A Brief history of poodles
The Breed
Sometime during the 16th century, Germans used poodles as fowl retrieval dogs. Poodles were also found in Belgium, Holland, France, and Russia. It was conceded that there were three main groups of poodles in Europe, the being in Russia, France and Germany. The main differences between these three groups were coat texture and apparent bone thickness. German and French poodles were sturdy, thickset dogs with the French poodles a bit slighter in build. While the Russian poodles were much slighter in build with higher legs, resembling more the Grey hound. During the 17th century, the breed began being imported to England. These dogs were imported from France and called "Water Dogs." During this time, three sizes could be found in Europe, small (but not toy), medium and large. The desired color of the "well-bred" dog was black, however black with white or brown (also know as party color) was regarded as a lesser quality.
The smaller sizes in breed, i.e. miniature, toy, tiny toy and teacup have only gained popularity with the common person in the 20th century. This is not to say that these sizes have not been around. In fact, miniatures have been around as long as the larger dogs of the breed. This is evident in artwork of the 15th and 16th century. Early miniatures and toys were used as truffle hunting dogs in England. It is believed that poodles were mixed with terriers to produce a more efficient truffle hunter. In contrast to the waterfowl poodles, truffle hunters were preferred to be white in color. This is because truffle hunting is done at night.
The Cuts
As you have read above, poodles were retrieving dogs for waterfowl. The large and medium size dogs were excellent swimmers and eager to retrieve. Poodles were made to work in extreme colds and this made good use of their coats. The problem came with the thickness of the coat being a hindrance to their swimming and was very hazardous in the conditions that they worked. To compensate, owners began clipping the coats from the hindquarters to allow the free use of the back legs, but leaving small cuffs of hair around the joints of the legs and hips and the main portion of the coat on the upper body and chest. This in turn made the poodle lighter and swifter, yet leaving a good coat for protection. In modern day, there are many different styles of cuts. Some of the more popular styles are the Puppy Clips, the English Saddle, the Continental, the French and the Sporting cut.
The Sizes
There are many sizes of poodles as we have discusses, standard, miniature, toy, tiny toy and teacup. Each dog should be measured from the top, or highest point of the shoulders. There are 5 breeder sizes of poodles, however AKC recognizes only 3. The Standard, Miniature and Toy. You will find these as well as the other 2 below.
The Standard - should stand over 15 inches in height.
The Miniature - should stand between 10 and 15 inches high.
The Toy - should stand less than 10 inches in height and weighs over 6 pounds.
The Tiny Toy - like the toy, should stand less than 10 inches in height, however the tiny toy poodle is gauged by weight rather then height. Tiny toy poodles weigh 4-6 pounds.
The Teacup - Less than 9 inches and weighs less than 4 pounds.