# Is your poodle vicious?



## CurlyDog (Aug 20, 2008)

I have heard that so many times. I think most people have only been exposed to poorly bred and poorly socialized poodles. I had to get 18 stitches from a bite to my face from my inlaws' toy. He fell into both categories and was spoiled rotten. If only more people knew what they are truly like, they'd just get a real poodle and not bother with doodles!


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Unfortunately there are a lot of poorly bred, poorly socialized poodles or poodle wanna be out there. I was attacked by a mini when I was six. I was walking home from school and the mini ran up to me and bit my foot. I was wearing boots and he could not get his mouth out so he was just attached to my foot growling. I was crying and probably yelling. (The dog broke the skin on my foot and while not a huge bite it hurt.) The owner finally came out and pried the dog's mouth off of my boot. I am still cautious of dogs I don't know. I always ask permission before I pet any dog. I think it is rude and dangerous not to.


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## littlestitches (Dec 28, 2009)

To say you heard a particular breed is vicious is rather unfair. There are good and bad in every breed. As with most things, you usually only hear the negative things.....

Any breed can be vicious if the owner is not a responsible owner.

Paula


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## 4Paws (Dec 11, 2010)

I have yet to have that happen. There isn't a single vicious bone in Polo's body. In fact, the only time he bares his teeth is when we play, but I know he's not serious and I can make him stop at any time. I have found it difficult to over-excite him, which is great!
I know there are vicious poodles out there, but I honestly haven't seen one in quite some time.


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## sschoe2 (Mar 16, 2011)

Of course not.


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## Katie (Jul 7, 2011)

Love the photo!


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Naw dude


Vegas 16/52 by Kat G., on Flickr


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## MyDogElwyn (Nov 27, 2010)

Fluffyspoos said:


> Naw dude
> 
> 
> Vegas 16/52 by Kat G., on Flickr


I LOVE that picture - its so funny! That does kind of make the poodle seem scary - but I laugh at even the idea - vicious poodle! Ahhh!

In all seriousness, while I did laugh about how ridiculous the title of this thread seemed to me based on my own experiences- there ARE some really really nasty minis and toys out there - let us all give a warm thanks to the evil, no good back yard breeders and puppy mills of the world.

I have never met a mean standard. Ever. Usually spoo owners say "Oh, they are acting so bad right now, theyre so excited" and the dog is acting like the most well behaved animal I have ever come across. Spoos are just different...as in, theyre perfect. And I love them.

P.s., I really hope that photo is supposed to be funny...


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## lavillerose (Feb 16, 2011)

I never knew poodles were nice dogs until I started grooming. The only poodle I'd ever known before that was my grandmother's nasty Toy who hated me and bit me every chance she got, so I hated them! She was that way for the typical reasons: poorly bred, never socialized, spoiled rotten by my grandmother and kicked around by my grandfather, thus she was a terrified, snappish, constantly nervous little dog.

Then I start grooming and worked with so many nice poodles, I talked my parents into getting them after our Chows passed. We haven't looked back!

People just need to be educated. Meet my sweet poodle! No, she isn't the least bit fragile. If you don't like foofy haircuts, there are no rules, shave it all off!

Incidently, my Chows were nice and well trained too, and yet people always gave them a wide berth as if they were unleashed and wild.


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## 3dogs (Nov 3, 2010)

I groom plenty of great Toy & Mini Poodles and all are BYB, rescue mill dogs etc... I have only come in contact with 1 Toy that was nasty & that was TOTALLY due to the WIFE. The DH said she thought it was cute when the TP was a pup & he showed his teeth she would egg this behavior on. So she totally screwed up this dog & trained him to bite because as a pup on a Toy dog how cute was that. The dog grew up & chased that wife about etc.... Only the DH could work with the dog & that was because he didn't put up with that behavior. That TP did bite me 3x's the first time I groomed him but each time he came in a little better. Then they moved back home. 

There are loads of poorly breed dogs out there that have great temperaments & are fantastic to be around.


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## georgiapeach (Oct 9, 2009)

Poorly bred, poorly socialized, and abused poodles, can indeed be vicious! I had to rehome a poodle that attacked my other 3 dogs, no matter what I did (Fonzie - some of you may remember my story on him). He was a puppy mill dog and survived for 5 months in that horrendous place before being rescued. He never was "quite right" and became worse with age, rather than better. Even the lady I rescued Fonzie from couldn't believe how aggressive he was around other dogs when she saw him. She agreed that he needed to be an only dog, and she found him another home, where he would be.

My other adopted rescue, Potsie (now age 3), is showing fear agression issues with men, especially young men. He hates my 20 year old son, and he growls at other young men when we go camping (yes, he's corrected every time). He'll have to be watched very carefully for the rest of his life, I'm afraid. Potsie was found about a year ago, tied to a tree, along with a chow, in Tennessee. To this day, he has to be encouraged to eat his meals, because he's so scared; I figure the chow ate what little food Potsie was offered when they were together and Potsie became afraid to eat (Potsie was a skeleton when the rescue took him). I also think he was teased, tormented, abused, etc. by a young man/men. He absolutely loses it when a male child/teen/young man comes too close. Otherwise, he's the sweetest dog you'll ever see.

So yes, a poodle can be vicious! Most would have a story to tell, if they could talk!! It's almost always the fault of a human, sadly...


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

@ MyDogElwyn

Absolutely not vicious, it's one of Vegas's tricks.


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## onlypoodles4me (May 18, 2009)

"I never knew poodles were nice dogs until I started grooming. The only poodle I'd ever known before that was my grandmother's nasty Toy who hated me and bit me every chance she got, so I hated them! She was that way for the typical reasons: poorly bred, never socialized, spoiled rotten by my grandmother and kicked around by my grandfather, thus she was a terrified, snappish, constantly nervous little dogs."

So much my story! Pierre, a miniature who belonged to a friends family whom I stayed with often. He would sleep on the landing of the stairs, and not let me pass, usually at night when I had to pee! I was so scared of him, totally intimidated! I loved all animals I could get my hands on from a very young age, so it was unusual for me. Until I started grooming did I figure out they were lovely dogs, and fell in love with standards in particular as I have always liked a big dog. Who would ever have guessed I would have had 9 poodles over the years!


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Standards have a big bark and are protective (one of their many assets as far as I am concerned). I think that's why some people worry about them. I've never known a viscious standard, but a lot of them do bark big at people coming to the door.


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## fracturedcircle (Aug 19, 2010)

vicious, who?


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

How odd; I've never encountered a vicious poodle. They are one of the few breeds where I'll greet a strange dog without really thinking about it. 

I did have one instance where I was out walking my miniature, and someone approached and bent down to pet him. I jokingly said "careful, he's vicious" (while said vicious poodle was wiggling and grinning for all he was worth) and the person SHOT back upright and stepped quickly away. So clearly they are out there!


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## Rowan (May 27, 2011)

My sable miniature doesn't like children (he used to be okay with them but not now), but that's because he used to get _screaming _children charging and grabbing him--and I mean grabbing him in a rough manner. They were afraid of my black oversized mini--as he's so dark he appears to be all teeth. Not to stereotype, but the majority were Hispanic children who either didn't understand English and whose parents just stood there and did nothing. He'll now either hide from children or he'll growl at them and possibly bite (we're working on this and slowly making progress). He's the one in the far R of my Sig (puppy pic) and third in from the right (adult pic). He's not a bad dog and is well-bred.

When kids listen and ask to pet the other two, I explain that you should greet a dog like you'd greet a new friend, and that doesn't include grabbing at their heads and shrieking. I also explain that it's up to the dogs whether or not _they _want to be pet. (I'm so not a kid person but that seems to work!) 

I eventually learned "My dog bites" and "my dog isn't friendly" in Spanish! Then I moved and it was no longer an issue.


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## CelticKitti (Jul 1, 2010)

My parents have the opposite problem. Their mini is not nice and people don't believe her. Even after saying he bites(and he does) people still want to pet him. She has physically removed children's approaching hands and gotten grief from parents. 


I was running with Mia (standard) and Lily the American Pit Bull Terrier last week on a coupler. Two young boys asked if they could pet Lily, of course she is a therapy dog and loves loves people. But were terrified of Mia asking repeatedly if she bites. They were on a coupler so wherever lily went Mia had to go to. Eventually they did pet Mia and saw she was nice, but they weren't completely comfortable with it. I have started getting used to it being the opposite way, but that one surprised me!


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## fracturedcircle (Aug 19, 2010)

Llama doesn't have a mean bone in her little darling body. she is very playful and kind. but she makes these ridiculously ferocious faces when Vlada pesters her. sometimes she also makes high-pitch sounds like a tiny baby, which completely ruins the effect of the ferocious face... Vlada is a tougher dog but she is very stable. she is fine with children.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Fracturedcircle - the way the camera has lit your dogs eyes they look possessed.


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## PoodlePowerBC (Feb 25, 2011)

*Who's vicious here?*

This Pitty (a friends grand-puppy) doesn't play well with a lot of dogs ... he's very possessive about his sticks and toys. As Russell doesn't fetch and could not care less about the ball, these two get along famously. In fact, from this pic, you'ld think the poodle was the nasty one :act-up: Now Rufus, on the other hand, was kept in the house for his own safety. :alien2: He's had HUGE fights with the Pitty. He won't back down!


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## sschoe2 (Mar 16, 2011)

CT Girl said:


> Fracturedcircle - the way the camera has lit your dogs eyes they look possessed.


Something about the dog's eyes cause severe red-eye even though most cameras have red eye reduction.

They look like a Goa'uld from stargate


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## MyDogElwyn (Nov 27, 2010)

Fluffyspoos said:


> @ MyDogElwyn
> 
> Absolutely not vicious, it's one of Vegas's tricks.
> 
> YouTube - ‪Who has Rabies?‬‏


@ Fluffyspoos - you are my hero


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## lavillerose (Feb 16, 2011)

Rowan said:


> Not to stereotype, but the majority were Hispanic children who either didn't understand English and whose parents just stood there and did nothing.


Rowan, I am having the same problem in my neighborhood. It is very difficult for me to take my dog out to pee when all the neighborhood kids are out playing in the street. My dog is scared of nothing in the world, she confident about everything else she's ever encountered, but when twenty kids swarm her all at the same time making so much noise, she runs to the end of her leash and flips over in obvious "please don't hurt me" submission. I have to pick her up to control the situation, and I hate having to do that, it only reinforces that she should be afraid.

And the Hispanic kids in my neighborhood understand English perfectly well, they just don't listen when I tell them only one person petting at a time!

She's never bitten or quite gotten to the point where she might, but frankly, I would rather she was never pushed to that limit!


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## Rowan (May 27, 2011)

lavillerose said:


> Rowan, I am having the same problem in my neighborhood. It is very difficult for me to take my dog out to pee when all the neighborhood kids are out playing in the street. My dog is scared of nothing in the world, she confident about everything else she's ever encountered, but when twenty kids swarm her all at the same time making so much noise, she runs to the end of her leash and flips over in obvious "please don't hurt me" submission. I have to pick her up to control the situation, and I hate having to do that, it only reinforces that she should be afraid.
> 
> And the Hispanic kids in my neighborhood understand English perfectly well, they just don't listen when I tell them only one person petting at a time!
> 
> She's never bitten or quite gotten to the point where she might, but frankly, I would rather she was never pushed to that limit!


Oh, that's awful! Your poor pup. 
It got to the point where I'd have to run (really fast) to get away from them. It really annoys me that so many parents don't train (okay, "teach") their children that it's NOT okay to pet dogs without permission. I was pleasantly surprised when a little girl _asked _to pet Merlin at the vet today.


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## Rayah-QualitySPs (Aug 31, 2010)

MyDogElwyn said:


> I have never met a mean standard. Ever.


I had this *same opinion* until about 12 years ago.

I was bitten on the gluteus maximus, VBG, by one of the top females at the time in Standard poodles. It drew blood and I was _so shocked_. I did not realize standard poodles would/could bite without provocation. She was loose in her front yard and just grabbed me as soon as I was by her. She was famous for her sneak attacks!

I have been more cautious about show dogs temperaments since then.


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## lavillerose (Feb 16, 2011)

Rayah, I felt the same way when I had a Spoo come in for grooming and I actually had to muzzle it for even mild brushing. Toys and minis, sure, but never a Standard. That dog was the first and only standard I've ever met to this day that put its teeth on me with the absolute intention of doing damage, and I was _flabbergasted_. Even the rare timid Spoos and the ones who never learned to enjoy grooming have never even threatened to bite me. This one did, and it did it with anger in its face. Over basic body brushing (and it wasn't even matted!).

I mean, Standards are naturally a bit mouthy, being retrievers, but they're so soft-mouthed about it. My parents' boy loves to take my hand in his mouth and lead me to his (our!) mom when I come over to visit. But actually biting to injure? It was so weird.


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## LEUllman (Feb 1, 2010)

Fluffyspoos said:


> @ MyDogElwyn
> 
> Absolutely not vicious, it's one of Vegas's tricks.
> 
> YouTube - ‪Who has Rabies?‬‏


That has got to be the funniest dog trick ever! Perfect way to get rid of some jerk when you're on a walk. "Who has rabies?" HAHAHAHAHHAHA!


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