I just got a dog today from the animal shelter (I pick him up tomorrow) and the card said he’s a terrier/poodle mix. Does anyone have any firsthand experience with one? He’s small, so I’m assuming the poodle was of the miniature variety. I know both those breeds are smart and feisty, but can anyone tell me things I should look out for?
Terriiers tend to be hyper, that’s all I got.
A lot of the behavioral traits attributed to various breeds are little more than self-fulfilling prophecies, so don’t let such prejudices limit your expectations and/or training of your new dog. There’s really no such thing as a breed that totally *lacks *any of those trademark behavioral traits, though they may tend to find more pronounced expression in certain breeds. If you expect great things from your dog, with luck and skill you’ll probably be able to bring them out in him; don’t let traditional breed-specific prejudices provide any excuses for bad behavior.
I don’t know. But you should refer to it’s breed as “Terripoo.”
Judging from expectations of both breeds, I would say very hardy, and with great endurance, and quite fierce, if not well trained. Possibly dangerous, if poorly trained, yet extremely reliable, with the right handling. I predict very few squirrels in your yard, if you keep him.
When you see a poodle, remember, the haircut was someone else’s idea.
Tris
Don’t do this unless you want me to punch you in the face.
Also, they don’t know what the hell kind of dog it is. That’s just someone at the shelter’s guess. But post pics! And congratulations on your new beastie; I’m sure he’ll be great.
What he said. That being said, any dog, be it terrier-cross or not, will benefit from plenty of exercise and training. Wear’em out mentally and physically and they don’t have energy left for mischief. 
I’ve had several of these critters throughout my lifetime, and they were great dogs. The one my family had when I was a child–and who lived to be 20–was the smartest dog I’ve ever seen. They’ve all seemed to be smarter (or at least more easily trained) than the average. I’ve never had one that’s been overly energetic, but they do tend to be pretty active dogs. If you’re lucky, the poodle part will make it a non-shedder, too!
Because they’re smart, they have really good memories, so if they’ve suffered some trauma they won’t forget about it easily. The dog I mentioned above developed a violent hatred for our meter reader and chased him around the house more than once in her long reign. She could become 15 pounds of terror when she took a dislike to something.
Good luck with your new pal, and I’ll second the request for pics!
Thanks for all the advice. He’s getting neutered today, but when I’ll bring him home I’ll post pics. If a wondering MOD can move this to IMHO or MPSIMS I’d appreciate it. I think I’ve gotten all the factual stuff I could.
Thanks again.
I don’t think you should ask the mods to move it.
You should probably just start an IMHO or MPSIMS about your new Perrier. Be sure to post pics!
How about Pooer.
I had a poodle/terrier mix as a kid. He was smart and could literally climb our fence just like a cat. He was loveable, friendly, and active.
He was also fiercely protective of all of us. It was funny to watch him run with the neighborhood dogs. Most were bigger than him, but he was clearly the alpha and ran in front of the pack. It cracked us right the hell up.
Sadly, he disappeared one day. Our neighbor had an extremely mean pit bull who would charge my dog whenever he saw it. We think the pit bull got to him. Why? Because the same day our dog disappeared, the neighbor’s dog disappeared.
Our Yorkshire Terrier was actually “YorkiePoo”, although he was 99% Yorkie and 1% Toy Poodle. I believe the little bit of poodle in him helped him to be smarter than the average dog.
Terrier breeds need a job. They need to take a walk or something to keep their minds and bodies active. Unfortunately, I don’t know much about poodles.
Done and done!