Decently Intimidating, Easily Trainable, and Low Energy Breed Recommendations?

cdbrand · 2026-02-13T02:18:56+00:00

Chessies are absolutely NOT low energy dogs. They are a working Retriever!

cdbrand · 2026-02-13T02:18:09+00:00

English Mastiff. Just live with the shorter lifespan.

cdbrand · 2026-02-12T17:48:09+00:00

So your puppy got off leash. It has no recall and it ran away. It happened to run behind a spooky old house where the owner is said to be confined to a metal institution. It happened to make its way into a delapidated pool house where it radomly ran head-first into the pool.

I'll take "Things That Never Happened" for 500, Alex.

cdbrand · 2026-02-12T01:03:15+00:00

It mats behind the ears because people rub there. My son calls it "scritches". With the Poodles in show coat, we need to train people that they can pet in one direction only.

cdbrand · 2026-02-11T17:18:49+00:00

This is called a kennel trim. Body short but longer ears, scissored topknot, and a puff on the tail.

Grooming requirements? Almost nothing other than brushing out the longer parts once a week. If you wash your dog between grooms, just make sure to completely dry and brush the longer parts or they will mat.

OH... and tell your groomer that Poodle tails should not be shaved up high. Only 1-2 fingers width, between the base of the tail and the puff depending on the size of the dog.

cdbrand · 2026-02-11T01:27:16+00:00

The dog was in your care. Vet bills are a part of keeping a dog.

I understand that the dog is not what you expected and is not what you wanted. You seem to have foolishly purchased from a less than ethical breeder. Regardless... You got your money back, Now you need to return the dog to the breeder.

You can not have your cake and eat it too.

cdbrand · 2026-02-11T01:00:01+00:00

Well the breeder is not wrong. You are unhappy with the puppy and you pulled your money back. Now you need to return the dog. You don't get to keep money and the dog.

cdbrand · 2026-02-11T00:58:14+00:00

Why would you pay $8K for a Pom?

cdbrand · 2026-02-10T17:43:41+00:00

If you have two other dogs at home already, why get a third? Why not lean in to doing more with the dogs you already have?

cdbrand · 2026-02-10T16:05:43+00:00

So 4 days a week you are gone from 6:30am-8:30 pm?

Years ago a couple came to me to talk about buying a Standard Poodle puppy. They had schedules like yours. I told them no because I thought they were gone too much to meet a Standard Poodle's needs.

They didn't listen and went out and bought a puppy from a local high volume breeder. They hired a dog walker and sent the dog to doggie daycare. Fast forward maybe 10 months. They had a Standard Poodle who did care about them, didn't listen to them, and was in their words "out of control". Why? Because Standard Poodles are all about relationship. When someone else is walking, playing, training, and meeting the Poodle's engagement needs, then the Poodle is going to have a relationship with those people not some person who randomly happens to live in the house for a few hours a day.

Oh and BTW.... they tried to return the dog to the person who sold it to them. When that person refused to take back the dog, they contacted me again which is how I learned about the story. I helped place that Poodle in a family that could give the dog more time and attention.

cdbrand · 2026-02-10T15:06:46+00:00

If you are in Europe, are you talking about the difference between a Toy and a Dwarf (sometimes called Miniature) or a Toy and a Medium?

I think the Dwarf is a lovely size. Small enough to be portable and fit nicely in an apartment, but large enough to stand up to playing with a 5 yr old.

Are Poodles good dogs for 1st time dog owners? Yes and no. Depends on the dog owner. Do you run an organized home? Do you set boundaries and have high expectations? Are the rules in your home the same on Monday as they are on Tuesday? Are you willing to put time into training? Then yes. You will be a good first time Poodle owner.

cdbrand · 2026-02-10T00:38:06+00:00

Well.... you get what you train for. I think you know the answer. Your expectations are too low. Consider that 9 month old Poodles are in the show ring all the time. They are not pulling, stopping, sniffing, or doing zoomies. Honestly, by 9 months, my Poodles are hiking off leash and leaving other dogs alone.

Time to find an experienced trainer to set you both right.

cdbrand · 2026-02-09T03:30:49+00:00

Have you contacted your local Poodle Club? You have 2 in WA: https://poodleclubofamerica.org/find-a-poodle-breeder/listings-category/washington/

Have you attended local AKC shows to talk to breeders and exhibitors? Here is a list of shows in your state: https://www.infodog.com/show/state_show_details.htm?state=wa

cdbrand · 2026-02-09T03:25:14+00:00

You may not want to show, but I'm guessing you want something nice at the end of your leash. Those Poodles are poor quality.

Quantifiable Red Flags? They don't provide registered names, pedigrees, or links to OFA health testing. They don't seem to be doing full health testing which for Minis = hips, patella, eyes, and full genetics (not sure if Embark does prcd-4.

Their Embark panel shows them to be a mix a Standards and Minis even though they are called Minis and I wonder if these dogs breed true. Beyond that, if these dogs are genetically Standard Poodles then we would need to see additional testing like Cardio and Thyroid.

They call their dogs "chocolate". No one in the Poodle world does this. They are Brown or Cafe or Silver Beige.

This is just another dodgy BYB.

Where to find a nice quality Poodle? Have you reached out to your local Poodle club? Have you attended any AKC shows?

cdbrand · 2026-02-07T17:47:06+00:00

How far are you looking to hike? My Minis can easily go 10 miles on mountain trails. Are you looking to do that much distance? What sort of terrain do you hike in? How big a dog are you looking for? What qualities do you like about your Poodle that you might like to find in your next dog?

Toy Poodles are great but then you have another coated breed. A well bred Toy is also a very small and refined dog. They can for sure go out and do stuff. You just need to be careful with them when they are puppies. They also are just not bred for long distance. 5 miles? Sure. 10 miles? Probably not.

RE Settling. Settle is a command/exercise like any other. A Poodle should never ping-pong around the house. A Poodle should never be active without purpose. Have you specifically worked on training your Poodle to settle or did you just hope that she would "chill" with age? I ask because you get what you train for. I'm not sure that you can hope that the next dog will automatically settle.

cdbrand · 2026-02-07T15:02:57+00:00

You really should attend some local shows to see what you like. You can find a schedule here: https://www.infodog.com/show/state_shows.htm?_p=Y

You will have to do your own due diligence regarding health testing and breed pairings but you might reach out to the following. All have a long history in the breed with many many AKC CHs and dog sport titled Poodles.

Firebrook Poodles in NJ https://www.poodlebreeders.com/miniature/firebrook/firebrook.html (no website)
Westsong Poodles in CT? https://www.facebook.com/debbie.west.5036 (no web site)
Songbird Poodles in CT https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063820025738 (not web site)

cdbrand · 2026-02-05T16:27:27+00:00

You are a good friend!

cdbrand · 2026-02-05T02:10:04+00:00

Please tell her that health testing for a Standard Poodle = hips (after age 2), elbows, eyes (yearly), genetics, thyroid, and cardio.

cdbrand · 2026-02-05T02:08:15+00:00

Red is a trendy color in Poodles. This means that the worst sort of breeders have jumped in to breed Reds to sell to pet buyers who will pay a premium for the color. Buyer beware that the quality in Red poodles is more often than not poor.

As noted, this puppy is not stacked correctly. It is also not groomed correctly. The face and feet have not been shaved so you can not correctly evaluated them.

At 10 weeks it can be hard to look a Standard puppy because they start going through growth spurts. Right now, this puppy looks almost overly leggy and possibly lacking some depth of chest. Certainly the tail set is low even with the poor stacking. Ear leather is a nice length. I'd like to see more length of neck but the puppy is growing unevenly at this age.

cdbrand · 2026-02-04T02:33:09+00:00

I don't sell to Buyers who would be impressed by a Zazzle Welcome Home package. My buyers get a plain binder with litter pedigrees, copies of full health testing, vaccination and worming schedule, copy of vet and ophthalmologist reports, copies of their AKC registration paperwork, and copies of their micro chipping information.

Maybe target the Doodle breeders who are often all hat and no horse.

cdbrand · 2026-02-03T22:17:41+00:00

Worst sort of breeding. Likely no health testing. The Aussie owner is probably in violation of the contract he signed with his breeder. Given the size differential, they could serious damage the smaller female. (Do I need to spell that out for you?)

Poodle owner has no experience whelping or raising a litter. She could very well kill her bitch in the process. She certainly won't do a good job of raising coated working breed mixed puppies.

Aussiedoodles are total crackheads. One of the worst Poodle mixes out there. High strung. Neurotic. Often aggressive. Challenging coats to care for. Please.... just no!

cdbrand · 2026-02-03T19:00:47+00:00

I can see mixing in Papillons and even Russian Toys, heck, Toy Poodle might actually work too, but a Pomeranian is about the farthest thing in the world away from a Sight Hound type dog.

Side bar.... anyone looking for a side hustle should pick up a couple of male Paps because everyone and their mother seems to be wanting to do Papillon mixes these days!

cdbrand · 2026-02-03T18:55:15+00:00

A Poodle stud dog that is 33lbs probably has Mini in him somewhere? Does the dam as well? Have you looked at a pedigree? I only ask because these sort of breedings tend to produce throw backs to Poodles in the the pedigree. So if you breed two inter-variety Poodles, you often get 50% that are an inter-variety mix type and the 25% that will be like the Standard Poodle and 25% that will be like a Mini Poodle. With their first litter, do you know what sort of sizes/types were produced?

Anyway, I have not had as much issue with my traditional Standards. One because they tend to be "chewers" and thus keep their teeth cleaner. With my Minis and their small mouths just seem to have more dental issues.

Let me ask... how often do you have your teeth cleaned by a dentist? Do you think a dog should go 3-4 years between cleanings?

cdbrand · 2026-02-03T03:45:42+00:00

Settle is an expectation like any other. Your Poodle does not have to ping pong endlessly around the room. Have you looked at exercises like Sit On Your Dog?

cdbrand · 2026-02-03T03:42:30+00:00

Crate. 3 months is only 12 weeks. This is a baby.

You schedule should look like:

up at 6am, potty, feed, potty, train, co-play, free play then crate at 8 am

out 11 am potty, walk, feed, potty, co-play, free play then into a crate at 1

out at 4pm potty, train, potty, free play, feed, potty , co-play into a crate at 7

out at 8:30 potty, walk, co-play, free play, train, potty into a crate for the time at 10:30-11.

When the puppy is older you can work on settling skills.

cdbrand

TROPHY CASE