APAW: Why Poodles?

Poodles are one of the original retrieving breeds, specializing in water like Labradors and Goldens. They love to pick items up and put them where-ever indicated. Poodles are extremely smart and enjoy the mental stimulation of complicated tasks. When paired with our training methods that encourage the dog to think, our Poodles are practically unstoppable.

Temperament

Poodles tend to be more intuitive than most breeds, and are very sensitive to their owners feelings. While they have a strong work ethic, Poodles are known for making their people laugh - they will perform clever antics to lighten any dreary day. Because of this unique temperament, we only place our Poodles with people who don't mind a little good humor every once in a while.

Fewer Allergic Reactions

Poodles have hair like people, not fur that sheds. A little hair will come out on a brush, but it won't drop out on it's own. Because of this, Poodles don't leave hair on your rug, clothes, food... and many people allergic to dogs are fine with Poodles. Poodles don't have a 'doggy smell' and like to keep themselves clean as much as possible. However, due to their non-shedding, ever-growing hair, grooming is an important part of staying healthy.

Grooming

Poodle hair can be cut in many different styles depending on the amount of maintenance the owner wants to deal with. We recommend a short 'kennel clip' - up to 1" on the body and legs, shaved face and feet, and a pompom tail and round scissored head. Some people also like to leave 'bracelets' on the legs for a little added style. This needs very little care besides visiting a groomer every 6-8 weeks.

For someone needing less hair, a complete shave is easy - the entire dog can be short and smooth like velvet. A shave can be done every 2-3 months, though some brushing will be needed the longer the hair is left.

Regardless of the style of haircut, an assistance dog must always be clean and looking relatively neat.

The easiest way to keep a Poodle clean is by shaving the feet and face so that mud and food don't stick.

Mixes of the Poodle have recently become a craze, supposedly combining the Poodles' non-shedding coat with the other breeds' temperament etc. But that is not realistic. Genetics are paired in a random fashion, with dominants and recessives shifting unevenly... the result is any of millions of possible combinations. In almost every case these mixes still shed and have a dog-odor (making them unsuitable for people with allergies), and often require more grooming maintenance than a purebred Poodle.

Another factor is health - every breed has their share of genetic diseases, and combining separate breeds allows many unnoticed recessives to pass on (up to the sum of diseases for every breed within a body). These recessives can pop up in the future causing many issues that could have been avoided.

The dogs that are being used as breeding stock for these 'designer dogs' tend to be poorly bred themselves, as most responsible breeders protect their breed by all means possible including spending hundreds of dollars on available health testing before allowing a dog to be bred. This means that the dogs available to people producing mixes tend to have weaker genetic quality, resulting in a higher likely-hood of health and temperament problems.

Don't they have Hybrid Vigor?

Hybrid vigor is something that only occurs when the mating is between different species, and usually results with infertile offspring. An example of hybrid vigor is a cross between a mare (female horse) and donkey - the mule, which tends to live 125% as long and with a longer working life than a horse. To read more about hybrid vigor, click here.

American Poodles At Work - "Giving A PAW To Aid Mankind"
413.436.0601 / info @ americanpoodlesatwork.org
PO Box 1933 Warren, MA 01083