The poodle is an old breed. It´s origin was probably
south of Europe during the Middle Ages and then
spread all over Europe. The biggest poodle was
commonly used as a retriever as well as a travelling
circusdog. The poodle was clipped to resemble
a lion with shaved back so that he could swim
better. Full coat was left round the dogs chest
and balls of hair were used to protect their
joints in the cold water. A color ribbon was knotted
in the hair of the head so that the hunter could
recognize his dog. A smaller poodle did early
develop from the big poodle and by crossbreeding
with other small toydogs the toypoodle was born.
The toypoodle was very popular in France as a lapdog
at court. The poodle has always been brushed and
clipped and these toypoodles were clipped like
the bigger poodles in the lionclip.
It`s possible that either Germany or Russia was
the Poodle's country of origin, although France
seems to be the country most responsible for
popularizing the breed both as a family pet and
sporting dog. In that country, the breed is known
as the "caniche", a name derived from the French
word for duck. The Poodle got his name from the
German word pudel, meaning to splash in water.
