People who know me may remember that I always liked large short-haired or straight-haired dogs like the Doberman Pinscher and the Golden Retriever; but suddenly I got a very small curly-haired red toy poodle and I am extremely happy that I did that; his name is Frodo by the way. Happy that I got a dog (all dogs are great) and extremely happy that I chose this wonderful breed, and of course this fantastic little dude. There are tons of reasons why having a dog is good for you; just google them. In this post I will only explain why poodles are great dogs and why the Toy Poodle is the best breed for people like me, first time dog owners who live in the city.

1. Intelligence
The Poodle is the second most intelligent breed after the Border Collie. For most folks like you and me who are not experienced dog trainers and do not live on a farm, it is very hard to raise a border collie which ultimately makes the Poodle the most intelligent breed suitable for city life. The Toy Poodle is even more intelligent than the Standard or Miniature Poodle.

2. Obedience Trainability
Trainability is not synonymous with intelligence; for example, the Siberian Husky is among the top ten most intelligent breeds but is not a very trainable breed, another good example is the Miniature Pinscher an intelligent dog that is hard to train. While the Standard, Miniature, and Toy Poodle are among the most trainable breeds, the Toy poodle is the most trainable of all the three.

3. No Shedding, No Allergies
Most dogs shed a lot, very few shed a little, but poodles don’t shed. That means no hair on your carpet, couch, or bed and no allergies. Even if you don’t care about dog hair or you don’t have any allergies, some of your friends do. And believe me, you will enjoy having your puppy around you when friends visit or you visit them and those with allergies will like you even more for having a dog that they can play with.

4. Low Maintenance
The Poodle is a high maintenance dog for sure. Like all large dogs they need space, their waste is larger, and on top of that they need a lot of grooming which is a cost of no shedding. However, toy poodles are very small. They do need grooming too but considering their very small size, that’s not actually too much. Also, grooming a poodle every 8 weeks is worth not vacuum cleaning the house, your bed, and your clothes.

5. Easy To Travel With
Your dog is like your child. You don’t want to leave him alone although you may have to. Also, you do want to have him with you when you are travelling. The problem is you can’t buy an airplane ticket for a dog even if you are OK paying for it. The alternative for your dog is to stay at a dog hotel (yes they exist) or stay with some caregiver or travel in a crate in the cargo of the plane. It is not as bad as it sounds but no owner likes to leave his dog alone in a small crate where the dog has to sleep and pee which may mess up the dog’s potty training too. The story is slightly different for small and very small dogs. You can take them to the airplane cabin but in a crate and under you seat. The crate can only be as big as the rules allow but the smaller the dog, the more space he has and toy poodles (especially tiny toys or teacup poodles) are some of the smallest dogs. Although it is still like a cage, a dog in a crate near your feet feels much better than a dog left alone in a big house.

6. Longer Life Span
Smaller breeds usually live longer than larger ones. While the life expectancy of the Irish Wolfhound and the Great Dane are 6-8 years and 7-10 years respectively, toy poodles live for 12-15 years (even 18 years by some accounts).

7. Cuteness
The Doberman Pinscher, the Beagle, the Golden Retriever, and the Siberian Husky are all very beautiful breeds but no breed is nearly as cute as the Toy Poodle with a teddy bear hair style (the hair style is very important). I can’t walk Frodo, my four month old toy poodle puppy, very far away because almost everybody wants to hug him: people in their working or party clothes, other dog owners walking their awesome dogs, and parents taking their children to a park. Of course his extreme friendliness towards humans plays an important role but he is no exception among toy poodles.