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Dog Breed of the Week: Standard Poodle

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Standard Poodle Breed Information

Standard Poodle
Ryhor Bruyeu/iStock

Poodles are popular. You probably see tiny, medium and large Poodles everywhere. Today, let’s discuss the less common Standard Poodle, which is the largest variety of Poodles. Standard Poodles are part of the AKC non-sporting group with their original function being water retrieving dogs and their current day function being a companion. This dog breed is versatile, can easily be trained as military and guide dogs, and is wicked smart too!

Standard Poodle Temperament

General Characteristics

The Standard Poodle stands 15’’ at the shoulder (on average) and weighs between 45 and 65 pounds with a lifespan of anywhere between 10 to 13 years. Don’t let their good looks and flashy haircuts fool you though. They’re extremely smart and full of zest, so they’re not all business. Standard Poodles are usually very friendly with dogs and people alike. They’re also tolerant, making them good with children so long as they were socialized positively as puppies and adults.

Standard Poodle Grooming Needs

Yup, you guessed it, Standard Poodles require a lot of grooming. Poodles don’t shed like most dogs. Their loose hair gets caught in their curly hair, which causes matting really quickly. To minimize grooming your Standard Poodle, ask  the professional dog groomer to give your dog a pet clip. Pet clip haircuts are stylish, yet shorter than most Standard Poodle clips, and only require maintenance every four to six weeks. You should still thoroughly brush your dog every couple of days or she’ll mat like mad.

They need weekly nail trims (or nail grinding) to prevent overgrown nails, which can be painful and break. Also, make sure to brush your Standard Poodle’s teeth every day. This will keep yearly veterinary dentals at bay.

RELATED: How to Train Your Dog to Play Fetch

Standard Poodle Training & Exercise

Standard Poodles require daily mental and physical stimulus. You can provide this by practicing polite behavior cues in short sessions, playing fetch (they’re amazing retrievers!), taking them on daily walks and joining a water sport. Not only are they smart, but they’re also extremely agile. This means they can excel in agility, competition obedience, rally obedience, nosework, tracking, dock diving, field trail (hunting and retrieving) and any other dog sport out there. Again, don’t let all their fabulous hair fool you. Standard Poodles are serious workers that love jobs!

With any dog breed, you have pros and cons, so it’s important to ensure the Standard Poodle’s characteristics and needs meet your lifestyle. If you’re interested in adding a Standard Poodle to your family, I encourage you to visit Standard Poodle Club of America for additional information on finding a responsible dog breeder or rescue in your area.

How to Teach Your Golden Retriever Polite Behaviors

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Training Golden Retrievers Polite Behaviors

Training Golden Retrievers
Bigandt_Photography/iStock

Golden Retrievers are one of my favorite dogs to work with. They’re outgoing, driven, and usually pretty food and toy motivated. Over the years, I’ve worked with a number of Golden Retrievers, but unfortunately, I’ve never had the pleasure of sharing my home with one. Working with them on a regular basis has given me great insight into their common characteristics and behaviors. Hopefully, that can help you live more comfortably with your Golden Retriever.

Not-So-Polite Golden Retriever Behaviors

All dog breeds have their quirks and differences just like people. Becoming familiar with what is considered normal breed behavior will help you tailor their behavior to your lifestyle. With Golden Retrievers, you may deal with a lot of mouthy behaviors, such as always picking up unacceptable items or mouthing your hands while playing, petting or greeting. Let’s talk about how to make some of these Golden Retriever behaviors a little more manageable.

Always remember: with any unwanted behavior, you want to provide your dog with an acceptable behavior.

Mouthing (Putting Mouth on Your Hands)

In this case, we want to provide your Golden Retriever with proper chew toys and retrieval items, such as Kongs, Nylabones and retrieval toys for play. To help prevent your dog from mouthing you during playtime, only interact with him with his toys. This way, when your dog mouths you during petting, you can redirect his attention with your hand that contains the food treat while you pet with your other hand.

Sometimes, Goldens can become fascinated with mouthing unacceptable items. However, we can help them make the right choice by making the unacceptable item less intriguing. You do this by using a chewing deterrent on the unacceptable items, which may be your keys, remote controls or shoes. Be sure to follow the directions on the bottle. Most of the deterrents are water-based, so you most likely need to reapply every couple of days.

Now that you’re providing your dog with the appropriate chew toys and deterring them from the unacceptable items, make sure you praise all correct behavior to increase the likeliness of your dog repeating it.

Excitable Greetings (Jumping Up)

Excitable greetings are nice to come home to because you can tell how happy your dog is to see you, but on the other end of the leash it’s not so nice of a behavior when you’re carrying groceries or you have a guest coming over.

Again, teaching an alternate behavior is the best place to start; in this case, it’s the “sit” behavior. Start in a low distraction area. Use a high value food reward to lure your dog into the behavior and reward once he successfully sits. Gradually fade the lure after many dog training sessions and begin asking for the behavior in lieu of the jumping.

Another great tool you can use to gain more control of your dog during walks is the head collar or front clip harness. These dog products help you redirect your dog on walks and allow you to ask for the known “sit” behavior instead of him jumping on people.

All dogs have their own personalities and characteristics. It’s all about figuring out how to live more harmoniously with your specific dog breed and enjoying all the great things about him. Using a little bit of training and management will most certainly help facilitate polite behavior.

Dog Breed of the Week: Weimaraner

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Meet the Weimaraner

Weimaraner
VKarlov/iStock

The regal looking Weimaraner originated in Germany, as an all-around gun dog that could hunt a wide variety of game. Back in the day, Germany had very strict breed standards for the Weimaraner, which were overseen by the German Weimaraner Club. The breed was finally brought to the U.S. in 1929, excelling in obedience competitions and gaining exposure and interest in the breed. The AKC began recognizing this breed in 1943 as a gun dog in the sporting group.

General Characteristics and Temperament

The bold and outgoing Weimaraner stands anywhere between 23″-25’’ at the shoulder. Males are slightly larger than females. Their weight ranges between 55-90 lbs. You will find these dogs to be full of energy and playful, which may require you to come up with creative ways to expel all that energy. In addition to their playfulness, they will alert you if something seems off and protect you when needed.

Health and Nutrition

Weimaraners tend to be pretty healthy and have a lifespan of 10 to 13 years with the only major health concern being gastric torsion (bloat). However, you can help prevent bloat by feeding small meals throughout the day. There’s still a lot of speculation about bloat, but several veterinary universities are in the process of researching causes and links.

RELATED: Should You Let Your Dog on the Couch?

Weimaraner Grooming

If you have chosen a Weimaraner as your pet, you definitely get off easy in the dog grooming department. With these dogs having short smooth coats, you can get away with regular baths. Of course, you want to make sure their nails are kept trimmed and their ears cleaned to prevent buildup or overgrowth.

These dogs are best as indoor dogs with access to the outdoors on a regular basis. They can’t tolerate the cold weather, but they can tolerate heat.

Dog Training and Exercise

Last, but definitely not least, Weimaraners are best matched with very active families, as they require a lot of physical and mental stimulation. This dog breed is not meant for apartment living because they require a good amount of time outside to stretch their legs and run.

Exercise plays a big part in dog training and behavior for all dogs. The Weimaraner takes training well and learns quickly, but can be a little stubborn at times, especially if he doesn’t have the proper amount of exercise. Providing the Weimaraner with the right amount of exercise ensures a clear mind for training. By using positive reinforcement-based techniques, you facilitate a rewarding and productive experience for your dog.

Not every dog is right for every person. When choosing a dog, you want to make sure you find one that best fits with your dynamic.

For more information, please visit Weimaraner Club of America.

You may also like: Boxer

Dog Breed of the Week: Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever

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Meet the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
mariakbell/iStock

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever is a mouthful, but it matches this complex dog. These dogs originated from Nova Scotia in the 1800s and were once known as the Little River Duck Dog or the Yarmouth Toller. The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever is a part of the AKC Sporting Group, specifically from the gun dog retriever family whose main function is duck tolling and retrieving.

This breed’s job is very complex, luring out curious ducks with their silly, playful antics, to allow the human hunter to shoot the duck for retrieval by the toller (their commonly used nickname). Let’s see what we can retrieve by tolling this breed!

General Characteristics and Temperament

With the Toller standing at about 18-21 inches for males and 17-20 inches for females and weighing at about 45-55 pounds for males and 35-42 pounds for females, they are smaller and more agile than most Retrievers. These dogs swim as much as they run when hunting. They’re strong although their compact built allows them to hurry about tirelessly while frolicking and retrieving with a happy wagging tail.

Remember, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers were bred to play and retrieve so you can expect lots of energy and playfulness from them. Their passion, yet semi-calm demeanor makes them versatile in many situations, including hunting, agility, obedience and even companionship. This light, playful attitude usually makes them pretty affectionate and gentle, which is a good choice for a family with children or other pets. However, the younger Tollers can be a little rambunctious at times.

Health and Diet

The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever has an 11- to 13-year life span and doesn’t have any major health concerns except CHD and PRA. Whether you are pairing with a breeder or rescue organization to find your Toller, you should gather as much information about the dog’s background and family line as possible.

If this information is not available, take your dog to the veterinarian for a checkup and additional testing, such as hips and eyes, to give you a better idea of any possible health issues. Your veterinarian can also assist you with any dietary questions you may have with your dog. As for your dog’s diet, his activity level, age and health needs determine the best diet for him.

RELATED: Understanding Dog Nutrition

Dog Grooming Needs

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers have a water-repelling double coat of medium length, which allows them to work in icy waters. If you live in an area with cold climate, don’t expect your dog to stay out of the water. Monthly or bi-weekly baths will be just fine for this dog breed in addition to brushing with a soft metal bristled brush regularly to prevent matting.

Ears

While those soft floppy ears your Toller has require minimal attention, you should check them regularly for any buildup, especially if your dog hunts or swims often. I can tell you from experience, tics love those floppy ears, so keep an eye out for them during high tic months.

Teeth

This dog has a nice set of choppers with a strong enough jaw to carry a duck. Keeping them clean and healthy will allow your dog to enjoy some of his favorite activities–retrieving!

Nails

Fun fact: the Toller has webbed feet. This doesn’t require any additional attention to grooming, but it does contribute to why they’re such great swimmers. It’s important to trim your dog’s nails regularly to prevent any cracking or overgrowth, as this can be very painful to your playful pet.

Dog Training and Exercise

Exercise requirements for this particular breed are quite high, but can be achieved in many ways. This dog has a natural desire to retrieve things and engage in playful activity. A great way to facilitate this is with a nice long game of fetch. You can even get creative and use a toy duck!

Tollers also benefit from mental stimulation, such as dog obedience training. A great way to get them out and socialized would be to join a local club or an obedience class. This will provide you and your dog with some human-animal bonding time while giving him the stimulation and socialization he needs.

Conclusion

This is a very fun loving, full-of-life dog with lots to offer in a wide range of situations. If you are considering this dog breed, I invite you to do some more research and find the dog that fits your needs best.

Source: www.akc.org

Dog Breed Of The Week: Boxer

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Boxer Dog Breed Information

Boxer Dog Breed
atomadog/Deposit Photos

Have you ever considered adopting a Boxer to add as a new member to your family, but weren’t sure if the Boxer dog breed was right for you? This information will provide you with the ins and outs of owning, caring for and enjoying a Boxer!

General Characteristics

Boxers are a part of the American Kennel Club (AKC) working class and a very popular dog breed. Bred to chase wild game, Boxers love to run and jump. Be prepared, you’ll spend a great deal of time working on jumping and self-control exercises in their younger years. Lots of exercise and games like fetch will help burn some of their excess energy.

Have you noticed Boxers using their paws a lot kind of like a person taking jabs in a boxing ring? That’s how Boxer dogs earned their name. They use their front feet all the time. Take advantage and teach a cute trick like shake or wave. Everyone gets a kick out of it—pun intended.

Temperament

Don’t let excess energy worry you. Boxers are very patient. They’re truly wonderful family dogs. In my opinion, the Boxer dog breed is wonderful with children. They love to run and jump, and playing with kids in the yard is a great day in a Boxer’s world.

Boxers are wicked smart and easily trainable, but can be stubborn. Using something they love like food or their favorite fetch toy to train will help keep their attention. They generally don’t like repetitive things, so keeping dog training fun and their environment enriched.

Size

Boxers are medium to large-sized dogs and range from about 45 to 75 pounds. Male Boxers can be as tall as 25 inches where females tend to be a little smaller. However, in my house, it’s the opposite. My female Boxer is the big one and my male is smaller than average. The most common Boxer colors are fawn (called flashy fawn) and brindle with white markings.

You’ve probably noticed white (albino) Boxers as well. This is a recessive gene. White Boxers tend to be partly or completely deaf or blind, are very sensitive to the sun, and usually have many missing teeth. I don’t recommend them.

RELATED: White German Shepherd Dog

Grooming

Boxers have short and smooth lying coats, so their dog grooming needs are minimal. A nice thorough bath every couple of weeks usually does the job. It’s also a good idea to brush with a short-bristled brush in between baths to keep their coats nice and healthy.

Ears

Depending on your Boxer, he may have cropped or floppy ears. This is a personal preference, as they’re born with floppy ears, but are commonly cropped. Regardless of ear shape, it’s always important to keep their ears nice and clean.

Nails

Boxers tend to have powerful paws with strong nails. Keeping nails trimmed is a must. You definitely don’t want your Boxer sporting long nails since they love to box, right?

Teeth

Don’t forget to brush their teeth daily. Due to their pushed in muzzles, their teeth are closer together than most dogs so tartar builds up quicker.

Nutrition and Health

Boxers generally have a 10 to 12-year life span with great care. Feeding a highly nutritious diet from puppyhood to adulthood will help extend their life expectancy. It’s always a good idea to discuss your Boxer dog breed’s individual dietary needs with your veterinarian.

Every dog breed has its set of health issues. Boxers may have health issues, such as cardiomyopathy (heart muscle disease), hip or elbow dysplasia, bloat, and hypothyroidism. However, Boxers tend to be pretty healthy dogs.

Dog Training and Exercise

Some Boxers may have lots of energy. This can be both beneficial and counterproductive when training Boxers, which is why exercise is so important with this dog breed. Have you ever heard the saying, “A tired dog is a good dog”? Well this is true. These dogs require both mental and physical stimulation. If you provide your Boxer with daily exercise, dog training will be much easier. These dogs are very eager to learn and play. However, they can be a little stubborn at times.

Finding what your Boxer enjoys will be key factor during dog training sessions. Keep your Boxer motivated by providing mental and physical stimulation.

As someone who shares her home with this wonderful dog breed, Boxers are awesome family dogs for a semi-active family. If you’re interested in receiving more information about the Boxer dog breed, check out AKC’s boxer breed standard and American Boxer Rescue.

You may also like: Golden Retrievers

Dog Training Nation is a dog training blog for pet owners and dog lovers. We cover a range of topics from puppy socialization tips to dog aggression to dog health. It is our hope you share our content to make the world a better place for dogs.

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