# How did you decide you had to have a poodle?



## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

I grew up with a miniature poodle. When she was a bit older, my parents got a miniature schnauzer. I LOVED both dogs, but the schnauzer was never near as smart as the poodle. Moved out on my own and first got a Rottweiler, this was before anyone had even heard of Rotts. She was a good dog, but when I had three kids, ages 0, 2, 4 and my husband was working 3 jobs I just couldn't do it. I found the Rott a wonderful home with another cop. 

After that we had various fosters in and out. I tried a dachshund, gave her away to a 75 year old man who's dachshund died and he was in tears because he couldn't afford another. He sent Christmas cards every year with her picture. Quit getting them after about 11 years. I assume one of them passed.

I had pugs mostly and chihuahua's. I loved every one, but they just weren't a poodle. So after Isabel was killed by the Pitt bull, and my daughter mentioned wanting a poodle, I jumped on it. She got Misha, and then found it was too soon and couldn't bond with her and gave her to me. 

Now I will only have poodles, I finally got what I was searching for all these years though I did't realize it was a poodle till I got one. 

I have loved all my dogs, all different breeds, but the bond with Misha is so much more. I just am so deeply bonded to this dog, like no other.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

I never intended to have one!!!! My original plan and search, was for a Maltese, Havanese, or Yorkie! I had had to rehome my Cairns (2 of them) 3yrs previously due to illness and then I lived with my sister who would not allow any animals in her home..........I finally was able to get my own place again, but it was an apt, not a house requiring upkeep & I was sooo lonely without a dog as I had never been without one in my life and I started a puppy fund to get a well bred dog in the aforementioned breeds...............IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!!! LOL! My puppy fund was growing quite large, but I couldn't find a breeder I liked! One day, in my mail, was the neighborhood edition of the Advisor and as always I looked at the 'pets' section and there was an ad that simply said 'mixed' poodle puppies and a phone # I don't know why I called but I did, and I found out these pups were being given away because the young man who raised them could not afford to have them vaccinated or licensed and his Mom said they had to go.............I decided I would just go and 'see' them......
I did not intend to take one.........WELL, when I got there the young man went to another room to let the pups in and when they did, one immediately ran to me and sat in my lap while the rest of them ran around acting like puppies! The puppy in my lap was the only one of the 4 that didn't have a tail, but that didn't matter to me because she was sooooo sweet and like an 'old soul'
already............the young man did a wonderful job raising these pups although he was handicapped by a birth defect that left him with almost no lower arms . 
He didn't want any money, just wanted to be sure his girls all went to really good homes and after visiting with him for awhile he decided my Molly should go home with me! She was 4 months old and NOT a Maltese, Havanese, or Yorkie! LOL!!!! She was not in my grand scheme of things and I had absolutely nothing in my apt to prepare for her! On the way home I stopped and got food and that was about it til I could make a trip to Petco!!!
Molly is the best decision of my life and I am amazed everyday at the joy she has brought me!


P.S. I really am not an impulsive person but fate made me one that day I guess!


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

I will confess...I am 66 yrs old (yikes) and a poodle has been my dream dog since I was 6 years old. Our family had a lovely little beagle, our first of many, but when I was 5 my parents gave me a Little Golden Book called Pantaloon. It was a story about a black standard poodle....and I still have that book. 

Throughout my life I had many dogs, mostly beagles and beagle mixes, cheerful little guys but I still wanted that black poodle like Pantaloon. 24 years ago a friend had an oops litter of half standard poodle half german shepards and my Rose was one of ose. She had a poodle personality in a body that looked like a Bearded Collie, go figure. When Rose died suddenly at age 10 I began my search in earnest for my dream poodle. I was luckily connected with Ann Rairigh of Litilann's poodles and the rest is history. Iris was flown to Denver from Louisville KY on Sept 12, 2002 and we have been together ever since. She is everything I ever hoped for and is truly my Heart dog.

When Iris was about a year old we chanced to meet a lady about my age, we were in Petsmart, and she had her little black male spoo with her. Her also was about a year old. We visited for a while and I asked her boy's name....it was Pantaloon!! You see, her parents gave her that book too, when she was about 5 years old, and he was her dream dog she had waited for her whole life. By the way, she still has the book too! 

You just have to wonder how many people of our vintage went on to get poodles because of a Little Golden Book, Pantaloon.

You can still find copies of the book on Ebay. Here is a photo of mine. If you do buy the book and give it as a gift, be aware, you are creating another future poodle owner.

That's my story and I am sticking to it. 

Fondly, Cathy and Iris and Pantaloon


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

I had a German Shepard and a mixed Shepard and Collie as a child, they were about 50 to 60 pounds, and I tried to carry them around like babies, to heavy. So at 25 I told my husband I wanted a small poodle and he threw a fit. Absolutely not, no floffy dog, but if I make up my mind I get what I want, so after a few temper fits I got my male toy poodle. From then on it has been poodles all female, although my male was wonderful, but I wanted to dress them up all fluffy. Now on my 7th. Oh forgot my husband took the mail everywhere with him, on constructions jobs, etc


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

VQ my childhood dog was a beagle too. When she passed I was a freshman in college. My dad swore no more dogs because he felt it was too hard to lose them. My parents never did have another dog. My mom had a persian cat while my dad was still alive and after. She had no pet for a while after Emma went over the bridge, but now has her mpoo Wolfie.


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## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

My story is very short. In the 1970's, one weekend shortly after getting married, I was Poodle sitting a pretty little cream colored Toy. That's when I decided I had to have a Poodle.


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

Our neighborhood version of the Little Rascal's Bull Terrier was a black SPOO named Beau. He went everywhere with us kids. I never remember him ever being groomed very fancy, if at all. He was our big black curly pal and such a great sport about being dressed up for our small town parades and at Halloween. We were all heartbroken when Beau and his family moved.

My Mom was never a dog person, so I had to wait until I was an adult with a yard to get a dog. Made a terrible mistake with my first dog, a vicious Pekinese, and then was quite content with a series of Scotties. When my last Scottie, Charlie was around 13, I told my husband that I would die if anything happened to him and I didn't have a dog in my life. I love terriers and put a deposit on a Bedlington Terrier from a top breeder thinking a companion would re-charge my senior citizen Scottie in his final years and be there for me afterwards. The Bedlington deal went sideways to my husband's great relief and also my groomers. I got a nasty taste of that breed's politics along the way. I gave my husband the false choice between looking for another Bed or a Standard Poodle. So glad it turned out the way it did. It is disloyal, but sometimes I wish we had had MPOOs during the Scottie years.


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## MaceeChocKisses (May 19, 2015)

My first poodle mix my grandmother gave me I was about 11 she had a Poodle and a CockerSpaniel well that little guy was the smartest best friend I ever had...so since childhood I've always had a dog at least 2 in the home. As an adult my first pick was to have a purebred dog so I got a Cocker Spaniel... My cocker was very difficult to train... So my great aunt wanted him and I have him to her... He was just too much with the small children... About 3 years later I went on a quest for a toy poodle.. Found a family in Wv... With a new litter for a good price with papers at that time I didn't know all about testing... So the children a little older now and I drove to pick up Qurly... Oh my we all loved him so my grandmother was living with my family and helped to raise him... She took ill in 2006 and passed away in 2007... And suddenly Qurly died we don't know why! I didn't tell my children until years later... My youngest son still took it very hard... My luck with pets after hasn't been great another Cocker Spaniel and a Shishtzu both stolen from my yard two different homes! Well what brought me to Lola was my children it's been about 4 years since I had a pet... I always talk about how smart and human like the poodles were and they were my favorites...so my daughter found a breeder here we went to see the puppies... The first time they were happy and playful... When we returned to pick her up she smelled of urine and was shaking very nervously... I begin to ask questions and the breeder said that she was sorry she couldn't satisfy me and gave my daughter the full payment back... I was really upset I had appts all ready to go but she wasn't Lola so I guess it wasn't meant to be... Also she never let us into the premises... Which was strange!!! Now LOLA ... My daughter found another breeder who was a little more expensive so I helped to get my Lola... I've been so busy these last 4 weeks reading... Watching videos... Spending all my change at Petco and Petsmart... And I'm sure it will be a happy ending... The only thing that upset me with my breeder was she won't give us papers on Lola who is AKC until she is spayed... She will be one day I'm not sure how soon... I've been reading old threads trying to decide what's best... Her breeder told me 1 year... But I read before her first heat which my vet suggest! I'm so busy and so happy with my little baby! That's my story &#55357;&#56833;


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## kmart (Apr 28, 2015)

I LOVED poodles when I was little kid. I loved the fancy haircuts and how they moved. Then, my grandma got a horrible little black toy poodle from a pet store. His name was Romeo. He was mean and smelled so bad. 

And that was the end of my experience with poodles until I started working at a pet supply store in college. I met a lot of spoo mixes, which are actually what turned me on to the breed. I knew labs, and I knew goldens, but these mixes were something different. 

Then, I started working at my current job at a grooming salon where two of the groomers bring their spoos to work with them. We also groom a lot of poodles ever week. And I've fallen in love with them again, especially the standards. 

For the past year, poodles are all I've been able to think about. I'm obsessed. I can't wait to finally get one of my own.


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## Raven's Mom (Mar 18, 2014)

Actually I never wanted a poodle until a few years ago. I never knew one personally and had the common misconception that they did not have good personalities. I have had herding breeds all my life and always assumed I'd have another. After I lost my last collie I was looking at collie rescue but I had begun to think a spoo might be a good dog for me and my allergies as well as my desire to do obedience. After checking breeders, I assumed I would never be able to afford one. I had searched poodle rescue many times but they always only had toys and I wanted a larger dog. On a fluke I found a spoo puppy on Puppyfinder only about an hour away. She was the last puppy left and the price was lowered to something I could manage. I had not been on this forum prior to getting her, so I did not know about everything I should have asked the breeder, but I got lucky I guess, and she is very healthy and not a terrible specimen.

Her personality is very differnt than my collies and has taken me a while to get used to, but now I can't imagine life without her. I am in my 50s and I have thought how hard it will be if I can't mange another spoo by the time Raven is gone. They are so much like having another person around! She is more stubborn and takes more convincing with obedience than the collies, but she is more funny and playful and the non-shedding is fabulous!


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## mom2Zoe (Jun 17, 2014)

We dog sat a Bichon Poodle for 16 days. When she left my kids begged me for a dog.
I am a very allergic person so the one time the Bichon Poo licked my face my eyes swelled shut, otherwise I was fine with her.
We decided I did not want a mix of two breeds because of allergies, so went with the poodle. 
I was nervous when we brought Zoe home about her licking and me doing the bathing and brushing. I never had one single problem.


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## BrooklynBonnie (Jan 16, 2015)

I grew up with Black Lab/Golden Retriever mix dogs. Both from the same litter, we got one as a puppy and one at about 8mo when we heard her owner had given her up. So we raised them together and for 14 years I thought they were the best and most beautiful dogs in the world (they looked like flat coated retrievers which I didn't know where a thing until after they passed).

Then we adopted two Siberian Huskies because we liked big dogs that could go hiking etc with us like our last two. I never thought anything of Poodles except they were froo-froo dogs and probably just as prissy as the media portrayed them all my life.

Then when I started dating my husband in college I met his family's Spoo. She was black just like our first two dogs, and just so lovely. It wasn't quite love at first sight though, as she did live up to her name, Princess, on more than one occasion. But she was so well mannered, walked so nicely on a leash, and even at her advanced age she had such a sense of humor and could curl up into the tiniest ball whenever she was on the couch or bed. 

Thanks in part to my husband insisting that there was no better dog than a Poodle (he had never had any other dog) I started looking into the breed and noticing them more in media. I slowly came to the realization that the were just retrievers that did not shed (with the bonus of extra smart and more personality). And that was the point when I decided I never wanted anything else again. 20 years of shedding dogs was 19 years too many LOL.

I had to wait 10 years before we were in a situation where we could consider getting our own poodle and we ended up getting a smaller one due to our staircase in the house which is spiral and tiny but we got exactly what we both wanted, a perfect miniature version of Princess, who was a solid black elegant Spoo. We have had Mochi 6 months and still accidentally call her Princess sometimes. Princess never liked water, and Mochi appears to be the same, unfortunately, since I am trying to work on my father who still thinks poodles are too froo-froo. 

My mother wants their next dog to be smaller and a poodle like she had as a child but dad is not having it... yet. They plan to get dogs again after they retire and I think they should get a Spoo and Mpoo to fit their personalities. I keep sending dad links to websites about poodles that hunt and retrieve etc. LOL!:angel:


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## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

Wow, this is such a FUN thread! I just wanted to say I've been enjoying reading all of your stories! Thanks so much!!


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## AngelAviary (Aug 12, 2014)

I too dont have much of a story to tell really. As a young child my Grandparents had 2 toys, both girls 1 black, 1 white. And I have to be honest, I really hated them! They were mean, bit your feet if you tried to sit on the couch (they layed under the couch and gotcha when you stepped down) and chewed up all our toys we kept that the grandparents house. My aunt had a white Mini named Charlie that was ok but really did not like us much. So I didnt have very good experiences with them when I was young. 
As a young gal (late 20's) my aunt got a black Mini named "Ebbie" and I was just in love with her. She was soooo sweet and smart. They could never train her not to charge out the front door though! 
I raised Great Danes as a teen with the intent of showing/breeding but ended up not being able to with College/jobs/life so when I wanted to get a second dog, they were my first choice. I was unable to find a breeder with the quality of dog I wanted so changed gears and started looking into different breeds. I have a Border Collie and did not want to go to far down in the intelligence charts with my second dog because I did not want to be disappointed in it because my Border is soooo intelligent. Silly reason I know but I am interested in training/showing/competing and I wanted to get another dog that I would have fun doing all this. Sooooo, the Standard Poodle fit the bill perfectly! And pair that with no shedding!? well it was a no brainer! My Border Collie sheds enough for both of them! 
I love Stella with all my heart and soul, and can not imagine finding a better breed (or dog) for everything I have done and want to do with her! She is all I could have hoped for and more! I will always have a Standard in my life (and probably more than one at a time!) (I love my Fire too, and will keep those Border Collies forever too!)


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## mashaphan (Sep 4, 2014)

well,Poodles have really always been a part of my life since I was 11yrs old. My 1st dog was a silver mini.George but my Lake Placid cousins had a silver mini Phillippe,and we would dogsit one of the Mohawk pilots silver mini's Pierre (not the most original names,and our George was named after a British Airline exec! ) My mother wanted to groom herself,and became acquainted w/Kay Slobodian,a local groomer/trainer who also had silver minis (sense a pattern? So why am I getting a Spoo? Read on!)
Kay's daughter Kathy had a Black Spoo,Happy from HariAnn (sp? been a long time!) and then got another from, I think,Monfret,who was called Tabu. One day Kathy was returning from a show,walking through the Oneida County Airport,and I said "Someday,that will be me!"..and there you have it. Though I do not have my Spoo boy yet,unless I croak first,it WILL be me..slightly modified 

Martha and the naked boy Che


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## dogs123 (Jun 14, 2012)

My story is brief:

As a 15 yr. old my mom's best friend had a black mini that I loved!
In 1965, the time I was 18, and married, and living in my own place, my first $50.00 went to buy a black mini poodle. My mom also bought a poodle, and so she said if she bought the clippers, I could clip her and my own poodle in order to pay for the clippers, and then I also didn't have the grooming expense. I can't begin to tell you how long I sat in the back porch learning to clip from a book I got from the library! There was NO you-tube back then. Actually, after awhile (the poor dogs looked terrible at first) they were looking better and better. (Thank the Lord!).

So, I have clipped my own dogs (maltese, poodles, wheaten terriers, schnauzers, and yes, even corgis and shaved down labs for summer). Plus, I clip my family's dogs. 

Of all the sweet dogs I have had, the poodles always stand above the rest...I think it is their intelligence, lovers, people oriented, and faithfulness that attracts me...Just great dogs.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

What a fun thread!

I grew up with poodles - standard, miniature and toy. My sister had a wonderful standard, Chloe, who she lost to bloat far too young. I waited years and years for my first "own" dog - I was working silly hours and travelling a great deal, and much loved cats helped to fill the void, but dogs were always a promise to myself once I was in a position to give one the time and consistency she needed. When that day came I thought long and hard about what breed, and settled on a Papillon - partly in order to be different, partly because of the poodle grooming, but I still reckoned on getting a poodle at some point. When Flissy died suddenly in a dreadful, senseless accident (I still find it difficult to talk about, although it was some years ago now) I found Sophy - and was incredibly fortunate as I was not really in a state to do as much breeder research as I might have done, although I think even then I would have walked away from the wrong pup. My sisters had seen how completely devastated I was by Flissy's death, and insisted that I should start thinking about getting a second dog as soon as possible, and for me that could only be a poodle - I intended to wait until Sophy was 18 months or so, and was talking to breeders on that basis, but by the time she was 9 months old it was clear that the time for a companion was NOW. Enter Poppy, and the rest is history! I would still love a large mini or a standard, but I think I will have to settle to being aunt to one, when my sister retires in a few years' time.


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## sophie anne (Feb 17, 2015)

I was eight and the next door neighbor bred her poodle. My mom had an evil West Highland Terrier that we put down (I don't remember why specifically, but he was old and miserable and constantly peed all over the floor) and she wanted us to have another dog. Her dog of choice was an apricot poodle or a brown and white springer spaniel. Color is my mom's most important factor for pets...

The litter of nine poodle puppies was born, and they were all black. So my mom said "Looks like we're getting a springer spaniel!"

But she was wrong, because there is nothing more stubborn than an eight year old who met her first heart dog on the day it was born! I picked Sophie out of the litter when she was only a couple of hours old and visited her every day. I named her (even though my mom made it clear that she would NEVER be my dog) and started teaching her to come when called. She learned to sit really quickly and was generally the cutest, smartest puppy in the litter.

My mom started to get attached because I'd bring Sophie home for short periods of time (since the breeder was just our neighbor) and she would fall asleep like a baby in her arms. Then, our neighbor told us that she wanted to keep Sophie as a future breeding dog. I got pretty upset because it was clear to my eight year old mind that she was MY dog and I couldn't understand why nobody else got that!

So my mom and the breeder devised a simple test to see if she was really "my" dog or just one of the many supposedly identical looking black spoo puppies. They changed all of their ribbon collars, which were different colors to help tell them apart. Then, they brought me in and said "If you can figure out which one is Sophie, you can have her."

So I called out, "Sophie, come here!" and a little black ball of fluff broke out from the pile of nine tussling 10-week-old spoo puppies, trotted over to me, sat down at my feet, and looked up at me. I remember so clearly the look of shock and slight dismay on the face of her breeder and my mom. HA!

And that's how I got Sophie. :angel:

The breeder totally got the short end of the stick, too, because the bitch she ended up picking as a keeper died of a liver problem really young along with most of the rest of the litter. The greeder didn't do any health testing and I really don't recommend getting your dog in this way, but I was eight, OK?

Sophie's still kickin' at 17 and counting, so, if you ever need to pick a good dog, ask your neighbor's kid. LOL

Actually: Edited to add that I think I was younger than 8... actually closer to 5 or 6.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

fjm we have a lot of parallels in our stories, don't we? Cats to bridge the gap during hectic career times and waiting a long time for things to be right for the poodle to come into our lives.

sophie anne I think it is hilarious that you and Sophie outsmarted the grown ups!


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## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

My family had toy poodles while I was growing up, first Fluffy, then Precious. (I get the feeling the kids might have helped name the dogs...) 


















(Yes, that's itzmeigh with Precious!)

So, when it was time to get a dog of my very own, I wanted something different, and got a corgi (which is a story in itself). She was my heart dog and we had many adventures together. 

Now, even at a young age I must have know that there was such a thing as a Standard Poodle, because one of my favorite books, checked out from the library multiple times, was _The Green Poodles_ by Charlotte Baker (which had dogs and a setting in my own state of Texas to boot). But, for some reason they didn't make an impression on me until I starting working at a dog grooming salon while going to college. The owner had a spoo named Blanche, and she had a big impact on me. She was so gracious, so gentle, so patient, and yet so BIG, bigger than the little things I'd grown up with. She was a champion, and the grooming salon owner was trying to start her own line. Blanche was soon to have (or had just recently had, I don't remember) puppies, sired by one of the top sires of the day. I ended up with one of those puppies, my first spoo, Cappy. 



Soon after came another, older spoo, Stormy, that another of the groomers at the shop didn't have time for.

My interests turned to conformation, where I was singularly unsuccessful with the poodle. We also did some obedience. Then I turned to Borzoi, as another breed I had always wanted, and much easier to owner-handle in conformation. We had a lot of adventures with the borzoi, but I knew that "someday," when the conditions were right, I would want another spoo.

Eventually, the conditions were, and thus came Sugarfoot!

--Q


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

For me it was really driven by my wife's allergies. I wanted a medium sized sporty dog so I was originally looking at Labs, Goldens, Springers and Pointers. When I was dating Isabelle her parents had a Mini and I liked her a lot. We got married and looked at Standards and that was that. There is no other dog for me.

Rick


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## SeoulTeddy (Jan 8, 2015)

I didn't decide on a poodle. I wasn't even planning on getting a dog, and Teddy was meant to be temporary! I've always wanted a dog of my own since I could talk, but I'd never even considered a poodle when dreaming of my future dog as I got older. How wrong I was! Now I'm hooked and dream of getting a spoo one day!


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## frecklesdmk (Mar 27, 2013)

I didn't have much experience with poodles - just negative impressions. My grandmother always had one - sat on her lap barking and always trying to bite us. (We didn't visit her that often). When I was newly married, we lived in an apartment on a farm. The landlord had two that were not groomed much and they scared the crap out of me with their size, protective barks and speed. 

My husband's ex step mom started breeding toy poodles. After a while she got a standard and started breeding them. It was there that I got to see how truly wonderful standard poodles were. Her stud was a brother to Lake Cove - That's my Boy. The step mom had a 7 month old from a litter that she was keeping for showing but had some life things happen that limited her time to do so. She offered to sell her to us. 

After that, we were hooked on standards.


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## mashaphan (Sep 4, 2014)

I actually forgot my neighbor's BLACK MALE SPOO! I spent many a day across the street w/Fritz! Breaks the "silver mini" string I had going..my first black male Spoo!

Martha:blowkiss: <3


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## Muggles (Mar 14, 2015)

I don't remember ever not wanting a spoo - despite not really having contact with them as a kid. I remember my mum telling me they were used as police dogs in France - maybe that sealed it for me!

Then I just had to wait until I had my own house, which was torture when it took 2 years longer to build than I'd been told. But it doesn't matter cos if I'd gotten a dog earlier it wouldn't have been Rory.


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## Coldbrew (Jun 17, 2015)

these are such great stories!

I, too read the little golden book about Pantaloon when I was growing up (though it belong to my grandmother when she was a little girl, and was well worn by the time i read it!). I've always loved poodles - especially standards, but my parents were adamant that we not have any dogs.

That changed when a skinny little mutt showed up at our door, and after I pulled the "But Dad, what if God brought her to us?" card, my 9-year-old self finally had a dog. That dog, Fetch passed away at 17 this past February, but I've been aching for a dog of my own ever since i moved out of my parent's home.

I originally was planning on getting a doodle (i know, i know :afraid but the more i read about them, the more the scientist in me kept going: "they're half shedding dog. these non-shedding guarantees have to be bogus". Once I learned that not only did purebred poodles come in parti colored but that without shaved faces they looked like the little teddie-faces i loved on doodles, i was smitten.

I picked jasper in early june and picked him up Sunday and it's been love ever since


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## Shamra3 (Aug 5, 2015)

that is so beautiful...love your story! She is so beautiful


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## Shamra3 (Aug 5, 2015)

Love your story! It is so sweet when they choose us!


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## Shamra3 (Aug 5, 2015)

Love it! That is so sweet! I am so glad you found your poodle!


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## funksoul (Mar 24, 2015)

*how we got charlie*

ok so heres two stories in one. 
we had a border collie/spaniel.. she died at age 17.5 yrs old. when she died we went to a rescue center and was looking for a border collie, all of the collies needed muzzles etc so we decided against it as we have young neices etc. we were made aware of a poodle and we liked the look of him, there was a couple in line in front of us and they ended up not wanting him. so we got to meet and walk him and he was so friendly so we agreed to take him. and since then weve adored him... also only cost us about £80 as a donation etc so was a great dea lol...right second part...

a gentleman lives over the road from us and walked his dog and met with a lady who had two poodles. we got talking to her...turns out our poodle was bed by a genuine breeder but they moved to australia and gave Charlie to a couple, but said if ya cant handle him give him to this couple who already have poodles..they culdnt handle him and lost this ladies number...so they gave him to a dogs trust, we gt him and apparently this lady had gone to get him after hearing he had been let go. but we already have him. so she was chuffed hed got a great home.


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## deemarie03 (Jul 7, 2014)

I never thought I'd have a poodle and when I started looking at non-shedding dog breeds, a poodle was last on the list - UNTIL I learned more about them from joining this Poodle Forum and watching lots of grooming videos. I'd only ever put my hands on one poodle in my whole life. The "love" happened for me the moment I met Jaxon, who we got from someone who needed to re-home him. And now I wish I had 2 or 3, hopefully one day I'll have a 2nd Poodle, at least. 

Here's why I love poodles:

Attitude, personality and intelligence
Beautiful, strong, muscular bodies
All of that gorgeous curly hair to play with
The many and varied clip styles
Loyalty and devoted to their people
Affectionate and loving

Bottom line? "Life's Better With a Poodle!"


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## Rachel76 (Feb 3, 2014)

Shortly after I moved to Germany I met some women that trained thier dogs for SAR. They knew I wanted a dog to do SAR with too ( mine was too old to do more than just for fun). My friend Uli recommend a standard poodle. She and the others have schafpudel or strobel, altdeutsche hütehunde or old german herding dogs. These are hardcore working dogs. Anyway I kind of figured that if owners of such great working breeds thought so highly of standard poodles I should give it some thought. 

Hemi is now 1 1/2 and doing great. I do know I am ready for a dog with more drive for the next one, and I can certainly see another poodle in my future. 

Poodles
Intelligent
Active
Not too big, not too small Hemi is all muscle at 20 kg
An all around Jack of all trades breed that can do it all.


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## BurdonPoodle (Aug 6, 2015)

I remember meeting two standard poodles when I was about 10yrs old, I was obsessed with dogs but not allowed one, I even had an imaginary friend who was a dog not a person!
When I was 14yrs old my Mum decided to get us a dog and we got a lovely little westie as Mum did not want a large dog. I began working at a boarding kennel and two standards used to board with us, I loved them, they came in full show coats and their owner showed me how to brush them and keep their top knots tidy while they were with us. 5 years later I managed to persuade Mum to let us get a Standard Poodle as well, mainly because they didn't shed. I went about it all the wrong way, didn't do my research very well and we got Gypsy from a bad breeder. I asked for a silver pup and was promised she was silver but I did not realise that at 13wks when we picked her up she should have had a silver face, she was jet black with the odd white hair, the breeder just told me what I wanted to hear to sell me the pup. By the time we got her home we realised she had a severe ear infection due to mites and poor hygiene, she had obviously not been handled very much and when I got her hip scored when she was older she came back with terrible hips! She's also not a very 'good' poodle in type she has short legs and a stocky body, she still gets ear infections (because of the damage done with her original one) and her eyes are not the best. We love her just the same, despite her bad hip score she still does agility and regularly comes running with myself and my husband at 9.5yrs old. The experience didn't put us off poodles and we now have 5 standards  Having just added our first Parti baby to the gang


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## PoodleFoster (May 25, 2013)

When I met my husband he had a poodle. So it was a package deal.
8 personal poodles and 41 foster dogs later, we are still a poodle family.


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## BarkSqueak (Aug 22, 2015)

I got my Dexter as a surprise birthday present when I was ten years old.

I had always wanted a dog and my parents promised me at an early age that I could get one when I was ten, probably thinking that I would forget about it in the years to come. I didn't forget, and reminded them quite often about the future puppy of my dreams.

A family friend bred Bichon Frese's at the time. After a mishap at the pet sitters, one of her Bichons became pregnant with puppies that were sired by a Toy Poodle. Coincidentally, the puppies were supposed to be ready to go to their homes right around my tenth birthday.

And so came Dexter.


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## Streetcar (Apr 13, 2014)

I'm prone to giving too many details, so will just say as a young child one of our babysitters had a Poodle, probably a small Miniature, and that was my first intro to the breed.

Have always been something of a breed reader-upper, and for many years knew a Toy Poodle would be a good match. The breed was one of my top two, and despite my imagined timing and situation, Oliver was posted on CL by his family who needed to rehome him. I originally envisioned a private foster situation, but it wasn't to be and he was really home, and I'm so very grateful.


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## Zhuhaibill (Jul 10, 2015)

I was born into a family which had poodles so I grew up with them. The most memorable of these dogs was Suki, a brown spoo that we adopted when I was 10. He was my brother and companion through the next 15 years and features almost invariably in my fondest childhood memories. Suki was the last poodle though and since I grew up, all my dogs have been bird dogs, doing double duty as house pets and hunting companions.

These days I live in an urban high rise in China and there are no bird shooting opportunities here. So, when I wanted to get a dog I had to consider space limitations and the amount of exercise I could give the dog. Also my wife had never owned a dog and was worried about pet odors and shedding. This limited my search criteria quite a bit and based on past experiences, a standard poodle shot to the top of the list.

Toy and Miniature Poodles are very popular in China. They might even be the most common breed of dog here but I had never even seen a standard poodle in this country so had no idea how to locate one. Fortunately during a chance encounter and conversation, a pet shop owner told us that she personally owned several spoos. After more talk she offered to let us know when the next litter arrived. We waited and waited and to make a long story short, over a year passed before the puppies were born. There were only three but they were all healthy and beautiful. We visited them every weekend from a week after birth when their eyes weren't even open and I picked out a brown pup that looked a lot like our old Suki.

Emma is 18 weeks old today. She weighs about 23 lbs and stands 19 inches and is a handful. So a half century after Suki, there is another poodle in my life. They say life goes around in circles. I feel that I have just completed one lap around the perimeter and am just starting the second go around.


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## peppersb (Jun 5, 2011)

I'm loving this thread! Thanks to Lily CD for starting it and thanks to everyone for sharing.

I had a poodle named Pepper when I was a child and he was the love of my life. Sadly he died when he was only 2 years old. I was maybe 13 or 14 when he died. My family also had other poodles -- all fabulous dogs -- but Pepper was the one that was my dog.

As an adult, I always wanted a dog, but in my 20's, 30's and 40's it really didn't make sense. I was working long hours and doing too many other things to give a dog the time and attention that he/she would need. Finally when I was about 50, my work schedule started to get more manageable. I had a job where I could either take a dog in to the office, or work from home. Still, I didn't think I had time for a puppy. So I decided to look for an adult.

I was drawn to two breeds: (1) poodles because of my childhood experience and (2) golden retrievers because a friend who had two really lovely goldens lived with me for 2 years while she was getting a divorce. I got very attached to her two goldens -- they had such interesting and different personalities.

At the time, there were 3 factors that pushed me towards getting a poodle rather than a golden: (1) You would not believe the amount of vacuuming that needs to be done if you have 2 goldens in the house. The idea of no shedding was very appealing to me. (2) Goldens will eat anything/everything that they can get into their mouths. My friend carefully regulated the amount of food and treats that her dogs got. I am a complete sucker for those begging eyes that tell you the poor dog is starving to death, but I didn't want a dog that was going to get fat. I liked the idea of being able to leave kibble out for a poodle who can decide for herself when she wants to eat. (3) There is a very nice park near me with a little pond in the center. I really do not like the idea of a long-haired dog swimming in that pond, and I never met a golden who didn't want to go swimming. I have been told that some poodles do like to swim. But some don't. (Actually, none of the poodles that I have known like to swim.)

So I decided that I needed a poodle. I ended up getting Sophie, a black standard poodle who was a six year old retired breeding girl when I got her. I had her for over 8 years, and now I have Bob, Cammie and Sam. At this point, I'd never have any other breed.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

This has turned out to be a lot of fun, hasn't it? I don't even remember why I thought to start it, but it has been a blast. Thanks again to everyone who has posted and keep adding stories to those of you who haven't done so yet. 

peppersb you and I have very parallel components to our stories, waiting through decades of tough work schedules to get the dog we wanted so badly. I hear you too on the non-shedding issue. Peeves leaves hair everywhere. I am very happy to have floors instead of carpets because of his shedding. I am also lucky that Peeves is a good grazer. Lily and Peeves have always been free feeders and Javelin will be too. I see signs that he wants to graze, but I am still trying to get him to eat three square meals a day so I can monitor how much he eats and make sure most of it is puppy food.


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

MaceeChocKisses- They would not give me my papers until I had Cayenne spade either. Which I did not want to breed her and had her spade about a month later, and to be honest forgot about the papers until I read your post. I really do not care she is just a pet


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## Reiko (Mar 9, 2013)

While on vacation, my now-husband and I walked by a young guy running by playfully with his Toy? baby Miniature? red Poodle. We were entranced. Sooo cute/beautiful, fluffy, and full of life. A few years later we met a miniature red poodle or poodle mix inside a (dog-friendly) store. We were reminded of the other poodle we encountered and how drawn we were to it. I read more about poodles, how smart they are, how loving/loyal they can be, how they don't shed. A miniature would be a good size for us and to play with our Bichon. When it was time for a second dog, a red Miniature Poodle was on top of our list! Today we love Zuki to bits and pieces and I can't imagine life without him.

Strangely, growing up I never thought I'd get a Poodle of any size. I did use to think they were fru-fru and ignorantly thought they only came in the traditional hairstyle. I had dreams of getting Cocker Spaniels or Scotties (childhood through teens), then German Shepherds, Huskies/Malamutes (young adult years).


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## Luce (Mar 4, 2013)

I grew up with a mini and a toy poodle. When they passed (a couple of years apart) my parents came home with another! I couldn't believe it. They (we) had her for 10 years or so and she passed from kidney failure.

A couple of years later I moved to Texas. Busy working scratching out a living and trying to get through the days. My SO I had been with from NY and now in TX, wanted a dog. I said "no" since he was having health issues, it would fall on me to take care of a dog. IF we were to get a dog, ONLY a poodle for me! I am a self confirmed terrible housekeeper and will not have a shedding dog - EVER!! Besides, I had 3 in my family when I was younger so I knew they were the best breed out there, why settle for anything else?

So, no. Let's get a bird instead!!! It doesn't need to get walked, bathing a bird is real easy, (I had done some research), he said OK. I got my first bird, a cockatiel - she was my heart bird, and I thought I would have her for nearly the rest of my life. 

After almost 4 years she died in our hands while trimming her nails with a new tool - she didn't like the tool and I pushed her too far. I got another bird the next day (big mistake). We had him for about 4 years also - he died from a teflon pan left on a burner with nothing in it.

I am going to save my money for a larger parrot!! He died in January, I have months and months to save and get my dream bird!!! 

A couple of weeks later I met my neighbor who had an oops breeding with her male and female poodle and the litter was 5 weeks old - she sad "Ma'am, would you like to see them??" She brought out 4 bundles of too cuteness, and the smallest red one was the one I was drawn to. I brought her home to show the SO, and was torn now between my dream bird and a puppy!! I didn't even know if I could handle a puppy. We puppy sat her 3 weeks in a row, every Saturday for 8-10 hours while the couple was at work.

She was a steal at $100.00 (of course 3 hip surgeries later the price wasn't that good lol lol lol ), and took her at 8 weeks and a few days. One of the best decisions of my life - getting Ricco 4 months ago is also one of the best decisions I've made.

If there is another poodle in my life down the road - well bred from a reputable breeder!


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## mullyman (Oct 15, 2015)

I was born in 1968. At the time, my parents had a black Standard named Lucy. My mom told me that that dog was very protective over me. She said she could leave me out in the front yard on my own and that dog wouldn't let anyone get near me.

Fast forward many years, we've always had poodles. My grandma had a brown Toy named Hershey Le Kiss My dad remarried and his wife had a Toy. There's always been poodles in my family. When I moved to Japan in '91 the following year my first wife and I got our first Toy. Her name was Gizmo.....the dog, not the wife. A few years later we got another, Pooki. Gizmo was born in '92 and lived until 2008. Pretty good run. Pooki was born in '98 and lived until 2012. Not a bad run their either. My wife and I divorced in 2003 but I would take the dogs occasionally if she needed a baby sitter.

Even though I wasn't living with them, their passing really hit me hard. My current wife and I have been wanting a dog for quite a while. Only problem has been our work schedules. 2 years ago I quit my full time job, moved down to part time, and have been trying to do my work here out of my home on my own. We decided recently that since I'm only gone in the mornings, that it was probably time to start looking. There was never a thought of any other dog than a poodle.
MULLY


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

My Chihuahua was acting a bit depressed since I had to find another family for my Boston Terrier, due to allergies. I was having a life change and wanted a companion to go for walks (my Chi wants to be pickep up after 10 minutes...). The dog had to be allergy friendly, and since I like brushing, I find it relaxing, I wanted a dog with long hair.

I chose the Toy because of the size and the fact that it doesn't need as much exercise. 

Merlin has fulfilled everything I wanted, and I love him so much ! He is such a baby, all he wants is to be close to me, cuddled and kissed. He has low energy but is happy to go on walks, even for hours. My Chi has taken to him and is now her own self. Funny, she wants less human interaction now that he's here...


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## spookiesmom (Dec 31, 2011)

We had Brittany's when I was little. Great breed. My dad would go hunting with them. When the last one died, I said I wanted a Toy French Poodle. Was in the late 50s. Dad found a breeder, I wanted a white girl. The pups came out, dad and I weren't impressed. Breeder brought out a black male she was holding for show. He darn near ate me up. He was my boy for 14 years. 
By then I had married, DH and Andre didn't like each other. Should have listened to the poo. Had a Belgian Tervuen. Wonderful dog. Died about 10 years. Then I got a black female mpoo. Such a good girl!! She loved to chase the lizards in the yard here, took her to the beach on her 15 bday, and it was cold, but she loved it. 
Got divorced, ex DH got an apricot mpoo from rescue. Terribly abused in his former life, recovered fairly well, he had a good life but never really got over the abuse. 
Spookie was at the groomers for coat care while I was doing chemo. Kris was my groomers Foster, had to have him!!! Doing chemo? What was I thinking getting another dog? But I did, that's my poodle story.


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