"Cyprus Poodle" Toffee

Toffee came to us when she was 2 months old. For a long time we searched for a perfect family dog. Then, through pure coincidence, we found out that the relatives of our landlord were trying to find homes for a litter of puppies. Their mother was a kind of miniature poodle, their father a funny terrier x basset cross.

Toffee was the runt, but we chose her due to her long, straight legs (Mum hates bow-legged dogs), curly fur and friendly and affectionate nature. At first Toffee's soft curly coat was chocolate in colour, but after the first trim it turned the café-au-lait colour it is today. She settled in relatively quickly and soon became a firm member of the family.

Training Toffee was, and remains, a pleasure. She has all the intelligence and trainability of a poodle and to the casual observer it may seem that she is always eager to please. Really she is just a glutton and eager to get the titbits! Apart from basic commands such as "sit", "down", "heel", "stay" and "stop" we have taught her quite a couple of party tricks like "bark", "dead dog", "dance", "give your paw" and "take a bow".

Toffee was 2 years old when Mum brought the Salukis from Israel. At first she was nervous around them, but by now they are best friends. She happily plays with them, only losing her temper if they get really rough. With other dogs she is friendly, but a bit reserved at first. However it is enough to say "Cat!" within her earshot and she will go crazy. Whenever she sees one, she will inevitably chase it up a tree and bark at it ferociously.

Toffee is a perfect family pet. She is friendly, playful, clever. She combines the brains of a poodle with the "craziness" of a terrier. She loves to swim and accompanies me on my bike rides and countryside walks. Of course the only shows to which we can take Toffee are charity events (at one of which she won 3rd place for Best Condition and 5th place for Waggiest tail!) but I hope to start agility with her as Toffee is really good at jumping. But even if she doesn't win any prizes, we love her the way she is: a wonderful family dog!

by Xenia WAGNER, Toffee's best friend, trainer and companion

© 2003, Svetlana Panova,
Xenia Wagner