Jumping up is one of the most common problems people have with their dogs. It is actually rooted in social behavior, in the way our dogs relate to people. What Causes Dogs To Jump on People? The start of the problem goes all the way back to our habit of carrying puppies around, instead of putting them on leash as soon as possible and making them keep all four feet on the floor. Hence they get used to the feeling of being up close to our face, and still long for that type of contact even when they are older. Jumping on favorite people is very common in all types of dogs. Jumping up to greet visitors is more common in highly social breeds, such as retrievers. A more aloof type of dog, such as an Akita or a Chow, is usually not tempted to jump up on strangers. Smaller dogs, including toy and miniature Poodles and breeds like Jack Russell Terriers,  are often likely to jump on people because they are used to putting their front legs up on their owners to get them to pick them up. ...

Hi everyone, two and four legged friends alike! My name is Nena and the Poodle Blogger asked me to write and introduce msyelf. I am a 63 pound white Standard Poodle. At least that is what I've been told. I REALLY think that I am the "favorite child" of my forever parents, Diane and Marvin in North Carolina and I am very happy to claim them! But my life did not start out as happy as it is now. Ten years ago I was born in a “puppy mill”, daughter of a malnourished 36 lb mom (that is very skinny for a tall Standard Poodle). I was only two days old when many people came with law enforcement, and animal control officers and scooped all of us up. There were many more dogs than just Poodles, but since I was so young my eyes weren’t opened yet, I never met the other dogs. Anyway. these wonderful people from Florida Poodle Rescue took me in their warm safe hands and I knew I would be okay. My only brother did not survive, but my Mom and I went to foster homes where we were ...

Scotty says, "It's so embarrassing when Mom dresses like me!" Scotty, you and your Mom and your brother Joey are soooo pretty! I hope my readers will take the time to visit your website and keep up with your movie career: http://www2.caninehorizons.com / love, Aunt Mellie

Looks like Chris L'Abbe's boys had some fun over the holidays...they sent these photos for us to enjoy! "Umm...should we just pose here, or is this possibly a piece of agility equipment?" "Wow, Mom, this really is a cool jump, way cool!" "We are just lovin' this new jump!" "Mom, please let me take it home, it's just a little stick!" "No, it's not really time to go home already, is it?"

When I recently heard that a Standard Poodle had beat out all the other breeds (yes, including Border Collies, who took 2nd and 3rd place) for top honors in agility in the UK, I wanted to know all about it! "Blaze", Kit Sue’s UK Trailblazer for Tisane, is a gorgeous parti-colored blue and white boy, who was imported by his owner Sara Bingham in 2007 when he was a year old. His very proud breeder is Sue Ablen of Kit-Sue Kennels in the United States. Sue was kind enough to put me in touch with Sara so I could learn a bit more about this winner of the UK Agility Grand Finals and introduce him to my readers. When I spoke with Sara by phone, I realized that her dog Blaze is quite an amazing ambassador for partis in the U.K. This color is still quite rare in her country. In fact, to the best of her knowledge, Blaze was the first male parti-colored Standard Poodle in England since the 1970’s (Sara states that by then they had been culled out of the British lines.) A great deal ...

Many thanks to Donna Trebert for this adorable photo of her boys partying. I believe this might have been a birthday, but I think it also works for HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and your Poodles!

I was so happy to receive these photos from Shirley...here is the very first time she held Otis: Here is Otis in Shirley's arms, the day she took him home, January 1, 2010: And finally, what Shirley calls his "glamor" shot one year later: Otis does not look like the same dog, does he? There is a different spirit in his eyes now, a confidence that has come from knowing how greatly he is loved. Thank you for sharing these Shirley...a picture really is worth a thousand words! And these pictures tell a story that is priceless, worth much more than a thousand or a billion words to me, a story of love and restoration.

A special "Josh Turner" story, by Shirley Milligan: Today marks the one year anniversary of my favorite New year's gift ever. Last year on New Year's day I was blessed with the adoption of "Josh Turner" now named Otis Milligan. I had searched many months to find the perfect rescue dog for our family. Since my husband and I were recent retirees and travel extensively, we needed a small, easy tempered little guy that enjoyed long rides and lots of love. One day in December 2010, I was searching through Petfinder online and saw a picture of little Josh Turner. I knew immediately that I was his human. I told my husband that he was the one. We immediately started the application process through Carolina Poodle Rescue. I anxiously awaited the ok to come and see him. We got the news that we had been approved on December 30th and that Josh was still available for adoption. We made arrangements to meet him on Saturday, January 1st. Josh had not had the best of live...