Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Worthy was born April 2, 2007, so he recently turned 1 1/2 years old--18 months on October 2nd. We've been working with his grooming, and I love the style we've come up with. He has a moustache and beard, a big top knot and pom-pom, and feet that are just trimmed at the toes, not clippered. His face is scissored rather than clippered, too. He looks cool! We took him to his special groomer yesterday. And no itching! I think we have got it right!

He's also improved greatly on barking excitedly in public. I've used treats and attention, attention, attention, treat, attention, treat, attention--it keeps my hand busy! If he's looking at me, he can't be looking all around! I'm so pleased with his progress!

His retrieving has gotten stronger, too. He gets the newspaper off the front porch every morning, and picks up my shoes when I take them off to take a shower. We're getting there!

I was really thrilled yesterday after grooming time. That tends to be stressful for Standard Poodles--that is a lot of dog to be clipped! I've tried to come up with a style and a routine that keeps his skin healthy and is the least stressful for him.

One thing a Poodle has to have done is hair pulled out of the ears. Worthy had a couple of ear infections when very young, so he got sensitive about that. My blessed husband learned how to pull the hair out, so he does just one pull from each ear each morning, then hugs and kisses. No more ear pulling at clippering times.

Last time was the first time he didn't have to have his ears worked on during grooming, and I think the second time he didn't have to have his feet all clippered up. I was so sad to see him have diarrhea that afternoon--obviously he had been worried.

Well, yesterday after grooming was a different story! Normal stool, and plenty of energy. In the past he has been all worn out after grooming--almost seemed ill. Apparently that is not unusual for Standard Poodles. Well, not this time!

I studied the big Poodle grooming book to find this style. I'm so happy with it. I comb him daily, and with this much fur that is a job! But it has other benefits, too. And incredibly, he hasn't needed a bath the whole time we've had him. Daily combing is wonderful for dogs. The groomer said he has a wonderful coat. Well, he does get a daily tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, sodium ascorbate, and Pet Tabs Plus. We also feed him three small meals a day, plus his training treats are Iams Mini Chunks, so they are dog food rather than junk food. By using the Mini Chunks, I can give him one after another after another after another...!

Worthy is coming along!
-----
Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

Kathy it sounds wonderful with the way that Worthy has been working out for you. Having had miniature Poodles when growing up I know about the ear cleaning and hair pulling. We only had one girl that had really bad ears that had to be continually treated. The grooming style you have chosen sounds really cool. It would be a great to see a picture of Worthy with his new cut. I think people are surprised when they see how smart these dogs are. They see those puffy cuts on the dog shows and think these dogs are just so much fluff. It's easy to read the excitment that you have with the way things are going. Worthy is sure living up to his name!
-----

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

It would be a great to see a picture of Worthy with his new cut. I think people are surprised when they see how smart these dogs are. They see those puffy cuts on the dog shows and think these dogs are just so much fluff. >>-----
>>
>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I am still skeered of our digital camera! Hubby is working with it, so maybe eventually we'll be able to post a photo. It is very difficult to get a clear photo of Worthy, since he's black and has long fur. Looks like a black furrball, which, actually, he is!

The Poodle grooming style for dog shows kept me from realizing what a great breed this would be for me, for years. I did know that the Poodle rates #2 in dog intelligence, only behind Border Collies. One reason they rate higher than some breeds is that they are quite calm and focused. Belgian Tervuren rank #14, because they are so very easily overstimulated.

When the director of the assistance dog training program A New Leash on Life, Barbara Lewis, told me 1) they keep assistance dog Poodles cut short and 2) they have a volunteer groomer who sticks with you and the dog from now on--I thought, okay, then what is stopping me from getting a Standard Poodle as my next assistance dog? I know that with my disabilities, I have to accept some help now. So, a groomer clips my dog. Hubby and I stay and participate, though. And we do nails, ears, and combing at home. So all the groomer has to do is some combing, scissoring and clippering.

We have changed the style so that she does his face with scissors now rather than clippers, which is much more comfortable for him. And where she does use clippers, she uses a comb on them, which is also more comfortable. We have his coat longer than we started out, because that caused too much dry skin and itching. He is very close to the teddy bear or panda cut, for anyone who has the big Poodle grooming book. We do more of a topknot, though.

Poodles are agile, they drool very little, and they are highly trainable. They train a bit differently than other breeds, though. You must always, always, always allow for their sense of humor!
-----
Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

That's okay! You'll get the hang of the digital camera. I'm pretty sure I know of the cut you are refering to. I can well imagine the surprise for many people when they realize just what a sturdy breed the Poodle can be. They are very loyal and can be a rough and tumble breed... not one to shy away from some rough play. At least that is how I remember the Miniature Poodles that we had growing up and yes... they do have a terrific sense of humor!

It's pretty cool that you and DH participate with the groomer when clipping Worthy. I bet he is so proud when you are all done. At any rate I'll wait to be surprised when some pictures pop up of Worthy! lol
-----

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

I try to do something with Worthy every day, to further his training. Saturday it was the groomer. Sunday we took a walk in the shopping center. Yesterday it was having the great lady who cleans my house every two weeks come and do that. Today it will be having a pro here to check where our cooktop fits, and make sure the one we want to order will fit there.

I'm glad we have that to do for Worthy, because it's probably going to rain all day. It's an adjustment to be without the cooktop, but it went out with a bang, literally. Blew a hole all the way through a heavy stainless steel pain. Thank goodness my husband didn't touch it.

That would have scared a Tervuren, but not Worthy. He's so calm around all kinds of things. He gets excited by moving motorcycles, very active children, moving bicycles, and sometimes dogs and squirrels. He doesn't object to them--he wants to bark to celebrate them! But being a big, black dog, that could appear aggressive, so we're working through it. Lots of treats!

Excited barking is a Poodle thing, so it will take time to change. It would be risky to correct him for it--you never know what problems you might create by corrections. One possibility would be that he might start downright disliking those things, because they get him into trouble.

I'm really pleased to see the progress in his barking. He's a cool dog!
-----
Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47