Poodles
Poodles
What do you know about poodles and their history? It is believed the word “Poodle” is from the German word Pudel which is derived from the German word “puddeln” which means “to splash.” Poodles are a breed of water dogs that were bred for hunting and retrieving waterfowl. Makes you wonder if Fifi at the dog part is aware of this trait, doesn’t it? And that fancy haircut adorned by Fifi is very practical. The hair around their chest protects vital organs from freezing water. Short hair to the skin on the back quarters reduces drag and the extra poms on their feet keep their joints warm in cold water.
Clowning Around
Intelligence, easy nature, and athleticism made poodles the perfect act for circuses. French circuses selectively bred down in size and created Miniature Poodles puppies. In the early 20th-century Miniature Poodles were bred down to an even smaller size, the Toy Poodle. Since then, some breed smaller to produce Toy Poodles that they label “Tea Cup Poodles.” Often these pups are unable to overcome serious genetic abnormalities.
In the U.S., the American Kennel Club recognizes three poodle sizes: Standard, Miniature, and Toy. However, in European kennel clubs, outside of the U.S., the “moyen” or “klien” poodle is a size. Moyen means “medium.” These dogs are larger than a miniature and smaller than a standard.
AKC standards for poodles can be found here https://images.akc.org/pdf/breeds/standards/Poodle.pdf
Poodle Traits and Temperaments
Poodle Traits and Temparments
Poodles are highly intelligent and social dogs. According to the AKC Breed Traits and Characteristics https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/poodle-standard/
Affectionate with family 5 Lovey Dovey
Good with young children 5 Good with children
Good with other dogs 3 Average
Shedding level 1 No shedding
Coat Grooming Frequency 4 Several times per week
Drooling Level 1 Less likely to drool
Coat Type Curly
Coat Length Long
Openness to Strangers 5 Everyone is my best friend
Playfulness 5 Non-Stop
Watchdog/Protective Nature 5 Vigilant
Adaptability Level 4 Very Adaptable
Trainability Level 5 Eager to please
Energy Level 4 Energetic
Barking Level 4 Vocal
Mental Stimulation Needs 5 Needs a Job or activity
Poodle Colors
Poodles come in their own range of colors and coat patterns. AKC recognized colors include Black, Blue, Gray, Silver, Cream, Silver Beige, Red, Apricot, Brown, Café Au Lait, and White.
Coat Patterns
In the AKC show ring, conformation dogs are solid in color. However, there are all kinds of great coat patterns that can occur.
Parti
Parti coats can have any poodle color and the other 50% is white. If it is less than 50% it is called an abstract.
Tuxedo
Tuxedo are controlled by the same genes as a Parti poodle but have less white. Tuxedos usually have a white chest, bellies, and often white socks. Sometimes it will look like their tails are dipped in white paint.
Ticking
Flecks of color all over the dog are ticking. The ticking will appear to have tiny white holes in the dog’s base color.
Phantom
Phantom is a recessive gene, both parents need to carry the gene for it to be expressed in a pup. It is a combination of Black and Tan or Brown and Tan. The “tan” portion can vary in color to pale cream, warm brown, or a reddish-brown.
Brindle
Brindle coats are striped. The size and intensity can vary.
Sable
Sable comes in a variety of colors. A sable coat will have black-tipped ends to each strand of hair.
Abstract
Any color of the coat with a splash of white. Often times it appears as a chest blaze or “socks” on the feet.
Merle
Merle genes do not occur naturally in poodles. If a poodle carries this gene, it would have been introduced by another breed at some point. The patterning is a beautiful, mottled coat which can be accompanied by blue or odd colored eyes. If both parents carry the Merle gene, the pup could be deaf, blind or have ocular defects.
Roaning
A pattern that will produce heavily mottled white areas. This is to be confused with ticking, ticking is spots of color on white. Roan coats are never present in purebred poodles.
Some of these coat pattens can occur together. Such as a Brindle Parti Poodle or a Sable Parti.
Health and Lifespan
Most poodles will live a long and healthy life. Standard poodles, miniature poodles and toy poodles, have life spans ranging from 10-18 years of life. It is important that your breeder tests for hereditary genetic conditions. Some frequent poodle health issues are:
- Hip Dysplasia
- Eye Disorders
- Idiopathic epilepsy
- Sebaceous adenitis (Standard)
- von Willebrand’s Disease
- Legg-Calve-Perthes (Toy & Miniatures)
- Luxating Patellas (Toy & Miniatures)
- Gastric dilation with volvulus (bloat)
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Exercise
Poodles are active dogs who need daily exercise. Whether that is going for a walk or a marathon session of catch in your backyard, the need a venue to unleash that energy in a positively. They also love to swim, since they were bred to hunt water fowl.
Training
Poodles are highly intelligent and eager to please. This makes training a poodle a bit easier than other breeds. They enjoy canine sports such as agility training, obedience or tracking and dock diving.
Potty Training
Show Me Doodles pups will arrive Potty Pad & Crate Conditioned. We use both washable and disposable potty pads. By 8 weeks and 4 days, when they are ready to come home, they will be using potty pads only. We confine the pups in a puppy play pen. We will open the pen and let them walk to the door to go outside and potty (only after their 1st vaccination and only in our backyards.) They can then come inside and play. Potty pads are available to them in designated areas, however, by this time they really only need the pad that is in their pen for overnight.
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