Advice regarding ex show poodle

Hi

hope somebody can help. Myself and my partner have never had a dog before but have looked after my mothers dog who is lhasapoo only a 5/6 month old now called finley, when she goes on holiday. we have looked after him for weeks at a time and love having him.

we decided we wanted a dog.

through a friend of a friend we were offered a standard poodle. he is 5 year old and is a ex show dog. we thought yeh lets give him ago on the understanding its a trial. hes been here 2 days and hes beautiful and is good as gold.

the problem is he seems too well behaved. he doesnt interact with any other dogs, he seems to be constantly scared to do something wrong, sits by himself etc. he has taken to my partner well but he seems scared of me for some reason when she isnt there (keeps away from me, doesnt like to look at me). Im trying to gain his trust and i know this will take time but he doesnt seem keen. the reason he left according his previous owner was due to him having fights with his brother which started over a bitch and they constantly fight. he also seems very humpy at times etc.

i want to make his life as happy as possible but will this take time and will it be hard for a first time dog owner. just my partner is very attached already and im not feeling the connection that i want with my dog and i dont want to commit with being 100%.

Hope somebody can give me some advice

I am 27 my partner is 21

THANKS

Welcome and good on you taking on this guy

You have only had him 2 days so at the moment his world is turned on its head so its not unexpected that is is acting a little subdued

It is also likely he is more timid around you if you have a deeper voice it might sound like you are a bit stern
But he will get used to you

If you feed him and walk him for a few days I am sure he will grow to love you - and you him

also a good training class could help you all out - poodles are actually really smart and some mental stimulation will be fun for him - and will help you understand him and bond with him more
have a look for a good positive reward based class - go along first without him and make sure they are not using harsh dominance methods as that could kill the bond before it starts - the APDT is a good place to look for trainers if you are in the UK

Have you had any experience with poodles before?

They can be very ........... poodley.

This is normal behaviour for poodles, remember, he has been through an upheavel, how relaxed would you be if you had just been removed from your family and teleported to (insert relevant foreign country)?

Relax, allow the dog to come to you.

It is a bit like relationships.

Men/women always want the woman/man who is not interested in them. They run a mile from those who beg for affection.

Accept the dog for who he is, and hopefully he will return the favour!

2 days isn't long and he is probably too unsure to experiment as yet with behaviours.

Lots of dogs can be more cautious of men than women; avoid eye contact, leaning over the dog, pushing yourself on the dog, talking at him.
I would ignore him for the most part and allow him to come to you. Perhaps try throwing food on the floor near you to build positive associations with you

There's still plenty of time for him to settle in. Pictures??

As everyone has said, two days isn't very long and I'm sure he'll start to gain confidence soon. If he has been living with other dogs for the last five years it must seem very strange for him to suddenly be the only dog and the centre of attention.

Hope it works out well for all of you - poodles are great characters and he'll love any kind of training you can do.

I agree with the above, poor dog doesn't know whats happened. Maybe he has come from a home which didn't have much interaction with a man.

I love poodles, give him time to settle in and get used to everything.

Poodles are very intelligent and if you think about it this seems a pretty smart way to behave in a new environment . He is thinking about this new situation he has found himself in . I would say just back off a bit and give him some time to come out of his shell . Be kind and consistent and fairly soon you will see his personality coming out . Poodles have huge personalities and I'm sure you will begin to see his in the next few weeks .