Just some poodle funfacts:
-Poodles enjoy using their paws more than other breeds of dogs. I read this in a "Raising a Poodle" manual, and discovered that it's accurate, for the most part. You will always find a poodle poking at something with it's foot, scratching at something, or kicking a toy around. I have even spotted my poodles lying on their backs and "holding" an object in their paws. It's rather adorable.
-The standard poodle is originally from Germany. The French Poodle is what we call the toy poodle. Here's why:
-Not too long ago, there was no such thing as a toy poodle. All of the poodles in the 1800s were standards. The standard poodle was an intelligent, loyal, and friendly breed of dog that was good with children. The French thought that these characteristics would be great in a lapdog, so they decided to shrink the poodle. The smallest dog in a litter would be bred with another runt in another litter, and all of the puppies were even smaller. This selective breeding process took decades until the toy poodle came about. However, nervousness genes accompanied the genes for smallness, kind of like how red hair often comes with freckles. So that is how we ended up with the horrible little creature known as the toy poodle.
-The hideous pom-poms that we sometimes see on poodles actually served a function back when they were used as water-retrievers. It did not help them to float, as many people think, because poodles are excellent swimmers without bushy hair. The lakes and rivers in Germany were extremely chilly, so the pom-poms insulated the dog's body. The big pom-pom kept the cold away from the heart and lungs. The pop-poms around the ankles of the dog kept the joints warm, and the two pop-poms on the hips of the dog protected the kidneys. The poof on the tail served as a flag for when the dog dove underwater.