BREED GUIDE
YOUR MINIATURE POODLE PUPPY
Miniature Poodles are clever, watchful and very tuned in to their people, so they're a joy to train and quick to learn the things you'd rather they didn't. They were bred down from a working water dog, so there's far more going on in that little head than the fancy haircut suggests.
WHAT I'D START IN THE FIRST WEEKS
THE SHADOW
PRACTISE BEING APART
Poodles can become a shadow that follows you to the loo. Short spells on their own from the first week, while you make a cup of tea and come back before the kettle's boiled, teach them that you always come back.
BARKING
THANK THEM, THEN MOVE ON
They're watchful little dogs and can bark at every noise at the window. Notice what they're alerting to, reward a look back at you, and use a bit of management on the front window rather than letting the habit build.
GROOMING
START THE GROOMING EARLY
That coat needs regular clipping for life, so short, happy handling sessions from day one are worth their weight in gold. Brush a bit, treat, stop, and build up slowly before the first proper groom.
