25 years hunting with Standard Poodles

[Furguspup]

Hello! I am new to this forum. I have been hunting with Standard Poodles for the last 25 years in the tough costal marshes in south Louisiana. I have had three un neutered males who have lived in the house - all have been reliably house broken by 8-9 weeks, have NEVER marked or chewed in the home. My dog hating, neat nick wife with allergies has adored all of them and they are great with my young kids, other dogs, cats and people - temperament is like a good Lab or Golden. I obtained my first dog from " Dee Dee the poodle groomer " in '93 as a newly wed just as a jogging buddy and house pet. The obedience trainer was a Lab trainer - my pup was following the Lab pups in the water and retrieving small bumpers naturally so she convinced me to bring him to her retriever class - I obtained a UKC Seasoned title of him ( AKC would not allow Poodles to run at that time ) and hunted with him for many years - had his own slow cautious water entry, but developed into a great handling meat dog. Second dog was a burly 80 lbs and had more drive and talent - obtained an AKC JH on him ( 4 out of 5 passes) - my current dog is half the weight and my first performance bred dog - tons of drive, tons of intelligence, tons of manipulation! I read an article about the gentle British way to train a retriever with only positive methods - I force fetched and collar conditioned my first two dogs but thought this dog had so much drive, he would not need it - my Lab buddies said a non force fetched dog would fail me at the most inopportune time despite three years of very successful hunting --- of course they were RIGHT ! At his first AKC event he was more interested in making Labradoodles than completing his first land/water mark!
I have seen several inquiries about hunting SP's but most folks don't have much experience with them. I have had to modify my training techniques as a SP's temperament is very different from the Field Trial Champion line bred, ultra high drive Labs I grew up with here in Louisiana. I have made just about every training mistake you can think of over the years so if you have any questions, I can give you an HONEST opinion about the breed ! Love the forum, especially fascinated with the continental versatile breeds. Happy hunting! Felix

[reba]

Felix,

What type of birds are you hunting? When I know that I may have more questions.

Thanks

[Timewise65]

I saw a lady from Colorado run two white full size poodles in a hunt test we were running on. They ran in the JH level, and frankly I had never seen a poodle hunt, although I had heard of it before. Both dogs passed both the land and water tests that day. The ran the test perfectly, although they did not show the drive and style that many retriever's have. But, if one was to hunt waterfowl with them, they would mark, then retrieve to hand, any bird shot! And after all, that is the point!

[DonF]

I'd read somewhere at one time that poodles were originally water dog's. In fact it said that the poodle trim, for show, does have a purpose, protect joint's from cold water. Now I don't know that to be true, if so, why did the bother to trim them at all? If that was true it would not surprise me. Look what AKC show people did to the Irish Setter, the Springer Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel and probably more. With AKC show people, excepting Brittany's , function follows form. Don't work for me! Come to think of it there is also a group of people in this country that hunt Airdales. Those do sound interesting.

[ezzy333]

Don, the clip was to speed them up but then they found they need protection for joints and also heart and lungs, hence the poodle clip.

[Furguspup]

I'd read somewhere at one time that poodles were originally water dog's. In fact it said that the poodle trim, for show, does have a purpose, protect joint's from cold water. Now I don't know that to be true, if so, why did the bother to trim them at all? If that was true it would not surprise me. Look what AKC show people did to the Irish Setter, the Springer Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel and probably more. With AKC show people, excepting Brittany's , function follows form. Don't work for me! Come to think of it there is also a group of people in this country that hunt Airdales. Those do sound interesting.

Hi Don - I don't know were the hilarious dog show story about shaving poodles for water work came from - It's just something the show people came up with years ago in Europe. EVERY hunting poodle I know wears the working retriever clip - my big dog was more cold resistant - I would keep 2 " of coat on him and he was good down to 55 degree water without a vest - my little 40 lb guy has a soft, almost puppy coat - he is thin and his coat gives him less protection - I keep 3 " on him and keep a vest on if it's after the early Teal split - Felix

[crackerd]

...if you have any questions, I can give you an HONEST opinion about the breed!

Welcome - any idea if Hoot Gibson still works poodles with his Goose Buster Guide Service down in Arkansas? Your candor on the breed's greatly appreciated - everything you noted about poodles, I've seen from the sidelines as they were trained as retrievers. You might also want to take your expertise across the pond to this little canine corner of cyberspace http://www.gundogtrainingforum.co.uk/ph ... =6&t=24121 where some of this forum's "continental" members hang out.

MG

[Steve007]

Everybody who knows them likes Standard Poodles. If you ever decide to expand your dog hobbies, by the way, they are excellent obedience dogs (as in AKC or UKC competitions).

[Furguspup]

...if you have any questions, I can give you an HONEST opinion about the breed!

Welcome - any idea if Hoot Gibson still works poodles with his Goose Buster Guide Service down in Arkansas? Your candor on the breed's greatly appreciated - everything you noted about poodles, I've seen from the sidelines as they were trained as retrievers. You might also want to take your expertise across the pond to this little canine corner of cyberspace http://www.gundogtrainingforum.co.uk/ph ... =6&t=24121 where some of this forum's "continental" members hang out.

MG

Hi MG - I remember reading an article about Hoot Gibson and his big white SP's hunting geese years ago in the Retriever Journal - as far as I know he's still at it. BTW Poodles are great for covering ground in shallow water, rice field goose hunting or thick mud - their long legs and light weight makes them faster than many dogs in those conditions - when the tide is out, we sink down to our waists in the mud here in Delacroix and the birds drift with the tide so a dog that can get out and move is key. Also , my dog training bible over the years which has worked well with my Poodles has been the series of Mike Lardy's training articles in The Retriever Journal from the late 90's - even though he's a Field Trial Lab guy, his methods are great for dogs that have a variety of temperaments and drive.

[fishvik]

Don F "I'd read somewhere at one time that poodles were originally water dog's." The word poodle is derived from pudel. a German word for retriever, so yes I think they were originally water dogs. Unclipped they have a strong resemblance to water spaniels.

[shiloh123]

MG...Yes...Johnny "Hoot" Gibson still uses poodles in his Arkansas goose-guiding business.

[Timewise65]

I think the breed has potential to be good gun dogs, but generally poodle breeders do not breed for producing gun dogs! Of course their are exceptions, but unlike dogs in the Sporting Breeds, have many breeders, who breed specifically for Field Competition and/or bird dogs. That is one reason that many gun dogs today show strong prey drive, extremely fine nose, and run with tons of style (Hard Driving Dogs). These traits are inbred into field dogs....of course their are exceptions...

Poodles no doubt have a few breeders working at producing gun dogs, but not lots of breeders working at producing gun dogs.....

[bustingcover]

Louter Creek Kennels puts out some really nice poodles and have been excelling with them for a while now.

http://www.redhuntingpoodles.com/

[Timewise65]

Louter Creek Kennels puts out some really nice poodles and have been excelling with them for a while now.

http://www.redhuntingpoodles.com/

Nothing wrong with those pedigrees: The female has actually earned a competitive field Title! Very Impressive...That is the first poodle I've ever heard of that earned a Field Trial Title. The male has all three top Hunt Test Titles...not a competitive title. And they say he is the ONLY POODLE ever to earn all three hunt test titles.....

Like I said, there are exceptions....but they are extremely unusual! Especially, if you compare to Sporting Dog Breeds....

[crackerd]

Nothing wrong with those pedigrees: The female has actually earned a competitive field Title! Very Impressive...That is the first poodle I've ever heard of that earned a Field Trial Title.

Timewise, poodles can't run field trials so either you misinterpreted a FT title or the kennel "mismarketed" it.

MG

[Timewise65]

Nothing wrong with those pedigrees: The female has actually earned a competitive field Title! Very Impressive...That is the first poodle I've ever heard of that earned a Field Trial Title.

Timewise, poodles can't run field trials so either you misinterpreted a FT title or the kennel "mismarketed" it.

MG

Good point! I went back and checked, I misread the pedigree....Test titles and Conformation titles......no FC or AFC....