The Complete Standard Poodle

Eileen Geeson does a fabulous job of giving background information pertinent to standard poodle owners. She touches on a broad range of topics, from our emotional attachments to our furkids to puppy-raising information and everything in between. One of the most helpful sections gives warning signs of injuries and diseases prone to standard poodles. The pictures in the book are precious, and Geeson's book is a fluent read.

An excellent overview of the Standard Poodle that addresses the versatility of the breed from the hunting fields, to the show ring, to work as a therapy dog. It provides excellent tips on responsible ownership and care. Accompanied by beautiful photographs of the many colors available; it is visually pleasing to the eye as well as educational to the mind.

I've owned standard poodles for 50 years and have been reading about them for about that long. This book is among the intelligent and enjoyable I've seen. The sections on obedience are excellent, whether you are doing companion training, show obedience, agility, or working on water retrieving.If you take off the cover, maybe you can trick your friends who own other breeds into reading the training sections. The advice is so intelligent, it would make training more fun for non-poodles and their owners.

I didn't particularly like the cover photo, but I did a lot of research on buying a standard poodle (do not go the "puppy mill route!!"--so sad) and one of the things I researched were the many books out there that are available to the reader concerning this breed. This seemed like one of the best. When I received it, I was really glad I chose it.The author is English, I believe, so keep that in mind...some of her phrasing is slightly different. Also, some of her advice goes against other books I have read, in certain small aspects. For example, her dogs sleep on her bed. Most dog books recommend getting your puppy used to a crate in a very specific manner, and it is probably safer to have them sleep there from the start. What if you need to leave? Wher will you put a new puppy comfortably for an hour or two if it doesn't have a safe little den already? Also, her dogs eat table food. This is incredibly complicated to do properly. She has bred Standards for YEARS. You can't just give a dog scraps. She has an elaborate menu but--trust me on this--I don't feed my own FAMILY this rigidly. Good, high quality dog food is available to all of us. Skip the table food.Other than that, this is the coolest book! It had great facts, tips on trains, grooming and showing, lists of breeders, etc. I read it cover to cover! When I was done, I realized my new family pet was probaby better than all of us, with an older lineage, handsomer in musculature, and maybe even more intelligent. All at only ten weeks old. So what. I am proud to owned by a poodle!

I thought this book is informative and valuble. The information about the history of the dog is fascinating and includes a lot of facts not to be found in other books. There were informative chapters on puppy care, poodle behavior, colors and trims (including some very useful grooming and clipping instructions), showing, breeding, health care and more! I thought the confirmation diagrams would be very helpful to someone who planned to show.Part of what I enjoyed about this book was simply how much Eileen Geeson loves her poodles. I trust the advice of an author who has been happily breeding poodles for over thirty years. I also loved all the great color pictures of dozens of different poodles (especially the sled dogs!)The only information I wish this book contained was more on carefully choosing a puppy. Geeson certainly covers this, but a "list of questions to ask the breeder" would have been really helpful. Overall, though, I thought this was a very complete, informative book and would highly recommend!