Get My Good Side Mom

Toy poodle on the couch, plaid blanket

Huxtable at about 3 months or so. One of his vets always says how stately he is. I think it's a poodle thing, but I guess my pooch is quite the little handsome gent.

Irish Red and White Setter

I was watching the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on CNBC, and when they introduced the sporting dogs, two stood out: the Irish Red and Irish Red and White Setter.  The Irish red and white setter is thought to be the oldest of the two setters.  It was nearly extinct by the end of the 19th century then reemegred in the 1940s.  That reminded me so much of the parti poodle. And when I think about classic colors of dogs, much of those from the earlier centuries many of the colors are mixed colored-- usually white -and- either black, brown, or red.

It seems like many of them were bred to be solid colored because back in those days it was unique to have solid. Really makes ya think, huh....

Other notables: (Parti Cocker Spaniel, Welsh Springer Spaniel, and English Springer Spaniel) (And the Irish Water Spaniel looks just like a poodle, except for the rat tail, it was really pretty the black coat was gorgeous... makes you wonder how many dog breeds have "poodle roots", lol).

Poodle Firsts: First Time at the Dog Park, First Walk

 Huxtable, the parti poodle, first day at the park

I couldn't hold my horses when it came to being able to take Huxtable to the park. But of course I had to patiently wait until he was able to get his last set of boosters and most importantly rabies shot (I also got him microchipped at the same time). 

That next morning, I put on his leash, got his "baby bag" and headed to the park. This was also sort of our first official walk. Headed there I must say-- my little guy was everywhere, he sorta didn't know what to do, or what side to be on. Huxtable is very very cognizant of surfaces and surface changes. So on our walk he would stop about 3-5 feet before every surface change-- road, to smooth concrete, to cobble stone, to sewer tops, to dusty dirt, to grass, to rough looking concrete. At first I didn't realize what was going on, I thought he was just being stubborn.  Until I realized he would stop when we were approaching sewer tops, then it all clicked for me. My way of dealing with this was just leading him around it (when it came to sewer tops), and encouraging him through it when it came to surface changes. When I did this,  he just happily continued on. 

He continued to switch sides all the way through the park and to the dog park, though he mainly stayed to the right of me. His pace was also a bit lackluster, and he tried to stay behind me most of the time... I guess he was following the "pack leader", wanting me to safely lead him through this new place. 

Huxtable making friends

In the dog park he did relatively good. He started off a bit shy, and was overwhelmed by the other dogs. Within 10 minutes he was branching out, within 15 he was running around on his own, then about 30 minutes in he interacted with the other dogs more, and then about 45 minutes in he was playing with the other dogs trying to get all the dogs to chase him. (Chase has always been his favorite game.) 

Huxtable running around, and around, and around, lol... look at him go!

We left after being there about an hour or so, and chilled out in a green space where baby Huxtable ran around even more. That's where he also caught the attention of more people and dogs, so we made even more friends big and small...

Huxtable with long-haired Chihuahua and Airedale Terrier 

The most impressive thing about the whole day was his attitude and walk on the way back... it was perfect.  Huxtable perfectly walked right next to me on the way back, head held high, his little feet quickly moving at pace, yanno the typical confident toy poodle walk. I couldn't believe my little poodle man got in down pact after just one go, lol! This might be typical, but I see and have read so many stories about people's dog walking them, or seeing and hearing dogs that just generally walk too fast and act wild when on walks. So it was nice to see that I wouldn't have that problem. 

All in all it was a great first day at the park. It started off a bit rough, but ended on a high note. I couldn't wait to take him again. 

Poodle Tales: "I Don't Do Hard Surfaces"

One of the greatest things about having a poodle is the sheer intellect and human like behaviors they display. I read about it a lot before, but to experience it is something different. 

Huxtable has always shown to be a very picky, slightly pompous, but yet playful and loving type of dog. And one of the first ways he showed this was his dislike for walking on non-soft surfaces. My apartment has hardwood floors with rugs spread about. And the only place he would sit or stand was on soft surfaces. If I put him down on the hardwood he would run to the  nearest carpet. 

Well on one of his first weeks of being in his new home, I placed his crate in a different part of my apartment, a section he hadn't been before. I opened his crate to allow him to come out and told him to "come here", but he hesitated... He was unsure of the area and saw the hardwood floors. So, first he leaned his head out of the crate and sniffed the floor.... he started to lift one leg to walk out then he backed up. Then he did the funniest thing... he goes into his crate and gets his little red stuffed dog friend and pushes him out onto the floor, he observes the stuffed animal for a bit and sees that he's okay. Then he steps on him to get out, then places him back into the crate.... hilarious! I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed. Moments like that make me want to have a flip cam on him at all times. Is this a poodle thing, a parti poodle thing, or do other dogs have such smarts at just 3 months of age?!

Nevertheless Huxtable "doesn't do hard surfaces" if he can help it anyway lol, and it's funny to watch the strategic ways he'll go about making sure he is always standing on a soft surface.