Poodles are a Joy to Live With

Standard Poodles are a joy to live with

Very intelligent, companionable, clean, and athletic, they excel at all
kinds of work and play. Better yet, they keep their enthusiasm and
youthful outlook on life well into old age, satisfied to lay by your side
while you read a book or ready to bounce around when the leash comes out
Should one become available, a retired show dog makes an excellent choice,
usually being well-socialized and trained, as well as being housebroken
and done with their teething!

Standard Poodles are very social

It's part of their charm. This means they should have companionship, preferably
their human family or another Standard Poodle or two around to keep
them company. Dogs are pack animals, and over the years, we've bred them
to be even more social to enhance their ability to work and play with us.
It's unfair to expect one of these dogs to live in social isolation,
alone while you're gone at work all day.

Multiple Standard Poodles
make their own fun

Multiple Standard Poodles are very good at making up their own games to
amuse themselves. I once came home to find one of my dining room chairs
halfway out the dog door - not a tooth mark on it. I always wondered if they
had planned on playing musical chairs in the yard .

Healthy Poodles are happy Poodles

No good breeder would knowingly bring unhealthy puppies into the world.
A big advantage for Standard Poodle breeders is a large gene pool
worldwide from which to choose potential mates. Well documented
information on inherited health issues, testing with national registries
to keep track of them, and a parent club which generously funds research
to find genetic markers so removing carrier and affected Poodles
from breeding can become easy and reliable, help make a purebred
Standard Poodle the best it can be. When considering your next
Standard Poodle puppy, you should ask about and be shown copies
of test results.

What if I just want a pet?

Wanting "just a pet" is excellent, although Standard Poodles
seldom ever become "just" pets.
Most good breeders plan their litters with specific goals in mind for color, sex,
conformation or performance ability.
If one of two puppies fit the bill and validate their breeding choices,
and the continuation of their lines, they are thrilled!

No matter how hard a breeder tries, total perfection in a litter is
virtually unattainable. Choosing a puppy from a "show" breeder means
the rest of the puppies will have all the sizeable advantages of the same testing,
socialization, and careful breeding decisions that produced the "pick"
puppies in the litter, and could well be the perfect puppy you're looking for!

If you feel the need to "rescue" a puppy from a bad situation
with a breeder who can't be bothered to do things the right way,
doesn't register her dogs with the AKC, or offers a cheap price tag,
you will only be supporting people who don't breed with the best
interests of the dogs at heart. You are choosing a Poodle you will
have for years to come - testing, showing, and careful breeding
cost money, and in the end, you get what you pay for.

purebred or not?

Remember, no dogs are perfect, either physically or genetically. The purebred
dog fancy as a whole is the biggest lay group actively funding and supporting
research into health issues in dogs. What better way to support this good work
than by getting your Poodle from a breeder who tests her dogs and utilizes
the information to make better breeding decisions. Also remember,
while some people turn up their noses at purebreds, mixed-breed dogs aren't
necessarily any healthier. "Hybrid vigor" is largely overstated and doesn't
reliably extend beyond the first generation. It stands to reason that a
breeding of two outstanding individuals would produce at least some quality
offspring. Unfortunately, few dogs randomly crossbred would necessarily
produce the best qualities of both parents, and individuals allowed to breed
indiscriminately are unlikely to be the best specimens.

Poodle Recsue

You should also consider a dog from Poodle
Rescue. You can access this information
at the websites for the AKC, the Poodle Club
of America, the Columbine State Poodle Club

You can always contact me for a referral.

what's the deal with the hair?

Poodles come in a variety of colors, and can wear that hair in a lot of cool styles.

Standard Poodles were originally a water-retrieving dog, making their reputation
with hunters in the German, Austrian and Bavarian countryside.

Doing the dog-paddle before the days of electric clippers could be dangerous.
Long leg hair, especially on the hind legs would get caught on
underwater snags preventing the dog from reaching shore
or coming up for air after a dive. Poodles could die trying to do their jobs.

Eventually, hunters started to cut off the hair on the hindquarters
with any handy blade, leaving the hair on the main part of the body
and around the "ankles" for insulation from that cold snow-fed water.

Since one soggy, curly Poodle pretty much looked like the next out there,
and most Poodles swim with their tails up, it was easy to tie colored ribbon
in the long tail hair so the hunters could tell who was working the birds.
The rest, they say, is history.

Some Poodles have a more single-textured coat, with all the hair the same
thickness and consistency, while other lines may have more wiry guard hairs
and a softer secondary coat. The story goes that the single-coated dogs got
the plush-looking trims,and the twin-textured coats were corded.
In any case, the overall hairstyle was the same for working or dog quality competitions.

While the big Continental trim is de rigueur,
(a recent interview with a judge in Europe revealed the opinion that they look
like they're wearing wedding cakes on their heads), you can still find Poodles
finishing their championships in the HCC (Historically-Correct Continental),
as well as Corded Poodles beating their more traditionally dressed rivals.
If there's a good Poodle under that hair, a good judge will find it.

Nope - not one of mine!

This photo is called "Blocky"

I can't acknowledge credit to either the Groomer
or the Photographer for this extremely interesting
project, but there was no attribution or other
information on the website.

I know a lot of people will say,
"That poor dog!", but I'm guessing
this look only lasted for a few hours.
I will admit that some people simply have
too much extra time on their hands!

Note not only the Poodle, but the bricks,
watch, and shoe buckles. I'm surprised the car
doesn't have a square BMW logo or tires!

Corded Poodles were much more common years ago, and they frequently got a version of the Continental trim.

One entrepreneur used to scissor a rendition of a winning horse into the side of a Poodle's plush coat.
When the champagne came out in the Winner's Circle, the dog was presented to the Owner.
Peer pressure or his lady's request pretty much sealed the deal for sale of the Poodle to the winning horse's owner.

Champion Alegria's Cash Dividend
"Cash"

Poodles can still be shown in the
Historically Correct Continental.
The HCC is the original working trim going
back to the foundations of the breed

This handsome gentleman was bred, owned, and shown
to his Championship byLaurel Berg of Alegria Poodles.
Alegria means "Joy" - what better a name could there be!

Laurel and her daughter, Brenda Wood are breeders
of top winning Miniature and Standard Poodles,
specializing in silver. Occasionally, other colors
genetically related to silver are available.

Laurel and Brenda have shown my own
silver Standards to their Championships and appear
in many of Peter and Rita's show photographs.
Laurel is the lady with the great smile and has always looked
much better than I running around the ring!
For more information about their Poodles or winning
professional handling, go to alegriapoodles.com

(By the way, no money changed hands for this testimonial!)