Getting A Toy Poodle Puppy

[YELLOWCAR107]

Hi,

I'm very new to all of this. My husband has had dogs all his life and we have finally been given the opportunity to have one. My mother in law has two toy poodles and they are now pregnant! She has offered to give us one to welcome into our little family. We are so excited.

We have a 5 year old and a 2 year old and they beg us every day to have a dog like their Nana.

What I want to know is how to prepare for the arrival. What do I need in place, what should I have ready and some tips I would be grateful for. We are fully prepared to pay for anything that will be needed but need more if idea what we will need to do to be ready. The puppy mother is due Late September but we probably won't get them until October time or later.

Any advice please?

Thank you so much in advance

 

[JoanneF]

The book Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy is getting good reviews, I think @JudyN has a recommendation too.

Then, there's a list that can be as long as you want it to be. Bed, collar, lead, name tag with your name and address are the basics. You can add toys, but puppies often like to rip up old toilet roll tubes and so on!

You could start checking puppy classes, it's a good idea to go along and observe how they are run before you get the puppy. If you say what area you live in, someone may have recommendations.

For food, you will want to keep the puppy on the same food as the breeder was using, at least at first.

I recommend NOT buying puppy pads, for house training they give mixed messages about whether indoor toileting is allowed or not and confuse puppies.

 

[Ttaylor45]

Hi,

I'm very new to all of this. My husband has had dogs all his life and we have finally been given the opportunity to have one. My mother in law has two toy poodles and they are now pregnant! She has offered to give us one to welcome into our little family. We are so excited.

We have a 5 year old and a 2 year old and they beg us every day to have a dog like their Nana.

What I want to know is how to prepare for the arrival. What do I need in place, what should I have ready and some tips I would be grateful for. We are fully prepared to pay for anything that will be needed but need more if idea what we will need to do to be ready. The puppy mother is due Late September but we probably won't get them until October time or later.

Any advice please?

Thank you so much in advance

I have had toy poodles all my life at the moment I have number 7 Teddy who is 20 weeks old today. He is registered as a red and will be going for his first grooming session this Thursday the 2nd July earliest I could get. Teddy sleeps in a crate at night and I bought him an Xs harness when he was 8 weeks old which he quickly got used to. At the moment he is on 3 meals a day with a small amount of kibble to nibble between meals as the breeder suggested. Have you decided whether you are going to have a dog or a bitch yet and do you know what colour it will be? My parents bought a little white bitch when I was four years old after that they had a dog and a birch when I was a teenager they were very pale apricot, then when I had left home they had a pale apricot dog whom I adopted when he was five as my mum remarried having lost my dad previously Brandy was a dog and pale apricot. The two in the photo both dogs were mine from puppies they were dark apricot and called Rusty and Pepe I lost them within 6 months of each other in 2018. Teddy is from the same breeder as they were so gives me a bit of comfort as he is distantly related. As you can see I have had 5 dogs and two bitches and would love another next year preferably a dog as I personally prefer the males to the females.

 

[Ttaylor45]

Sorry I got carried away with my last post telling you about my other poodles.This is a list of what a bought in preparation for Teddy having got rid of everything I had for Rusty and Pepe as I wasn’t going to have another dog as it was so upsetting losing both of them, but I changed my mind the house was so empty without a dog.
Small crate from Pets at home and a small bed to go in it.
Xs harness and lead
Dog bowls and pet refresher bowl for travelling
Crate cover from pets at home
Small 5m tape flexi lead with multi box for poo bags
Toys
Poo bags
Puppy food wet and kibble
Microfibre towel and puppy shampoo
Small slicker brush and metal comb
Small scissors from pets at home
O’tom tick hook and flea comb just in case
Advocate flea treatment from the vet
Another thing I found useful was I put something with my scent on in with him at night I currently use a muslin which I tuck inside my T-shirt for an hour or two at night which is very quick and easy to wash.
I didn’t use puppy pads but be prepared to take pup outside at very regular intervals and clean up any accidents thoroughly with a special cleaner again I bought mine from pets at home it is called simple solution stain and odour. My list is quite extensive but that’s just me I like to be prepared. Hope it helps.

 

[Hemlock]

Poodles are lovely! What a good choice.

Your advice from others is good. I'd just add a little 'child' suggestion. I'm not sure of the attention span/boredom threshold of yours, so the timescale is yours to decide, but a little while before getting the puppy, find a really nice life-sized toy one. let the children give it a name (doesn't matter if they are different names) and use the toy to teach "in the crate leave her alone, no trying to stroke her through the bars, she's eating her food (real bowl) stay away, she has a toy, this is how you play gently, this is how you speak to her (quietly, no shouting) what do you do if she has something of yours (find Mummy who will swap it) how to eat your own food (no feeding from the table or handing out titbits) no saying "NO" but tell the puppy what you mean etc. You can play "what is the puppy doing now? What should you do when she does this?"

I could go on for longer but don't want to overwhelm you! It's all about teaching children what to expect and how to react with the toy, which can then be transferred to the real puppy. Also keeps the children involved, saving misunderstandings and jealous moments. Be aware for when their friends come round that said friends may not know have to behave around a puppy, so have a safe space for pup to go to, behind a door that can if necessary be bolted, as damage limitation.

Puppies are alternately little angels and little devils. Stock up on wine and cake.

 

[JudyN]

I do like Hemlock's suggestion of getting a toy dog for child training - and stocking up on wine and cake!

The book I like is The Puppy Primer by Patricia McConnell - it's very thorough.

 

[Finsky]

Poodles are lovely! What a good choice.

Your advice from others is good. I'd just add a little 'child' suggestion. I'm not sure of the attention span/boredom threshold of yours, so the timescale is yours to decide, but a little while before getting the puppy, find a really nice life-sized toy one. let the children give it a name (doesn't matter if they are different names) and use the toy to teach "in the crate leave her alone, no trying to stroke her through the bars, she's eating her food (real bowl) stay away, she has a toy, this is how you play gently, this is how you speak to her (quietly, no shouting) what do you do if she has something of yours (find Mummy who will swap it) how to eat your own food (no feeding from the table or handing out titbits) no saying "NO" but tell the puppy what you mean etc. You can play "what is the puppy doing now? What should you do when she does this?"

I could go on for longer but don't want to overwhelm you! It's all about teaching children what to expect and how to react with the toy, which can then be transferred to the real puppy. Also keeps the children involved, saving misunderstandings and jealous moments. Be aware for when their friends come round that said friends may not know have to behave around a puppy, so have a safe space for pup to go to, behind a door that can if necessary be bolted, as damage limitation.

Puppies are alternately little angels and little devils. Stock up on wine and cake.

Spot on...but is the wine strong enough?

 

[Finsky]

Young ones, they can be very messy at times (or is just mine?)...I had and still have a BIG pile of old towels and blankets. If they don't get messy you might want to cover some areas with some cloth to protect it with worst of the mess for easier cleaning...everything just get chucked into washer rather than having to scrub on situ.
Blankets to throw on floor to snooze or play or chew or.... Mine didn't always sleep on their baskets..that was for the night time only and during the day they would drop down where ever the sleep too hold of them. So like good mother hen I would always place a blanket next to them and eventually they would roll on it or make their nest.
Even now that they are bit older, I still place piece of towel under their dinner plate, like a table cloth......to catch any bits of food they drop off...or push off from plate when the food is not for their liking