Clean ears and happy poodles
You must check your dog's ears regularly. Drop-eared and/or very hairy breeds like the poodle, maltese and bichon frise, among others, are prone to hair buildup in the ear canal, which can prevent air flow and trap moisture in the skin folds, leading to increased growth of bacteria or fungi and causing irritation and infection.
Look for any signs of infection or dark brown discharge. You also want to verify that the ear smells sweet with no bad odors. If the ear smells very bad or you see any discharge, call the vet right away and have it checked.
Some dogs seem to have very little ear canal hair, while others seem to have a lot. Some dogs do just fine with ear plucking. Other dogs, however, have ears too sensitive to withstand regular plucking, and may suffer chronic ear problems as the result of plucking, instead of the plucking being a benefit.
Also, if the dog has a significant amount of hair, pull out a small portion of the hair in several sessions over the period of a week, skipping a day or two between sessions. Heavy pulling of hair in a single session can cause inflammation of the ear canal. This creates an ideal environment for bacterial or fungal growth.
Source: Anatomy of the dog ear
This is a very helpful video about how to clean your dog`s ears - in detail:
Source: Youtube
Source: Youtube
Remember: Always ask your vet if this needs to be done, every dog is individual. Some need it and some do not.
Can dogs feel guilt?
Dogs are our best friends and they also eat our shoes, pee under bed or steal food. Destroyed pillows and shredded books... and we all know who's behind it all? We can all describe the infamous Guilty Look: dogs look away and avert their gaze, some approach low and slow and others move away. "Uh, I did something I shouldn't have done and I don`t think you're gonna like it." We read it as guilt or shame, but do actually dogs feel guilt? Behaviorists insist dogs lack shame and they know you are angry or upset and they are doing that body posture to try in dog language to get you to calm down and avoid punishment.
But this is so funny! Guess who did the mess?
Does pink look good on poodles?
Poodles, one of each color please!
"A good dog can't be a bad color", but that doesn't stop people from having preferences and with choosing a poodle, it's very easy to satisfy that preference. Poodles come in all solid colors including black, blue, silver, cream, white, apricot, red, brown, cafe-au-lait or silver beige. While it does not make the written show standard, some breeders are breeding parti-colored Poodles.
Standard, Miniature or Toy?
Poodles can come in a variety of sizes, distinguished by adult shoulder height.
FCI (Federation Cynologique Internationale) recognizes four sizes of one breed: Standard Poodle, Medium Poodle , Miniature Poodle and Toy Poodle. But non-FCI kenel clubs generally recognize three sizes - Standard, Miniature and Toy, sometimes as sizes of the same breed and sometimes as separate breeds.
The terms "royal standard", "teacup" and "tiny teacup" are marketing names and are not recognized by any major kennel club.
To "Poodle" or not to "Poodle"
You have been reading and asking questions about poodles because you want to buy or adopt one. But does this breed suits your personality? Poodles are very intelligent dogs, active and a very caring breed and human contact is essential for their happiness. If you are the type of person that leaves your dog in the backyard, away from the rest of the family or just home alone for a long time, this is not the breed for you. Poodles like to fetch, to play with children and other pets and they are also very skillful in many dog sports, including agility, obedience and tracking.
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