Poodle Breed Profile

It is still widely debated over whether the poodle descends from Germany as a water retriever hunting dog, or from the French Barbet – a water dog breed.

Temperament

Poodles are alert, highly intelligent and trainable, loyal and active. They are generally friendly, happy dogs who love to socialize, and are most content when they are the centre of attention, learning tricks, obedience and agility.

They are loyal and tend to be shy around strangers, but they are alert and curious so will alarm their owners when a person or animal is approaching.

The personality and temperament of your Poodle will ultimately depend on what kind of owner you are. When a Poodle’s mental and physical needs are met, they make great companions.  If they are not, they will become bored and restless and will be more prone to getting into trouble.

Physical attributes

Poodles come in three sizes, Standard Poodle, Miniature and Toy. with an expected life span of 12 – 14 years.

Their hypoallergenic coat need regular professional grooming and comes in a variety of colours including two tones, known as a Parti poodle like Hazel (pictured), who is Standard Parti Poodle Puppy.

In recent years we have seen Poodles crossed with many other pure breeds to create Cavoodle, Spoodle, Labradoodle, Maltipoo and several other popular cross breeds.

Training

Poodles are highly trainable, natural learners. They excel at obedience, trick training, or agility courses and love to learn and play.

Poodles are very active creatures, the smaller breeds may need less daily exercise than the Standard Poodle, but they still all need plenty of activity to release their energy and must use their minds as much as their bodies.

This is where obedience training, agility, interactive games and challenging toys can help to stop them becoming bored and restless, which ultimately is what leads to problem behaviour in many dogs.

They can also be prone to separation anxiety, and can become stressed in chaotic homes, they like peace and order.

Lifestyle considerations

Poodles make an excellent choice for families of all sizes and ages and are great breed for first time dog owners.

Since Toy Poodles are smaller, they are able to live in apartments. However, the larger Poodles usually requires more space and are better suited to live in houses or homes with a yard.

Poodles require a lot of attention and want to be around their family a lot, so are not the breed to be left out in the backyard or alone all day.

Health

Poodles are prone to epilepsy, but it can be controlled with medication.

They are also prone to ‘bloat’, a twisting of the stomach, so it’s best to avoid having them exercise after eating and feeding smaller meals throughout the day rather than just one or two big ones.

Other health concern for Poodles includes Addison’s disease, thyroid issues and skin allergies.

About the Author: Lara Shannon is a certified dog behaviourist and trainer, pet food nutrition specialist, Executive Producer and Host of Pooches at Play on Channel 10 and editor of Poochesatplay.com. Lara also runs her own dog training business in Melbourne’s Bayside area and is the Author of World of Dogs and Eat, Play, Love Your Dog