A member of the AKC Toy Group, The Toy Poodle is the national dog of France. They are one of America’s favorite and most popular dogs because of their intelligence, cheerfulness, sensitivity, agility and playfulness.
They are well known for their obedience, intelligence, affectionate nature, and long lifespan. They are also known for their retrieving capabilities in the water and are a very active, intelligent, and elegant-appearing dog.
Poodles are squarely built, well proportioned, moving soundly, and carries himself proudly. They make ideal apartment dogs and are very easy to train. This little dog certainly enjoys a game of ball in the house, obedience training, or a nice jog in the park.
The words Standard, Miniature, and Toy are used to denote size only. All of these dogs are still considered one breed. Concerning the Toy Poodle, per the AKC, size must be "10 inches or under at the highest point of the shoulders" to be classified as a toy.
Properly clipped in the traditional fashion and carefully groomed, this breed has about him an air of distinction and dignity peculiar to himself alone. They do require extensive, professional grooming every 4-8 weeks to keep the coat under control. Poodles can be groomed in elaborate coat styles such as the English saddle, continental or sporting clip, or a simple puppy cut. With a puppy cut, the hair can be brushed easily.
All those elaborate show clips we see today originally evolved from working clips used to provide warmth for the major joints during duck hunts in extremely cold water. The rest of the body was shaved to cause less drag while in the water.
The ideal height for the Toy Poodle should be under 11 inches at shoulder and they typically weighs about 5 to 8 pounds. He has a very small body and a curly non-shedding coat that needs to be groomed every 6 weeks.
Toy Poodles are generally good with older children and other pets (especially other poodles) and are best kept indoors with regular exercise. Socialization is highly suggested - especially while the dog is a puppy. They can be barkers but generally make a very good watchdog for its small size.
Country of origin: Germany Lifespan: 9-12 years Colors: Solid black, blue, gray, silver, brown, apricot, cream, white, café-au-lait Known health problems: Epilepsy, Arthritis, Addison's disease, Cancer, ear infections, Tracheal collapse, hip dysplasia, luxating patella, nervousness, Heart valve disease Famous Poodles: Bela, pet of Weird Al Yankovic; Rufus, pet of Winston Churchill; Vicki, pet of Richard Nixon; Chloe, pet of Jack Lemmon
"If you eliminate smoking and gambling, you will be amazed to find that almost all an Englishman's pleasures can be, and mostly are, shared by his dog." -- George Bernard Shaw
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