[nagdu] Poodles

Tami Jarvis tami at poodlemutt.com
Tue Aug 5 20:30:35 UTC 2014


Danielle,

I started looking into poodle guides because my then-husband was 
allergic to every dang thing. He was also one to pull the allergy card 
and expect others to take responsibility for his health without 
expecting him to take steps himself. Sigh. It became pretty obvious, at 
least from my viewpoint, that he was pulling the allergy card in 
discussions of guide dogs and that he was pretty obvious in thinking the 
allergy card trumped the blind card because I was just using blindness 
as an excuse to get a dog to torment him... I ended up divorcing him, 
but I was still intrigued by what I had learned about poodles.

My current husband really advocated for another poodle for the 
nonshedding and because he thought another Mitzi would be just great. I 
couldn't argue that another Mitzi wouldn't be just great. The things I 
would change about her involve poodle-specific things beyond her 
control, like the grooming time and expense and the dance we have to do 
to keep people's hands off of her sometimes when she is giving her 
back-off look, which people think is just adorable. Poor girl. I was 
thinking a dobie would have many of the traits I like about my poodle 
but wouldn't have to put up with so much unwanted attention because the 
back-off look would have an entirely different effect. I also thought it 
might be refreshing to try having a guide without what I call the 
"poodle nonsense factor." When it comes down to it, though, I kinda like 
the give and take and the communication about what's going on around us 
and how we ought to approach it (or go around it or whatever). Dobies 
and shepherds *look* like they are engaged in serious business when 
they're looking around at everything, so casual observers don't assume 
the dog isn't paying attention to the job. Poodles, it seems, look like 
they are off in the clouds somewhere and could not possibly be doing the 
job, so the relaxed blind person cruising along beside the poodle must 
be clueless to the danger and must be told about it. The fact that the 
pair has not run into a single thing while whizzing through a crowded 
obstacle-ridden city route does not, apparently, indicate to some people 
that the guide dog is probably paying enough attention to the job to do 
it with flair. /lol/

Anyway, I think if I had been able to come up with serious objections to 
getting another poodle, especially another Mitzi, I would have put my 
foot down. I think he would have respected that decision and just 
grumbled about the extra bit of dog hair to vacuum up. Now that we have 
the additional poodle, he is already grumbling about the cost of 
grooming, because he just needs something to grumble about. He's not 
that serious about it and really likes the new pup and thinks he's 
adorable now that he has been shorn down to look just like Mitzi. /lol/ 
I'm happy with the pup, who is *very* like Mitzi in many, many ways. 
Having known Mitzi when she was the wild, rebellious age he is working 
towards, I fear the future, but... That wild mustang pup was an awful 
lot of fun. /grin/ Besides, this time, I have a yard and a couple of 
dogs at home to run with him and play him out, at least mostly. Mitzi 
has taught me some important lessons about things to work into training 
before we get into harness -- like how to deal with the poodle vocal 
tendencies and how to win power struggles when the time comes -- so I'm 
looking forward to finding out how well I've learned.

In other words, in my case, I'm not unhappy that I went with my 
husband's preference, since I wasn't completely firm on my other 
preference and since I seem to have gotten a really good candidate.

Tami

On 08/05/2014 08:46 AM, Danielle Antoine via nagdu wrote:
> Haha! Tracy I do remember.
> Isn't it every six weeks or so poodles need to be clipped?
> Marty, that's sooooo cool. I don't know of anyone else who had a dog
> guide a manual wheelchair. How is this done?
>
> Have any of you had a time when your family wanted to decide dog breed
> for you? Or, pulled the allergy card to get you to be swayed? How do
> you deal?
> Danielle
>
> On 8/5/14, Craig Heaps via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Do you have to tell your Husky "mush" instead of "forward"?  :)
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Mardi Hadfield via nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Monday, August 04, 2014 11:59 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Poodles
>>
>>
>>> Amber,If you want a Poodle than that is what you should go for.But there
>>> are certain behaviours that are poodle specific. They are extremely smart
>>> and you have to keep one step ahead of them.I am sure that Tami can fill
>>> you in on Poodle idiosyncrasies.Make sure that you are prepared for this
>>> wonderful breed.My breed of choice is a Siberian Husky.None of the
>>> schools
>>> train Huskies so I have to train my own if I want one.I have had 3 Husky
>>> guides and they have all been wonderful guides,with Nala being the best
>>> guide dog I ever had.That said, They shed all the time.Lots of hair.I
>>> just
>>> get them all shed out and it is time to start all over again.My grooming
>>> tools consist of a ferminator,a shedding blade ( used to shed out
>>> horses)A
>>> rake for pulling out loose hair that has clumped together( not the same
>>> as
>>> a mat), and a slicker brush.I brush my working guide every day, but only
>>> groom my 3 pet huskies about twice a week.Even my Belgian Shepherd guide
>>> is
>>> groomed 3-4 times a week,unless I am using him. Then I will make sure he
>>> is
>>> groomed well before I take him out.Needless to say, I sweep and vacuum
>>> HAIR
>>> all the time. Huskies are a breed that is not for every one either. They
>>> have a personality which does not lend it self to training unless you
>>> find
>>> one that
>>> wants to please you. They get board fast, so I had to change the training
>>> around often.I chose my first Husky as I wanted a dog that could pull a
>>> manual wheelchair for long periods of time and not tire.She was trained
>>> as
>>> a wheelchair Mobility dog first and when I became legally blind, I
>>> trained
>>> her to guide me. I eventually got a power wheelchair,so she did not have
>>> to
>>> pull me any more. She was such a smart dog and could do just about any
>>> thing I asked of her.She could pick up dropped Items,could find a lost
>>> item
>>> and many other things.She could pick up a dime off the floor and hand it
>>> to
>>> me as well as guide me all day and still have energy enough to trot all
>>> the
>>> way home at the end of the day.I loved these qualities about her and that
>>> is why I have continued to work with Huskies.I definitely did my research
>>> on the breed as I also found out they will dig up your yard,howl like a
>>> wolf, and will destroy your house and every thing in it, if they do not
>>> have enough work to keep them occupied.I only trained my Belgian Shepherd
>>> because I could not find the right Husky to train at that time.He is a
>>> wonderful guide dog, but is very different from a Husky.So,after doing
>>> your
>>> research,and finding out every thing about poodles,if you still want a
>>> poodle than go for it!Best of luck,  Mardi and Shaman and Neechee.
>>>
>>> --
>>> http://wolfsinger-lakota.blogspot.com/
>>> http://wolfsinger2-thegoldendragon.blogspot.com
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>>
>>
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>
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