Does anyone here have some advice for us? We are cat breeders - this
means we have quite a few cats and the cat group changes (individuals
move in and out - there are groups of kittens at irregular intervals) -
we are looking into maybe also getting a dog and have our hearts set for
a Standard Poodle. The plan is to neuter the dog - our IMHO all pets
that are not used for breeding should be neutered - and do some
obedience training and agility with it. We are not interested in showing
or breeding the dog. The dog needs to able to adapt to changes as the
cat group changes - kittens get born, grow up, move - new cats arrive -
some cats move. How would a Standard Poodle do in this situation? Would
you recommend a male or a female?
Hoping for sound advice, Camilla

On Wed, 06 Dec 2006 10:53:20 +0100, Camilla Baird
wrote:

Does anyone here have some advice for us? We are cat breeders - this
means we have quite a few cats and the cat group changes (individuals
move in and out - there are groups of kittens at irregular intervals) -
we are looking into maybe also getting a dog and have our hearts set for
a Standard Poodle. The plan is to neuter the dog - our IMHO all pets
that are not used for breeding should be neutered - and do some
obedience training and agility with it. We are not interested in showing
or breeding the dog. The dog needs to able to adapt to changes as the
cat group changes - kittens get born, grow up, move - new cats arrive -
some cats move. How would a Standard Poodle do in this situation? Would
you recommend a male or a female?
Hoping for sound advice, Camilla

I don't have any cats or standard poodles, but I do have a mini poodle
that gets along with small dogs, big dogs and birds. Why not adopt a
standard poodle from a rescue in your area that has already been
fostered with cats so you know that it gets along with them? Check
out www.petfinder.com. You might even be able to get one that already
has some obedience training, too.

--
Paula
"Anyway, other people are weird, but sometimes they have candy,
so it's best to try to get along with them." Joe Bay

Paula wrote:
On Wed, 06 Dec 2006 10:53:20 +0100, Camilla Baird
wrote:

Does anyone here have some advice for us? We are cat breeders - this
means we have quite a few cats and the cat group changes (individuals
move in and out - there are groups of kittens at irregular intervals) -
we are looking into maybe also getting a dog and have our hearts set for
a Standard Poodle. The plan is to neuter the dog - our IMHO all pets
that are not used for breeding should be neutered - and do some
obedience training and agility with it. We are not interested in showing
or breeding the dog. The dog needs to able to adapt to changes as the
cat group changes - kittens get born, grow up, move - new cats arrive -
some cats move. How would a Standard Poodle do in this situation? Would
you recommend a male or a female?
Hoping for sound advice, Camilla

I don't have any cats or standard poodles, but I do have a mini poodle
that gets along with small dogs, big dogs and birds. Why not adopt a
standard poodle from a rescue in your area that has already been
fostered with cats so you know that it gets along with them? Check
out www.petfinder.com. You might even be able to get one that already
has some obedience training, too.


Thanks for the advice, Paula - only one problem, I am in Denmark ;-)
There aren't many (Standard) Poodles in rescues here... Also it is my
impression that breeders here hang on to their retired breeding dogs...
Camilla

On Thu, 07 Dec 2006 23:55:51 +0100, Camilla Baird
wrote:

Thanks for the advice, Paula - only one problem, I am in Denmark ;-)
There aren't many (Standard) Poodles in rescues here... Also it is my
impression that breeders here hang on to their retired breeding dogs...

Perhaps you can ask some of the breeders if they have dogs that get
along well with cats. At least one of the breeders must have some
cats around the house. If you get a puppy instead of an adult, I
don't think poodles are particular prey driven, but I could be
mistaken. You can google the rec.pets.dogs.behavior usenet group for
lots of advice on how to get a dog to be good around cats, but you
still want to start with a dog that isn't hardwired to chase and kill
furry things. A greyhound, for example, wouldn't be your best bet
Even though there are greyhounds that do fine with cats, the odds
aren't as good as less prey-driven breeds.

--
Paula
"Anyway, other people are weird, but sometimes they have candy,
so it's best to try to get along with them." Joe Bay

Paula wrote:
On Thu, 07 Dec 2006 23:55:51 +0100, Camilla Baird
wrote:

Thanks for the advice, Paula - only one problem, I am in Denmark ;-)
There aren't many (Standard) Poodles in rescues here... Also it is my
impression that breeders here hang on to their retired breeding dogs...

Perhaps you can ask some of the breeders if they have dogs that get
along well with cats. At least one of the breeders must have some
cats around the house. If you get a puppy instead of an adult, I
don't think poodles are particular prey driven, but I could be
mistaken. You can google the rec.pets.dogs.behavior usenet group for
lots of advice on how to get a dog to be good around cats, but you
still want to start with a dog that isn't hardwired to chase and kill
furry things. A greyhound, for example, wouldn't be your best bet
Even though there are greyhounds that do fine with cats, the odds
aren't as good as less prey-driven breeds.



The Poodle is originally a hunting dog, is it not? Though it is my
understanding that they are not used for that any longer - they are
companion dogs now. :-)
Thanks again for the advice. I will look for breeders who have several
indoor cats.
Camilla

"Camilla Baird" wrote in message
k...
The Poodle is originally a hunting dog, is it not? Though it is my
understanding that they are not used for that any longer - they are
companion dogs now. :-)

Poodles were (and are) water retrievers. Not the same as a dog breed used
to chase down game and other critters.

I would expect - as a general trait - that any breeds used as retrievers
would have generally soft mouths and would not have an especially strong,
reactive prey drive (like a terrier).

But individual dogs within a breed vary almost as much as between breeds.

Judy

Judy wrote:
"Camilla Baird" wrote in message
k...
The Poodle is originally a hunting dog, is it not? Though it is my
understanding that they are not used for that any longer - they are
companion dogs now. :-)

Poodles were (and are) water retrievers. Not the same as a dog breed used
to chase down game and other critters.

I would expect - as a general trait - that any breeds used as retrievers
would have generally soft mouths and would not have an especially strong,
reactive prey drive (like a terrier).

But individual dogs within a breed vary almost as much as between breeds.

Judy




Thanks for the explanation and advice. :-)
Could you possible recommend me which specific behavioural traits to
look for, in a dog for our situation? I mean should it be a male or a
female? a dominant or more submissive dog? etc
Camilla

On Fri, 08 Dec 2006 23:32:53 +0100, Camilla Baird ,
clicked their heels and said:

Thanks for the explanation and advice. :-)
Could you possible recommend me which specific behavioural traits to
look for, in a dog for our situation? I mean should it be a male or a
female? a dominant or more submissive dog? etc

I think puppies are pretty easy to teach to respect cats. Poodles are
smart dogs, I don't think there should be the slightest problem.

I have retrievers of various sorts (some purebred and some mixes as
well). I have had dogs since 1973 and cats since 1983. The
introductions, after the first pairing (and even that worked with some
effort, but was a 10 yo dog and a new kitten), have been pretty easy.
I foster puppies as well, so my cats have all had to deal with silly
puppies interfering with their lives. Once a dog is used to A cat,
the other cats are a piece of cake.


--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

On Fri, 08 Dec 2006 23:32:53 +0100, Camilla Baird
wrote:

Could you possible recommend me which specific behavioural traits to
look for, in a dog for our situation? I mean should it be a male or a
female? a dominant or more submissive dog? etc

You want one that doesn't chase as much. Dominant and submissive are
kind of tricky if you don't know dogs. What looks like submissive
could be fearful, which could lead to problems. If you are looking at
puppies and there is one that is always bugging its litter mates to
play or to wrestle and won't take no for an answer, that's probably
not the best one. If there is another one that is pretty easygoing
about backing off when it wants to play and its litter mate doesn't,
that's a better sign. As far as male or female, I don't think it
matters much. You really want to look at the individual
characteristics of the dog more than generalities.

--
Paula
"Anyway, other people are weird, but sometimes they have candy,
so it's best to try to get along with them." Joe Bay

Paula wrote:
On Fri, 08 Dec 2006 23:32:53 +0100, Camilla Baird
wrote:

Could you possible recommend me which specific behavioural traits to
look for, in a dog for our situation? I mean should it be a male or a
female? a dominant or more submissive dog? etc

You want one that doesn't chase as much. Dominant and submissive are
kind of tricky if you don't know dogs. What looks like submissive
could be fearful, which could lead to problems. If you are looking at
puppies and there is one that is always bugging its litter mates to
play or to wrestle and won't take no for an answer, that's probably
not the best one. If there is another one that is pretty easygoing
about backing off when it wants to play and its litter mate doesn't,
that's a better sign. As far as male or female, I don't think it
matters much. You really want to look at the individual
characteristics of the dog more than generalities.



Thanks. :-)
Camilla