Literary Agents Los Angeles Nonfiction
All About The Standard Poodle
If you want a confident, intelligent dog that enjoys an active life, a Poodle may be the best breed for you. Poodles are full of life and energy; inquisitive, dignified; and loyal. For at least the last ten years, the American Kennel Club of the United States has listed the Poodle as one of its ten most popular breeds. One reason Poodles are so popular is that they come in a variety of size like small, medium and large, known in the dog world as Toy, Miniature and Standard Poodles.
To measure a Poodle’s height against the standard of the breed, measure the dog at the highest point of the shoulder. A Standard Poodle measures more than fifteen inches at the shoulder. A Miniature Poodle measures fifteen inches or less at the shoulder, and a Toy Poodle measures less than ten inches.
The Poodle’s coat is always naturally curly and dense in texture. Several colors are allowed, including black, white, apricot, brown, blue, gray and silver. Within each solid color, slight variations in hue are also allowed.
The origins of the Poodle breed are uncertain, although Germany, Denmark and France have all claimed credit for developing the breed. Over the years, France has come to be recognized as the Poodle’s place of origin, and the French hold a special place in their hearts and in their culture for what they call the Caniche.
The Standard Poodle is thought to have descended from a mix between the Barbet, a French water dog and a Hungarian Water Hound. The Miniature and Toy varieties were bred down from the Standard Poodle. Once used as a sporting dog, Poodles retrieved waterfowl during gun hunts. The traditional Poodle cut, with extra hair at the joints, was meant to insulate the dogs’ joints against the cold water. Poodles also worked as truffle hunters, and circus performers. In fact, they remain familiar icons in popular culture, and they continue to perform in the modern entertainment industry.
Standard Poodle can become famous as a performer, while others derive their fame from their celebrity owners. Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas loved their first Poodle, Basket, so much that they got two more Poodles, named Basket II and Basket III.
Performer “Weird Al” Yankovic has a Toy Poodle named Bela, whom he on top of his head for the cover of his album “Poodle Hat”. Wrestling star Rene Dupree, who know uses the professional name “Rene Bonaparte”, often refers to his Poodle Fifi.
Poodles are well known as characters in literature, film and television. The late Jacqueline Susann, the darling of the 1960s, wrote a best-selling novel, Every Night Josephine, about her Poodle, Josephine. One of many examples of Poodles in film is the 2000 film Best In Show, which featured a Poodle named Rhapsody in White as the canine character “Butch”. The TV family in the animated series Rugrats has a Poodle named Fifi as a pet. Although most Standard Poodles will never appear on the pages of a novel or on the big screen, their owners consider them superstars of the highest magnitude.
