Basic Items for Your Toy Poodle
Living Quarters
A Dog Crate
is the preferred House Breaking method at Abounding Poodles. It is in a dog's nature to keep his bed area clean, so the crate must be only big enough for a dog to lay down, stand up straight, and turn around. If it is much bigger than this, the dog will sleep on one corner of the crate and use the other side as a bathroom. If the crate is only small enough for him to sleep in, the dog will learn to hold his urges until allowed to go outside. There are some new dog crates in the market now that allows the crate to "grow" with the growing puppy; they have a divider panel that can be adjusted as needed. For one of our puppies, a 22-inch crate is ideal. For a teacup poodle, the 19-inch will suffice. A Crate Pad works great to make it cozy in there.
An Exercise Pen is nice to have either inside of your house or outside on the grass. Please remember to NEVER leave your Toy Poodle outside unattended as a passer-byer, a bigger dog, a hawk, or a fox roaming the neighborhood could easily harm your dog. I would recommend a 30-inch exercise pen for a normal sized Toy Poodle and a 24-inch exercise pen for a teacup.
My favorite leash to use is a Retractable Leash. Call me lazy but that way my dog can go a little further than I am willing to go. For leash training, though, it is best to just use a simple one like this Cheap Lead.
I like these adjustable nylon "choke" type Looping Collar when walking or training. These are not for leaving on the dog unattended as it could really harm your dog if he / she gets caught somewhere. A toy poodle puppy's neck can be very small and it is very hard to find a collar small enough to fit him / her. These kind of collars are adjustable, so they would fit regardless of size. Another place to look for very small collars is in the cat section of the store.
Some of our dogs have inherited the "duck-hunting" drive to fetch and they love running to get a X-Small Squeaky Ball. Others don't care much about fetching, but all seem to love the small 3-inch Plush Toys.
Housebreaking does not have to be a difficult task - especially with a poodle! Some items will help you accoplish this important task a lot faster (Read More...)
Grooming Needs
Toy Poodles have a great hypo-allergenic coat, but they do require grooming often (depending on how short you decide to keep that coat).
Shampoo
I like to use a shampoo that is tear-free so the dog's eyes won't be irritated like this Tearless Dog Shampoo. There are also some that are color-specific (stay away from the eyes), like this Shampoo for White Coats, for Red and Apricot Coats, or for Black Coats.
Combs and Brushes
I have several combs and brushes, each serving a specific purpose. Some combs do better than others in long coats, while others do better on short coats.
The Slicker Brush helps to get mats, tangles, and trapped hair out of the coat pretty quickly. Light pressure feels good to them but be careful not to bear down too hard so you don't scratch your puppy's skin.
A Steel Comb is good for longer hair. This is especially helpful when home grooming as it makes the hair stand up for even length when scissoring. This is also my favorite tool to use if I have one matted area that needs to be detangled.
A Toy Poodle must have the hairs inside of the ear canal plucked out regularly. Here is how to do it and all you will need to do this.
The tear stains on a poodle can be a result of several factors. Here are some ways and products to help deal with the problem.
For the Home Groomer
If you want to start grooming at home, these are some of my favorite tools:
I like this Wahl Arco SE Pet Clipper because it is light weight, cordless, and cuts so well. It is also very quiet and the blade stays cool in comparison to the other A5 Type Clippers blades. However, the A5 Type Clippers tend to be more powerful, long-lasting, and their blades can be sharpened inexpensively by businesses like this. If you are just starting to groom, be sure to use it in the longest setting to avoid giving your toy poodle a nick or a razor burn. You can also purchase extra batteries and replace the blades when they start getting dull.
There are also Grooming Kits such as this Disposable Pet Clippers. They are not technically "disposable" but I am calling them so because once the blade goes dull, there are no replacement parts and you throw them away. They are inexpensive enough that you may choose to just get a new set.
If you attach the metal Clipper Comb Guide to the end of your clipper, it will reduce your labor time in more than half. These fit the A5-Type Clippers. Usually there are plastic ones that come with the clipper, but they don't last long and bend easily. Just keep these in mind for your next purchase.
The Grooming Table With Arm and Loop comes handy because the grooming arm will keep your dog from wiggling around. The 30x18 tabletop size is plenty big. You may even get something smaller like the Lazy Susan Grooming Table. You can put the loop around the neck as well as slip the back legs through it if you are working on the head.
I like the straight scissors as well as the curved ones, but I don't have a lot of use for the thinning shears. This is a pretty good set of Grooming Shears. Poodle hair sometimes will lay down or bend and some shears just don't cut through the hair.
These are great little Rubber Bands for Top Knots if you want to keep a fancy hairdo on your dog. The correct size for a Toy Poodle's Top Knot is 1/4 inch.
