The Standard Poodle is one of the most popular dog breeds in the United States. For over ten years, the Poodle has consistently ranked in the top ten registered breeds of the American Kennel Club. This confident and dignified breed is an excellent pet for an owner who wants an active and intelligent dog.
All poodles are members of the non-sporting breed group. Toy Poodles, Miniature Poodles, and Standard Poodles all share the same breed standards, the only difference between them being height. A Toy Poodle should be no taller than ten inches at the fullest point of the shoulder; a miniature poodle should be no more than fifteen inches at the shoulder; and a standard poodle must be over fifteen inches at the shoulder.
The poodle’s coat is naturally curly and dense and can be black, white, blue, gray, silver, brown, and apricot. The coat usually has varied shades of a single color.
The Standard Poodle probably originated as a cross between a Hungarian Water Spaniel and a French Water Dog known as the Barbet. The breed’s dense, curly coat is somewhat resistant to water, and hunters developed the typical poodle cut, with tufts of hair at the joints of the front and rear legs, to protect the dogs’ joints from the cold during the season. hunting.
Although the Germans, the Danes and the French claimed at one time or another to be the country where the Standard Poodle breed originated, France has come to be known as the country of origin of the Poodle. The French are very proud of this designation, and the French Poodle holds a special place in French culture.
The poodle’s intelligence and eager-to-please temperament make it an easy breed to train. Humans have taken advantage of the Poodle’s trainability, using the dog as a retriever for bird hunting and as a tracker for truffle hunting. Poodles have also held a variety of jobs in the entertainment industry, such as circus performers and performers in modern film and television.
A standard poodle in the entertainment industry may become famous through their own talent or through the fame of their owners. Some Poodles are famous for a combination of their own talent and their owner’s fame. The writer Gertrude Stein and her muse, Alice B. Toklas, had three poodles that they named Basket, Basket II, and Basket III.
Entertainer “Weird Al” Yankovic posed his Poodle Bela on his head for a photograph used on the cover of his “Poodle Hat” album. When wrestling superstar Rene Dupree, now known as Rene Bonaparte, gives interviews, she often refers to her Poodle Fifi.
Poodles have made their mark on literature, film, and television. The late author Jacqueline Susann wrote a bestselling novel, Every Night Josephine, about her poodle, Josephine. The 2000 film Best In Show featured a poodle named Rhapsody in White as “Butch”. The animated television series Rugrats family has a poodle named Fifi. Most Standard Poodles will never make it onto the big screen, the small screen, or the pages of a novel, but to the people and families that own them, they are superstars.