I’m often told that toy poodles are snippy or vicious but the truth is, any dog can be snippy or vicious if they aren’t trained properly or have been mistreated by their owner. Poodles in general are very easy to train. You may have even seen trained toy poodles in the circus.
I’m the proud owner of a 12 year old female toy poodle and she has been an absolute joy to have. Our sweet little lady has aged gracefully. She has slowed down significantly but hasn’t shown her age when it comes to the kids. She’s not a grouchy old lady, she’s a dream come true pet for our family.
Our toy poodle was here before the children and I was very worried that we might have an issue with jealousy. This was not the case. She sat on my lap when I was on bed rest when I was pregnant with the twins and kept me company every day. She was very gentle with me and I have a feeling that she had an idea that babies were on the way.
When the babies came home from the hospital, my toy poodle stayed at the edge of the room. She never came close to the babies but she was naturally curious about them. She watched them all day. Of course I never left her alone with the babies because I wouldn’t take the chance that something would happen.
As the twins grew they adored her. They would watch her and laugh and she would stay close by their high chair in hopes that something good would come her way. The girls soon caught on to that and started throwing her gold fish every day. This turned out to be a bad thing and required a call to the vet. Apparently too much cheese or other dairy products can cause crystals in the urine which may cause the dog to have bloody urine. My initial reaction was that the dog had a urinary tract infection but I was wrong.
Six years later, our toy poodle never had bloody urine again and the children are trained not to feed the dog.
The friendship that has developed with our children and our toy poodle is very special. I believe that owning a toy poodle teaches children to be gentle, kind and compassionate. Other large breeds may teach children the same thing but perhaps children can play a bit rougher with large dogs and perhaps that’s not a good thing. A dog bite from a Golden Retriever is sure to be worse than a bite from a toy poodle.
Our children have never been bitten by our toy poodle and neither have their friends. When the friends come to our house, our toy poodle is put in my bedroom out of harms way for her safety. Not all children are taught to be gentle with animals which may cause any dog to bite as a warning.
Having a toy poodle as a family pet is a big responsibility just as with any other breed. Parents must always be watchful of the dog and children at play.
