What size poodle?

[DueyCheatemAndHow]

DH and I have been thinking about a dog for years and I think next year will be the year!

We've settled on a poodle but we are getting lots of opinions about size. We understand (obviously) that bugger dogs require more exercise and eat more. But beyond that- what would you get? We only plan on getting one.

Thanks!!

Standards are delightful dogs; very friendly with humans and dogs. extremely intelligent and easy to train. Also brilliant with other animals if introduced properly. Allow for the cost of grooming though, and be prepared to do daily coat care in between grooms. In my experience the males are cuddlier than the females.

The three sizes have very different personalities, so research the personalities to see which suits you best.

My parents have a standard and he is lovely, although he is very intelligent and needs stimulation, he likes long walks and hates being left, he is a VERY fussy eater - but he is a lovely dog - gets on very well with my spaniels - in fact he is here with us now.

Personally I would go for a mini poodle.

Standards are lovely, but they are BIG dogs and therefore come with big dog costs. Food, grooming, equipment and insurance is all much more expensive when you have a large breed. Even basics like worming treatment and flea treatment cost more money as you need more of it.

I walk a mini poodle and he is absolutely fab. Loves a walk and a play, but is equally happy curled up next to you on the sofa. Is good with other dogs, excellent recall and fantastic with people too.

Miniature for me

Toy poodle! We have a beautiful black toy. She has a great personality and lots of energy. I personally love small dogs as I find them much less hassle than big dogs. We have had standards before but my favourite has been a toy.

Mini, lovely,highly trainable dogs.

This is all food for thought. DH has fallen in love with standards....

If you're planning on having children or have them already I would say standard

Oh that's really interesting. We have 2, aged 4 and 2 (no more!)

Standards are amazing. I'd never have any other breed. Intelligent, loving, loyal - fantastic

Too many toys and Minis have big dog syndrome and are little shits!

I would honestly wait until your youngest is a bit older, no matter what size you go for. Ideally primary school age.

Standard!

Some UK standard breeders actually have what is the Moyen poodle in the rest of the world. These are the middle sized poodle. Mine is 2 years old and weighs 20 Kg and about three quarters of the size of the classic standard. Moyen's just get registered as standards when they come into the UK so still KC registered.

We have a toy crossed with a cavalier King Charles, she is absolutely the best dog ever. So easy to train, incredibly loving, calm, and no little dog syndrome.

Having had Labradors in the last and adored them, we’ve now got a cockerpoo (cocker spaniel mixed with toy poodle so he’s about the size of a miniature poodle) and I love having a smaller dog. He’s still a little big to fit comfortably on my lap but he’s a great snuggle buddy on the sofa and I love the fact that if I need to I can just pick him up and get him out of a situation - eg with another dog etc. I would never get a bigger dog in the future and would happily go smaller. Our Labradors were insatiable until their age was in double digits whereas our cockerpoo is happy with whatever we’re doing that day. He can do a full day walking up mountains but is equally happy with a 30 min lead walk in town. He’s so calm in the house. He loved a snuggle but if everyone is busy he’ll chew on one of his toys or have a snooze.

My relative has one of these and she’s the reason we got our dog. She totally converted my DH to a poodle crossbreed.

We have a Cockapoo (miniature poodle dad). We have had all breeds, labs, German shephards, Jack Russell. Best dog ever. Sweet nature and a huge help to my Sen dd (I believe they were bred as. Therapy dogs).

We don't really want a crossbreed but thank you for the ideas!

Yes - I'm not really sure why everyone is suggesting random crosses when you've already said you know you want a poodle

Good luck with whatever size you go for - poodles are fabulous dogs!

Me and DH both love standard poodles. They are so intelligent and just look so lovely.

We keep saying we will get one but never do. Have had another breed for over 40 years

Ha I'm just assuming that people are just excited about their dogs. But it's really important to us to have a KC registered.

You've given me Food for thought re timing though. i so want to do this this year but maybe we need to wait....

You just need to think about life stages and whether the human and dog ones are compatible

So assuming you get a dog this year while you have a 2yo, you'll be toilet training them both at the same time. How will that work with accidents? You'll also have a bitey, teething puppy at the same time as you have two children who to have their toys out and play on the floor.

If you go for a standard, you'll have a big adolescent dog around two very small children who could easily get knocked over and frightened etc.

Just worth thinking about I think.

I don’t think anyone was suggesting random cross breeds. I think they were more talking about the size of their dogs in relation to the op’s choice about size. People are very snooty about crossbreeds but they have a fraction of the health issues of pure breeds for the obvious reason of genetic mixing reducing inbreeding issues.

@OrpingtonWings do you think so? I have heard that it's possible that the crossbreed inherits health issues from both breeds and often the parents aren't health-checked whereas most pedigrees are. Also, I have a friend who does hydrotherapy for dogs and she says she sees more crossbreeds than anything else.

I don't know why people keep trotting this out. Not all cross breeds are healthy - just as not all pedigrees are unhealthy.

Both poodles and cocker spaniels have a few health issues that need to be tested for - mixing the two together doesn't suddenly make those conditions go away.