Poodles For Dummies

Susan M. Ewing is a member of the Dog Writers Association of America and has been writing about dogs professionally for more than 15 years.

• Introduction 1About This Book 1Conventions Used in This Book 2What You’re Not to Read 3Foolish Assumptions 3How This Book Is Organized 4Part I: Picking the Poodle of Your Dreams 4Part II: Living Happily with Your Poodle 4Part III: Training and Having Fun with Your Poodle Pal 5Part IV: Maintaining Your Poodle’s Health 5Part V: The Part of Tens 5Icons Used in This Book 5Where to Go from Here 6Part I: Picking the Poodle of Your Dreams 7Chapter 1: Making a Match with a Poodle 9Understanding the Poodle Breed 9Strolling through a brief history 9Reviewing sizes and personality traits 10Considering breed standards 11To Poodle or Not to Poodle: Is One the Best Dog for You? 11Selecting the Perfect Poodle for You 12Adjusting to Life with a Poodle 12Training and Enjoying Your Poodle 13Keeping Your Poodle Healthy 14Chapter 2: Unwrapping the Whole Poodle Package 15Walking through the History of the Breed 15In the beginning, there was dog 15The appearance of Poodle varieties 17The Poodle’s modern rise in popularity 17Picturing a Poodle’s Physical Traits and Personality 19Measuring up sizes 19Scoping out a Poodle’s anatomy 20Taking a look at temperament 22Surveying Breed Standards 22The American Kennel Club 23The United Kennel Club 26Chapter 3: Deciding Whether a Poodle Is Right for You 29Asking Yourself a Few Important Questions Upfront 29Does a Poodle fit in with your lifestyle? 30Do you have room for a Poodle? 30How will a Poodle respond to your children and other pets? 30Considering the Costs of Poodle Ownership 31How much is that doggy? Money matters 31The clock’s ticking: Time issues 32Chapter 4: Choosing the Best Poodle for You 33Selecting the Traits You Want in a Poodle 33Puppy or adult? 33Toy, Miniature, or Standard? 35Male or female? 35Which color? 36Deciding Where to Find Your Poodle 36Beginning with breeders 36Considering shelters and rescue groups 42Wondering about pet shops 44Choosing a Healthy Poodle 45Registering Your Poodle 46American Kennel Club registration 46United Kennel Club registration 47Perusing a pedigree after you register your Poodle 47Part II: Living Happily with Your Poodle 49Chapter 5: Preparing for Your Poodle’s Homecoming 51Outfitting Your Home with Crates, Gates, and Ex-pens 51Crates 52Gates 54Ex-pens 56Buying Comfortable Bedding 56Staying Attached with Collars and Leads 57Shopping for collars 57Looking at leads 59Securing Proper ID for Your Poodle 60Beautifying Your Poodle with the Right Grooming Tools 61Hair care 61Nail care 62Self-grooming considerations 62Savoring the Details of Food and Bowls 64Getting the Scoop on Cleanup Tools 65Finding Toys for Toys (And, Yes, Miniatures and Standards) 66Following a few toy guidelines 66Gnawing on chew toys 66Rollicking with retrieving toys 67Settling on squeaky toys 68Getting creative with homemade toys 68Poodle-Proofing Your Home 69On the inside 69Out in the yard 70Choosing Special Spaces for Your Poodle 72The eating spot 73The sleeping spot 73The potty spot 74Scheduling a Checkup with Your Vet 74Chapter 6: Welcoming Your Poodle Home 75Picking Up Your Poodle 75Selecting the right day and the right time 75Taking home other items besides the Poodle 76Traveling home safely 77Giving Your Poodle the Grand Tour 78Meeting Other Family Members 79Kids in the house 79Other pets 80Surviving the First Night 82Anticipating Possible Problems and Planning Sensible Solutions 82Avoiding bad habits from the outset 83Handling food issues 83Getting used to grooming 84Chapter 7: Providing Your Poodle with a Nutritious Diet 85Knowing the Nutrients that Your Poodle Needs 85Dishing Out Main Meals 87Choosing among dry, canned, and semi-moist foods 87Doing some home cooking 89Getting the scoop on raw foods 90Steering clear of table scraps 91Keeping water, water everywhere 91Giving Snacks and Treats Smartly 92Giving out snacks 92Trying treats 92Establishing a Feeding Routine 93Feeding at set times 93Having food available all the time 94Knowing how much food to feed 94Changing Your Poodle’s Diet as He Grows 95Avoiding Certain Foods 95Chapter 8: Keeping Your PoodleClean and Attractive 97Drawing Up a Grooming Schedule 97Deciding between Professional and Personal Grooming 99Grooming in your personal Poodle salon 99Ushering your Poodle to a groomer 101Getting to the Root of Hair Care 102Brushing and combing 102Bathing and drying 104Clipping Your Poodle 107Keeping it simple with pet clips 107Showing off with show clips 109Fresh from Head to Toe: TacklingOther Grooming Tasks 113Trimming your Poodle’s nails 113Keeping an eye on your Poodle’s eyes 115Examining the ears 116Doing some dental work 118Part III: Training and Having Fun with Your Poodle Pal 121Chapter 9: Housetraining Made Easy 123Littering Your Brain with Housetraining Basics 123Setting up a housetraining schedule for your Poodle 124Staying consistent (yet flexible) in your training routine 126Speeding up the training process 126Recognizing the telltale “I gotta go!” signs 127Mastering Effective Housetraining Methods 128Sleeping the day away: Crate training 128Putting pee to paper: Paper training 129Scratch and sprinkle: Litter training 131Surveying additional indoor training options 132Getting the Scoop on Cleanup Duty 134Cleaning up inside 134Cleaning up in the great outdoors 136Chapter 10: Instilling Good Manners in Your Poodle 137Getting a Grip on Some Disciplinary Basics 137Handling a Collar and Lead 138Collaring your Poodle 139Leading on 141Training Your Poodle with Basic Commands 142Come! 143Sit! 145Down! 146Stay! 147Leave it! 148Heel! 148Overcoming Common Canine Behavior Problems 149Barking at the mailman, at neighbors, at squirrels, at 150I beg you — no begging! 152Chewing on everything 152Nipping and mouthing 153Digging up some trouble 154Jump, jumping around 155Aggression against others 155Finding Professional Help 156Attending classes 156Taking private lessons 157Seeking out animal behaviorists 158Chapter 11: Socializing Your Poodle 159Acclimating Your Poodle to New Faces 159Meeting the neighbors 159Setting up play dates 160Enrolling in puppy kindergarten or other classes 161Handling Strange Situations, Objects, and Noises 162Going for car rides 162Adjusting to unfamiliar situations and objects 163Easing a fear of loud noises 164Chapter 12: Hitting the Road with Your Poodle 165Checking Out Your Traveling Options 165By car 165By air 167Taking Care of Other Trip Details 170Packing it in 170Carrying the proper ID 171Staying at a Poodle-friendly place 172Leaving Your Poodle at Home 173Boarding your Poodle 173Picking a pet sitter 175Chapter 13: Showing Off and Enjoying Your Poodle’s Talents 177Passing the Canine Good Citizen Test 177Preparing for the test 178Taking the test 178Looking Good: Conformation Shows 179How can you and your Poodle get ready for conformation shows? 179How does a conformation show work? 181Testing Skills: Rally Events 182Oh, Behave! Obedience Events 183Staying on Course: Agility Events 185Surveying an agility course 185Looking at rules and levels 186On the Prowl: Hunt Tests 187Equipping yourself and training 187Hunting at different levels 188Earning qualifying scores 188The Nose Knows: Tracking Tests 189Sharing the Love: Therapy Poodles 189How a therapy dog helps 189How to become certified (and other considerations) 190Part IV: Maintaining Your Poodle’s Health 191Chapter 14: Taking Basic Care of Your Poodle’s Health 193Choosing the Right Veterinarian and Setting a Schedule 193Knowing what to look for in a vet 194Asking a potential vet important questions 195Setting up regular checkups 196Surveying Alternative Healthcare Choices 197On pins and needles: Acupuncture 197Back to basics: Chiropractic medicine 199Doggie day spa: Massage treatment 199All-natural: Herbal treatments 200Homeopathy 202Taking a Shot at Good Health with Vaccinations 202Checking out available vaccines 202Scheduling shots 204Nip and Tuck: The Basics of Spaying and Neutering 205What happens during spaying and neutering? 206When should you spay or neuter your Poodle? 207Keeping an Eye on Your Poodle’s Health at Home 208Exercising your Poodle 208Checking your Poodle regularly 210Giving medications 210Chapter 15: Considering CommonPoodle Conditions 213Ouch! Treating Everyday Illnesses and Injuries 213Cuts and scrapes 213Lumps and bumps 214Skin problems 214Tummy aches 215Ear issues 215Internal parasites 216External parasites 217Limping 219Surveying Other Common Poodle Health Issues 220Bloat 220Epilepsy 220Hormonal problems 221Orthopedic issues 222Vision conditions 223Von Willebrand’s Disease 224Chapter 16: Staying Prepared with First-Aid Basics 225Stocking the Essentials in Your Canine First-Aid Kit 225Traditional medicines 226Holistic medicines 228Performing Basic First-Aid Techniques on Your Poodle 228Taking your Poodle’s temperature and pulse 229Muzzling your Poodle 229Moving your Poodle safely 230Giving artificial respiration 230Treating shock 231Coming to Your Poodle’s Rescue in Specific Emergencies 232Lacerations and bleeding 233Different types of wounds 233Broken bones 234Heatstroke 235Frostbite 236Choking 236Poisoning (including insect bites and stings) 237Electrocution 238Chapter 17: Easing Your Senior Poodle into the Golden Years 239Instituting a Sensible Senior Diet 239Exercising Your Senior Poodle 240Handling Senior Health Issues 241Potty problems 241Arthritis 242Hearing problems 243Fading eyesight 244Saying Goodbye to Your Beloved Poodle 245Knowing when the time has come 245Deciding whether to be with your Poodle at the end 247Memorializing your Poodle 247Dealing with your grief 248Part V: The Part of Tens 249Chapter 18: Ten (or So) Great Sets of Poodle Resources 251Kennel and Poodle Clubs 251Rescue Groups 252Grooming 252Training 252Travel 253Performance Events and Other Fun Activities 253Therapy Dogs 253Healthcare 254Memorials 254Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Help Your Poodle if Disaster Strikes 255Stock and Store Necessary Supplies 255A crate 255Food and water 256Medications and vaccination records 256Identification 256An extra lead 256Make a List of What You Need 257Consider Places Where You Can Go 257Examine Your Transportation Options 257Plan to Leave Your Poodle with Other Folks if Necessary 258Succumb to Your Last Resort: Turn Your Poodle Loose 258Index 259