Dog Stories Part VI - Cruise

Cruise is a blue standard poodle. His coat is more of a steely gray than black. Both blue and silver puppies are born black and fade into their color as they age. We didn't get Cruise as a puppy. He actually came to us by accident.

In conformation there are two clips that dogs are shown in. The puppy clip which they show in until the day they turn a year old, and the continental. (There are a couple of other clips, but they are rarely seen) When the show poodle turns a year old, they need to “sit out” some dog shows to grow some neck hair and look nice in their new continental clip.

Well, Morgan turned a year and was going to need to “sit out” for a while so the breeder I got Haven and Morgan from had a nice blue boy that she wanted socialized shown and she asked if I wanted to show him until he turned a year old and needed to “sit out”. I said sure. This boy had the same father as Haven and I loved him.

Cruise is a great package. He has lots of body, a nice strong head and very nice movement. Cruise enjoyed showing much more than Morgan, and we had fun. The problem I had with Cruise was that I could never get any coat on him. When showing a poodle, if you don’t have nice coat, don’t bother entering.

So when Cruise turned a year old, I asked the breeder if she was ready to take him back and she said I could keep him. So that is how we ended up with #6! Man and we thought we were full at 5 dogs. Cruise is a lover. He just wants to be by your side and love on you. His favorite toy is the “jolly ball” (the blue ball in picture) He takes it in and out of the house when he goes and many nights he even sleeps with it.
Since I was never able to grow any decent coat on him, he only had 3 points when I cut off his show coat. I have started his health testing. His hips got an OFFA rating of fair and I have had his eyes tested twice. I would never breed him to Morgan because he does not compliment her plus I believe they are too closely related. In another post I will discuss line breeding and in breeding and why there is no such thing as hybrid Vigor! Cruise turned 3 years old in September of this year.