Preparing for Your New Poodle Puppy:

Indigo coming home. It was love at first site.

  • Vet appointment – Make an appointment with your veterinarian for a well puppy visit.  Your puppy may not need any vaccinations at this appointment but it’s a good time for them to get to know your puppy. We strongly suggest you carry your puppy in and do not put it down except to be examined by the veterinary staff. Your puppy will not have complete immunity to disease until it’s immune system has developed and they have received a full course of puppy vaccines.

 

  • Shop!!! Have fun choosing your poodles new bed, toys, bowls, brush and comb, collar and leash. Purchase some safe chew toys and a crate that will fit your puppies adult size.

 

  • Look for obedience classes. While your puppy won’t be old enough to attend classes right away, now is the time to look for a trainer who uses positive reinforcement and clicker training.

 

  • Puppy proof your house and yard- You have two goals, one is to keep the puppy safe the other is to keep the house safe. Pick up shoes and socks and anything on the floor, keep them out of your puppies reach, put all trash cans out of reach or purchase ones that close and your puppies nose can’t find it’s way into. Put up household cleaners. Move electric cords so they won’t be chewed on. You are puppy proofing just like you would baby proof your home, crawl on the floor and look for all the trouble spots, your puppy will be sure to find them. Puppies chew, purchase some chew toys (not rawhide, pig ears or greenies) that are safe for your puppy.   Decide where to place your puppies crate. Gate off a room or stairs if you need to.  In the yard – move hoses out of the puppies play space, we have found it to be one of their favorite chew toys. Do not leave anything that will fill with water and possibly drown your puppy this includes buckets. Check for toxic plants and either move them or fence them off. If you have a pool keep the gate closed so the puppy can’t fall in, eventually you will want to teach your puppy to swim and learn where the stairs are.

 

  • Purchase a bag of puppy food – we will let you know what food your puppy is eating when they are ready to go home and will send a small bag with them.  Should you decide you want to use a different food, we suggest that you do not change food until at least a month after you have had your puppy,  this helps to keep your puppies stress level low.

 

  • Pack a puppy bag with towels, paper towels, water and food bowls. Do not leave your puppy in the car unattended.  Avoid heatstroke a car becomes hot very quickly.

 

  • Plan on ways to socialize your puppy. Parvo and distemper are real health risks. Until your puppy is fully vaccinated (which is 2 weeks beyond its last shot) you should have people come to your home, avoid dog parks, pet stores, groomers, doggie day care and boarding.  Don’t be afraid to socialize your puppy, try to reduce your risks and have fun.

 

  • Find a groomer or if you already have one set up an appointment to have your puppy groomed 6 weeks after it’s arrival date. Should you decide to groom yourself read our Grooming the Standard Poodle page for equipment suggestions. YouTube is a good resource for poodle grooming videos.

 

Basic Training for a Standard Poodle Puppy

Poodles are incredibly smart, most of them love to learn new things. They are always learning something – even when you aren’t actively teaching them. Standard poodles will watch and observe you throughout the day. We have one who has learned to open doors by himself. He can easily let himself in and out of the house.

One of the first things you need to teach your puppy/adult is to pay attention to you. You can do this by saying “look” or “watch” while drawing a treat to your eyes. The poodle will learn to look into your eyes for direction. This helps to eliminate distractions and teaches them to concentrate on you.

The basic commands a puppy should learn are sit, down or lie, off, leave it and stay.

We recommend you use an accomplished trainer who does not use harsh methods. Clicker training is highly effective when learning new behaviors. It easily marks the correct behavior and a poodle learns very quickly. Once a behavior has been learned a clicker is no longer necessary. The effectiveness of clicker training is highly dependent on the timing of the trainer. A good trainer will teach you how to effectively train your poodle while strengthening the bond between you.

 

What Your Standard Poodle Puppy Will Need (over it’s lifetime) :

 

  • Vaccinations
  • De-worming
  • Emergency Medical Care
  • Spaying/neutering
  • Heartworm prevention
  • Flea and tick control – Be cautious of new products until they have been on the market long enough to be proven safe. We Do Not recommend any flea collar. Flea collars may be chewed on by another family pet or if they fall off may be eaten by your poodle. Flea collars can be deadly when consumed! In our area Frontline is no longer effective. Ask your vet about which products work best in your area.
  • Quality Food – Our preference is for them to be fed a dog food that meet WSAVA guidelines.  Chicken can be fed if it doesn’t cause allergies. Chicken is one of the most allergy provoking foods. If your poodle gets repeat ear infection try eliminating chicken from their diet. You can try a single source protein such as lamb and rice or salmon and rice. There are a variety of foods to choose from.
  • Grooming – Since poodles are a non-shedding breed they require regular grooming to keep them healthy. You need to take your poodle to a groomer every 4-6 weeks depending on the hairstyle or learn to groom yourself. There are many videos on YouTube on how to groom a poodle.
  • Crate suitable for adult size – Your poodle should be able to stand up, lay down comfortably and turn around. Crates are useful for house breaking and leaving your puppy in a safe environment. We recommend a crate with doors on two sides. Crates with two doors allow you to easily place them in a position most suitable for your home.
  • Collar- Should not be left on a poodle when they are playing with another dog or left in a crate.
  • I.D. Tags – Should have your most used phone number (usually a cell phone) on them.
  • Leash – Use a 4 to 6 foot leash with a loop for your hand. Do not use a retractable leash, they teach a poodle that the more it pulls the farther away it can get.
  • Microchip- All of our puppies are microchipped before going to their new home. If you don’t purchase a puppy from us consider micro-chipping your dog with a universally readable chip. When a dog is found most veterinarians and shelters will scan for a chip to identify a dog. All of our puppies are microchipped before going to their new home.
  • Socialization – Avoid dog parks, these are neither safe from disease or from aggressive dogs. Expose your puppy to many people, sounds, smells and situations to help them learn about the world. Do not force a puppy to approach a person or object, give them time to approach at their own speed.
  • Fenced yard or safe place to run –  Poodles need room to run and we prefer homes with solid fences. Underground electric fences may keep your dog in but don’t keep aggressive or diseased dogs from harming your poodle. If you live in an apartment, townhouse or condo and don’t have access to a fenced yard you will need to walk your poodle several times a day.
  • Loving family – all family members need to be in agreement on having a poodle in their lives. Every dog deserves to have a loving home. Adults must be willing to be responsible for caring for a poodle. While children may help it is an adult’s responsibility.
  • Lifetime Commitment-dogs are not expendable when they become inconvenient. It may be inconvenient when moving to find a new home that accommodates your poodle, it may be inconvenient to take them to the vet, it may be inconvenient to care for them when they are elderly or sick, it may be inconvenient to take them for training.  Lifetime Commitment – make sure your ready, every dog deserves one.