Pet The Poodle - $1

There’s something about poodles that automatically draws people. Not so much the toys, who are as notorious as any other way undersized dog for yapping and snapping. Or the prissy minis that so often sport the most outrageous of showy clips and puffed frizzy hairdos (when they aren’t also dyed to match their owner’s outfit). Of course, Poodle People never pass up the chance to admire a poodle, no matter what size.

Standards are something else. Unless they’re show dogs, the most popular of clips is the basic kennel cut - where the hair is cut short all over, a little longer on the top of the head and the ears. While you do have to clip a big poodle regularly no matter what hairstyle you like best, the all-over kennel cut shows off the dog AS a dog, and people generally do love to appreciate a fine looking dog.

Poodles get a lot of of attention in public that many other similar sized dogs don’t get, for some reason. When walking our poodles in public, at parks, on trails or on the beach, people will go out of their way to approach us and our dogs, and for some unexplainable reason don’t seem the least bit shy of reaching right out to pet them and stroke them and even (mostly kids) hug them. People will cross the street, run away from dining tables, climb hills or stairs to get to a poodle. Very strange.

Strange because people - including children - are usually a lot more careful of dogs. Big dogs especially. I’ve often wondered what the real draw might be. Is it poodles’ reputations as people-lovers or as the most intelligent among dogs? Nope. Too many of the people who have been drawn to our poodles in this manner come up to ask what kind of dog this beautiful dog is. It’s always amazing to me how many folks in the general public have no idea that poodles get that big. And how many have never encountered one.

Which only exacerbates the problem (if problem it is), and underscores the question asked above. WHY are people so drawn, and how do they know to trust the dog not to bite their face off?

It might be the friendliness of the poodle’s face, or maybe the bright intelligence and tolerant curiosity in the poodle’s eyes. Yet because people will go distances to pet a poodle I think it’s something more visceral and less objective than that. I call it “Poodle Aura.” Poodles aren’t just clairvoyant with their own people to the point of telepathic. I think they project a ‘Presence’ that advertises itself when they’re in a lively public sphere. Luckily with our poodles, the ‘Presence’ has been friendly, with an enthusiasm for the experience that shows in their gait and energy level.

For show folk this particular quality of poodles is of course something to exploit. We met a man years ago who ran a traveling medicine show out west. He had a couple of pet spider monkeys whose sole chore for the troupe was to eat raisins handed to them by children, for which those children’s parents paid a dollar. He had a nice, circus-lettered sign - “Feed the Monkey” - and a little stanchion-and-rope barrier so the kids couldn’t get too close. These, like all monkeys I’ve ever known or heard about, WILL bite for little or no apparent provocation.

When poodles came into our life years later, it was only natural that we borrow the concept for those summertime outdoor gigs at resorts and company picnics and festivals when we’d have lots of clowns present and several different activities going on at the same time. Two would have Clown School going for a group of kids who will later put on a show of skits. A couple more will be painting faces and sculpting balloons. Another doing stroll-around juggling and close-up magic. And another would run the “Pet the Poodle” booth.

You can’t make a living at it, but it goes with the general circus atmosphere of such occasions. It lets people thoroughly indulge in their desire to pet the poodle, and the poodle earns his keep! We inevitably ended up with a small group of child Poodle Fans who stayed close enough to sneak pets or hugs long after their parents moved on to some other attraction. They just fell in love.

And from those appearances we garnered lots of weekend birthday parties for smaller groups of kids who insisted on certain things. MUST bring Noel the magic dove and the poodle. Who doesn’t do any tricks, just comes to the party as a guest. Friend of the family, part of the troupe.

I would very much enjoy hearing from any and all poodle-loving readers out there on this subject. When you’re out in public with your poodle(s), do people go out of their way to come meet them? Do any of them seem surprisingly un-shy of reaching right out to pet them? Do children fall immediately in love?

Maybe there’s a fine research project in the making here!

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Filed under Poodle Personality, Poodle Skills, Poodles, Showing Off, Working |