Hi, I think my nineteen month old Standard poodle would love to meet other dogs, but I dont like to let him mix because he wont come back if I call him. He listens to my dad though. He's a very friendly dog and I think part of the problem could be he never meets or plays with other dogs - which could contribute to the recall problem. How can I find dogs to train him with,  or is socialising with other dogs not essential? How important do you think it is?
        Thanks.

I have a poodle as well and think they are very social playful dogs. I would recommend taking yours to a socialing/training class. I took mine to a puppy class and it did him a lot of good to mix with other dogs. Other than that he had no other interaction with dogs and soon learnt how to play nicely with a lovely labrador he met at training.
When you're out and about why not use a long lead to allow the freedom and to practise recall while all the time hgaving control aswell.
P.S Im very jealous. I love standards but havent got the space for one :-(

Thanks for replying - yes he is extreeemly playful. Do you have a min? I love all the sizes of poodles, theyre's something magnetic about them! Can you get socialization classes for older dogs, that would be ideal?

Yes i have a 11 month old black miniature. I think any kind of class are really good. Poodles are known for their intelligance so something that challenges them like training classes really channels their energy and my freddie loved it. It's also a good way to interact with others and pick up on lots of hints and tips and gain good advice. Obviously its important to get advice and pick the right class, but i had an excellent trainer and class and learnt lots. The only thing is i had to be really on the ball because poodles pick up the good and the bad things very quickly because of their levels of intelligance, so its important to train them correctly so as to not get into bad habits.
Freddie is very drawn to other dogs. I too was wary at first. He is very friendly as im sure yours is and he is very inquisitive, but not all dogs/owners see it like that so its important to be able to recall your dog effectively if you need to. You say your dad is very good with him? Have you noticed what it that your Dad does differently? One of the things i had to do at training class was watch my body language. The trainer had picked up that when i do a "sit and stay" with Freddie, everytime i was about to say good boy and reward him, i would take a big breath in(of relief that he had stayed sat down for two minutes) I didnt know i was doing this but when i stopped this subconcious action it helped because Freddie couldn't anticipate when i was going to finish the action and reward him. Think training classes will definatly benefit you and your dog and your Dad could go along with you so everyone who deals with your dog is doing it correctly.x

I'm a bit busy for training classes at the moment - sad face- but cant wait to start again  Yes, Polo's very curious and friendly, a real softy, but  being a large dog whi tends to ignore when there are other dogs around I am really wary about walking him off lead. The body language thing is a really good point - little things like I let him on the sofa and get away with ignoring commands such as sit might count - my dad's  firm with him maybe thats a reason?  Unfortunately he ignores food and toys when out. Weird thing is, his recall indoors with other dogs is fine.

Freds not very food or toy orientated when we are out. He's generally quite good off lead. If he shows signs of going off in the wrong direction or not coming back when he should i start running away from him and calling in a really high pitched silly voice. It always gets his attention and makes him think its more fun to be with me than anyone else. This is the best thing i have ever learnt - if you call a dogs name when off lead, or go towards it, he will think its a game and run away. The best thing to do is stay calm and quiet and take off in the opposite direction. He'll soon follow!First of all i felt stupid, but i'd rather that than have to deal with a situation if he pesters someone/another dog that doesnt take too kindly to it. Also (to say again) would recommend a long lead or even one of those extendable ones might be worth a try. Have never used one myself, would ask others for their opinion, but it would allow your dog the freedom but give you the confidence of remaining in control.
If possible, why not take him somewhere that is very quiet and you know will be dog free, to do some off lead work? Also, i used to practise off lead work near the end of a long walk. You're dogs more likely to stay nearer to you if he's got the play/sniffing/running around going crazy!! out the way first. A lot of it is perserverence and also, you need to have the confidence in yourself to do it!!! Sorry to harp on, but i know where you're coming from!! So what colour is your boy? x

He's a slightly grey-ish( on his muddy feet!) white! In show coat. I've got a flexi, but the high pitched noise I bet will work well. I tend to use or a local enclsed field for recall work or the beach down the lane if I'm brave enough. Silly isn't it. But I do hate the dirty looks I get if he pesters another dog/person and I dont feel its fair to other walkers. He is good when no one else is around, we play this game of hide-and-seek and now if I shout 'oh no' he comes looking for me!. So how did you fall in love with poodles - have you had any before? Thanks for the replies.

Thats OK. Not sure if it'll work but just giving you some ideas to think about and it's what worked for me. Just perservere and dont let other people bother you. Its good your a thoughtful owner but there are a lot worse dogs out and about, not on a lead and the owners just dont care. Keep in touch though. A0 its good to meet a fellow poodle owner and B) i want to keep up with your progress. It wont take long!
My grandparents had poodles and i always loved them. I split up with my ex and had moved back home. Was very miserable and approaching my 21st birthday and all i wanted was a dog. Sounds really silly, but i wanted company to do the things me and my partner had done like going for walks, going down the beach etc. Mum and Dad were reluctant at first, but i did my research and checked out different breeders, showed them i was serious and they agreed i could have a dog at home but it was my responsibility. Our house isn't huge so i was restricted a bit with size and deep down i knew all i wanted was a poodle but did some research on other breeds too. Dad thought it was highly amusing that i wanted a poodle and did nothing but take the mick. Now Dad is completely besotted with Fred!! Dad calls him "the runt" though. Fred was the largest in the litter but his colouring is not great. The Dam was brown, sire white, yet he is a black/brown colour. Some days he looks one, some days he looks the other. He hsa a 5 generation history all of brown poodles. He's a bit of a fluke!!!Bless him.
So what is your history with poodles? Have you had them before? I'd like other breeds when i (eventually) move into my own place, but dont think i'll ever be without a poodle now.

Wow ,thats great. I love poodle stories. I met one lady who owned a min that died at 24 years of age! Polo is my first dog, so I'm on a 'learning curve' with him. I've looked into all sorts of breeds, afavourite being the Pharaoh Hound, but found that poodles seemed to fit my family perfect and a trip too DD at Crufts confirmed that. I actually was wanting a min. at first but the standards amazed me. My next dog will prob. be a min. though, two standards would take up a lot of space!  Brown and white are my favourite colours . Fred sounds fabulous.

Oh my gosh, 24 - thats crazy!!! Im on the same learning curve aswell. Have learnt alot but theres still so much knowledge i have to gain! I prefer min's and standards to the toy, but i just think standards are so elegant and graceful. All poodles walk with a certain air of confidence and most poodles have a very definate "strut" to their walk, but becuase of thier size, standards show it off so much better. Someone i knew bred her standard bitch for the first time - she had a litter of 11!!!! They couldnt't sell them all so they've ended up keeping 3 of the pup's plus the bitch. 4 standards - that must take up a lot of room. Can't imagine the hassle it must be to clean them all when they've got muddy in the fields etc, or grooming them every day.
You say you've got Polo in a show clip - do you do that yourself or take him to a groomer? Do you get any problems with matting in the fur? Lately Freddie seems to get quite matted on his hocks and i'm wondering if its because the coat is a tad too long. Time for you to advise me please?!

Yes, the swagger is one of the things that attracted me to the standards, but I've been watching the mins in the ring lately and they have big characters too, dont they!I groom Polo myself . I find the mane doesn't knot much - its the bits bits in contact with the mud and water, the hocks and under his chest and on his tummy. A really good site for grooming tips is www.standardpoodleclub.com. I tend to bathe Polo if he's matted and untangle him as he dries. Its much lesss painful. I'm going to put him in a lovely pet trim soon though, I would like to try agility. I cant imagine grooming three pups at the coat change stage! It much be good fun having four around.

>In Response to Polo

Hi, I think my nineteen month old Standard poodle would love to meet other dogs, but I dont like to let him mix because he wont come back if I call him. He listens to my dad though. He's a very friendly dog and I think part of the problem could be he never meets or plays with other dogs - which could contribute to the recall problem. How can I find dogs to train him with,  or is socialising with other dogs not essential? How important do you think it is?
        Thanks. <

Lets put it this way if you went to live in a foreign country where no-one spoke your language and you understood enough to get by and you ran into someone English you would be very keen to talk to them?

I think that is how a dog must feel.  After all our company is nice they are devoted to us, but we are not even the same species, and don't speak their language, it must be so exciting to meet your own kind.

In my opinion it should be a basic right for a dog to have social contact with it's own species.  Anyone who denies their dog this is being selfish and cruel.  Sadly some dogs become unable to cope with social interaction with their own kind due to lack of contact and socialisation from puppyhood, but every effort should be made to teach a dog to be able to safely and pleasurably interact with its own kind.

Hi, thanks for replying. Polo does meet other dogs but not very regurlarly, maybe evry three weeks or so. Didn't make that clear, sorry. Like, we have a local golden and jack russel who sometimes like to play with him. It is embarassing when he doesn't return though. Do you think dogs should meet other dogs daily?, I  see your point about communicating with other dogs.

Thanks, i will have a look at the standardpoodleclub.com site.  I was clipping and grroming myself, but i found a really good groomer who charges £20. Fred is there for about 3 hours. Has his nails cut, anal glands squuezed(yuk) inside his ears "de-furred", bathed and clipped. He always looks absolutely stunning when i collect him and she says he behaves impeccibly when he's there. When i uesd to clip him in the beginning he did nothing but play me up (because he knows he can) so for the price its easier to take him to her. Only thing is the house feels empty for the 3 hours he's with her :-(. I said i would like to try agility but not quite sure if anyone does it my local area. Will look into once he turns 12 months. I'm not sure i'd cope with 4 but i wold love another one, just because i love to see 2 dogs bounding around and playing with each other.

Yeah I love seeing two dogs playing too. It's be great to  send Polo to a groomer for the plucking, do you think they'd do it on its own?!.

I dont know. Maybe. Might work out quite expensive though. Worth ringing up a few and asking. I feel really mean when i do it, and can never seem to get as much out as the groomer. However, since he's been going to her and she takes it all away quite regularly, there doesnt seem to be as much growing as there used to be.

In Response to Polo > Do you think dogs should meet other dogs daily?, I&nbsp; see your point about communicating with other dogs.

The more chance he has to socialise with them the less exciting it will be.  You could keep him on an extending lead so he could still socialise and play a little recall him from play, reward and send to play again.  That way he won't assume you calling him back will mean the end of his fun.

Also if the other dog is reliable you can use that to your advantage once his recall has improved to practise it off lead.

Yeah. Thats great - I think it'll work really well. Thanks for the help you guys. I'll update in a couple of weeks, as Teri suggested.

Cool, we all wanna hear your success story in a few weeks. Just remember to perservere and be consistant!! x

Well, its been a week and Polo and I have been practising onlead. Today we went to a different beach to usual and I tested him off lead when a kind lady with two deerhounds agreed to let him play. And, albeit slowly, he returned to me for a hug and some cheese! So we'll keep working on it but its starting to come through! Thanks, Fred's mum and Brainless! p.s. I'll post some pics on my blog

I'm really pleased for you. Keep up the good work. Cant wait to see some piccies (i'll get jealous though) Gonna try to put some pics on mine but not quite sure how???

Thanks. For the pics set up an account with photobucket and they give you links once you've uploaded to their site. Sorry prob. confusing you!!!

In Response to Polo Date 24.01.08 14:18
Great news :D

Cheers polo, in theory that sounds easy. Will try but probably fail. Im useless with computers even though i use one all day!!!

Just to say today we met another dog and Polo was brilliant. I'm really surprised how well the advice you guys gave me works. I was thinking of maybe six weeks before he started listening to me but no, one week. We'll keep working on it , obviously.Thanks again.p.s. it was a lovely ten year old bitch collie that helped us out this time and Polo was very gentle with her, instead of his usual rough play.

Well done to you both!!! The joys of having an intelligant breed-they pick things up so easily. Keep it up. the more good experiances he has the better.

Socializing with other dogs is really important. There are dog socialization classes which I think would be good for your poodle since it will be an organized effort so she won't just be able to do whatever she wants. Without proper socialization some dogs become aggressive towards other dogs later in life.

http://dogtime.com/socializing-your-puppy-aspca.html

I think there is too much emphasis on puppy socialisation rather than on socialising puppies with dogs of various ages.  Pups too long in a litter with no adults to keep them in line learn to be bullies or that they are bullied.  It is mixing with adults whoa re themselves well socialised that teaches them canine etiquette, otherwise you would have a Lord of the flies scenario, or playground bullying.

Nalu:polo has actually said she is not in a position to go to classes  at the moment which is why she was given advice to help her out and about on an every day basis. I agree brainless, all types of ages, breeds, situatikons etc are better than meeting the same group of pups once a week for 6 weeks etc.

Another update - Polo's doing so well- thank you so much for your advice its really worked! Today he was actually better than some of the other dogs we met - he came back on the second or third time and sat, even though there were lots of other dogs milling around. It makes walks so much more enjoyable.  We'll keep practising- maybe one day I'll enter YKC obedience ! :-)

Well done to you both, keep up the good work, been reading your updates and i am glad Polo is doing so well.

Best wishes

Hayley

Thanks Hayley :-)

It is so nice when walks are fun and sociable for our dogs and ourselves.

Well done. Knew you (& polo) could do it. in theory it sounds easy but it's all about practise and dealing with different situations appropriately. You should both be really proud!!'

Thanks again both of you.