|
|
|
|
- Poodles have less "out of
control" prey drive. This can be very bad if the Poodle
does not have ENOUGH prey drive.
- Poodles think earlier and more
(could be called reason or imagination).
- Poodles are very empathetic. In
otherwords if they hear another dog screaming in pain
they relate that to themselves and become very worried,
whereas Labs seem not to mind this kind of information.
Poodles get very worried if their owner/handler is
anxious and worried (as at a test or trial)
- Poodles are much more cold
water sensitive.
- Poodles are much more conscious
of their bodies and so are much less injury prone. They
are less likely to plow through a barbed wire fence for
example. This means that they have less "terrain courage"
so must be trained to go through hazards with greater
care and perseverence on the part of the trainer! They
rarely land "splat" on or into an area that they have not
been into before. This also makes Poodles more sensitive
to cold water and less apt to do a straight-line marked
retrieve of 400 yards through multiple obstacles while on
a flat-out dead run! But how many HUNTING dogs will or
should do this?
- Poodles mature much more slowly
than Labs. Most 6 month old Labs who have their adult
teeth are ready for force-fetch training. A few Poodles
are ready at that age, but more commonly they aren't
ready for this until nearly a year of age, and some
aren't ready until they are 2 years old. Spend that
maturation time doing obedience, introducing the pup to
water, and letting them chase a few clip wing pigeons.
This is a time when they are learning to enjoy learning
along with the discipline of paying attention, listening
and doing work.
- Poodles have a VERY long memory
for things that you wish they would forget. If they have
been injured by an environmental element (stuck with a
stick or a wire, for instance) they will remember that
area of a training field for YEARS and be reluctant to go
there. For this reason the Dobbs method of shore breaking
and collar conditioning is not good for Poodles. A Poodle
can become VERY terrain fearful when they receive a
correction and don't understand it as a correction but
rather something coming from the environment. Instead,
early trainaing should teach the dog a word which means
"that is wrong" (such as NO!). When a Poodle first THINKS
of doing the wrong thing then use of that word is very
effective at communicating that the planned action is
wrong and then you can show them what is "right". This
method of teaching follows well established methods of
behavior modification in most mammals, including humans.
(See articles by Marilyn Fender in Retrievers
Online [books
and
journals]).
- Most Poodles will only work for
and with the person who has trained them. You usually
can't train your Poodle and then hand him off to a friend
to run at a hunt test if that person has not worked with
the dog and developed a "relationship" with the
Poodle.
- Poodles have hair around
their eyes which can impede the development of
marking ability. If you intend to do any kind of work
with your Poodle which requires visual alertness it is
imperative that you NEVER let the hair on the topknot
fall over the eyes. If a pup is not encouraged to use its
eyes it will begin to rely on scent. A field dog MUST
primarily use its eyes for marking a bird fall to be
successful at retrieving thrown or shot
birds.
- Standard Poodles are VERY
unforgiving of unfair corrections compared to Labs. Be
sure that your dog understands fully what he is supposed
to do before you begin giving strong corrections. If he
is not doing something that is well understood then he
will respond to a quick, timely and forceful correction,
but a poorly timed or "unfair" correction can make a good
working Poodle QUIT. And immediate communication of
success is as important as corrections when a dog is
wrong. Well timed "good dog" promotes a happy
retriever.
- A Poodle whose coat is
clipped very short with a #10 or #7 blade and face
and feet with a #40 blade is NOT prone to picking up
foxtails and burrs. Therefore, in areas of the
country infested with burrs and foxtails you can train in
fields where owners of other retriever breeds are
unwilling to train because of the fear of the foxtails
causing injury to the dog. If you check the dog after
running in such a field you usually find NO awns clinging
to your Poodle. (Be sure to check the ear canals and eyes
after your training session, however). Use common sense
when training in foxtails, however. Don't put retrieve
objects in the middle of a mass of grass awns and expect
the dog to not get them in his mouth, eyes or
nose!
- A poodle needs its coat clipped
to suit the climate and vegetation in your area. In
colder climes the coat is left longer (1 to 2 inches)
over the entire body with face and feet clipped shorter.
The historical short field continental clip may be quite
easy to maintain in habitat without foxtails.
Thanks
to VIp
|
|
