Toy Poodle training is not that much different to training any other dog, but there are a few things that are specific to Toy Poodles that you need to be aware of.

Obviously it is best to start your Toy Poodle training as soon as possible. If you have a Poodle puppy, it should be 8 weeks old before you bring it home and that is old enough to start training straight away.

Toy Poodles are an extremely bright and intelligent dog. That makes them one of the easiest small breed dogs to train. They are a very athletic dog and you will often see them take the honors in obedience and agility competitions.

One thing that you need to know is that Toy Poodles are extremely sensitive, and do not cope well with stress. If there is tension in the home, the Toy Poodle will not react well. Whenever fighting or yelling occurs in the home, the dog will be acutely aware of it and become sick or very upset himself. Even if you come home from work in a bad mood or angry, your Toy Poodle will be immediately aware of it, and will become anxious and worried. Always try to keep stress to a minimum.

It is obvious that Toy Poodles are very small dog, and it should be remembered that they are quite delicate and dainty. For that reason, they are not an ideal dog for children. Often kids will unintentionally hurt them while playing, which may result in the dog becoming snappy and aggressive.

Because of their high intelligence and their athletic nature, the Toy Poodle does need a high degree of maintenance. What is meant by maintenance, is keeping them active, both physically and mentally. It your Poodle is not kept active, it will soon get bored, and will result in lots of damage in your house and garden.

What’s Different About Toy Poodle Training?

As I mentioned before, Toy Poodle training is little different to training any other dog. The basic commands and techniques do not change.

The first step to Toy Poodle training is house training. You need to choose your method of either crate training, pad training, or outdoors. If your house training is consistent, your Toy Poodle will quickly learn house training, and with two or three weeks the little accidents inside will be very rare.

Probably the most important aspect of Toy Poodle training is getting him used to being handled. Because Poodles have to be regularly groomed, they need to be happy to have people pushing and pulling and touching all over. There is nothing worse than trying to groom a dog that doesn’t like having someone touch his feet, or ears, or nose.

Take lots of time when your dog is young to gently massage every part, and do it a couple of times a day. Very soon your Poodle will love being handled, and look forward to being groomed.

The last specific thing you need to remember when training a Poodle, is that they are very small and fragile. When you start leash training, you need to determine how hard to pull on the leash for your dog to react to your command. If you snap the leach too hard you could hurt the dog, and that will not help achieve the best results.

For more information on Toy Poodle training, grab a copy of my free report. This report will provide you with many tips and answers to successfully train you dog. All you need do is fill in your first name and email address below and we will email the report to you. We will also send out our regular Dog Training Newsletter which will provide you with ongoing help in managing your relationship with your Toy Poodle.