there is a large standard poodle who is looking for a new home. I am considering taking him but would like to hear opinions and ideas. He has ear issues so required continuing maintenance to ensure they don’t get infected. That sounds simple enough or am I missing something here? He’s five years old and quite large. He’s very playful and rambunctious. He doesn’t jump either into the car or over a low fence. The not jumping sounds odd to me. He kills chickens and rabbits so I wonder about him with cats in the house. Outside it seems a given that he has to be supervised with wildlife or free-roaming cats. He digs.
Otherwise, he sounds very loving and sweet. Very bold and likes to play roughly with his large dog friend. He sounds smart and very cool.
Any thoughts. Owner thinks he’d be good with horses.
where is he? I’d not be too worried about the ear issue and Poodles (in general) are so trainable I think he’d be easy to teach to get over the cat thing too.
The ear issue may well be an allergy to wheat, corn, or soy. Feed a grain-free food and make sure he isn’t eating another pet’s food or spilled horse pellets and is not being given treats or table scraps that contain those items. That may be enough to clear up the ear problem, as long as you keep the hair on the ear leather well trimmed and get the hair out of the ear canal properly to allow good air circulation – have a groomer do it or learn the proper way to do ears yourself.
Standard Poodles do tend to be good with horses. But of course, it depends on age and temperament. Introduce them carefully and keep an eye on him until you can determine what his comfort level is with horses.
If this dog has already proven to be aggressive with small prey, I’m not sure I’d trust him entirely around cats, indoors or out. Do you know if he’s been around cats before?
Can you do a trial period to see if he gets along with your other animals (cats? horses? other dogs?)? If he doesn’t get along well with horses, can you manage that (do you board or have them at home?) or would he need to go back/find another home?
I wouldn’t worry about the ear issue, either. Poodles need to have the hair cleared out of their ears as part of routine grooming, and when that doesn’t happen they can get infections. Simple enough fix!
Sheilah
Poodles are wonderful dogs, especially standards in my experience. The ear problem may be easily solved by switching to a limited ingredient diet (no grain, chicken, dairy, beef, ect) Nature’s Variety Instinct makes limited ingredient diets. I will say that sometimes plucking the hair can cause infections, sometimes it prevents. Depends on the dog and what kind of ear hair they have (if it comes out easily or if it is rooted in deep). My poodle does better when I pluck the ears, but others do better if the hair there is trimmed and if the whole ear is trimmed short either in a tassle or German style.
Standard Poodles are wonderful dogs. I have had them forever, and currently have two. He sounds like ‘my kind of dog’ lol!! I am NOT a breeder, have NEVER bred one, nor an ‘expert’ on them - just a ‘fan’. Our entire family (myself, parents, and my sister and her family) has Standard Poodles. They have ALL been unrelated, except for two from one breeder …
Fabulous family dogs. I joke my kids were ‘raised by poodles’. I have evidence in family pics and videos 
(my kids are now 18 and 25)
My most recent, an ‘adult acquisition’, had persistent and frustrating ear issues and it was as simple as changing her diet to a high quality Lamb and Rice food. I no longer give chicken based food.
One will hunt rabbits etc. outside, but is absolutely perfect with the cats. He couldn’t care less about the cats and most casually says ‘hello’. My other does like to chase them, but has never hurt one. (I DO correct her and she knows she isn’t supposed to, but the ‘urge’ gets to her sometimes). I have never had a real problem with the cats and our dogs.
Some are very good around the horses, some are a bit too rambunctious around them for me. I prefer to keep my horses in the barn, and my dogs at the house so I don’t have to worry about it. Each dog is a bit different, just like horses. Poodles are VERY trainable, and VERY smart.
We have had two that didn’t love to jump in the car, as they had motion sickness as pups, however, both overcame that with encouragement and short rides, and building up the length of the ride. The others have LOVED to jump in the car!
Not jumping a low fence is perhaps unusual, as they are outstanding jumpers (to a fault, I always wanted to “put a saddle” on them!) Perhaps he was trained NOT to jump??
I have had two who love to dig…haven’t solved that one yet, but we have lots of land. 
…it does frustrate hubby though… :))
I hope this helps with your thought process about the decision. 
Thanks for the replies. He is in a private home and not in a shelter. I know I could do a trial as he was brought back by someone already. I don’t mind the digging really - my lab was a serious digger and though it’s nice that the current dogs don’t dig, I can live with it. The ear condition comes with an established vet - a dermatologist, I’m pretty sure. How often do poodles need to be groomed?
When he was on trial, he was around a couple of cats in that house. It seemed that he did fine after he was swatted. The owner expressed concern if the cat ran from him that he would chase it and that would be a problem. He analysis sounded reasonable - stand and swat and the cat’s OK, run and the desire to chase it kicks in.
My dogs are in a 1/4 acre dog area plus the yard, and are not allowed to roam in the pasture off leash (maybe they will be able to go off leash some time, but not yet).
The owners are unavailable this week so I have some time before we meet him.
We are seriously considering him. Thanks for the information.
Definitely ask about the non-jumping. This would concern me (DM and Wobblers are somewhat common in standard poodles). It could be nothing, but if its a progressive behaviour you may end up with issues in the future. However, if he can run and chase cats it sounds like the potential is high that its nothing serious.
Ears can often be treated by finding a suitable food, and it sounds like he has been doing well with whatever treatment he has been receiving.
Poodles are AWESOME dogs, very smart, friendly and loyal.
The “maintenance” treatment is a topical prednisone mixture or some kin. He hasn’t actually chased any cats. He has chased rabbits (caught and killed at least one) and he’s killed some chickens (the most recent event was when the chicken came into his dog area). I don’t know how many chickens or rabbits he has killed.
I’ve known some miniature poodles and they were exceptional dogs.
I’ll look at DM and wobblers.
Thank you.
I looked up DM and wobblers. I am very disappointed to say that our GSD x Golden Retriever mix that we adopted from the pound a few months ago almost certainly has DM. We had wondered about the way he moves and about the weakness in his hind legs. He’s about six. The vet didn’t mention it, and neither did the pound, but I can’t even imagine that he doesn’t have it. This has been one very bad week…
Poodles should be groomed every 6 weeks unless you get them clipped close with a 7 blade. If you want them fluffy that means brushing daily making sure you get to the skin, or bringing them in very often. I would say 6 weeks is the standard. I am a groomer and I see way too many poodles and poodle mi I mix dogs coming in not often enough and they have bad mats that pull at the skin causing pain. I bring my dog in every 3 weeks but I have that convenience since I groom him. I have him in a low maintenance German trim but I still brush daily especially in snowy weather since wetness plus tangles + no daily brushing can = bad mats.
I’d just make sure that his version of “plays roughly” is accurate. I’ve know some owners with seriously aggressive dogs who think their dogs simply “play roughly.” People tend to underestimate.
The non-jumping would worry me, a bit. If I were looking for an athletic dog, and not just rescuing, then I would consider a PPE. My best (non-vet) guess would be pain, maybe hip pain, that gets worse when he tries to launch.
as to grooming, he two mini poodles I adopted a couple months ago from the shelter got buzzed with my 10 blade on all but the topknot and ears when they got here. They are still short enough to not tangle 2 months in. I brush the top bit that isn;t cut every couple days, and I have re-shaved face, feet and tails twice…
(I also dyed ernie’s ears purple).
They do MUCH MUCH better on grain free diet- hot spots, ear issues and itchies cleared up in about a month
They are mad smart, and I am glad I took them in.
