Standard Poodle : Puppies, Information, Feeding & Grooming
Good points
- Eye-catching appearance
- Good temperament
- Intelligent
- Recommended household pet . Good sense of fun
- Splendid retriever
- Has stamina
- Useful in obedience competitions
- Usually good with children and other dogs
Take heed
- Do not make a clown or fashion model out of a fundamentally outdoor type
The Poodle has a character full of fun. It is intelligent and obedient. In the United Kingdom it has proved a useful competitor in obedience competitions. It has a fondness for water if the owner permits. The Standard Poodle is much favoured for the show ring where, exhibited in the traditional lion clip, it is a beauty to behold. It is also, debatably, the most difficult breed to prepare for the ring, involving the handler in a day's canine beauty treatment.
Size
Height: 15in (38cm) and over.
Exercise
This is a robust, healthy dog that loves the outdoors, has plenty of stamina and has lost none of its retrieving sporting instincts. It wil enjoy plenty of exercise.
Grooming
Use a wire-pin pneumatic brush and a wire-toothed metal comb for frequent grooming. The lion clip is an essential for the show ring, but pet owners generally resort to the more natural Iamb clip with the hair a short uniform length. It is possible to clip your own dog with a pair of hairdressers' scissors. If despite the help which is usualy available from the breeder you find the task tedious, there are numerous pet and poodle parlours to which you should take your dog every six weeks. Bath regularly.
Feeding
Twenty oz (587g) of a branded, meaty product with biscuit added in equal part by volume, or 3 cupfuls of a dry food, complete diet, mixed in the proportion of 1 cup of feed to V2 cup of hot or cold water.
Origin and history
The Poodle was originally a shaggy guard, a retriever and protector of sheep, with origins similar to the Irish Water Spaniel and, no doubt, a common ancestor in the French Barbet and Hungarian Water Hound.
The Poodle may not be, as many suppose, solely of French origin. It originated in Germany as a water retriever; even the word poodle comes from the German 'pudelnass' or puddle. From this fairly large, sturdy dog, the
Standard Poodle, the Miniature and the Toy have evolved.
The breed has been known in England since Prince Rupert of the Rhine, in company with his Poodle, came to the aid of Charles I in battle. The breed was favoured also by Marie Antoinette who, rumour has it, invented the lion clip by devising a style which would match the uniform of her courtiers. It is also popular in the United States.
SHOW STANDARD
General appearance. A very active, intelligent, well-balanced and elegant-looking dog with good temperament, carrying itself very proudly.
Colour. All solid colours. White and cream Poodles to have black nose, lips and eye rims; black toenails desirable. Brown Poodles to have dark amber eyes, dark liver nose, lips, eye rims and toenails. Apricot Poodles to have dark eyes with black points or deep amber eyes with liver points. Black, silver and blue Poodles to have black nose, lips, eye rims and toenails. Cream, apricot, brown, silver and blue Poodles may show varying shades of the same colour up to 18 months. Clear colours preferred.
Head and skull. Long and fine with slight peak at the back. The skull not broad and with a moderate stop. Foreface strong and well chiselled, not falling away under the eyes; bones and muscle flat. Lips tight fitting. Chin well defined but not protruding. The whole head must be in proportion to the size of the dog.
Tail. Set on rather high, well carried at a slight angle away from the body; never curled or carried over the back; thick at the root.
Feet. Pasterns strong; tight feet proportionately small, oval in shape, turning neither in nor out; toes arched; pads thick, hard and well cushioned.