Male or female?

We are asked this often. Making your decision on that age old dilemma of male verses female, hopefully this will give you some helpful info to think about. Some poodle owners have made up their mind.

I have my own personal preference but this doesn't mean every gendered dog fits into one category. To broaden the toy poodle sexes as a whole I'll state some basic knowledge I have observed.

• Socialbility - Males are typically more likely to be social and affectionate. They typically love everyone. Some males will love everyone but also can feel more preferred to one care giver of any gender. Males focus on pleasing their human, sometimes being also captivated by their female owners. Think heart twirling over their head! Females tend to latch onto one preferred person mainly. Females are more independent than males. Females can be more stand offish. Of course females can be little social butterflies.

• Doggie Siblings - Males make great companions of other male or female. Females may be competitive of their favorite person. Females are much more territorial than males. Females also hump/mark just like males. Females will display alpha characteristics more or just as much a male will. Females determine the pecking order. The majority of fighting occurs more likely between 2 females.

• Age appropriate neutered males rarely exhibit secondary sexual behavior such as marking and lifting their legs or humping. Once the testosterone levels recede after neutering, most of these behaviors will disappear if they ever existed.

•Trainability- Females can be more aloof. "I'll come to you when I feel like it." Females tend to be more dignified as they age. Males aim to please, but also some males are a little less mature, silly and can become distracted. They remain adorably more puppy like for a life time than females.

What is the best choice of companion for our current dog?

•Seniors - A senior dog depending on temperament would love a buddy, especially if grieving the loss of a friend. Puppies can be very annoying to adult dogs. Their overly awkward friendliness to other dogs can cause some issues. Always give your senior dog space and don't forget continued attention.

•Introducing a new dog to a single dog home - If you have a female, I recommend a male. Because females are typically alpha, they may pick on other females or be completely unaccepting. Females will generally accept new male companions.

If you own a male, they will typically get along with male or female. If you have an alpha type male and wish to have another male, make sure it is a puppy so that the older male doesn't feel like they have to display dominance.

Sometimes your poodles will accept another poodle to the pack! That is the common household. I only list these observations. Take note of how your dog is with other dogs in THEIR home before testing out these suggestions. Poodles are very social animals!

Either gender can display any characteristics! I hate to fit either into one category.

If you'd like to get a poodle from us, here are some of our gender-based statistics:

Our most frequently requested dog:

• red females

Our least likely requested dog:

• black male

Society as a whole is more concerned about gender and color rather than health and temperament. Black males are the least likely to be chosen. I don't know why, they are beautiful and elegant!

•The most important thing you should be looking for when choosing a puppy is not gender or coloring. Is size (does this size do well for my children, household and exercise requirements?)

We would be glad to steer you in the right direction. We will not sell our small pups to tiny children. That is because I have raised small children with puppies. Be open to other sizes as we want whats best for our puppies.

•Health is very important. Can the breeder provide health testing? Is the breeder released adult or young dogs from their program for adoption in order to strengthen and benefit the breed? Some breeders find the 2 cheapest dogs and breed them forever. We do keep some of our retired. But given the opportunity to bless other homes, we give standing clients a choice of our adoptable young poodles and adults. Some never do make it to breeding!

•What are the parents temperaments

like? This is very helpful. We work with the puppies on temperament before they leave for their forever home. Puppies will test their new owners. Be firm with biting especially. If the dog displays inappropriate behavior it is the owner's duty to invest in a trainer. You must always see your puppy as an up to 20 year commitment and investment! A cheap or free dog is easy to hand off when problems arise. I have seen it so many times with dogs in general.

•Are the dogs and puppies socialized? What is the kennel set up? Do the dogs and puppies have regular social time rather than a quick pat on the head?

•Does the breeder have an up to date license? In the state of Pennsylvania all commercial and non commercial kennels must adhere to strict practices and protocols more than you realize. It is extremely limiting especially in the state of Pennsylvania due to the state's puppy mill history. All good for the benefit of the dogs.

Does your breeder go above and beyond to provide for their dogs as if family? It is way easier to pen up dogs to avoid fighting and have the freedom any time to leave the premises. We devote our lives to revolving around our dogs. The dogs love us and we love them. This makes a huge impact on social abilities and temperament. In fact our adopt out dogs can have a hard time saying goodbye to the freedoms they have here. It is very rare to have our size breeding program without even breeding all the dogs, without just profit in mind, but improving the health and temperament. Anxiety is first and foremost of importance aside of health then doing our best to create breed standard. If a breeder is licensed by their state it means being subject to random inspections without notice 2-3 times per calendar year. You won't need to worry about checking out their environment to make sure. Visitors can bring foreign pathogens into a controlled environment. Also, visitors create an upload of excitement with the dogs. This can trigger fighting in dogs. We have hundreds of videos on our youtube channel giving you a first hand look of our dog's and puppies environment. We also introduce you to mom and dad when it is go home day! We also have a community group located on our facebook page where potential owners and new owners can communicate.

•Remember, preferences are fine, however if you're looking for a red female, chances are we can't help you because of demand for females, especially red! To encourage acceptance of other colors and genders we have priced the more desired appropriately. We recommend you be flexible on color and gender. Often times people will discover they never knew how all these years they got by without a black male poodle. On average we produce more males than females.

I hope this has helped!