2009 Poodle Review

One of my favorite photos of "Foo"...her playing with a balloon. She would carefully pick it up by the tab. She was about 7 months old in the photo.

In March we added Barbie to our group. She was a show hopeful and Bunny's half sister. She was a gorgeous puppy and we had a fun time with her.
A very photogenic baby...

The joys of having a white poodle (times two). The Poodle girls got lots of baths this year.

She and Bunny were best of pals.

They loved to run together out back.

Though it was hard to keep the grasses from grabbing her coat!

They especially loved to play bitey face.

We had a really fun year with the two girls, but unfortunately, Barbie wasn't what we wanted in a show dog and so has gone back to her breeder. Bunny seems to miss her, bringing me her ball for me to throw to her. Is there another Poodle in the future? Probably in a year or two...I love this breed, they are so much fun.

Barbie and the Bathmat

We have a routine at night and when I go to brush my teeth, Bunny will come in and lay on the bathmat. It is hard to tell where Bunny ends and the bathmat begins; she blends right in! Even more so now when she hasn't had a bath in two weeks and she is the same shade of beige. Barbie just got bathed and will be flying to Halifax later on in the week to continue her show training. I took these photos for my "before" shots. Once she is all done up by Allison, I'll take some "after" shots. I can't wait to see her at the shows all dolled up.

I'm sure her new hair care routine won't include Bunny spit!

It looks like she is being seriously hurt...but it doesn't look like Bunny is really touching her. Drama queen...

This one is just too funny...

Oops!
Made it over!

I think the girls are going to miss each other...

Barbie Goes To Burlington

Barbie travelled with Emma and I to shows in Burlington ON. As a baby she was prone to car sickness, but luckily she has outgrown that problem, which made the trip much more pleasant. It was cold, rained on Saturday and was damp on Sunday, but the girls didn't seem to mind. Barbie in particular loved the time in the motel room. I think the trip did her a lot of good as she got a lot of attention, which she seemed to like and lots of exposure to different dogs. We'll see if it translates to a better time at handling class!

Hair Grows...Right?

I can't keep away from the Poodles with scissors; even though I am still relatively new at all this. Barbie was very patient with me, and almost fell asleep standing up! In trying to fix the problem I made a couple of days earlier where she was looking roached in the back I think I took off too much of the topline angle. It is supposed to be an unbroken line from base of tail to top of head. Oops. Back to the drawing board...I think another couple of months growth and then I'll leave it to a pro.

Foo Fighters

The Foo sisters don't actually fight...

...but they do look pretty vicious when they play!

While they had a number of toys out on the deck, it was more fun to play with the same one...

"You know you want it!"

I love how they play with their toys. Bunny still kneads with her paws like she did when she was a puppy.

"Don't even think about it!"

All toy games eventually lead to their favorite game of bitey face!

That was fun!

Mud Pies

It was a beautiful morning and my friend Brenda's last day visiting. We went for a walk with the gang and they were their usual wild selves.

Bunny loves to start the run with some steeplechase jumping...

Barbie didn't hesitate to go wading in the ditch with the Shelties! She doesn't mind mud, but hates things sticking to her!

The thing about starting the day off with a walk like this is I know what I'm going to be doing for the afternoon...:-)

I can't wait to see the pictures that Brenda got!

What was I thinking?

Someone at a show recently asked me if all I did was wash Poodles...yep, sometimes I think that is the case!

(This picture was at the start of our run. I don't think I could duplicate this shot if I tried! This was not staged, and all I wish was that I had taken them out a bit earlier so that this spot was in the sun.) So take a look at Barbie on the right. Beautiful white coat which was bathed on Sunday, Bunny was in the bath Monday... It was about here where the trouble started. Barbie joined Juno, Emma and Bridgit in the ditch...those darn Shelties led her astray. The dirt falls off the Shelties and other things like picks and burrs rarely cause problems.
This is how she looked when she came back! ((Sigh))
The long grasses stuck to her coat like Velcro! I don't think this is the suggested method for coat care and maintenance!
Yes, she enjoyed herself; but guess what? It is bath time again!

Foo didn't fare any better. She has hundreds of picks on her legs!