Poodle wrangler

To give you some idea how poorly the breeder informed them- the guy thought that poodle fur naturally grew with shaved face, paws etc. #15 face, but it all depends how sensitive the dog's skin is. If in doubt go longer e.g. #10 instead. I clipped him exactly the same way as I did my poodle, but thicker fur gives a much better finish.

Brownish-reddish stains? I don't know what to use but I'm pretty sure poodlefan does. You can try a search through her posts, search. If all else fails, PM? Bathing eyes with a salty water solution is safe to do- use only one tissue/ cotton wool per wipe to keep her eyes clean. This won't sure the problem, though. I had this when our pup came to live with us and found it improved a lot when I added more raw food to his diet. Could have been anything, like a reaction to a plant/ grass here, though.

I told them I was going to do it because he kept dunking whole paws and most of his head in his water bowl, then coming inside with wet, muddy paws and slobbering jowls. I think they weren't game to say much. It was going to cost them over $1000 to kennel him. I've got a "thing" about that red yeasty- bacterial stuff that you see on some white dog's paws, too, so it was off with the fur! If you only do actual paws and between the pads, the leg fur disguises it a bit ;). Poodle trim has a practical purpose . He was a good-natured dog and I really liked him but much clumsier than a poodle. My standard is the same size (or taller) and has knocked over nothing, while this guy was like a cyclone. Fur harder to trim, too. They had a bad experience with the "breeder" misinforming and misleading them . No health testing . Paid about $2000 for him, too.

I "poodled" a friend's labradoodle . We babysat for 6 weeks so it had a little time to grow back. #5 body, shaved face, paws, base of tail with #15. Far less dirt and mud inside after I did his paws. He looks OK! Actually looks very much like a standard poodle in the second photo (it's just the photo, he's much stockier than a poodle, much broader face).

Good news from vet. There are no obvious structural abnormalities on the XRays. The groove where the ligament sits look deep a=enough and no sign of bowing of the thigh bone. I ask what grade and he said 1, but only based on history, not what he sees on examination or XRAY. He suspects that the groove where the ligament normally sits is just a little shallow at the top, so the knee only pops out when the leg is quite straight. It doesn't pop in and out easily. This is the hardest part to see well on XRay. Left=Right side. So, plan to observe, build muscle with some hill walking and see how he is at 12-14 months. More growth by then also. Avoid racing around with sudden changes of direction and more on-leash walking. Poodle zoomies to be curtailed. No need to rush in to surgery at all .

Mr PW reckons the dogs are better fed than he is. I say if he ate only raw or packaged food, I'd feed him better, too .

I'm "mean" like KitKat, too. A day without food won't hurt. Are they howling, yet? ;) Rice, pasta, veges etc. are really fillers and won't give much nutrition but make them happier. Dogs need more meat, offal etc. Don't give them corn unless you want to see it again whole in their poo .

I tried it too, but there was a fair bit of " dust" (crumbled food) in the bag I had. Food was more chewy than other dry I've bought. Can't say if it's an issue with food itself or storage at the shop etc. Paid about $30 from memory. I feed raw, it varies now from about 20-60%, depending on the day and what's thawed. I've gone back to Purina One- about $25-26 for 7kg- on special at supermarket. It's easier to handle in that size bag and no Barko dust . I didn't like the smell that much. No complaints about dog's overall condition. I ran out of raw in freezer and loose poo with the bigger dog on Great Barko only for 2 days. Didn't have the same problem with the Purina One and dogs a bit more enthusiastic about eating it. I can feed the mini poodle anything without poo issues, different story for the standard poodle (~25kg). Certainly worth a try, especially if you're on a budget. If it doesn't agree with your dog (can happen with any food0, donate it to a local rescue ;) .

Nicestmann77 here on DOL sells clippers, blades etc. and is very helpful. I've bought blades and clippers from him and excellent service. He's on Oztion (like Ebay). I bought a Saxon brand of clippers from him and am happy with them for home use, but I don't think he sells them any more. I have 2 poodles. If you're going to clip every 6 weeks or so, it's worth buying a decent pair. Ditto brushes and combs. Cheap= waste of money (I found this out the hard way).

About treats between meals- deduct these from the overall amount of food you give. Labs love their food, but a fat lab might be happy, but not healthy . Especially as a pup, being overweight sets them up for bone problems and ill health. Plus, it's easier to avoid in the first place, rather than get them to lose weight ;) . It's not too early to teach "sit". Lots of vids on YouTube for this kind of thing, though, I'd only use it for the basics.

TOT can only improve the situation. It takes only 5 minutes extra time to do it, so why not? Growling over food is not something I'd accept in my dogs. I should be able to take any food away from them at any time. My mini poodle is a dominant temperament, but would not dare growl at me. Your pup growls now because the bone is more valuable to her. It really sounds like you need to improve your leadership. You need to take pup's mother's place and be a strong leader so she learns what's right and wrong. Growling over food is wrong! You have to teach her to be a nice dog to live with and a dog will listen to it's leader. Without a leader, she will take on this role herself causing her to be more stressed and she'll be the boss at your place. Might sound cute, but not if she starts to think it's OK to growl, then moves on to bite. I like TOT because it takes nothing away from the dog while sending a strong message that you're the leader. Don't let you son carry pup at all. I have kids and know it's hard to supervise 100%, but make it a strict rule with negative consequences if you catch him. e.g. You can only cuddle pup when you're sitting down. It's not good for pup and your son will probably get bitten eventually. OK for teaching child, but once a dog bites, they're much more likely to do it again which you DON'T want. Your son can do TOT once you've got the hang of it.

I had a crate but sold it as I didn't use it. I did use one in the car in the early days, though- easy to clean puppy accidents. Handy if you go out, you can take him with you in a soft crate, if that's what you'd like. For home, I'd not worry unless there are ongoing toileting/ chewing issues. Or, if you wanted to keep him safe away from visiting children etc. My 2 have padded mats- outdoor and indoor so they have a "spot" that's theirs.

Possibly worth a try, but no easy fix, as I'm sure you know . Do you clip a lot of the fur between his pads away? Not suggesting he get shaved poodle feet, but it's amazing how much fur there can be in there- you'll be able to get rid of lots and it won't be noticeable looks-wise. Less fur, less moisture staying in there. Can you do something like bathe his paws e.g. ice cream container shallowly filled with salty water or Malaseb (doesn't Malaseb have to be left on for several minutes)? He couldn't look any worse in booties than a viszla I saw at obedience in a jumpsuit (afterwards, it was cold, but ).

Only thing I'd suggest is to avoid getting the puppy too cold- warm water, towels and bath the morning of a sunny, warmer day .

I was wondering about ongoing success of the op, considering he's not yet finished growing . How to balance that against the damage caused with each dislocation, leading to early arthritis? He's 25kg and I've seen him dislocate ~3-4 times in about 2 weeks (now i know what holding that leg up means). He doesn't yelp- guess it shows how tolerant of pain dogs can be. I'd be yelping!! Vet didn't give me a grade, yet, but suggested XRay. "Medial". This is giving me a really bad feeling.... I even got all teary over it as he's such a good-natured, fun-loving dog.... My son was nearly in tears and already my daughter's asking "Where's Charlie?" . He's only having XRays! There are some horror stories on DOL about further ops required/ unsuccessful ops . I work with human orthopaedic patients and have seen some nasty complications plus some poor results ;). I pick him up this afternoon and speak with the vet after his XRays. Vet isn't a specialist but does a lot of orthopaedic work with the local greyhounds and they've seen a few luxating patellas recently in the surgery. Will add that to my list of questions, thanks! Anyone know of a good dog chiro in Nowra (South Coast, NSW) area? I'll certainly look at that option if it's not too severe.

I have a miniature (small) and standard poodle (the big ones). The human clippers don't work on thicker coats. I tried it and it did about 1cm on the smaller poodle . A tibbieX maltese would have a thick coat I imagine, so you need the dog type and poor quality ones are a waste of money. If you only use them once a year, a groomer would be easier and cheaper overall. Be wary clipping a thick coat- it can grow back thicker and more unruly. You can get better results using the right type of brush and perhaps a stripping tool. I'm not sure for your breed mix, sorry. Also a thorough blow dry with a groomer's force dryer can help get rid of dead coat.

They were going to look at the angles of the bones to assess for surgery. They said it gives more information as to exactly how they'll do the surgery. "Measure angles" was mentioned. Also to check the right side which seemed OK, but can't exclude a problem on examination only. That's my understanding, anyway. I've seen the vet a number of times b4 and have never felt as if they're after my $$. Opposite, in fact.

The limping was diagnosed today as Luxating Patella- left hind leg. Charlie's a standard poodle (~25kg), only 9 months old. He's having Xrays tomorrow under sedation. They'll also check the other hind leg as the vet couldn't dislocate this side, but wanted to check on XRay just in case. I've let his breeder know as I read there's a genetic component. Seems likely he'll need surgery on at least the left hind leg . Damn, I sold his crate! Thanks to those who PM'ed and answered PMs.

I'm with the vet- just supportive care. Antibiotics don't kill viruses. Cough medicines have not been shown to make humans get better sooner, so I doubt it's much different for dogs though it may make them feel a little better (dunno, wish they could talk). If it gets worse, back to the vet. YOu can get an infection in addition to KC, so they may prescribe antibiotics if worsening. Being vaccinated is no guarantee of NOT getting it, unfortunately :rolleyes:. Not unlike the flu vaccination in people- you can't be vacc'ed for every strain of virus.

After posting, I could see nothing at all wrong until today at the beach- a week later. Charlie was just running of leash at the beach, in water, then held his back left leg up off the ground for < 3 minutes (no obvious reason, exactly as b4). I wasn't close enough to see properly what was going on at the knee, though. Then he walked/ ran normally again. Looked 100% normal afterwards. After reading about luxating patellas, it sounds very much like that. Less common in larger breeds, though. He's a standard poodle >25kg. So, off to the vets this week for a proper diagnosis and see what can be done :rolleyes:. Thanks everyone! Will be back .. eta: Diagnosis: LUXATING PATELLA. Vet was able to dislocate the rear L knee in the surgery. She thought the right one felt fairly stable. For Xrays both legs tomorrow under sedation. Luckily our vet does a lot of work, including some orthopaedic surgery with greyhounds, so may not need a specialist.

If one of my dogs was misbehaving in this way, I'd muzzle them (soft muzzle).

My standard poodle tried the whole "I'm a fussy eater" thing with me, too . He'd follow me every time I went to the fridge, hoping there was some more raw food in there for him. I was feeding a dry food- raw food mix, 3 times a day (pup). Dry food= food of last resort, still, but now he knows it's that or nothing in the evening. He went without for a few days, then soon changed his mind. His weight is fine and it took only a few days for him to realise food gets taken away if he doesn't eat it. Represented to him later. It's easy to feel sorry for your dog when they're a rescue. I've had pound dogs in the past. I'm sure she'll respond well as long as you're consistent. Healthy dogs will not starve themselves. Is she skinny now? If not, don't spend any time at all worrying. Good luck

I love the Grease one. So catchy and a joy to watch them have so much fun. Have told Mr PW he should do the gladiator doggy dance routine with a poodle .

They now do a lot more agility type exercises at our club, not just straight obedience. Jumps are low, tunnels short to start etc. Trainers get a lot of positive feedback about it. Obedience numbers are few compared with the agility.

Purina One were also refunding the price of a 4kg bag- check the website- I got a couple of bags. Both small and large dog liked it. No poo issues. My small dog tolerated SuperCoat fine, but the large breed pup didn't (loose+ poo), so I changed. I also feed raw foods about 50:50, sometimes less raw.