About standard Poodle

 History

The origin of the poodle is disputed. Some have found traces of the origin of the poodle in Germany where it was known as the Pudelhund. The word Pudel is derived from the low german verb meaning "to splash about", and the word Hund (dog). Some have found other resources that say the poodles descends from the French dog Barbet and might have been crossed with the Hungarian Water Dog. 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 became established as a national breed.

The European mainland had known the poodle long before it was brought to England. 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.

Appearance/Size

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. Akc recognized anything over 15 inches (38cm) at the shouders (withers) a standard size poodle.

The exact height cutoffs among the varieties vary slightly from country to country. 

 Work

Traditionally the Standard Poodle, the largest of the breed, was a retriever or gun dog, used in particular for duck hunting and sometimes upland bird hunting. The breed has been used for fowl hunting in US and Canada since the early 1990s, in and out of hunting tests. The modern Standard retains many of the traits prized by their original owners: a keen working intelligence that makes the dog easy to command, webbed feet that make it an agile swimmer (all of the poodle's ancestors and descendants had or share the love of water) athletic stamina, and a moisture-resistant, curly coat that acts like a wool jumper in damp conditions. Towards the second half of the nineteenth century their use in hunting declined in favour of their use in circuses and status symbols of the wealthy, so that by the 20th century they were only found as companions or circus dogs. However, in the past 20 years, some breeders in the United States and Canada have been selecting for dogs with drive for birds in order to revive the breed for hunting, with some success.The Canadian Kennel Club admitted the Standard Poodle for hunting trials in 1996 and the American Kennel Club in 1998, respectively.

As of May 2017, the end results of 25 years of breeding to reawaken the hunting instinct have been a success. It has resulted in dogs that are very eager to please their masters. It has resulted in a gun dog with extreme intelligence, a relentless drive to catch its quarry, and strong swimming skills that requires special training: their aptitude is second only to the British Border Collie and thus the hunting Standard Poodle requires the gunman to be quite specific as to what he wants and how he wants it done. Unlike other spaniels and retrievers, Standard Poodles will attempt to solve a problem independently and need to be told specifically what is wanted when tracking and retrieving a bird. Because they are highly intelligent, harsh or violent training methods do not work with this dog breed in the field-corrections must be timely, given with precision and the trainer must have a firm but kind hand; an overbearing owner training his dog to hunt will find his Standard poodle terrified of his master and the entire experience, and refusing to budge an inch towards the water or into the brush. In 1942, the Poodle was one of 32 breeds officially classified as war dogs by the Army.

Today the standard poodle is widely known for its skills as a service alert dog, therapy dog and a great companion. Poodle are the second smartest dog in the world, just after the Border collie. They need proper exercise and mind stimulation to thrive in their comunity. Poodles need training and human interaction and cannot be left alone for long periods of time. They love to learn and want to be told what to do. Poodles do best knowing they please their master. They know their beauty and love to show it off. Regular grooming is required to keep up with their gorgeous coats. Most poodles if groomed regularly love the grooming process. 

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