The Poodle I Fell For at Fifteen

When I was fifteen I was obsessed with standard Poodles. I loved the way they looked and behaved. I asked a standard poodle owner if I could show her dog in junior handling. She was happy to do it even with the extra coat work. I helped her bathe and blow before shows but she did the heavy lifting. After a few months I met a lady who owned a 5 year old standard poodle and she could not maintain her coat and when she saw my enthusiasm for the breed she asked me if I could take care of her. This was of course after I had spent significant time with the dog working on bringing her coat back and letting her stay with me. 

At this time in Iceland (30 years ago) the poodle had quite a bad reputation. In Iceland they were thought to be stupid, with lots of barking and not very attractive. To my surprise Athar (my standard poodle) was so clever. It was easy to teach her tricks, she was strong and athletic and she looked at ease with our Irish setters. And now when I know more about the history of the breed this was not surprising. 

People like me generally see the haircut first and assume decoration. Underneath the hair is though a working water retriever — the French name Caniche comes from chien à cane, the duck dog — and everything people love about Poodles today, the intelligence, the athleticism, the eagerness to work with you, was bred in for the job long before it was bred for the ring.

One breed, four sizes

Something many people outside the dog world don’t realise: under the FCI standard, the Poodle is a single breed in four sizes — Standard, Medium, Miniature and Toy. The Medium (Moyen) is the one that surprises people, because the American and British kennel clubs recognise only three sizes and the Medium simply doesn’t exist there as a category. Same breed, same standard, same dog in four packages — which means the temperament and trainability I fell for in a Standard come in sizes to suit almost any life.

The coat is a lot of work – both for shows and as a pet

It is important to understand that the poodle does not shed coat – and it’s wonderful at home as the dog hairs are kept to minimum. This does though mean that you either need to be able to shave and groom them yourselves or be ready to go regularly to the groomers. And if you want to show them it’s even more important to ensure proper coat handling. 

I learned how deep that goes at twenty, when I went to Britain as kennel help, washing and caring for Afghan Hounds and Poodles. The show dog lived with the handler at his kennel; I looked after the ones not being shown. And I was allowed to try my hand at clipping. I am not good with my hands, and I have carried a deep respect for Poodle groomers ever since. A well-executed trim is a masterpiece, and there is a reason it takes hours and costs what it costs: the expertise required to do it well is real, and it is rare.

So if you want to show a Poodle and cannot clip the coat yourself, you are paying a professional to do it regularly — not once before the show, but on a standing schedule, because show trims are maintained, not created. That cost belongs in the honest budget of showing this breednand nobody should discover it after the puppy is home.

And even as a pet owner, I would consider one skill close to essential: learning to shave the face yourself. A Poodle’s face grows over quickly, and if you cannot do that basic maintenance at home, you are committing to salon appointments at a rhythm most people underestimate. It is not difficult to learn — but it is a decision to make before the dog arrives, not after. Also you will need to purchase the right equipment.

One more thing worth knowing from the show side: between shows and clippings, the coat is protected, not just left to grow. Banding the hair in a particular way — especially the topknot — keeps it from breaking and matting, and is how a show coat survives the weeks when nobody is looking at it. It is a small discipline that makes the difference between a coat that is maintained and one that is rescued.

The two picture show Athar when she has been groomed and the second one when we had stopped showing her and her look is more natural. 

Looking again

I have been looking closely at Poodles again lately, years after Athar, and I have to admit that my heart always beats a little faster when I see a beautiful standard poodle in the ring.