Cape Rose Toy Poodles
Training Your Poodle
The first most important word to teach your puppy is “come.” The second is “no.”
Even the most puppy-proofed house will present temptation.
To keep your pup from exploring things he shouldn’t or behaving badly, say his or her name first followed by a firm “no.”
We use the words “leave it” as in, “Chris, leave it!” The pup will get the point. When s/he does, praise the puppy in a high-pitched tone of voice.
But before that age, you need to teach your puppy the basics:
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• come when called
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• learn what “no” means
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• poop and pee in right place
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• not jump on people
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• not mouth human flesh
Many professional dog trainers--like Joan Brenneke, shown above with her poodles “The Irish Boys”--recommend against serious training until a puppy is 6 months old.
Email Joan Brenneke to learn more about the Killarney Obedience School.
Your Toy Poodle
Big to Little Poodles ( l to r ) - Standard, Miniature, Toy, Teacup
Teddy & Miesha
Feeding Your Puppy
Teaching puppies to eat on their own isn’t difficult. Like grown dogs, they love their meals. During the two weeks or so it takes to wean puppies from mother’s milk, puppy mush (a growth formula dog food softened with warm water) is available virtually all the time. Puppies need a lot of food to grow and develop well. In a way, it’s comical to watch young pups eat because they generally walk into, fall into, and “wear” their food. An attentive breeder will keep the pups clean with a wash cloth rinsed with warm water.
By the time the pups are ready to go home at 10 weeks of age (or after two of their three puppy shots), they are eating well on their own three times a day. You should continue using the same food the breeder used. Good breeders will give you a bag of food to assure continuity in the pup’s feeding regimen.
House Training a Toy Poodle
When pups are firstborn they will eliminate (pee and poop) a lot, especially after each trip to the milk bar or upon awakening from a nap. The dam will clean their rear ends and eat their poop to keep the den clean. Sounds gross to us but it’s normal in the world of nature.
A dog will do everything to keep its den clean. And that is the secret to successful house training. Problem is: toy poodle puppies are tiny (maybe a pound or two when they go home) so they cannot possibly keep your whole house free from “accidents.”
Did you know poodles come in three varieties?
Toy, Miniature and Standard
A crate is your dog’s den. Giving your puppy “quiet time” in his crate during the day and overnight gives him or her a chance to develop bladder and bowel control. Many puppies can hold overnight. During the day it’s a different story. A rule of thumb is that your puppy can hold one hour for each month of age; a 12-week (3-month) old puppy can hold for about 3 hours.
During the day, your puppy will need to “go” shortly after eating, playing, or waking. At these times, you need to be vigilant. The puppy will usually give you a clue that s/he needs to go by becoming agitated or moving in circles.
Immediately pick up your puppy and take him or her to the designated spot. That could be a particular spot outdoors. Or it could be a wee-wee pad set up in an easily cleaned room such as the laundry room or bathroom.
Crate Training Your Dog
PARTNER with YOUR VETERINARIAN
After you and your family, your veterinarian is your puppy’s best friend. Your vet is the first person you should turn to for advice on finding a good breeder and for keeping your toy poodle healthy and happy for many years to come.
Homecoming
Within 24 hours of bringing your puppy home, take him or her to your vet for a checkup to make sure the puppy is healthy. A good breeder wants, in fact, requires you to do this. Our policy was to hold the pup’s AKC registration form until the vet check was completed and we were assured that the puppy passed muster. That policy gave the new owner motivation to establish a relationship with a veterinarian for their new puppy’s benefit.
Puppy Shots
The vet will also make sure that your puppy’s inoculations are on schedule. Puppies generally receive three shots to protect them against potentially life-threatening illnesses like distemper. By the way, do not take your puppy to public places until s/he has had at least two puppy shots. That’s why we prefer breeders whose pups are 10 weeks old before going to new homes. By 10 weeks of age, the pup has had those two inoculations.
Did you know that toy poodles live an average of 14 years?
© 1996 - 2009 Cynthia E. Field, Ph.D. All rights reserved.
Heartworm Prevention
Puppies will also start to take heartworm preventative while they’re still with the breeder. Heartworm preventative is something you need to give monthly for the rest of your pet’s life. Heartworm disease is spread by infected mosquitoes and is life-threatening.
For toy poodles we prefer the smaller, tablet-form heartworm preventatives such as Interceptor or Iverhart Plus. Why? Because we can be sure our dogs receive the full dose. Some of the chewable heartworm preventatives are too big and, even though we crumble up the dose, our toy poodles sometimes don’t eat it all.
With the smaller tabs, you can just give as a treat or break it up into small pieces in your pet’s food. Because our vet doesn’t carry the smaller kinds of heartworm preventative, we purchase ours from 1-800-PetMeds. You need a prescription which your vet can fax to the company or which you can mail to them.
What about Rabies?
At about 16 weeks or so, your puppy will receive an inoculation against rabies. Most municipalities require proof of rabies protection before licensing a dog, something that’s usually required for dogs over 6 months of age.
Tick Diseases - A Growing Threat
Lyme Disease, Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis
If you live in an area where deer ticks are prolific, consider asking your vet to administer prevention vaccinations against Lyme Disease. In some parts of the United States other vaccinations might be necessary, too. Ticks carry a number of infectious agents that can make your pet sick, even threatening her life.
Toy poodles are genetically predisposed to certain inheritable problems.
Using topical preparations such as Frontline Plus is one way to help prevent ticks from making your toy poodle sick. Our favorite veterinary technician likes K9 Advantix and we are probably going to use that this year. We’ll compare these medications in an upcoming blog entry.
Follow your veterinarian’s advice in all matters and you will enjoy your toy poodle’s companionship for many, many years.
Litter Box? Puppy Pads?
Toy poodles are smaller than many cats so indoor training methods work great. Some people train their toy poodles to use litter boxes. Some people use disposable wee-wee pads. We use washable chair- or bed-size pads designed for incontinent humans. We don’t recommend newspapers since paper doesn’t absorb well and your puppy (and floor) will always look dirty because of the ink.
Patience and consistency are key. Dogs want naturally to be clean and they want to please you. Use positive reinforcement, praising your toy poodle with great excitement when they eliminate in the right place.
Teacup and Toy Poodle between two red standard poodle puppies
How to Enjoy a Healthy, Well-adjusted Pet for Life.
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