He was incredibly(!) smart (but not well-trained by us ). His favourite person in the whole world by far was my grandfather who had back problems, but still took him on walks and they had afternoon naps together He was very energetic and always hungry, hates being left alone even for a second and he understood every word of everything spoken (or thought) by anyone in the house.