Poodles are such an amazing breed with a long history as a preferred companion to humans. History has shown that they were defined as a breed as long as 600 years ago. Both solid color and parti-colored poodles were known for hundreds of years as great hunting dogs, companions, carting dogs, guard dogs, herding dogs, and an all-around terrific companion. They were originally bred in Germany and known as the “puddle dog” and when France aristocrats preferred the breed they carried the German name over to France with the modification to “poodle”. Poodles have been the foundation for many other breeds and currently popular in the mixed-breed world as pets. As we cannot judge those who purchase the “---oodle” dogs we warn that they must ask for a history of health testing and that the desirable traits of the poodle do not always carry over in these mixed-bred dogs.
The traits that make the poodle so desirable are many. They are very intelligent. An owner new to the breed is advised to take at least two obedience classes with their new pup. They are extremely versatile and trainable in many venues as mentioned above. They do not shed. They can be groomed in many different styles from a close cut that is low maintenance, to a sporting cut that has a little more of the poodle style and needs regular washing and grooming, to the full show cut called the continental which is a high maintenance cut requiring daily grooming, hair banding, and weekly washing and blow drying that can take 3-5 hours. Many people shy away from the poodle if they think it has to be maintained in the continental cut but 90% of poodle owners do a much simpler cut with low maintenance. When our poodles are not in the show ring we groom to minimum hair for the summer months and a short, sporting cut in the winter times. It makes maintenance so much easier. As with any dog, grooming also includes cleaning their ears and clipping their nails – tasks usually done by your regular groomer or your vet's staff (usually for a nominal fee).
We came to become dedicated poodle owners after years of rescuing dogs through our local Humane Society. We provided a loving home for over 20 rescued dogs with all of them living into their teens. Some had serious socialization problems when they came to us and we nurtured them into loving companions. After three of our rescues matured and passed away we consulted with a long-time groomer of 35 years about the best dogs she had ever worked with during her career. Her response was, Standard Poodles, by leaps and bounds over other breeds. Sue had had toy poodles growing up and she loved them. So, we started researching Standard Poodles and instantly fell in love. It took months to find a breeder with puppies but when we did we adopted two lovely females from their litter. They proceeded to be terrific additions to our family.
After a few years with our girls we had met a lot of people in the poodle world and wanted to become active in the poodle show world. We brought Mickie into our lives and it was love at first site. In fact, Sue got to hold him when he was just one day old. Mickie proved himself as a Champion show dog, passed all his health testing with no problems, and now is a proven sire of beautiful puppies. We are so proud of him. Two years after Mickie came into our lives Marty was offered to us and we agreed to show him in the AKC Show circuit. Now we were stepping up and we rose to the challenge. Marty became our first AKC Champion under our wonderful handlers, Paul and Crystal Clas.
We recommend poodles for anyone who desire adding a loving, beautiful, versatile dog with loads of intelligence to their lives. If you are new to training dogs that is not a problem but we recommend taking obedience classes to help you raise the best poodle possible. Otherwise, your poodle may raise you and pretty much run the show. Once poodles learn something they never forget it and can even be trained in groups like the circus poodles. They are an amazing breed.
The most fun we have had with our poodles is when we go out in public and they turn heads. I had Mickie at Niagara Falls during a show weekend in Buffalo so he looked beautiful. We had about 20 tourists at the falls ask to take their picture with him. My goodness, we were at one of the natural wonders of the world and they wanted a photo of our dog. It was such a compliment. We’ve had our poodles walk in local parades, gone to dog carnivals, and other canine events and everywhere they go they draw lots of attention. When the poodles are riding in the car with us we see children in other cars waving at them and mom and dad are all smiles. We’ve even had people take photos of them from their cars. It’s so much fun!
So if you want an eye-catching, talented and sweet dog, poodles are it! You can tell we’ve never regretted our decision to bring them into our forever home and we are devoted to bettering the breed with wonderful puppies.
For more information of the poodle breed we recommend the following sites:
http:/ofa.org
http://www.poodleclubofamerica.org/
http://www.poodlehealthregistry.org/
http://www.poodlepedigree.com/
And, to really see the versatility of the poodle breed watch this YouTube.com video about the poodles that ran the Iditarod:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDuBNEF9aXM