Description

This is a noble looking dog with a slender muzzle and long neck. The coat is profuse and curly and is often styled. They move with a graceful and prancing gait.

Color

They come in a variety of colors. Blues, grays, silvers, browns, café-au-laits, apricots and creams can be varying shades within the coat, for example, darker feathering on the ears and tipping on the ruff. The color can fade on all coats (apart from the whites) on reaching the age of 4 to 5.

Category Size

Tiny

Coat Length

Medium/Long

Getting along with the kids, the cat and the guinea pig is no problem for the poodle. Lively and affectionate, they make wonderful companion dogs. The Toy will adapt to life in more confined quarters as long as they get adequate exercise. They can be good guard dogs, announcing visitors but never being aggressive. 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 obedience trials, flyball and agility. Children should be trained to handle these small, delicate dogs carefully though.

Intelligence

The Poodle is an extremely intelligent and eager to please dog, 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 obedience trials, flyball and agility.

Energy

Medium

Tendency To Bark

Medium

Overall Exercise Requirement

This is a fairly active breed that likes to get out on walks and particularly enjoys games. It is a good idea to enroll a poodle in some sort of activity so that the mind is stimulated along with the body. Poodles can do well in obedience, agility and most dog sports.

Suitability for Personal Protection

Low

Suitability as a Guard Dog

Medium

Suitability for Children

Medium

Ease of Transportation

High

Level of Distress caused if left alone

Medium

Level of aggression

Low

Breeding & ownership

Very small dogs should be fed twice a day to prevent hypoglycemia. Biscuits are good for helping keep their teeth a bit cleaner and healthier.

Food Cost

Affordable

Grooming & showing

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. 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.

Brusing & Grooming Requirements

> Once a week

Trimming required

Occasional

Tendency to shed hair

None

Show characteristics

The Poodle standard asks for a moderately rounded skull with a slight but definite stop. The cheeks are flat and the muzzle is long and fine with slight chiseling under the eyes. The muzzle should show the strength of the retriever but still have an aristocratic outline. The teeth should be set in a scissor bite. Oval, wide set eyes must be dark and full of intelligence. The ears are set low on the skull and hang close to the head. The earflap is long, rather wide and well-feathered. A proud dog with a haughty head carriage, the poodle needs a long, strong neck, with a smooth deep throat. Muscular shoulders slope back from their point of angulation at the upper foreleg. Well-sprung ribs support a deep and moderately wide chest. The back is short and slightly hollow, fitting with a short, well-muscled loin area. A gaily carried tail, set high, is docked to be in proportion with the body. The forelegs are straight from the shoulder and should be parallel, with strong pasterns (ankles.) The hindquarters must be very muscular with well bent stifles and hocks well let down. Facing forward, the small feet should be oval, with well-arched, close toes. The pads should be thick and hard. These physical characteristics enable the poodle to have a good springy trot, with legs moving parallel to each other. Both the head and tail should be held high. A distinctive feature of the poodle, the coat, should be very profuse, dense and have a harsh, tightly curled texture. Browns and café-au-laits will have liver noses, liver eye rims and lips, dark toenails and amber eyes. Other colors should have black noses, eye rims and lips, black or self colored nails and very dark eyes.

Breed classification

The Toy Poodle belongs to the Non-Sporting group (although a toy breed and shown in the Toy group in the USA). They are used as companions and seen in the show-ring.

Origin

This size of poodle was known to exist at least 500 years ago. During the 17th and 18th centuries the poodle became a favorite with the nobility. They wanted dogs smaller than the Miniature variety and so the Toy Poodle was developed. Today the Toy Poodle is exclusively a companion and show dog.