Poodles are one of the oldest breeds of dogs in the world.
Poodles with traditonal shaved rear ends appear on Greek and Roman coins and Roman tombs in the time of Emperor Augustus around 30 A.D.
Poodle as we know them today had their origins in France, Russia, and Germany.
Poodle dogs were bred for their duck retrieving capabilities and had curly coats, webbed feet but differed to each other in their thickness of bone.
The name Poodle comes from the German word Pudel meaning, "to splash in water".
The clip that we see in the ring today is an elaboration of the traditional lion trim, that poodles have been dressed in for over four hundred years.
This trim originated to help the dog in its work of retrieving birds from marshy areas.
The trim left a protective mane around the chest to provide warmth for the heart and lungs.
The hair being clipped from the rear portion freed the dogs legs for efficent swimming.
The smaller puffs on the ankles provided warmth at the joints and the rosettes on the rump protected the kidneys.
While most dogs were black or brown hunters tied the hair above each dogs eyes with different colored cloth to enable them to distinguish between dogs at a distance.
Although three varieties of Poodle are recognised they differ in size only and they are closely related.
The largest form is the Standard Poodle which is the oldest variety as it was used as the water retriever.
The smaller forms of the Poodle have become more and more popular.
The Miniature Poodle is the medium sized variety and may have been closer to the original Poodle than the present Standard size Poodle.
It was first called the Toy Poodle but its name was changed when the smallest form was recognised.
Dog Breeds
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