Poodle wrangler

OMG. A lot of people pay $$ for house/pet minding! If you have a nice house and/or nice location, you can't find a friend of a friend, relative of workmate etc. to house&pet mind? Recently asked friends to pet sit over the weekend. Great for all of us- they got a coastal quick break (instead of paying $600+ to rent somewhere). They left US a bottle of wine and toy for pup. In early 20's housesat for a friend-of-friend (same workplace). Considered it a nice holiday! Free. MUCH nicer than my rental. Walked young Old English Sheepdog daily (at least) and fed cat. Treated house with care, poo pick up, though didn't mow or garden (not needed). My non-cat loving sister is house minding ATM with 2 cats, several fish. No payment: Is for a friend, though they're not close. They have instructions and food, kitty litter for cats and goldfish. Sister considers it a "holiday", even though older and has own home. Nice suburb, nice house, helps. Home owners regular cleaner is coming day they move out (home owner paid), so she doesn't even have to clean when moving out. ETA: These are metro-area houses, so no huge maintenance involved.

Crates are great! For both dogs and humans. Dog just needs to get used to it because it's new. Our now 11-month old puppy is a standard poodle-i.e. similar size to a small GSD (about 24kg). He's chewed our deck as well as the render in one part, ripped clothes off line etc.! They're ok to fix, but inside chewing- no way! He gets bones, chew toys, training etc., too. There's plenty on the internet about crate training, but we've had 3 dog use crates, including 2 on a trip around Australia- one a 25+kg poodle without any "training" at all. I just put some food in there when dog is really hungry (leave door open) a few times, then shut the door when dog's inside. The dog doesn't get a choice! He had a gentle shove if necessary. Wire crates are really robust. Pup whined a little for about 3 days, then zero problems! He had a soft toy in there to chew/ use as a pillow. He now has a comfy bed in there, but to start I used blankets that were comfy, but easy to wash/ throw out, if chewed or wee'd on.

Breeders generally know each other anyway. If showing, you'd probably want/ need ongoing support as well. Some breeders might be better able to do this than others, depending on their circumstances

Have you tried a powerful doggy dryer on him? If you don't have one, get a groomer to do a wash and dry. Those dryers blast off LOTS of fur, which may help save the vacuum

I took our other dog to the vet when the elder one was PTS- "to say goodbye". He really seemed to have no idea what was going on. I did it at our kid's request. Would not do it again. There's also the risk of other dogs catching something at the vets.

Our standard poodle had this surgery at about 14 months. 25kg dog. Fortunately, no stairs at our place, then. The vet nurses helped him walk with a towel for support around his belly when taking initial steps. Crate and go slow... our dog wasn't into "slow" at all!

Would a crate inside work? My growing pup is not to be trusted with chewing indoors, so sleeps in there happily when brought inside. You could just put his existing bedding into the crate. Plenty on internet about "crate training", but I just threw food in there, comfy existing bedding and the dog gets used to it quickly. Some might have a minor whine for a couple of days, but soon realise it's a comfy place. XXL or XL are about $100 online. Another expense, but worth much less than chewing damage IMO. Our dog sleeps outdoors (mostly) on coast South of Sydney, but poodles have a little more coat than your guy, even mine's coat is short atm. He's only brought in when possums outside (barking).

A small crate is a great place! It's easiest to just separate dog and kids, so everyone can relax. Puppy is too young to trust not to play with what he sees as toys on the ground. Babies/ kids can stress the calmest dogs, also. IN a crate, pup is safe FROM kids, as well as to keep babies/ kids safe from French kisses :) Choose a few older, dog-trained kids to help your puppy, too. Fun to get him to sit, give paw etc. for them.

I used the panels for a puppy pen! + Cable ties. They've been outside for about 8 months, no rust (coastal area).

I've accidently hit the quick with the dremel, but was fine. Because you're only taking off a little at a time, it bleeds very little- you'll see a red dot and so will stop, for sure.

I've had a couple of vets advise me NOT to pluck ears. Theory was irritation and inflammation from plucking makes matters worse. I don't know. I pluck my poodles ear hair as his ears tend to get gunky and the hair retains the gunk. You can get ear powder to make plucking 100% easier. Removing hair won't cure an infection, so perhaps consider it after you've finished the Dermotic treatment?

I really enjoyed this on ABC. Anyone know if they WERE standard poodles on TV? Standards can look shaggy like they were, but didn't get a good look at the body shape or faces of the dogs, so might have been poodleXs?

Rescue? Possibly a young adult who staff know and shows the right size and personality traits for your friend? Any puppy can be destructo pup. Am scratching head over "small" AND "low energy" :)

All I could think was: OMG- the pup will trash your laundry! Crates... what are you using it for? You can buy a full-size i.e. big enough for full-grown dog to stand up and turn around in. I'm guessing L or XL? Crates are great for keeping bitey puppies from visiting children. Likewise, for keeping pesky children from hassling puppy. I'm amazed how many kids are scared of dogs! Any dogs! For toilet training, put a large box in one end, so pup has only a smaller, puppy-size space. The idea is that a puppy will only soil it's bed/ den as last resort....i.e. they still need to come our to pee 1-2 hourly, after meals etc. If crate's too large, then pup will just use one corner to pee (defeats purpose for toilet training). I'd think pup should be ok outside for 4-5 hours as long as s/he has shelter, shade, fully fenced.

My daughter gave up one of her medium-sized stuff toys... Great as Rufs used to sleep curled up with it all the time- just like in photo. His littermates used to sleep all curled up with each other in a similar way. Great tip from breeder to use a stuffed toy - not a peep out of him first night! When they start shagging it, is time to get rid of it..

Rufus will work for kibble! (good dog)! I just have to wait to when a meal is due. I feed 2-3 time/day and he's lean-just right IMO. I liked being able to use this as a reward, so I didn't accidentally overfeed. If it's not meal time, he'll give me a paw for asking nicely, excitedly telling him how clever he is +a quick play :)

Thx for link. Have done lots of reading. Head spinning. The Sony RX100 gets a very good rap. In budget. Also the Panasonic lumic GF6 (4/3, mirrorless). Just wondered if dog people could recommend anything smaller than a DSLR? Especially those with quick-moving, black dogs that can be difficult to photograph well?

I'd like to better photos of dog, kids, some sport, some video... I can borrow husband's DSLR: Canon 500d with 18-200mm zoom and 50mm prime lens. BUT I hate how bulky the DSLR is and avoid using it anywhere but at home. Anyone use one of the better spec compacts, like the Sony RX100? Mirrorless 4/3 cameras? I have a black standard poodle. Problems I have in current photos is shutter lag, wrong focus, yellow eyes and "black blob" (lack of definition) photos. This is with the point and shoot (one of the middle-of-the-range Canon IXUS cameras). Appreciate suggestions, thanks!

Agree that if he's both underweight and not eating, he needs some investigations by the vet. When you say 'really skinny', does vet agree? (some people's idea of skinny can be normal, lean weight) Can you see more than a couple of ribs when he's wet? Weight in kg? If you look in his mouth, is there anything obviously wrong with teeth etc? Intestistinal worming up to date? This is my 2nd standard poodle and neither have been big eaters. Both active and bouncy, though. They sometimes vomit. Normal. They're smart dogs. He might train YOU to give only his favourite food? Mine prefer fresh meat and have kibble as last resort only. They will eat it though and not be underweight. It's not normal for a healthy dog to eat nothing for 4 days unless ill.

Absolutely agree- "Multifactorial". In my case, it offended me that breeder was initially quite defensive and suggested it might have been my fault. I'd built gates so pup avoided stairs and followed large breed precautions for puppies. Also prefaced our talk by saying, "I though I should let you know for future breeding....." i.e. not asking for $/ replacement/ refund etc. Sorry, but luxating patellas are not "something he might grow out of" and highly unlikely to be "due to injury" if bilateral. From my perspective things I'd rather have heard from breeder .. "I'm really pleased you let me know...........I'm really sorry.. this isn't something we'd expect to happen..... ..Isn't something I can test for before pups leave for their homes... please let me know how he goes."

I had a standard poodle pup (20+kg) who developed same issue at 10 months. I'm a puppy buyer, not breeder. Not sure where you stand legally, but how can you work out what is due to environment vs breeding? I KNOW I didn't over-exercise my pup, kept him lean. No leaping up-down stairs, off lounges etc., but how can you know as a breeder? Xray'ed both patellas and hips. Told hips OK. Both sides were affected, but one much worse than other. Vet expected to see a 3kg toy poodle :) Surgery cost around $1500, not including initial Xrays and pain relief. Probably more like $2000, all inclusive, 5 years ago. Canberra. I didn't ask for $ from breeder, as it was an unusual thing for breed. Xrays confirmed that it was a structural issue, but that's not to say he was born with "dodgy knees" (though that was likely in vet's opinion).

Some people just have NO IDEA what it's like to have a puppy... e.g. chewing, toilet training etc. A weekend of hanging out with my standard poodle puppy (~10weeks at the time) sorted out my sister. Now realises puppy + baby too much.

Clipperworld? Have to shop around, as prices can vary widely, depending on what you want.

My father got a beautiful, exCH boxer when I was a child from breeder, needing to move on some dogs. She was beautiful nature, walked at heel, soft mouth, lovely dog.

Your gut feeling that a general anaesthetic is overkill for a skin tag, is right IMO. I'd go for the dental floss or "leave alone" option.