Many years ago I moved from out east to the southwest. While looking for a house I also searched for a poodle puppy. I found a breeder who lived near the house I was buying in the Yellow Pages. She had a litter of puppies that were born that day. They were apricot colored -- which is what I wanted and she told me I could have one after I moved in. We spoke about temperament and health, and she told me she had one picked out, but would keep me apprised of the situation. We kept in touch while I made arrangements for my move. The day after I moved in, I called her to tell her I was ready to buy. She brought him over, with a cage, food and a few toys. I named him Prince. Here is very funny picture of him in his cage. He was about 7 weeks old.
Poodles are one of my most favorite little dogs ! They are just SO smart, and only rank behind the Border Collie in intelligence. I think that a lot of that is due to the excessive training and education that the Border collies receive, and they learn to listen and learn from us better. I used to be a hobby breeder and raised Poodle mix puppies. I always loved seeing the happy person leaving with their new family member in their arms , and usually the puppy was kissing their chin. Since we did "family visits" the whole time the puppy was getting old enough to be weaned from its mother, the puppy was also fully acquainted with his new people before they actually took him or her home. Mostly I raised Shorkies and Yorkie-poos; but I also had Malti-poos and other designer pups. I miss doing that; but no longer have any place where I can keep the dogs, and am getting too old to care for them properly anyway.
Oh Yvonne, what a cutie! Yes, I worry about getting too old to take care of my pets. Fortunately, I'm in excellent health so there isn't a problem, now. One of my chi's will be 10 years old tomorrow!
I still have my Chipper, and he is almost 11 now; so it is kind of nip and tuck which one of us will last longer. I have often thought about another Poodle; but then I have to worry about what happens when I am no longer here, or just not able to care for the dogs any longer. We also have Tootsie, who is the family "guard dog", all 15 lbs or so of her. She was given ot us, and she is actually just the right size for her duties here. Large enough to guard the house and yard, and small enough for me to easily take care of. Chipper is my Yorkie-Poo, and was the father to most of the puppies that we raised. He enjoyed his part in that enterprise very much, and would chase any female that he laid eyes on.
Hahhaha... typical male dog chasing females dogs. Chipper is adorable. When I had my poodles, they both were miniatures and very tall. Jack was 1 inch from being classified as standard. I've thought about getting another poodle someday. They're amazing dogs. But, I am totally in love with Chihuahuas. Mine are large, 9 and 10 pounds. I never had small dogs until these 2. One dog I had was a Giant Alaskan Malamute... he stood 7 feet tall and weighed 200 pounds. Gentle as a butterfly. He followed me and my son from day care. One ear was damaged from a dog fight. I knew he belonged to someone, but with all my searching no one claimed him, so Rocky became part of our family. Regarding having someone take care of the dogs when you can't or are no longer here on this earth. I have an agreement with my neighbor that he will take them and be good to them. But, it is a concern as I get older. Time passes so quickly when you age. Turn around and it's a year later, just - like - that. Remember when you were a kid and time passed soooooooo slowly?
Poodles are really cute especially the toy poodles. When our first dog died after 10 years with us, I was grieving. A friend of my husband offered us a toy poodle that was 2 months old. There were 3 puppies and the owner asked my husband to choose. But my husband refused, saying it was not the right time to have a replacement because our dog left us just a few days ago. Besides, I may not get to like the puppy since I was longing for our first dog. So the opportunity to own a poodle was lost.
Your Prince looks so adorable! What a good companion he'll be for you especially since you're new in town Prince will be your best friend and protect your home too! Good idea getting a dog for yourself! We had dogs when we had our little family run store decades ago. I miss them though and wish I we could have pets where we live now, but we can't have pets. Good luck with your new home!
@Krissttina Isobe, oh I know you meant well, but Prince passed away several years ago. When he was ten he developed a bleeding tumor on one of his paw pads. Turned out he had an aggressive type of cancer. He had an amputation, but it didn't heal and the veterinarian said there wasn't much we could do. The reason the surgery result didn't go well, is the terrible disease had spread to other parts of his body. Rather than see him suffer anymore, I made the terrible heart-wrenching decision to euthanize him. But, he's at Rainbow Bridge and I'll see him when I pass. He was the sweetest dog and could jump THAT high straight up in the air! As for my 'new house' -- I thank you for the good wishes -- but I've been here for 17 years now.