American Canine Association

Breeds

Poodle-Standard


History

Created by crossing the now extinct breed of Barbet and the Hungarian Water Hound hundreds of years ago, the Poodle is yet another breed that has controversy surrounding where it exactly originated. What many people may be surprised to know is that the Poodle was actually used for a gun and hunting dog, to retrieve waterfowl in the water and scent track for truffles! Today, this breed still enjoys the water, but is mainly a much loved companion within the United States.

Appearance

Standard size poodles are a large breed with males and females measuring an average of 15-17 inches in height and weighing 45-70 pounds in weight. This breed is built tall and lean with 4 very long, thin legs. Their round head is joined by two very large pendant shaped ears hanging along side of their face, with a long muzzle forming into a scissor bite. Their two round eyes are generally smaller in size and available in hazel to black in color. Their tight, curly hair is available in solid black, blue, chocolate, grey, red, apricot, white and tan. Some poodles can be bi-colored and parti colored. This breed has a tail that should be cropped or curled upwards and carried high when relaxed.

Temperament

Known as one of the most quietest and easiest breeds to train, the Poodle can be a wonderful addition to most families. This breed can be extremely calm while indoors as long as they receive proper physical exercise daily. This breed does well with children he or she grows up around and generally does well with other dogs he or she grows up around. Early socialization and training courses are recommended to ensure a proper foundation within your relationship as your puppy matures for training issues. This breed is known to do well with agility and competition training. This breed requires a calm owner who is firm and uses only positive reinforcement training methods. Please note that this breed needs to feel included within the family and will not do well in a loud and busy home.

Grooming

This breed requires daily brushing and professional grooming when needed. Please pay close attention to their coat to prevent mats from forming. This breed does not shed.

Special Notes

Please note that this breed is not meant for everyone. The Poodle is prone to skin and food allergies, reactions to certain washes, as well as eye issues, diabetes, cushings and Von Willebrands Disease. Please fully educate yourself about this breed prior to adding one to your family to ensure a life long commitment physically and financially for your new dog. A proper leash and harness or properly fenced in yard is highly recommended for your new addition. All dogs originate from wolves (Canis Lupus). Each breed of dog was originally created by mixing different breeds together in an effort to bring forth certain characteristics. Once a breeder has created acceptable “breed characteristics” within their bloodline and these “breed characteristics” have shown to be reliably reproduced in the offspring for three (3) generations, the bloodline may be upgraded from the category of “foundation stock” to “pure-bred”. The same “pure-bred” breed standards vary from different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders. Dog DNA testing companies can have accurate results for a specific bloodline of a small colony of dogs. However, there are tens of thousands of different bloodlines in the world which have not yet been tested for marker baseline results by Dog DNA testing companies as of 2017. For this reason Dog DNA testing companies do not guarantee the 100% accuracy of their breed lineage results and will also show different marker results for the same pure-bred breed in different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders.

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