A Poodle and Her Dog

When Carbon was 11 weeks old, she came to live with us. She realized immediately that having her own personal dog (Cody) to play with was a big bonus so she chose to stay. She quite rapidly (within an hour or so) made it clear that she was in charge and he existed to serve her. He accepted that (a little too easily, we thought). Since then he has willingly served as chew toy, snuggly blanket, and more. His politeness has allowed her to become even more confident than she really needs to be. Oh, well.

Rubbernecking Poodle

As I've mentioned before, Carbon and I take agility classes together. We started them while still living in North Carolina, and my primary interest then was to give her some structured time around other canines. I have since become kind of 'hooked' as it is a lot of fun. The Sunday morning classes conducted by Santa Barbara Flyers' Karen Van Hoy and David Caffo have definitely improved Carbon's behavior around other dogs, and also improved our relationship and our interaction with each other.

A couple of things have become apparent over time. First, my poodle is far more capable than I. Second, my poodle is far more motivated and energetic - AND unpredictable -- during the first half hour of class than she is once she's a bit more tired. Third, she always finds everyone else's toys much more interesting and alluring than her own.

During our agility classes, Carbon is verrrrrrrry interested in all the other dogs (and is especially interested in their toys) and Mike calls her a rubbernecker. She waits at the start line somewhat reliably but with her head swiveling in every direction. I cannot 'release' her till she is focused on me, because I have found that if I do (if I release her while she is looking at anything else, such as another dog) she shoots like a bullet towards that dog (or more typically, towards that dog's toy). This has taken a while, and many frustrating moments, to figure out.

She is especially in love with squeaky toys, and also enamored of virtually any toy when the dog it actually belongs to is barking, tugging, or growling excitedly. She figures they must have a REALLY good toy to get so excited. Sometimes she loses control and goes over and steals their toy to check it out. Most dogs are simply very surprised when the canine bullet that is Carbon swoops in to steal a toy. She has even been known to go directly to where the toy was last seen, i.e. entering the owner' pocket, or sometimes their tote bag. She seems to still remember a toy that Luna's mom Pam had last year. Carbon stole it from her pocket and had her way with it. She still looks longingly at Pam to see if the toy is still around.

During a practice session recently, Harold, the rat terrier, had quite an alluring toy. Carbon was already a bit tired and was avoiding some jumps and I was being careless, and took my eyes off her, which gave her a chance to notice the toy....she noticed it early in the run (you will see her fixating on it as she exits the blue tunnel for the first time) and did not forget it. Notice her discovering the toy and planning her strategy. She intermittently pretends to listen to me and works the course half-heartedly but is actually planning to bolt across the field and steal the toy - which she does eventually, when she exits the blue tunnel for the second time. You will see that she does not hesitate to exit the tunnel and go straight to the toy. I later make her complete the sequence properly (more or less) but she still does not forget the toy. I love Harold's expression as he looks up at Mike, his handler as if to say HEY - do something!!

She is a bad poodle.

Car as Poodle Den

Mike and I travel a lot by car and bring the dog and poodle with us. We've done it so much in fact that they both seem to view the back of the Explorer as their home away from home. These photos illustrate just how comfortable they are in there.

Poodles Can Fly

I'll have more photos and movies on here later but these pics will give you some idea of just how athletic this poodle is - as comfortable in the air as on land! When she came to live with us, I innocently thought she would be a floor-dweller like her brother, Cody, but I was soooo wrong. If she had wings, she would never have to come down.

Poodles DO Know How to Relax

Adding another creature to your family and home is a big commitment, and while we had always been 'big dog' people, those big dogs had always been labrador retrievers -- kind, playful, reliable characters, no special personality quirks, no weird reputations, no topiary haircuts -- you know, DOGS.

However, I am quite allergic, and while I could tolerate our dogs and cats in the house (as long as not on the bed), I couldn't really pet them or get my face close to them without dire consequences. Thus, the decision to consider a standard poodle (since we still wanted a big dog).

Before we got Carbon we were a little unsure of what to expect in terms of temperament and energy level - we personally knew a few VERY nice standard poodles, but then from non-owners had also heard various rumors and were concerned that our new family member might be very high maintenance, fancy grooming needed, prissy, etc. Hmmm. But because of my allergies, we decided to take the plunge. Here are some photos of our poodle.

It did not take long (actually, the ride home to North Carolina from her birthplace at South Paws' Poodles in South Carolina) to discover that she LOVES having her tummy rubbed, a fetish from which we have derived many an hilarious moment. And, lots of great photos.

It turns out that her needs include hand (paw)-holding, massage, and tummy rubbing, but that's about all.

She actually requires LESS grooming than her dog, Cody, who can get very doggy-smelling unless bathed frequently, and who sheds daily. The fact that she does not shed and has no 'doggy' smell is absolutely wonderful.

Similarities Between a Poodle and a Flea

All of us with pets unfortunately know what fleas look like. From the side they are sort of curved, with legs rounded and pointing back. Viewed on edge, a flea is very narrow-fronted, so seen straight on they are very narrow - they are almost flat.

Carbon Rose can be seen here, doing her flea impersonation.

Why I Fell In Love With My Poodle

There is absolutely nothing cuter than a puppy, except maybe a baby goat, but that is a matter of debate. The main advantage of choosing a puppy over a goat is that with any luck, he (the puppy) will eventually mature into a loving, loyal companion, whereas no matter what, the baby goat will grow into - a goat. Other than that, I can argue fairly convincingly for either one.

But here is the little queen at 4 weeks!! Oh my god. She is the one in the lower right; the smallest of the litter, with a little pink ribbon around her neck. Mike scratched her little chicken chest and when he stopped, she whined and pawed at him. He was a goner. He did NOT want a poodle, mind you; he did it for me. To this day he says we have 'a dog, and a poodle.' But I think he likes her all right.

And here she is at 11 weeks, the day we picked her up. We drove the 2 hours home and were smitten before we got there. I could not believe how adorable she was. We took her home and after the Big Howdy she immediately, at 11 pounds, booted Cody (80 pounds) away from the water dish. He politely gave in to the little brat. Big mistake. She never stopped being the boss, and 4 years later she is still pushing him around.

Limited Visibility

Carbon Rose and I take agility classes together. She is much more capable than I am. At one point last year, though, after missing nearly a month of classes due to travel and other distractions, I realized that she had for two weeks been pretty pathetic in class. In fact, I came home somewhat despondent, and told Mike that I thought after a couple of years of pretty regular work, she had 'plateau-d' and was not going to improve any more. I though she should be advancing more steadily. In fact, she had regressed, and had actually knocked down a couple of jump poles, which she had never really done before.

Mike pointed out that perhaps she just needed a haircut??!!?!? as her eyes were totally hidden. Oh -- good point. I had not really thought of that.

Anyway -- here's what she looked like. Before:

Oh, yeah!! Good point. After:
And of course, after the haircut, she was doing much better....operator error...

Is She Annoying or What?

Think your own little brother or sister was annoying? Well, can you imagine putting up with this? If Carbon can't get Cody, her dog, to play with her, she just plays with him anyway, chewing and gnawing on limbs, ears, etc. As you can see, he does an amazing job of ignoring her.

I suspect that Cody's ability to amuse himself as seen above helps him maintain some distance from the whole aggravating experience.