If you are searching for a small, adorable, agile and athletic breed for your family, look no further than the Miniature Poodle. Being one of the smartest breeds across the world, they can fill your days with entertainment, always looking for their next job to please you. These Poodles are conveniently sized and are adaptable to any way of life, making them out to be perfect family pets, which they are. Some highlights:
The Miniature Poodle’s coat is virtually non-shedding, leaving your furniture free of fur
This breed can come in a wide variety of colours, leaving it up to the potential buyers to have their choice on their unique new dog
They are renown for their intelligence, being the most attentive of all breeds, always wishing to please their owners.
This intelligence also helps them be so easily trainable and remaining obedient throughout their lives.
Although Miniature Poodles seem almost perfect, they still have some faults. Although their coats do not shed, it never stops growing. Therefore, religious clipping or trimming every 4-6 weeks must occur without fail, otherwise, their coats will become too thick, heavy and knotted for them to withstand. Some downsides to the Miniature Poodle:
Some bloodlines for this breed can be highly strung and neurotic, making them more of a handful and hyperactive.
When Miniature Poodles are not socialised enough at a young age, they can be timid and shy around people and animals, which can create a problematic and possibly neurotic dog in the future.
Although they are physically strong and athletic, they are a very sensitive breed, reacting negatively to raised voices and stress around them.
Miniature Poodles are a native breed to France, originally bred to retrieve ducks and sniff out truffles. They were bred to be smaller than their larger Poodle counterparts so that more people could afford to own them. Records imply that this breed has been around for 500 years, increasing in popularity throughout time, peaking in the 50s and 60s as one of the most popular breeds around the world. However, people began to realise their intelligence, and they slowly began to learn tricks and eventually circus routines, being used in shows and performances to entertain the public. Even today, Miniature Poodles are one of the most popular dogs appearing in shows, but also as family companions and working dogs. They are a very all-round breed that will happily do anything to please their owners.
Miniature Poodles can come in two different builds. The most commonly seen is the Square build, where their legs are long enough so that their height is equal to their length. They should look in proportion completely, hence their name. The more uncommon and disinformed build is where the dog lies lower to the ground, with shorter legs and a longer back. This is an inherited disformity called Chondrodysplasia, limiting their elegance or agility due to the lack of even proportions around the body.
Not being bred as small as their Toy Poodle relatives, adult Miniature Poodles stand at around 28-38cm at the shoulder.
In relation to their height, this breed is very light, weighing around 7-8kg when fully grown.
This breed can come in many colours or a combination of a few. This allows buyers to choose their own unique puppy, which is a desirable characteristic in puppies nowadays. The most common colours include Apricot, Black, Blue, Brown, Cream, Red, Silver and White.
Even though they aren’t large dogs, Miniature Poodles make brilliant watchdogs. They bark at strangers as well as unusual sights and sounds, alerting their owner of an unfamiliar object that they dislike. They are very dependable for their owners, wanting to protect and care for them every day. However, they never approach anything with any aggression, preferring to stand back rather than engage.
Although this breed makes extremely natural watchdogs, they can sometimes bark when it is unnecessary. Many owners say that Miniature Poodles ‘like the sound of their own voice’, expressing themselves to tell their family what they like and what they dislike. They are a very observant breed and can bark at even the slightest noise, so it is important to establish a respectful relationship so that they will obey your command for them to stop barking.
Miniature Poodles are exceptionally easy to train with their intelligence making them quick learners. However, this can also come hand in hand with stubbornness and ignorant independence where the Poodles will happily ignore their owner if they are bored with learning new tricks. It is very important to make training sessions more of a game, keeping them short and snappy with positive rewards such as praise, treats and playing in return for good behaviour.
This breed is extremely playful, loving anyone that will spend time running around with them. Miniature Poodles will play gently with children as well as other dogs and animals, especially if they are introduced and socialised with them from a young age.
This breed is very good with children, loving to play with them and care for them, simply wanting to be a part of the entire family.
Overall, Miniature Poodles are good with other pets, especially when socialised as a puppy. Many people expect them to have an inbuilt prey drive, but this has been gradually bred out of them throughout time as they were being used less for hunting and more as a companion. However, always keep an eye on your dog when it is off the lead in case they find a scent that they wish to follow.
Miniature Poodles tend to form very strong bonds with their family, and therefore separation anxiety is common for this breed. Although they are very adaptable, happy living in a small city apartment or a large country house, they still require large amounts of human contact. If they have to be left alone, ensure that they have had sufficient physical exercise before. It is also a good idea that they are left with a mentally stimulating activity to work with as you go, such as a Kong filled with treats, as this distracts them from realising they are alone.
Although this breed enjoys water, there are some that don’t like getting their feet wet. No dog should ever be forced to go swimming as that would scare them even more. The Poodle’s coat is also very thick and dense, and if it is left too long it could weight them down in the water. Always make sure their coats are clipped well and you keep an eye on your Miniature Poodle if they enjoy going for a swim.
Commonly, Miniature Poodles live up to about 13 – 15 years.
This breed needs an adequate amount of exercise in an open secure area where they can run freely off the lead every day in order to limit their boredom. It is recommended that they get a minimum of an hour’s exercise a day, more if possible. This helps to make them a lot calmer when inside the house and tires them out to stop them from being bored and hyperactive.
Unfortunately, Miniature Poodles can have quite a few health issues, including:
Addinson’s Disease
Cushing’s Syndrome
Thyroid Disease
Liver Disease
Epilepsy
Joint problems
Hypothyroidism
Von Willebrand’s Disease
Eye Diseases
Patellar Luxation
As this breed is relatively small, they don’t tend to take up too much space. They also enjoy cuddling up with their owners on the sofa, wanting to feel like a part of the family. Therefore, this breed doesn’t need a large space for themselves. They are very adaptable and will happily live in a small apartment building in the city, just as long as they get enough physical exercise to keep them from getting bored.
Due to their small size, this breed should not get too much food as they have the possibility of putting on weight. High-quality dry food is recommended to keep them healthy, but you should always check with your vet for what they recommend for your individual puppy.
Miniature Poodles don’t tend to need very much grooming day to day, only requiring a brush through every week to prevent tangles and knots from occurring, and to get out dirt and debris. However, their coats never stop growing in length, so they must be clipped or trimmed professionally every 4-6 weeks, depending on how quickly it grows. This can be in any style you want, not only in the classic show Poodle fashion.
This breed does not shed their coats, giving them the title of being one of the most hypoallergenic breeds around the world. However, instead of shedding, any dead or loose hair gets caught in their thick coat. This is where grooming is needed to remove this loose fur.
As a rough guide in pricing: Cost to buy: roughly £400 - £1,000 for a well-bred Miniature Poodle puppy Other costs (Vet, Food etc): £50 - £100 per month
You can read our general buying guide here (/advice-on-buying-a-puppy/), with the most important thing being going to view your Miniature Poodle Puppy, seeing it with its mother, and checking the quality of the breeder. More specifically, here is some Miniature Poodle puppy buying advice:
It is important to note that because this breed is smaller than others, some people like to try and breed them to be even smaller. This is illegal, as the smaller the dogs are bred the more likely they are to have health issues. Even though they may be ‘cuter’ and more desirable, always be wary of buying a dog that is too small.
As the Miniature Poodle is a very desired breed, there are often scams online. These can be spotted by puppies being listed at a much lower price compared to some other litters, whilst also having the descriptions slightly vague and often copied from various other adverts. It is very important that you don’t pay anything to the breeder before you see the puppies yourself. This helps you to establish that the puppies are real, and also gives you a chance to check the legality of the breeder’s program.
https://www.preloved.co.uk/classifieds/pets/dogs/all/uk/miniature+poodles+for+sale+or+rehoming https://www.poodlesinneed.co.uk/ https://www.poodlenetworkuk.org/ https://www.yourdog.co.uk/dog-breeds/poodle-miniature-dog-breed-profile/ https://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/reviews/miniaturepoodles.html
