Gigi - Our Poodle Pup

This was going to be a wordless post but there were so many comments I decided to post a little more about this cute little puppy. This is our toy poodle puppy that was approximately 8 or 9 weeks old when this photo was taken on 4th of July 2000. Gigi is going to be 9 years old on May 4th this year and she is still a cute little dog. We only had poodles when I was growing up. There were so many allergies in our family that a poodle was the only dog the allergist would okay for the family. Poodles are essentially non-shedding but do require frequent grooming to prevent their long curly fur from matting up. They are extremely intelligent and personable little dogs and they come in several sizes - Tea Cup, Toy, Miniature and Standard. They all share pretty much the same traits and are a joy to have as companions. The smaller sizes make great apartment dogs - you can even train them to use a litter box (there is special dog litter) or a wee wee pad when you can't make it outside to let them do their business. They love to be around people and love to go for rides in the car. Gigi used to go to work with me every day and she would sit in the seat until we went to the drive-up window at the bank or a fast food restaurant and then she would run to the window and stare at the person inside, begging for a dog cookie (which she usually would get). Poodles are easy to train and love to learn tricks and will perform them for whomever will watch - especially when cookies are at stake! I searched for months to find a black female toy poodle and the minute I saw Gigi I knew she was "The One" for us. Hubby didn't want a poodle again because I had a toy poodle when we got married and if DH made the dog mad, the dog would pee in his shoes! DH did NOT have a good opinion of poodles and finally told me "fine, you can get her as long as I don't have to have anything to do with her". We picked Gigi up during the day and I was holding her when DH walked in after work and he said "OMG, she is soooo cute!" and I said "Yes, she is, but you don't have to hold her because I know you want nothing to do with her!" Yes, it was love at first sight for DH, too. And Gigi still continues to amuse us and entertain us with her little antics and adorable personality.