Poodles

Children's Literature - Barbara L. Talcroft

Crabtree's "Pet Care" series offers advice to middle readers on choosing and caring for many popular pets, including four dog breeds. Easy-to-read text describes each breed and relates a bit of history. Potential dog owners learn about the characteristics of the breed and are challenged to consider their commitment to the time-consuming care needed to keep a dog healthy, happy, and safe. White pages of large text are sprinkled with colored photographs of kids and dogs; pet-lovers can read about feeding, housebreaking, grooming, exercising, and visits to the vet. Poodles, they will find, come in three sizes—standard, miniature, and toy. Originally, hunters used standards to retrieve birds from water; toys and miniatures frequently became pets for royal families. Each breed has its special needs: Toy poodles are tiny, energetic (though nervous) dogs that don't take to small children; they need calm, and lots of attention. Their curly coats grow quickly, thus needing professional grooming as well as daily brushing and untangling. Kids will be happy to learn that toy poodles are very intelligent, which makes them easily trained; they're good swimmers, too, though safety rules must be observed. Other tips apply to all breeds—chocolate and raw meat or eggs are not good foods, gentleness and patience are required for training, warning signs of illness mean an instant trip to the vet. Caring for a dog is a big responsibility. Children (and their parents) will want to consider this information carefully before deciding to become toy poodle owners.