Poodle

Who it suits

Someone who wants a dog they can reason with. The Poodle learns remarkably fast, likes having work to do and attaches itself closely to its family.

The lapdog reputation is a misunderstanding. The Poodle is a gundog bred to retrieve from water — the name comes from the German pudeln, to splash about. Even the show trim has its origin in work: coat was left over the joints and chest so the dog would not chill in cold water, and the rest was taken off so it would not drag the dog down.

It does not suit anyone unwilling to deal with coat. Grooming a Poodle is a permanent obligation, not a choice.

Four sizes, one breed

The FCI registers all sizes as one breed, in different varieties:

• Standard Poodle: 45–60 cm at the withers
• Medium Poodle: 35–45 cm
• Miniature Poodle: 28–35 cm
• Toy Poodle: 24–28 cm

The temperament is similar across the sizes; the exercise requirement is not. A Standard Poodle is a full-blown sporting dog, a Toy manages on walks — but all of them need their heads occupied.

What it looks like

• Coat: dense, fine, curly or corded; it grows continuously and does not shed
• Colour: black, white, brown, silver, apricot and red
• Lifespan: Standard 11–13 years, the smaller varieties often 14–17

It does not shed, but that does not make it hypoallergenic. Allergy is not caused by hair but by a protein in saliva and skin oils — and a Poodle has that too. What is true: the hair does not end up on the sofa, because it does not fall out; it stays in the coat.

How much exercise it needs

A Standard Poodle an hour and a half to two hours a day, the smaller varieties an hour. For all of them, mental work tires the dog more than distance — the Poodle is among the three most trainable breeds there are, and boredom ruins it.

Water is its natural element and it enjoys swimming; in older dogs with sore joints that is the gentlest exercise there is.

Coat care — the main job with this breed

Because the coat does not shed, the hairs that die stay in the coat and mat. That is the whole explanation for why a Poodle has to be clipped: it is not fashion, it is necessity.

• Comb two or three times a week, right down to the skin, not just over the surface.
• Clip every 6–8 weeks. An ordinary short pet trim is entirely fine — show trims are a matter for shows.
• A mat is not combed out. It hurts, the skin beneath becomes inflamed, and the only answer is to clip it away.
• Hair in the ears and between the pads is kept short.

Count on grooming being a regular expense for the whole of the dog's life.

Feeding

Depending on size, from 60 g for a Toy up to 400 g of dry food a day for a Standard, always in two meals. The Standard is a deep-chested breed, so no exercise straight after eating and never one large meal a day.

Common health problems

Some of these differ by size.

• Progressive retinal atrophy — gradual loss of sight; a DNA test exists. It concerns all sizes.
• Patellar luxation — common in the Miniature and Toy.
• Hip dysplasia and gastric torsion — in the Standard.
• Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease — in the small varieties.
• Addison’s disease — adrenal insufficiency, described more often in Poodles; it shows as weakness, vomiting and loss of appetite.
• Sebaceous adenitis — inflammation of the sebaceous glands, showing as brittle coat and scaling.
• Ear infections — a drop ear full of hair does not ventilate well.

This is not a diagnostic guide. A dog that is weakening, vomiting or losing coat belongs at the vet.

Anything else to consider

The Poodle is clever to the point of being a nuisance. It learns to open doors and cupboards and makes connections you did not intend it to make. It is a dog that has to be given work — otherwise it invents its own.

And one more thing people get wrong about Poodles: this is not a delicate salon dog. A Standard will run twenty kilometres beside a bicycle, and it is a gundog breed with everything that implies.