The Popular Pet Poodle

It is no wonder the Standard Poodle is such a popular dog. Poodles are full of energy and personality. They are popular among owners who want a lively, intelligent and dignified dog with a pleasant, happy disposition. In fact, Poodles are so popular that they have been included in the American Kennel Club's list of the ten most popular breeds for the last ten years.

Poodles come in a variety of sizes, from the diminutive Toy Poodle to the slightly larger Miniature Poodle to the tallest Poodle, the Standard Poodle. Toy Poodles cannot be taller than ten inches at the shoulder. Miniature Poodles measure ten to fifteen inches in height, and Standard Poodles include any Poodle taller than fifteen inches at the shoulder.

Standards for the Poodle coat are the same for all three sizes. The Poodle coat is dense, wiry and curly, and also rough to the touch. Standards of the breed allow a range of colors from black to white, with brown, apricot blue, gray and silver in between.

The Standard Poodle probably originated as a cross between a Hungarian Water Hound and a French water dog known as the Barbet. The breed's dense, curly coat is somewhat water resistant, and hunters developed the typical Poodle cut, with puffs of hair at the front and rear leg joints, to protect the dogs' joints from the cold during the hunting season.

Although the Germans, the Danes, and the French all claimed at one time or another to be the country where the Standard Poodle breed originated, France has come to be known as the Poodle's country of origin. The French are exceedingly proud of this designation, and the French Poodle occupies 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 in truffle hunting. Poodles have also held a variety of jobs in the entertainment industry, as circus performers and performers in modern film and television.

Standard Poodle can become famous as a performer, while others derive their fame from their celebrity owners. Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas loved their first Poodle, Basket, so much that they got two more Poodles, named Basket II and Basket III.

Performer "Weird Al" Yankovic has a Toy Poodle named Bela, whom he on top of his head for the cover of his album "Poodle Hat". Wrestling star Rene Dupree, who know uses the professional name "Rene Bonaparte", often refers to his Poodle Fifi.

Poodles are well known as characters in literature, film and television. The late Jacqueline Susann, the darling of the 1960s, wrote a best-selling novel, Every Night Josephine, about her Poodle, Josephine. One of many examples of Poodles in film is the 2000 film Best In Show, which featured a Poodle named Rhapsody in White as the canine character "Butch". The TV family in the animated series Rugrats has a Poodle named Fifi as a pet. Although most Standard Poodles will never appear on the pages of a novel or on the big screen, their owners consider them superstars of the highest magnitude.

Lisa Collins is a Poodle breeder and freelance writer who has written four books on Poodles. The Standard Poodle is a popular breed because of its superior intelligence and pleasant personality. You can get more Poodle information from a Poodle breeder in your area.