The Poodles origin is unknown, some believe it originated in France and others think Germany. What is for certain is that they came from Europe and were bred to retrieve waterfowl and game. Their name in German: 'pudel' translates to splashing dog, where in this case is a description of the dog's purpose. Although many people consider this dog as prissy, they were in face bred to swim and get dirty!
The Poodle has 3 variations, the toy, miniature and standard. All derived from the Standard variation and were bred to be smaller in the 18th century and all have kept their specific sizes even in modern day. This breed has been known to have more elegant hair cuts that most people would think were for show purposes when in fact the dogs fur was purposely cut everywhere except their ears, chest, and leg joints to keep this dog warm when in cold water!
The Standard Poodle is a large dog with a slender muzzle and long floppy ears. They have muscular legs and an athletic body giving them a noble appearance. Their tail is naturally long but is docked for show purposes.There are 3 variations of coat cut that the Poodle could have: the Continental cut which is their entire lower half shaved and fur left on their ankles, tail, and hips. The Pet cut which is where nothing is shaved but the entire body of fur is about 1 inch in length or the English saddle cut which is similar to the Continental cut except their are rounded areas around the hips that are not shaved.