Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Sunday, April 7. 2013

Hunting Poodle

No surprise here. Poodles originated in Germany as duck retrievers for marshes, with the haircut designed to reduce ice build-up. In recent years, some breeders have been selecting them again for hunt instinct instead of show-dog features.


I always say about training poodles (as someone who has trained Labs and Standard Poodles) that the difficulty with Poodles is that they are smarter than people. Labs just want to please you, but Poodles are always looking to negotiate a compromise.


To stay healthy, breeders and vets say Standards need a one-hour off-leash run daily. So does the owner. Another interesting thing about Poodles: they are not into food. They just eat what they need and leave the rest. Nobody has ever seen a fat Poodle. Many humans could take a tip from that, too.




Posted by Bird Dog in Hunting, Fishing, Dogs, Guns, etc., Our Essays at 16:28 | Comments (8) | Trackbacks (0)

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Despite current perveption , puddle are bread as a retriever dog. Uncle Sill who may be crazy about certain things is perfectly correct on bringing one to the hunt.
#1 bigfire on 2013-04-07 16:55 (Reply)
Yes indeed. The breed originated in Germany as duck retrievers for marshes.
#1.1 BD on 2013-04-07 16:59 (Reply)
Can't get the sound audible.

We had a smaller one as children that was the smartest dog I have known. Knew everybody in the families name, Mom would send it to wake up Dad and my brother and I in the mornings, times varied so it wasn't just a rote routine.

My Dad loves his evening ice cream, used to eat his nightly bowl and then let the dog lick the last bit off his spoon. The dog was perplexed at why it didn't get treats throughout the meal like with everything else, then one day apparently figured it out, as she ran into the kitchen and carried her empty food dish over and placed it at Dad's feet, giving a little bark and bumping it with her nose a couple times in case he didn't understand.

Been gone about 30 years now and I still miss the hell out of that little dog.
#2 B Moe on 2013-04-07 18:39 (Reply)
Haven't used my standard poodle to hunt (I'm not a hunter), but they're wicked smart, fast, and highly trainable (and not at all gun-shy)-- although I agree with the part about negotiating a compromise. Have a capricious streak that can be maddening at times, however.

Mine's a food hound, though -- especially human food. Smart enough and tall enough to get food anywhere: open cabinets, counters, doors, whatever it takes.

We keep his kibble in the garage, outside the laundry room, which has a self-closing door which opens inward. Recently my wife left the house & set the alarm. Crazy dog opened the door (setting off the alarm), opened the trunk where his food is kept, had his way with the grub, then reopened the door to get back inside (alarm still blaring). The perfect crime!
#3 Dr Bob on 2013-04-07 18:49 (Reply)
popular here are the labradoodle and goldendoodle mixes.
#4 wirraway on 2013-04-08 00:11 (Reply)
@Wir: We have two petite goldendoodles (groodles) about 3 years old. The statement "negotiate a compromise" doesn't even start to characterize these two. Sort of a combination of Hillary C. and Alex Jones on their best/worst days. Excellent hunters.
#4.1 Arkindole on 2013-04-09 16:37 (Reply)
People need at least one hour of walk a day. Discovered this when got a husky.
#5 Flyguy on 2013-04-08 11:09 (Reply)
I have seen a fat poodle. My aunt had a poodle so fat that it looked pink because of the skin between strands of fur were visible. The poor thing was prone to breaking it legs from jumping off of furniture because it weighed so much. It was a toy... a fat toy.
#6 Jeff on 2013-04-10 03:17 (Reply)

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