poodle's posterous

Train Puppies To Stay With You

I always train puppies to stay with me. I walk my puppies on a leash from the time they are 8 weeks old for at least 10 minutes every day. Even 5 minutes of this gets them oriented to stay with a human when they are out and about. Later, around 8 months I start letting them off leash in a larger area providing it is fully fenced. My ranch is 5 acres, fully fenced, so it's a perfect training ground for this. I want my puppies to know that if it ever came to be that they slipped away from me in an unfenced area they are conditioned to return to me when I call them. However, this is not to say that I would EVER deliberately let a poodle go off leash in an uncontained area. Even the most trained Poodle can bolt if surprised or is over stimulated by something irrisistable like a rabbit crossing the path.

Actions to Take To Recover Your Lost Poodle

So your poodle got away. Make Flyers offering a reward and put them up on every street corner or bulletin board you can find. Once you've covered the are you think your poodle might be start putting flyers up beyond that area until the area is doubled.
Poodles can run for long periods and can cover a tremendous amount of ground when doing so. Alert animal Services. Let the Grooming Shops, Vet Hospitals, Feed and Pet Stores know by dropping off your flyers. Most dogs are returned if these actions are taken quickly.

Maddie Is Loved!

Jacki---Maddie (aka Gina) is everything and more.  We fell in love instantly and now can't remember life without her.  She won the heart of our male standard within two days and now they are best friends--playing, romping, together nonstop.  She made one little mistake in ten days--has fully got the housebreaking down.  She is as advertised---really smart and a total love.  We can't thank you enough.  You are right--your dogs are a cut above the rest! Brenda

Poocation!

What a trip so far. After arriving at the Old Bahama Bay Marina we hooked up with Carmen Rolle who is a bus driver for the Grand Bahama Island. He took us all around the island pointing out places of interest and telling us of the Bahamian life.  His family has been here forever. For you that have read the Poisionwood Bible, he showed us a Poisionwood tree and explained how a lot of the native plants are used during a nature walk.  He introduced us to two local restaurants where we had some of the best local food imaginable. Last night he took us by a local home where an old guy was making conch salad using mollusks we had never heard about.  We are still alive this morning and it was the best conch salad we have ever had.  John Travolta has a home here. I guess if its good enough for him it’s good enough for us.

After much thought about which way to go (we actually ended further North than originally intended as Steve chose to run for comfort rather than directness when the gulf stream was getting surly coming across) we have decided that we will start with the Abacos cruise—we leave here today or tomorrow and will anchor at Great Sale Cay (uninhabited but world class anchorage and views) and from there make our way to various several day stops at Green Turtle Cay, Spanish, Guana, Marsh Harbor, etc.  we will see how long that takes us—I suspect a while—the snapper and grouper fishing is fantastic around those areas and we are looking forward to some of that.

That’s it for now.

Steve, Teresa and Winston

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What If My Poodle Bolts?

A poodle, or any dog, if thinking of bolting, will give you a clue that they are disoriented and about to bolt by running a little ways then stopping, sometimes turning to look back, they will be standing in a very alert in a sort of stiffened position, almost as if on tippy toes,  they'll be looking quickly side to side. It's that moment you should realize your poodle is probably going to bolt. Start recruiting help immediately if there are others around. You need; a leash, a runner to follow your dog should your dog go through with the bolt action, and you in your car to follow in case your runner wears out. If the area is fenced but there are open gates yell to those around you to please block the exits. Golden rule is to NEVER initiate a chase. If the poodle starts to bolt, give it moment before you start a chase but if you are going to loose sight of your poodle then you or someone will have no choice but to run like the wind to keep up. Fortunately with cell phones we have a better chance of tracking our runners while another gets a car for added speed and endurance.

What To Do When Your Poodle Gets Away From You In A Strange Place

If your Poodle gets away from you in a strange place and is disoriented follow these steps:
Stay Calm
Don't scream your Poodle's name, they pick up on your fearful emotions through your voice tone and this sends them into a fear response which leads to flight mode. Call your Poodle's name in a calm voice but loud enough for your Poodle to here you.
Squat down and call your Poodle in a calm happy tone.
Walk slowly toward your Poodle. 
If your dog is not leashed ask for someone to go get a leash that you can slip over your dogs head
If your dog starts to run ask the person who is most capable of keeping an eye on your dog to run after him/her. Go get your car and follow in your car.
Always good to drill this before you are doing it in real life. 

HOLD ONTO THAT NEW POODLE!

When receiving a new Poodle into your 

possession you should follow these rules until the 

Poodle is fully acclimated:

Always use a slip lead. Dog collars are made for 

identification and can slip over a Poodle's head quite 

easily in most cases because of the Poodle's narrow 

scull.  Slip leads will tighten and won't let your dog 

get away from you. The old fashioned "choke chains" and 

also the newer halter type "head apparatus" is a safer 

choice for new dogs. Remember Control the head - "Control 

the Dog"

Be sure to have a firm grip on your Poodle's leash 

BEFORE opening your car door when transporting your new 

Poodle from your car to your home. Better yet, drive 

your car into your garage or a space that is surrounded 

by a barrier so that in case your new Poodle does get 

away from you he or she will not be in the open spaces 

and lost.

More tomorrow.....