Thoughts on Standard Poodles?

My mom has had 2 standards.  Her current standard goes regularly for clips but in between maintenance doesn't take much time, just a quick brushing here and there.  She is kept in a modified puppy cut year round and honestly always looks great!  Health has also not been an issue.  Her first standard was 17 when she died and never had any problems through out her life, just things that came from old age near the end.  Sophie is currently only 4 but hasn't had any issues either. 

SwifferLips

My mom has had 2 standards.  Her current standard goes regularly for clips but in between maintenance doesn't take much time, just a quick brushing here and there.  She is kept in a modified puppy cut year round and honestly always looks great!  Health has also not been an issue.  Her first standard was 17 when she died and never had any problems through out her life, just things that came from old age near the end.  Sophie is currently only 4 but hasn't had any issues either. 

A bit off topic and is more of a grooming question, but what sort of brush do you use on a poodles coat? I'm so used to just using a bristle brush or a hound glove on my dogs haha! 

I have a fantasy of owning a standard poodle. I don't think house size is a problem but for me getting her enough exercise might well be a problem. (I'm not a sporting breed and I don't like weather.) I've looked at poodle breeders for many years and I can't say that there is any breeder who stands out to me who I would go to but I am a little jaded on that subject anyway. The most expensive dog I ever got was bought as a stud dog from an excellent breeder (who I still think very highly of) and he died suddenly - as in just keeled over - at just under 3 years of age. The necropsy showed nothing definitive so we just don't know what happened. That happened right after the first big recall of dog food which made me feel like picking up a puppy mill dog and feeding it Ole Roy and maybe it would live to be 18. That of course is an extreme reaction but you know what I mean?  There are just no guarantees on living beings. (You can get a guarantee from a breeder but not from the universe.) Things happen. At this point in my life I would check out rescues if not exclusively at least along with breeders.

Grooming as has been discussed is major and as I get older I allow my dogs cuts to get shorter. What used to be carefully scissored is now quickly clipped. You can pretty easily manage a short haircut yourself with a little practice (and maybe $350. in equipment, which is nothing when you compare it to the cost of grooming).

In answer to your last question, I use a grayhound comb on the poodles. They are combed/brushed often enough that I can usually comb through them. If you need to brush out any tangles a slicker brush does the trick. Beware though, there are many many kinds of poodle hair just as there are varieties of human hair (or caucasian hair even). My "best" poodle coat is on the 4 1/2 pound Java and is so thick it is really hard to keep untangled. The other dogs have various coats and are much easier. If I had a standard poodle with Java's coat I'd probably keep him shaved.

punkchica321

SwifferLips

My mom has had 2 standards.  Her current standard goes regularly for clips but in between maintenance doesn't take much time, just a quick brushing here and there.  She is kept in a modified puppy cut year round and honestly always looks great!  Health has also not been an issue.  Her first standard was 17 when she died and never had any problems through out her life, just things that came from old age near the end.  Sophie is currently only 4 but hasn't had any issues either. 

 

A bit off topic and is more of a grooming question, but what sort of brush do you use on a poodles coat? I'm so used to just using a bristle brush or a hound glove on my dogs haha! 

I'm sure my mom just uses a dog brush she picked up at Walmart.  You know the one, it looks like a human brush on one side and the metal pins on the other - mom's a pretty simple type of gal!