The poodle is a group of formal dog breeds, the Standard Poodle, Miniature Poodle and Toy Poodle. The origin of the breed is still discussed, with a prominent dispute over whether the poodle descends from Germany as a type of water dog, or from the French Barbet.
Ranked second most intelligent dog breed just behind the Border Collie,the poodle is skillful in many dog sports and activities, including agility, obedience, tracking to herding, circus performers or assistance dogs. Poodles have taken top honors in many conformation shows, including "Best in Show" at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 1991 and 2002, and at the World Dog Show in 2007 and 2010.
Toy Poodles won "Best in Show" at Crufts in 1966 and 1982. Standard Poodles achieved the award in 1955, 1985, 2002, and 2014. The 2002 winner came from Norway and was the first overseas exhibit to win the Crufts best in show award.
History
The origin of the poodle is disputed. The Kennel Club of the United Kingdom states that the breed originates in Germany, and the American Kennel Club of the United States concurs, stating: "Despite the Poodle’s association with France, the breed originated as a duck hunter in Germany..."The Oxford English Dictionary and the American Heritage Dictionary both trace the etymology of Poodle to the German Pudel, which itself comes from Pudelhund. The word Pudel in turn comes from Low German pud(d)eln meaning "[to] splash in water,"cognate with the English word puddle.
However, the Fédération Cynologique Internationale, the international ogranization of which both France and Germany's main kennel clubs are memebrs, claims the breed descends from the French Barbet. When the breed was officially recognized by the FCI, in order to avoid any possible dispute between two founding members, Germany recognized the Poodle as a dog originating from France.The progenitor of the breed might have also been crossed with the Hungarian Puli. The French name Caniche comes from the word cane (the female of the duck) since this type of breed was used as a water retriever mainly for duck hunting thanks to its swimming ability.Due to the breed's popularity in France, it was claimed to be a national breed.
The European mainland had known the poodle long before it was brought to England. Drawings by German artist Albrecht Dürer established the popular image of the breed in the 15th and 16th centuries. It was the principal pet dog of the late 18th century in Spain, as shown by the paintings of the Spanish artist Francisco Goya. France had toy poodles as pampered favorites during the reign of Louis XVI at about the same period.
The poodle has contributed to many other dog breeds, such as the Miniature Schnauzer, Standard Schnauzer,and dogs of the Bichon type in order to either save those breeds from extinction, reduce size, or by dog fanciers to improve their appearance.
Size Variants
The poodle has been bred in at least three sizes, including Standard, Miniature, and Toy. According to the American Kennel Club, which recognized the breed in 1887,the Standard Poodle is the oldest of the three varieties,and was later bred down to the miniature and toy sizes. The British Kennel Club also recognizes three sizes, stating that the miniature and toy are scaled down versions of the standard.The Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) recognizes four sizes of one breed: standard, medium, miniature, and toy. Poodles exist in many coat colours. Despite the Standard Poodle's claim to greater age than the other varieties, some evidence shows the smaller types developed only a short time after the breed assumed the general type by which it is recognized today.
The smallest, or Toy variety, was developed in England in the 18th century. Hunting and working dogs were typically of the standard variety, though some reports suggest that smaller varieties such as the miniature may have been popular for truffle hunting, as their feet were less likely to damage the delicate fungi.Miniature and Toy varieties tend to be bred primarily for companionship. In the mid to late 19th century, the trade in dyeing and affixing their fur to unusual proportions began with the need to compliment the Victorian and Georgian sensibilities of these women,to the point that their status as a dog of the middle and upper classes was quite solid by the time of the founding of the Kennel Club in the 1870s as they were one of the first dog breeds registered.
Description
Appearance
The poodle is an active, intelligent and elegant dog, squarely built, and well proportioned. To ensure the desirable squarely built appearance, the length of body measured from the breastbone to the point of the rump approximates the height from the highest point of the shoulders to the ground. The eyes should be very dark, oval in shape, and have an alert and intelligent expression. The ears should fold over close to the head, set at, or slightly below, eye level. The coat should be of naturally curly texture, dense throughout, although most AKC-registered show dogs have a lion-cut or other, similarly shaven look. The sizes of the official AKC-recognized Poodle breeds are determined by height, not by weight.
Poodles are bred in a variety of sizes, distinguished by adult shoulder (withers) height. The exact height cutoffs among the varieties vary slightly from country to country. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) recognizes four sizes of one breed: standard, medium, miniature, and toy.Non-FCI kennel clubs generally recognize three sizes, standard, miniature, and toy, sometimes as sizes of the same breed and sometimes as separate breeds. Only the FCI describes a maximum size for Standard Poodles. France is the country responsible for the breed in the FCI, and in this country, the puppies of all sizes are listed together.The terms royal standard, teacup, and tiny teacup are marketing names, and are not recognized by any major kennel club.
Coat
Unlike most dogs which have double coats, poodles have a single layer coat (no undercoat is present) composed of dense, curly fur that sheds minimally.They could be considered hypoallergenic (though not completely allergen free).The poodle does shed, but instead of the fur coming off the dog, it becomes tangled in the surrounding hair. This can lead to matting without proper care. Texture ranges from coarse and woolly to soft and wavy. Poodle show clips require many hours of brushing and care per week, about 10 hours/week for a Standard Poodle. Poodles are usually clipped down into lower-maintenance cuts as soon as their show careers are over. Pet clips are much less elaborate than show and require much less maintenance. A pet owner can anticipate grooming a poodle every six to eight weeks.
Corded Coat
In most cases, whether a poodle is in a pet or show clip, the hair is completely brushed out. Poodle hair can also be "corded" with rope-like mats similar to those of a Komondor or human dreadlocks. Though once as common as the curly poodle, corded poodles are now rare. Corded coats are difficult to keep clean and take a long time to dry after washing. Any poodle with a normal coat can be corded when its adult coat is in. Corded poodles may be shown in all major kennel club shows.
Colours
The Poodle has a wide variety of colouring, including white, black, brown, parti, silver, gray, silver beige, apricot, red, cream, sable, and patterns such as phantom and brindle. The AKC recognizes Poodles in either solid-coloured or particoloured coats.Recognition of particolour (spotted) Poodles varies by registry. Phantom, brindle, and sable are considered out of standard by all major registries. Recognized FCI colourations are black, white, brown, gray, apricot, and red.
For solid-coloured poodles, the coat is an even and solid colour at the skin. In blues, grays, silvers, browns, cafe-au-laits, apricots and creams, the coat may show varying shades of the same colour. This is frequently present in the somewhat darker feathering of the ears and in the tipping of the ruff. While clear colours are preferred by registries, such natural variation in the shading of the coat is not to be considered a fault. Brown and cafe-au-lait poodles have liver-coloured noses, eye rims and lips, dark toenails and dark amber eyes. Black, blue, gray, silver, cream and white poodles have black noses, eye rims and lips, black or self-coloured toenails and very dark eyes. In the apricots, while the foregoing colouring is preferred, liver-coloured noses, eye rims and lips, and amber eyes are permitted, but are not desirable. Incomplete colour of nose, lips and eye rims, or a "mismatched" colour are considered faults by registries.
Parti-coloured poodles are recognized in poodle history as the original colouring of the poodle.A parti poodle has solid-coloured patches over a white coat. The coat will usually be white and coloured in equal amounts, though it can vary with a larger percent of white. Registries prefer that parti poodles have the same points as its correlating solid-coloured descendants. Brown and white parti poodles have liver-coloured noses, eye rims and lips, dark or self-coloured toenails and amber eyes. This is also permitted, but not preferred, in apricot and white parti poodles. Black/white, Blue/white, and silver/white poodles have black noses, eye rims and lips, black or self-coloured toenails and very dark eyes. When the dog has markings that resemble those of a tuxedo, it is called a "tuxedo" poodle. The upper coat is solid: head, back, tail; and the lower coat is white: neck, chest, abdomen, and legs, making up usually 40% or more of the coat.
Phantom poodles have the colouring of a Doberman Pinscher, with a lighter colour appearing on their "eyebrows", muzzle and throat, legs and feet and below their tail. Like Dobermans, phantom poodles have either a black or brown main coat with a tan (usually apricot or red) lighter colourings around the eyebrows, muzzle, throat, legs, feet, and below their tail.
Temperament
Poodles are known as a highly intelligent, energetic, and sociable breed. They require both physical and intellectual activities. Of note is this breed's keen sense for instinctive behavior. In particular, marking and hunting drives are more readily observable in poodles than in most other breeds.[citation needed] A typical poodle should be reserved with strangers upon first introduction, but after a while should slowly reveal a warm and personable disposition. Snappy, vicious behavior is considered a serious fault in the breed.
Poodles are highly trainable dogs that typically excel in obedience training. A poodle will do well at many dog sports, including dog agility,flyball,dock diving,field tracking, and even schutzhund,and can follow owners on hiking trips or any trip involving swimming,as long as the dog is accustomed to water and swimming.
Of the size varieties, Standard Poodles are the most highly recommended for families with children. They have a kindly demeanor and a love of playing games. As with all dogs and babies, introductions should be gradual, though most Standards will tolerate a baby and learn to be gentle and will respect toddlers so long as the child is supervized.A Standard Poodle will be fine in a family with many children provided the environment is stable, orderly, and relaxed, with enough room for the dog to go out and retire to if needed.Miniature and Toy varieties tend to have less patience with young children and might find certain children's antics too much to handle, especially because young children are much larger than they are and may attempt to grab them without understanding how their attempt to hug the pooch is terrifying to a small dog. They are likely to bite out of fear and thus are better suited to homes with teenagers or older children.Poodles dislike being left alone or left out of the family fun and some get anxious at being left in the house alone, but sign of nervousness or neurosis is atypical and not how a poodle of any size is meant to behave.
Health
The most common serious health issues of Standard Poodles listed in order of the number of reported cases in the Poodle Health Registry (20 August 2007) are Addison's disease, gastric dilatation volvulus, thyroid issues (hyperthyroid and hypothyroid), tracheal collapse, epilepsy, sebaceous adenitis, juvenile renal disease, hip dysplasia, and cancer. Standard Poodles are also susceptible to some health issues usually too minor to report to the health registry. The most common of these minor issues is probably ear infection. Ear infections are a problem in all poodle varieties because their nonshedding coat grows into the ear canal, where it traps wax and dirt. Ear problems can be minimized by proper ear care, including regular cleaning and plucking of hair within the ear canal. A veterinarian should be consulted if the dog shows signs of an ear infection. Standard Poodles in UK, Denmark and USA/Canada surveys had a median lifespan of 11.5 to 12 years.In a UK survey, the most common causes of death were cancer (30%), old age (18%), GDV (6%), and cardiac disease (5%).Miniature and Toy Poodles in UK surveys had median lifespans of 14 to 14.5 years.In Miniatures, the leading cause of death was old age (39%).In Toys, the leading causes of death were old age (25%), and kidney failure (20%).
Reproduction
Breed size is correlated with litter size and Standard Poodles have the highest litter size followed by Medium, Miniature, and Toy. Toy Poodles have one of the smallest litter size of all breeds.The stillborn rate and early neonatal mortality (death within 1 week from birth) in poodles are lower than the average across all breeds.
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