The Standard Poodle

This is a noble, elegant and well balanced dog with a slender muzzle and long neck. The coat is profuse and curly and is often styled. The gait should be graceful with plenty of drive coming from well developed muscular thighs equally with a proud reach front step. History The Standard Poodle is the oldest of the three poodle sizes, with the miniature and toy varieties developing later. The exact origin of the poodle is unknown, some say they originated in France and others say that they come from Germany. It is thought they may have been taken to France and other countries with the German troops during the 1400’s. They evolved into their present form in France. They were used in Germany as a water retrieving dog and today some still have the hunting instinct. Intelligence The Poodle is an extremely intelligent and eager to please dog, the most of all breeds, thus he is inordinately easy to train. As a result, the Poodle has a history of performance, appearing in circus and street acts for hundreds of years. Poodles are unusually sensitive to vocal intonation, probably one of the reasons they are so easy to train. Many pet owners, using gentle and consistent training methods,have seen their poodles excel in conformation shows, obedience trials, flyball and agility. Hair Styles The show poodles are shown in their traditional hair style as a way of emphasising their proud and regal appeal. There is a lot of tradition behind the styles. The ‘Continental’ dates back to when the poodle was working in the marshes. The hunter would shot the fowl and the poodle would swim out to retrieve the bird thus the need for shaved legs to allow freedom to swim while keeping the kidneys, chest and ankles warm. Each hunter would have a different colour band wrapped onto the top knot to distinguish the different dogs from the distance. The poodle puppy is shown in a puppy trim until the age of 12 months before changing into their adult trim where than can choose between the Continental or English Saddle show clips. Grooming Poodles do not shed and are often tolerated by allergic people. Their coats do take a great deal of care though, generally requiring professional grooming, as well as regular combing and brushing at home. The poodle should be taken to a groomer about every six weeks for a clip of your choice. Only three clips are allowed in the show ring, however, pet owners can allow for more creativity on the part of the groomer. The poodle’s ears need frequent cleaning or they will become infected and, especially in the smaller poodles, daily teeth brushing is recommended or tartar will build up rapidly and lead to gingivitis. Poodle Coat Colours The poodles have solid colour of coat. The most common starts with Black than White following along with Grey, Blue, Brown, Cream, Café-au-lait, Apricot and Red...oh, sometimes Pink as well. To become a Poodle owner If you do desire to own a Poodle you must consider the requirements, but these do greatly out weight the true love and friendship the poodle offers. The Standard Poodle requires plenty of playful attention and exercise, regular brushing (daily) and regular styling, all the other requirements that dogs generally need - food water vet expenses, desexing and microchiping. When choosing a poodle the Standard has the most soundness of temperaments while the Miniature than the Toy become unique in their own ways.