Question for those with poodles...

[SASM]

We are currently researching the possibility of adopting a rescue dog that doesn't disturb our allergies. Today I've been in contact with a toy poodle breeder who will be retiring her 6yo female after she weans this newest litter of pups . She says that she is being very choosy about a potential family. According to a dog age calculator, a 6yo toy poodle is considered 40 human years old and a "senior", not taking into consideration the fact that she has had an unknown amount of litters (still waiting to hear back about that). The breeder says that the dog is very gentle and loving. I am hesitant, though. My grandparents had a toy poodle and the dog was NASTY (maybe not the breed so much as "small dog syndrome"?). She mellowed out in her older years but she was nasty.

Anyway...my question is:

1- Do you think that a 6yo former breeding female toy poodle has a lot of life left in her?

2- If you have an older toy poodle, how is his/her disposition now? Has it changed much over the years, especially with children around?

I must sound horrible (and ignorant) but our cat died 3 mos ago and it was rough on my 4 and 6yo's, not to mention, me. I do not want to get attached to this dog, who is already 6, and then find her health possibly starting to decrease soon after adoption. I would REALLY love an adult dog...I am just not sure if 6 is too old. We have not met the dog yet...I am doing the research BEFORE we meet her to save emotions. :)

Thank you. I hope this makes sense.

[buddyleebaby]

I don't have one but dear friends of ours adopted a "retired" five year old breeding toy poodle. Because we are with them often, we are around their dog often. I was initially nervous because toy poodles, to me, are not a good breed to be around young children. They do have the reputation of being very sensitive and highstrung. Sometmes that manifests tself as aggression and sometimes they are just too nervous around little people to be happy.
However, she is the sweetest thing, honestly. She has lots of energy and walks around on her hindlegs, jumps in the car when we want to go somewhere but also will come and cuddle up on your lap when you are sitting down. She's really smart and totally gets that DS is a baby. The first time she met him, she sniffed him and started licking him. When he is crawling somewhere he shouldn't she attempts to wrangle hm by blocking his way and licking him until he turns around. :ROTFLMAO:
I still watch her very carefully and never take for granted that ANY dog is a "safe" dog but she has given me no reason to doubt her. We all love her. Of course we don't know what the next few years will hold but I don't think you ever know that, even when you adopt a puppy.

[Momof3Labs]

We adopted a retired breeding dog several years ago. She was 11 when we adopted her, but had not been bred since she was 8yo. She was not spayed until she was 11yo, and apparently they didn't get all her ovarian tissue when they spayed her. She developed breast cancer about a year after we adopted her, and we lost her shortly after that. She was such a sweet, mellow, well-balanced dog; I can only bet that her puppies sold like hotcakes based on her personality alone.

We've adopted other adult dogs since then, but always screen very carefully for their behavior around young children. Honestly, if this dog hasn't lived with kids, I might be apprehensive to adopt her. All of our adult adoptees have behaved well around the kids but there is an observable difference in the comfort level among the dogs who grew up with kids, IME.

Also, are you sure that your families' dog allergies won't be an issue? No dog is hypoallergenic to all people; you guys might be fine with this dog for a few months or a year and then someone's allergies could flare up badly enough to have to get rid of the dog. Not only is that hard on the kids, but also hard on a 7yo dog to find a new family (yet again).

[bubbaray]

We've adopted other adult dogs since then, but always screen very carefully for their behavior around young children. Honestly, if this dog hasn't lived with kids, I might be apprehensive to adopt her. All of our adult adoptees have behaved well around the kids but there is an observable difference in the comfort level among the dogs who grew up with kids, IME.

Also, are you sure that your families' dog allergies won't be an issue? No dog is hypoallergenic to all people; you guys might be fine with this dog for a few months or a year and then someone's allergies could flare up badly enough to have to get rid of the dog. Not only is that hard on the kids, but also hard on a 7yo dog to find a new family (yet again).


:yeahthat: to both of Lori's points.

I actually thought that 6 was young for a small poodle -- don't they live closer to 15-20 yrs???

I really like standard poodles (part of the retrieving group), but the smaller ones, not so much. I'm a big dog person. :ROTFLMAO:

[SASM]

I don't have one but dear friends of ours adopted a "retired" five year old breeding toy poodle. Because we are with them often, we are around their dog often. I was initially nervous because toy poodles, to me, are not a good breed to be around young children. They do have the reputation of being very sensitive and highstrung. Sometmes that manifests tself as aggression and sometimes they are just too nervous around little people to be happy.
However, she is the sweetest thing, honestly. She has lots of energy and walks around on her hindlegs, jumps in the car when we want to go somewhere but also will come and cuddle up on your lap when you are sitting down. She's really smart and totally gets that DS is a baby. The first time she met him, she sniffed him and started licking him. When he is crawling somewhere he shouldn't she attempts to wrangle hm by blocking his way and licking him until he turns around. :ROTFLMAO:
I still watch her very carefully and never take for granted that ANY dog is a "safe" dog but she has given me no reason to doubt her. We all love her. Of course we don't know what the next few years will hold but I don't think you ever know that, even when you adopt a puppy.

Thank you, Alicia! Very good to hear...their dog sounds very sweet! cannot blame you for being cautious...I'd be the same way. Thank you!

[Melaine]

The toy poodle we had growing up was *very* sweet, good tempered and good with children. He actually lived a pretty long life, I want to say between 17-19? I'd have to ask my mom. He was a great dog.
I know poodles can get a bad rap, but he was not a yippy lap dog. He was more of a lab in a poodle body. :-)
When he had a puppy cut rather than a poodle cut, he looked just like a little fuzz ball.

[SASM]

We adopted a retired breeding dog several years ago. She was 11 when we adopted her, but had not been bred since she was 8yo. She was not spayed until she was 11yo, and apparently they didn't get all her ovarian tissue when they spayed her. She developed breast cancer about a year after we adopted her, and we lost her shortly after that. She was such a sweet, mellow, well-balanced dog; I can only bet that her puppies sold like hotcakes based on her personality alone.

We've adopted other adult dogs since then, but always screen very carefully for their behavior around young children. Honestly, if this dog hasn't lived with kids, I might be apprehensive to adopt her. All of our adult adoptees have behaved well around the kids but there is an observable difference in the comfort level among the dogs who grew up with kids, IME.

Also, are you sure that your families' dog allergies won't be an issue? No dog is hypoallergenic to all people; you guys might be fine with this dog for a few months or a year and then someone's allergies could flare up badly enough to have to get rid of the dog. Not only is that hard on the kids, but also hard on a 7yo dog to find a new family (yet again).

Lori,

Hope you are feeling well!! I've been thinking about you. Thank you so much for your response. I am so sorry to hear about your dog. :( Thank you for telling me about your experiences. The good thing about this breeder is that she has offered to bring the dog to our house several times between now and the adoption in ~8 weeks so we can see how our family gets along with the dog and vise versa...allergies for us and kid noise, etc for the dog. I am not sure if she has had exposure to children. That is another question that I am waiting on.

Your point about the allergies flaring up in a year obviously has me concerned, though. Our allergies flare up immediately with other dogs so I was not thinking about the allergies flaring up down the road. I just assumed that if we were not reacting with the multiple lengthy exposures between now and the adoption, and baths for the dog and vacuuming/dusting the house, any allergens would hopefully not be an issue. Ohhh...bummer.

Thank you, Lori.

[vejemom]

I don't think 6 is very old for a small breed dog. They have revised the dog/human year calculator somewhat in the past few years. Check to make sure that you got the "latest and greatest."

Temperment and allergic reaction tend to be individualized. One weird question I would ask - how many dogs the breeder has, and how does she keep them? If they live separated from the day-to-day household activities (in a separate building or in runs), you could end up with an adult dog that isn't housebroken, doesn't know how to climb stairs, etc. These issues could be overcome, of course, but it would take time.

No matter what people claim, there is no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog. Breed is not a reliable indicator, you can be allergic to some representatives of that breed and not allergic to others. The best thing to do is expose the allergic person to the individual dog you are hoping to get, and see if there is an allergic response.

[bubbaray]

Just wanted to add, that my DH is quite allergic to most dogs, but for some reason, he is only allergic to lab PUPPIES and not to older labs. We have no idea why.

There are days when it makes me want to run screaming to our breeder and bring home a super-cute lab puppy. :wink2:

[AnnieW625]

Poodles are very allergy free because they don't have dander. We considered a standard poodle a couple of years ago but couldn't find one through a rescue/animal shelter. My next door neighbors had a toy poodle and he was a yapper but once he calmed down he was a nice little dog. I would definitely bring your family to meet the breeder before doing anything else. Good luck!

[SASM]

The toy poodle we had growing up was *very* sweet, good tempered and good with children. He actually lived a pretty long life, I want to say between 17-19? I'd have to ask my mom. He was a great dog.
I know poodles can get a bad rap, but he was not a yippy lap dog. He was more of a lab in a poodle body. :-)
When he had a puppy cut rather than a poodle cut, he looked just like a little fuzz ball.

Thank you sooo much!! :) So good to read about a positive experience...I read that they are good family dogs but my thoughts keep going back to my childhood with Suki and OMG...was she MEAN!! TY!!!

[SASM]

Temperment and allergic reaction tend to be individualized. One weird question I would ask - how many dogs the breeder has, and how does she keep them? If they live separated from the day-to-day household activities (in a separate building or in runs), you could end up with an adult dog that isn't housebroken, doesn't know how to climb stairs, etc. These issues could be overcome, of course, but it would take time.

No matter what people claim, there is no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog. Breed is not a reliable indicator, you can be allergic to some representatives of that breed and not allergic to others. The best thing to do is expose the allergic person to the individual dog you are hoping to get, and see if there is an allergic response.

I THINK I had an UTD calculator through www.pedigree.com (http://www.pedigree.com), as it asked for breed as well. Very good point about how she is kept! I assumed that she was pretty much a house dog that breeds from the air of her emails but not safe to assume. I'll definitely ask. TY!!

As for "hypoallergenic", I am sooo aware that there isn't a "hypoallergenic" breed. We have reacted to goldendoodles, labradoodles, and a few others. We seem to be okay with cavapoos, though. It really is just a "delve right in, expose yourself, and keep your fingers crossed" kind of experience. Honestly, I am not hopeful but we'll see. Lots of research first and then we'll try them out as they become available.

[SASM]

Poodles are very allergy free because they don't have dander. We considered a standard poodle a couple of years ago but couldn't find one through a rescue/animal shelter. My next door neighbors had a toy poodle and he was a yapper but once he calmed down he was a nice little dog. I would definitely bring your family to meet the breeder before doing anything else. Good luck!

Thank you so much! I am holding off bringing the family until I have all of the facts. I do not want to expose their immune systems and emotions until I feel comfortable with the age and the personality, per discussion with the breeder. We have a while to go anyway as she just birthed a litter...so lots of potential exposure opportunities in and out of our home. TY!!

[rlu]

When I was a kid a neighbor had a toy poodle that was very friendly to the neighborhood kids. Whenever she went on a walk down the block the kids would flock to her for little licks and have her climb in our laps.

You've gotten great advice and it appears you are being appropriately cautious in your approach. I hope it all works out for you, whatever dog you end up with.

[tylersmama]

6 is definitely young for a toy poodle. MIL has a toy who is 15 or 16 now, and while she's definitely slowed down a lot over the past couple of years, she's still going strong.

As far as the allergies, just my .02 as I'm aware that there's no perfectly hypoallergenic dog...the ILs are rife with allergies and asthma. MIL, both her brothers, XH, all have issues. None of them have ever had any problems with MIL's toy poodle, or her brother's toy poodle. Actually, none have ever had any problems with our dog either, who is a multigenerational (mostly poodle) mini labradoodle.

Good luck!

[SASM]

6 is definitely young for a toy poodle. MIL has a toy who is 15 or 16 now, and while she's definitely slowed down a lot over the past couple of years, she's still going strong.

As far as the allergies, just my .02 as I'm aware that there's no perfectly hypoallergenic dog...the ILs are rife with allergies and asthma. MIL, both her brothers, XH, all have issues. None of them have ever had any problems with MIL's toy poodle, or her brother's toy poodle. Actually, none have ever had any problems with our dog either, who is a multigenerational (mostly poodle) mini labradoodle.

Good luck!

I know that everyone's immune system is different but THANK YOU!!!! :) Soooo good to read!

[AnnieW625]

And for what it's worth my grandparent's cockapoo lived to be 16 years old. I have pet allergies too and was never allergic to it.

[niccig]

My mum has a toy poodle that I say is going on 15+ years. She isn't a yappy dog until lately as she's losing her sight and when my mother comes home after a few hours, she goes a little crazy and my mother has to pick her up anf hug her to calm her down. I was about 20 when she got here, but there was never any meaness to her. My Dad's dog is a big Australian Red Heeler - a real brute looking dog, but the two dogs sleep together on teh one bed, which is cute to see.