Tues 19th Sept: All about poodles

I talk a lot about the benefits of foster homes and what a difference it makes to the dogs and their chances of being adopted, and we currently have three poodles who were very kindly offered special training foster homes.  By that I mean these were little dogs who couldn't stay at our Homing Centre because it was literally driving them crazy, and in fact most poodles don't do at all well at Ap Lei Chau simply because they need space, exercise, mental stimulation and attention.  Without this they develop behaviour issues, which is why they ended up at HKDR in the first place.  With poodles you can't cage them or leave them on their own all day without suffering the consequences.

Maya is only 4 years old and very pretty

Maya is one of the poodles who has been transformed in her foster home, and she is now a completely different character from the crazy lady she was at out Homing Centre.  All she needed was the chance to show what a smart, funny, happy and affectionate girl she really is, and she's certainly done that.

Nobby and Teddy are in the same foster home although they aren't friends so don't need to be adopted together.  In fact each would love their own home where they can be the one and only receiver of all the tummy rubs and cuddles, and in Teddy's case keeper of all the toys.  This is what their foster says about them:

Cuddles are Nobby's favourite things

I think Nobby is ready for adoption to a forever home! He is cuddly, affectionate, seems a lot happier and very playful, walking well - once you get him out there - and he even sits on our outside terrace to listen to the birds. He will just need time to develop a trusting relationship when he moves home.

Teddy is a happy active boy. You can tell he is a very loyal bonded dog. He will sit, shake hands - very motivated by treats! He loves a cuddle. He is probably best being the only dog in the home as gets a bit jealous.

Teddy asking for tummy rubs

Most poodle are highly strung and demanding of attention, so we prefer that they go to adult-only homes, although some of course are perfect family dogs. One of those, Treacle, was adopted from her foster home today, leaving her "sister" Toffee still waiting.  Toffee is a larger-sized poodle who enjoys outdoor activities like hiking and swimming, and she's not a stay-at-home kind of personality although she's patient and loving with the young children in the home, and loves cuddles too.

Toffee and Treacle are perfect family dogs

These were ex-breeder poodles who came with the usual health problems and shyness from their days of living in cages as money-making machines, but again thanks to their wonderful care in a foster home both have blossomed into very sweet girl who are absolutely fine with children.

Toffee is a larger-sized poodle 

Tiny Matchstick is another very sweet ex-breeder poodle, but so small and fragile and with her three legs as thin as matchsticks, that she would be at risk with young children who could play too rough with her.   Being still only a year old she loves running around and high energy games with her Yorkie friend, but we would still prefer a home with older children rather than toddlers.

Matchstick is really tiny but active

Wizard is also a smaller sized poodle boy, though not teacup-tiny like Matchstick, and he is also fine with people but still undergoing training with the help of Cactus for his dislike of other dogs.  He's improved a lot and I don't think he can be labelled as a problem dog at all.

Wizard is small, young and very sweet

All of these poodles are in foster homes and available for adoption, and meetings can be arranged through our Foster Coordinator Cindy at email foster@hongkongdogrescue.com.