Parti Poodle Newborn Puppy Babies

A perfect litter of parti poodle newborns, with two solid-littermates that will no doubt carry the coveted parti gene. Hmmm, actually the one of the far left looks like it could be a cream parti poodle... which would likely darken to become a (light) apricot parti.

Huxtable: Perfect Parti Poodle Puppy

With Huxie's 1st birthday in the midst I figured I'd post a few pics from his "baby days". I got him last December and it was most definitely one of the best decisions I've ever made. This little guy is my world! :-) And he brings so much joy, laughter, and comfort to family and friends... and I mean, that's what having a dog is all about, right?

I have sooooo many pics of Hux, easily thousands of pics, lol... but I've probably only posted like idk 3% of the pics I have of him. I plan to go back and post the pictures of him that I haven't yet. The photos below are from December 2011, a few days after I got him...

Product Review: Car Seats for Dogs (Small, Toy Poodle)

Huxtable, Toy Poodle in car seat

These photos are from months ago (taken on my phone), but here's Huxtable in his car seat. People always get a kick out of it, I can't get through a drive-through without someone commenting on how cute it is or how they've never seen one before. :)

I used to keep it in the front seat, since I take Huxtable with me to most places, but it became inconvenient when I'd have other passengers... they didn't like the idea of sitting in the back all because my dog's carseat was up front, lol... understandable. So now it's in the back passenger seat, which is actually much more safe for a dog, just like it is a baby. 

When initially shopping around for a dog seat I was able to narrow it down to about two or three brands/types, but ended up going with Kyjen Outward Hound Car Booster Seat. There were a few things that made me choose this brand: 

- Material-- seemed like it would be okay with growth b/c it has a soft nylon type material (mesh on side), unlike some others that are more box and bucket like. 

- Pricing-- $25/$30, great price point vs the $50-$100 of most other dog seats. 

- Design-- has a safety feature that attaches to the harness (or collar), has pocket up front to store things if needed, black (blends perfectly in my car's interior), and folds for easy storage in case you needed to store it in the trunk.

I keep a fleece blanket in it, as well as one of his soft toys (usually his sail ship) and his nylabone. 

Lately Huxtable has been riding up front with me, but he still fits in the small dog car seat well (he's almost 8 months and about 5.5lbs). All in all I think a carseat/booster seat is a must for any dog parent that often drives with their dog. A car seat is probably appropriate for toy and miniature sized dogs, larger dogs should choose a safety harness, bench/carseat cover, or waterproof hammock. You can check out car seat cover options for larger dogs here.

The small Outward Hound is nice car seat for a toy poodle, check it out here. And view other types of car seats for dogs of all sizes, here. 

(The two below are with the flash)

 The dog car seat is on the front passenger side, it straps around the seat and on the headrest. There's a harness attachment in the middle, zippered pocket on front.

(without flash)

In these photos Huxtable is about 4.5 months old, about 3.8 lbs.

Huxtable at about 6 months, about 4.5 lbs

The dog car seat is in the back seat, passenger side. My back seat has headrest so I strap it around the there. If you don't have headrests in the back you will only be able to use the dog car seat in the front. Luckily, most cars except for maybe some coupes and sport cars have headrest in the back. This is definitely the safest place in the car for your dog, though he may want to ride up front with you.  I'm actually thinking about moving my dog car seat back up front since Huxtable has been riding shot gun most of the summer. 

See a Review Update (with photos), HERE.

When to Switch Dog Food for Toy Poodle: Puppy to Adult, New Brand

parti poodle puppy Baby Huxtable, a few months old, with water and food (and bone)

What is the best time to switch a toy poodle from puppy to adult dog food?

This has been what I've been wondering and trying to figure out for the last few weeks. 

Huxtable is getting older, about 7 months now so is time to switch him to big boy food? I searched the net tiredly and asked around... and as you could imagine the answers varied. 

It varies upon dog, size which coincides with the breed, your dogs behavior or reaction to food, and simply the recommendation of your vet.

The average answer you will find is 1 year. Puppy food is usually enriched with certain nutrients critical for a growing pup-- extra vitamins, more protein, etc etc. Taking your dog off of puppy food too soon could potentially harm his/her healthy growth. On the same token, taking him off too late could possibly  affect his health-- the super rich nutrients of the puppy dog food might make him (now an adult dog) sick (that is rarely the case though, but it is possible). 

Though one year is the average answer, I've read about many people taking them off at 6 months. I guess they figure I get him fixed at 6 months so he can also have adult food now. I guess that could make sense, but this really depends on your breed/dog size. It's known that smaller breeds, like toy poodles, usually mature and grow faster than bigger breeds, like standard poodles. That maturing factors into whether or not your puppy is ready for adult food or not. 

I'm choosing to wait until one year for Huxtable. I want him to benefit from the nutrients of puppy food in his first year of life, then at 12.5 months I'll begin to mix his puppy and adult, so that by 13.5 he'll be on adult food.

Huxtable, the poodle, licking his lips during a tasty meal

Switching Dog Food Brands: Toy Poodles

While I'm waiting, until one year to switch from puppy to adult food for my toy poodle. I'm not waiting to switch brands. My sister uses Blue Buffalo for her dog and swears by it. Huxtable has been eating Pedigree which has worked well. He had a small random stint with Puppy Chow, but it drastically affected his coat appearance. It went from shiny pretty wavy puppy poodle fur to thinning thready fur... it was horrible and unfortunate. But I thought that is what the breeder had used... long story short, I stopped after a week, and he's been eating Pedigree since. Pedigrees newer formula has been good for Huxtable (and the price has been good for my pockets), but he's my baby so I decided to "upgrade" to Blue Buffalo. Over the past week I've been mixing his puppy Pedigree with his puppy Blue Buffalo for toy breeds. 

That is the key when switching brands-- don't just automatically start serving them the new brand of food, mix the current dog food with new one... slowly fade until all you're using is the new one. 

I'll do an update on his change later.

Choose from some of the best dog foods for toy poodles (and other breeds), with reviews, here. (Remember free shipping for most orders over $25)

*********

UPDATE: By doing a very gradual change of dog food Hux luckily didn't experience any really loose stools. I think at most there was a day or two of softer stools, but that happens anyway if you feed them wet dog food. I read on PetMD to do the change over 5 days, Dr. Coates writes:

Day 1 – Mix 20% of the new food with 80% of the old. 
Day 2 – Mix 40% of the new food with 60% of the old.
Day 3 – Mix 60% of the new food with 40% of the old.
Day 4 – Mix 80% of the new food with 20% of the old. 
Day 5 – Feed 100% of the new food. 

 *If at any point during this process your dog stops eating or develops vomiting or diarrhea, do not feed any more of the new food and call the office.


While this may work for some 5 days is really way to short, plus, if you're like me you'll want to finish up some of the old dog food. Depending not the amount of old dog food you have left I'd recommend 10-14 days, preferable 14 days (two weeks).

If it had to be mapped out then it should be done as following:

Day 1 -- 5% of the new food with 95% of the old.
Day 2 -- 5% of the new food with 95% of the old
Day 3 -- 10% of the new food with 90% of the old
Day 4 -- 10% of the new food with 90% of the old
Day 5 -- 20% of the new food with 80% of the old
Day 6 -- 30% of the new food with 70% of the old
Day 7 -- 40% of the new food with 60% of the old
Day 8 -- 50% of the new food with 50% of the old
Day 9 -- 50% of the new food with 50% of the old
Day 10 -- 50% of the new food with 50% of the old
Day 11 -- 60% of the new food with 40% of the old
Day 12  -- 70% of the new food with 30% of the old
Day 13 -- 80% of the new food with 20% of the old
Day 14- 100% new food

As you can see the change if very gradual, repeating the same percentages on some days, with about three days of a half and half mix.

 Switching Dog Food

If your dog is anything like my little boujee poodle, lol, they may just start picking out the old food and only eating the new. I would often look over to watch Huxtable literally taking out the old food morsels/kibbles with his mouth and placing them next to the bowl, once complete he'd eat the new dog food. The first time or so I watched him do it because it was pretty hilarious... the brains on these poodles amaze me at times! But of course I ended up putting them back into his bowl and telling him to eat them. So the next time I figured he was eating them all, only to notice him moving the food to the other side of the bowl, navigating through the old and new food with his nose, lol. 

I actually couldn't believe how much he preferred the new food. So I decided to do a quick test one day. I put some of both food into small piles on the floor, to see which food he would choose....

... and he literally chose Blue each time, lol. Even though Hux prefers Blue I must say that Pedigree's new Formula was good for him as a small pup. It kept his coat nice and shiny :)

Poodle Nights: Dogs in Apartments, New Home Anxiety

One of the main reasons I wanted a small dog is so that I could more easily manage him in an apartment. While I do love big dogs, I don't plan on having one until I'm living in the penthouse suite, lol :/ (Though the other dog owners in my building have big dogs.)

My little Huxie poo had a little separation anxiety his first few nights in his new forever home

Anywho on my second night with little Huxtable things went awry. In the middle of the night around 4am, my new poodle decided his crate wasn't suitable and that sleeping alone wasn't either.  So he started barking and whining, I did the same thing I did the night before: ignore... and he stopped. Then he started again, this time I figured I'd check to see if he needed to use the bathroom, and he didn't so I put him away and went back to sleep. Then he started yet again, getting louder and louder with each bark, and he was even shaking the cage! After what seemed like an hour (probably more like 6-7 minutes) he stopped. I swear between 4am and 5am is THE most quiet time of the day. That seems like the only hour where there is literally no noise coming from anywhere-- this all made it worse and I began to really worry about my neighbors. I mean, who wants to be the neighbor with the annoying barking dogs? No one does, especially when people are trying to sleep. Finally after the fourth time of his insane barking, I quickly went to get him when he stopped. I've read it's really important not to give them attention when they're barking, otherwise they'll think that's an acceptable way to get your attention.

I'll definitely say he worked my nerves, I began rethinking if I was really ready to be a "mom". I can be patient, but this barking at 4am was not something I planned on getting used to. At that moment I really thought I was in over my head, I even started to look for non-harmful devices to keep your dog from barking... the collars seemed a bit extreme, but I was on the verge of ordering a K-Ii Pet-Agree Dog Training Aid Ultrasonic. Thankfully that was the last time he barked like that at night, and the only other time he's ever barked continuously (and annoyingly) was when I left him in a tub to try and go potty (on his pee pad) when we were at my sister's house.

The first few days and nights of having a new puppy can be tough, but I realized you just have to hang in there and things will go smooth sooner than you realize.