Our First Purebred Poodles

A summer photo of me taking Tiny and Collette for a bike ride. Looking back, I am amazed at a couple of things. 1. That the dogs didn't jump out of the basket and break their legs, and 2. That there are hardly any cars parked on the street. If you go to Eagle Street today, you usually won't find an open spot. Back in the 60s and 70s, most families had only 1 car, and all the old ladies on my street didn't have any cars. Today, everyone has at least 2 vehicles.



Musette and Tiny. These two dogs hated each other, and would try to kill each other any chance they got. A vet suggested that we muzzle them and let them fight it out without using their jaws. We tried it and they nearly dropped dead with exhaustion fighting anyhow. The plan didn't work, and Mom found a good home for Musette a week later.


Collette, Tiny, and Tiny's final puppy, Nopey. Tiny was about 11 or 12 years old when she had him. Nopey was an accident, and we never knew who the father was, since we never saw Tiny sneak out to meet her suitor. We didn't even think Tiny could get pregnant any more. Mom advertized Nopey as a "Toy St Bernard" and we had hundreds of calls. We could have sold dozens of Nopeys.
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Our first two poodles were a mother and daughter. The mother's name was Musette Smida, and her daughter's name was Nicole Collette. Musette was a large silver miniature from American and English lines. She had been bred to a tiny toy Champion from the famous Sassafras kennels in Topanga Canyon California. This sire's name was Ch. Sassaboy of Sassafras. They had two female puppies, Suzette and Collette. The owners kept Suzette, and we ended up with the other two.

Musette and Collette were both very sweet and friendly dogs. They liked kids, even putting up with my 2 year old brother and sister. They didn't mind our Manx cat either. The one problem however, was one that couldn't be remedied: Musette and Tiny hated each other. They couldn't stand even looking at each other and immediately went for each other's throats. Collette, who got along with everyone in the house, stood back and watched her mother and Tiny attack each other at any opportunity. After a particularly bloody battle, my mother realized that we couldn't keep both of those two alpha bitches. and Tiny had seniority. So Musette had to go. Once she was gone in a new home with no other dogs, Tiny was happy once again. Collette had no desire to challenge Tiny for the title of Alpha, and there was never a problem between those two dogs for the rest of their lives.

Of the two Poodles, Collette was by far the least attractive. Coming from a long legged mother and a short legged father, Collette took some traits from each parent. The results were not pretty. She had a long Miniature head and muzzle, short Toy ears and neck, a long thick body, and short, squat legs. Her body shape resembled a Basset Hound more than a Poodle's form. She was steel grey, and had large flat feet. But she was smart, calm, and sweet. And with that long wide body, it was a given that she could carry many puppies.