Toy Poodles

**All About Toy Poodles**
Why We Love Them -The facts Prepare Yourself For... *Health Issues Every dog is an inividual. Temperament will depend on the breeder, socialization, environment, etc. This page will describe the characteristics of most.

Bones Chart
How They Score
0 - 5 Bones

Trainability

General Breed Health

Housebreaking ability

Low Maintenance n/a
Good w/Other Pets
Non-Shedding

All The Many Reasons to Love Them

Watch Dogs- Toy Poodles make keen watch dogs! You can trust this highly responsive breed to alert you upon every knock at the door or ring of the bell... or random cat who happens to wander onto her territory.

Size- No larger than 9 pounds or 10 inches high, they do not require a great deal of exercise and therefore make great pets for apartment dwellers.

Friendly- Like any breed, proper training and socialization as a puppy will will help to ensure a much friendlier and less timid animal. Poodles are naturally cautious, but also highly intelligent and attentive, therefore easily trained.

Trainability-Patience will get you much further than scolding with any breed. Shouting, impatient or harsh training is completely unnecessary and will hinder progress. Patience will go a long way when training a Toy Poodle. We highly recommend these positive training techniques.

Loyal-They are very affectionate and loyal little dogs. He will want to be with you on every trip to the bathroom, dining room, kitchen...

Excitability- In low stress environments and when properly socialized, adult toy poodles are gentle and easy going around new people.

Non Shedding- They are non-shedding dogs (losing very little to no hair). Many people choose toy poodles for their hypoallergenic qualities.

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Toy poodles are a highly sensitive breed. A chaotic household, constant loud noises and undue stress can lead him/her to skittishness and defensive behaviors like biting and social shyness. Careless breeding and boredom can also contribute to these behaviors.

If you like a lot of color in your life, A poodle can bring that to you in many aspects including personality... But their coats are also very colorful. You can find them in solid colors like apricot, cream, blue, silver, red, cafe au lait, brown, black and white. They also come parti-colored with markings of any combination of the colors listed above.

Side Note:With the popularity of small dogs increasing, so has the number of breeders, both good and bad. With the hype surrounding many small breeds, so in turn has the population of unwanted dogs become ever increasing. There is probably a Toy Poodle rescue group near you. Why not consider adoption first.

Owning a dog is a joy, but like anything worth doing, it's worth doing right. And a serious long-term obligation such as this warrants a closer look.
Have you also prepared yourself for the serious responsibilities of…

Frequent grooming-Poodles need regular grooming. Her coat requires a commitment of frequent brushing and trimming to keep it from becoming matted. If you plan to own a poodle, you might want to make friends now with your local groomer. You’ll get to know her very well on your regular visits.
Behavioral Issues- While a carefully chosen breeder can help to alleviate undesirable traits, there are no guarantees. Snapping, unprovoked biting and timidity are common characteristics of unsocialized toy poodles. All of these can be avoided by exposing your dog to other people, sounds and other animals when he's a puppy.
Disregarding the hype- There is technically no such thing as a ‘tea cup’ or 'pocket' poodle. These are invented terms used to market tiny dogs and sell them for ridiculous prices. Toy poodles are toy poodles. There are no seperate classes of the breed. A responsible breeder will not advertise or guarantee the size of the dog at full grown size.

-Health Issues-

The smaller your dog, the more fragile her bones are. Toy breeds are notorious for broken bones caused by falls. Toy poodles can be easily injured by falls, mishandling and even being stepped on.

Hypoglycemia is also a matter of concern for the owners of these small breed dogs. Often their tiny bodies are unable to properly regulate blood sugar.

Poodles commonly suffer from problems with their eyes. Entropion, (a condition in which their eyelids fold inward) and Trichiasis (ingrown eyelases) cause serious irritaion and may require surgery to correct. More serious because it cannot be treated is Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), a retinal degeneration which leads to blindness.
Other conditions such as cataracts and overtearing caused by lacrimal duct atresia are common among poodles.
Patellar Luxation (knee popping in and out of place), ranging from mild to severe is common in many small breeds and the poodle is no exception. A secondary concern of this affliction is osteoarthritis.
Kidney stones are painful and not just for humans. Poodles suffer from this as well. Signs to watch for include blood in the urine, vomiting, restelessness and pain, but it's not unusual to be asymptomatic.
Epilepsy characterized by recurrent, unprovoked seizures can occur in these animals.

Toy Poodles are not a good idea for people with small children. Even the most well behaved children can’t help mishandling, and very potentially injuring a dog this small.

Despite their stature, poodles can pack a serious bite. They’re sweet dogs, but they are dogs after all. What other defenses do they have?

To help
avoid injuries caused by jumping,
toy poodles sometimes need the assistance of
Pet Steps.

Raising small breed dogs and working with dogs of all shapes and sizes for more than 20 years years now, we've came to know and love them all. It's been our business and our passion to know these things. We're glad you stopped by.

Keep browsing. It's free and there's so much more to learn.

Find great dog beds for toy poodles and other small breed dogs.

Toy Poodles

Breed Information

All The Many Reasons to Love Them

Have you also prepared yourself for the serious responsibilities of…

-Health Issues-