# not allowing families with small children to adopt toy poodle



## Beach girl (Aug 5, 2010)

I can understand how disappointing that is for you.

There is a good reason for it, though. Toys are quite small and fragile. Young children all too often treat them like stuffed toys or aren't careful about not letting the toy poodle jump down from a bed or other furniture. Or they might hug too hard. 

Would you consider a miniature poodle? That might be a better fit for your family. Still small enough to be manageable, but sturdy enough to stand up to young children and their active play.


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## curlysmama (Oct 31, 2010)

We just adopted a mini (he is a small mini though, 9 pounds) My boys are 7,7, 4 and 2. He was at a kill shelter  Anyways my boys are fine with him, he is 2 years old. My youngest 2 dont really pay him attention, and the older 2 are very gentle with him. he is clearly MY dog though, lol


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## PaddleAddict (Feb 9, 2010)

I second the idea of a mini. Miniature poodles are much, much smaller than standards (my mini weighs 15 pounds compared to my father-in-law's standard who is 50 pounds), but they are not as delicate as toys. Young kids, even the best-behaved kids, can accidentally hurt a dog that only weighs 5 or 7 pounds.

My mini loves the neighborhood kids as long as they are polite. He especially loves toddlers. He has tons of energy and loves to play. The kids sometimes take his leash (with me supervising of course) and run up and down the street with him--he loves it. He's very smart and responsible to training, too.


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## Poodle Lover (Mar 24, 2008)

I understand how frustrating it must be, but a toy poodle is a very small and fragile dog and can be hurt easily. I agree with previous posters, get a mini. They are much sturdier, active and energetic little dogs who will do great with kids.


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## Purple Poodle (May 5, 2008)

Its a huge misconception that small dogs are dog with children. The majority of small breeds are not tolerant of children. I have two Toys and they are great with my sister kids always have been but when I am looking for a home for a small dog, regardless of breed, I would prefer a home with children over 10 years old. Even if they are fostered around children its just different.

The bigger the dog the more bomb proof they are with kids. That's why Lab, Goldens, Standards and many dogs in the working group are great family dogs.


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## curlysmama (Oct 31, 2010)

PaddleAddict said:


> I second the idea of a mini. Miniature poodles are much, much smaller than standards (my mini weighs 15 pounds compared to my father-in-law's standard who is 50 pounds), but they are not as delicate as toys. Young kids, even the best-behaved kids, can accidentally hurt a dog that only weighs 5 or 7 pounds.
> 
> My mini loves the neighborhood kids as long as they are polite.* He especially loves toddlers*. He has tons of energy and loves to play. The kids sometimes take his leash (with me supervising of course) and run up and down the street with him--he loves it. He's very smart and responsible to training, too.


mine too!


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## LEUllman (Feb 1, 2010)

I'm sorry they turned you down; whether you agree with the reason or not, nobody wants to feel rejected out of hand.

I guess I knew toys could be fragile, but I never realized just how much so until I read the posts on this forum in which dear little Atticus (who is what, maybe 4 lbs?) has broken his leg -- twice!

The posts are below in case you need confirmation on why a mini might be a wiser choice for your family. We sure love our mini -- he's the perfect-sized dog as far as we are concerned.

Atticus Broke His Leg

Poor Little Man


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## penny_ann (May 29, 2010)

I completely agree. Understand how disappointing it can be but toys are delicate and kids couldn't easily accidentally hurt them. Definitely look at minis. My Penny is a small mini also. She's 12.5 inches tall and 8 lbs. And she absolutely loves kids!


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## poodleoodler (Nov 7, 2010)

i'm going to start looking at minis now!:act-up:


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## poodleoodler (Nov 7, 2010)

LEUllman said:


> I'm sorry they turned you down; whether you agree with the reason or not, nobody wants to feel rejected out of hand.
> 
> I guess I knew toys could be fragile, but I never realized just how much so until I read the posts on this forum in which dear little Atticus (who is what, maybe 4 lbs?) has broken his leg -- twice!
> 
> ...


I do understand the concern for the well being of the dog. Im just so disappointed. I wish there had been some kind of prior disclosure regarding adoption policies on their site. I mean I'm home all day every day, wouldnt you rather have a dog adopted into that, then having them crated all day because the owner works, and then crated all night because the owner goes out? Oh well, he is so cute, I sure somebody else will come gobble him up.


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## Beach girl (Aug 5, 2010)

Yes, you're right, they should have stated their policy on their web site. Some shelters/rescues are better than others in that regard. One of my dogs is from a rescue organization. Every so often I browse their site, and/or petfinder, and it's common to see the "no kids" note next to small dogs. Also sometimes next to elderly (perhaps cranky?) dogs. 

Anyway, hope you find a nice mini to love. I'm among the many who finds minis the perfect size. One of mine is smaller and chunky, one is tall and lanky - even in minis there can be size and durability variations.


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## Rockporters (Jan 14, 2010)

I'm sorry it was so frustrating for you. A mini may be a good solution though. Poodles are wonderful dogs and luckily there's a size for everyone .

I've had a Toy since my son was 2. (son is 18 now) We've always had a houseful of kids but Nat has survived. Really the only kid who had an infatuation with him was my niece (she's 18 now too), so we just paid more attention to her when around him. Of course the Toy didn't have a great interest in the kids either, he's always been more interested in whoever is making food or sitting on the couch LOL. It's me who caused his broken leg as a puppy :withstupid:. We brought in a Golden Retriever puppy when the Toy was 2, and son was 4. That was traumatic. Small dogs go over much better with kids who aren't born dog people LOL.

My son still doesn't have much interest in dogs. He'll say hi to Jasper for a bit when he's home from college. He lets Nat cuddle on the couch with him. Our son's friends love both dogs and will play/snuggle/search out both. Even the big burly teens are fine with the Toy. They are more cautious about sitting or stepping on him than I am! (Nat and I have the underfoot dance mastered LOL)

Anyhow I think it varies from family to family. I can understand the concern though, and a bigger dog will indeed be more bullet proof with kids.


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## Skye (Feb 19, 2010)

Yes, do look at minis, and do not be discouraged. I have a 5 and 2 year old, and we just adopted our mini less than 2 weeks ago. When I was 5, and my brother was 2, we got a miniature poodle. 

My daughter is wonderful with our new little guy. My son, doesn't bother with him as much, and of course all interaction is supervised. My husband is SO impressed with the temperament on this little guy. He is small; he is 6 months and about 10 lbs., 12 inches at the shoulder. He will be on the small side for a mini.

He has turned out to be a dream come true kind of dog! He is so sweet and loving; I have never had such a cuddler. Not hyper at all; he can run and play and be active, and snuggle better than any other dog I've known! He is SMART, and gets bored easily with his toys. He wants to make up his own games, and likes a challenge.

Keep faith that the right dog for you is out there. Many rescues absolutely will not adopt any dog to families with children under a certain age. (One I looked at was age 10!) I was actually looking for a young dog, say 2 or 3 that was housebroken and good with children. I decided to look beyond the puppy stage, in the hopes that there would be less training, and a better chance of being able to adopt a young dog vs. a pup.

I applied for one 5 year old female, that was already adopted and had several other approved applications waiting, and another 2 year old female that we were turned down for as well. Then, I read Auggie's add. He was a male, I was looking for a female. He was a 6 month old pup that was not completely housebroken. He was 5 hours away. BUT, he was being fostered with a 4, 3 and 2 year old, and it said that he loved kids. It said, "If you want a dog to run and play with your kids, this is the dog for you. He is a happy boy. We can see him being a therapy dog." So, I told my husband about it, and figured it was another long shot, but, we applied. They approved our application immediately, and I was shocked!

When we went to get him, the foster "mother" told me that she had him and several schnoodles. She said, here she had this awesome little purebred poodle, and no one even applied to adopt him for 2 months. She said with the schnoodles, she got like 25 applications right away!

I'm convinced the little guy was waiting for us and meant to be. Keep looking. Don't be discouraged. Sometimes what we need comes in a different package than what we think we want!


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## cheryl4237 (May 19, 2010)

I second that very small dogs can be pretty intolerant of young children. We have a toy poodle, Darby, that we've had for years. God love her, she's just not a big fan of the kids, (age 3 and 5) We _have_ had her longer than the children, so maybe not being around then from puppyhood has played a part? About 6 months ago we got a standard poodle (Charlie) from a breeder. Initially, we tried to go through the poodle rescues, I mean, there's so many dogs out there already, right? We applied for 3 different dogs, and were turned down each time because we had children under the age of 6. On one hand, I can understand. These organizations are trying to find forever homes for their doggies, and alot of re-homing is due to issues with young kids. Parents of very young children tend to be extremely intolerant of dogs. A puppy biting, jumping on, and or knocking over your 1 year old is _ alot_ different than if it were your 10 year old. But even given that, I was really disappointed that having little ones immediately shut down our application. I'm fine with it being a red flag, but I really wish it was taken on a case to case basis.


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## poodleoodler (Nov 7, 2010)

Yes this is how I felt. I wish they would have come to do a house inspection and to see how my children act around dogs. My children are around them so much they just ignore them. As much as i want to offer my children the companionship of a dog, I'M the one who wants the dog. But I do respect her decision. I've also seen a local rescue organization have that has the age limit at 10, but they say it due to insurance requirements.


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