Confessions of a former Poodle ridiculer

Be careful what you make fun of. It could someday rule your life.

Probably no one ridiculed Poodles more than I did before Misty the alpha Poodle entered my life through a series of unlikely circumstances and put a spell on me.

Nothing has been the same since.

I realized quickly that she understood everything I said…and thought. She can do inductive and deductive reasoning. She’s so smart, it’s scary. She is a good teacher and intelligent enough to be an incredibly charming, eager to please companion.

In my pre-Poodle years, I thought I had a lot of reasons to ridicule them. First is the name. Poodle is just a funny sounding name. Other dogs get to have distinguished place names like Yorkshire Terrier, Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd, Maltese, but the Poodle is named after a pudel, the German word for puddle, something you might find on a sidewalk after a shower.

Several years ago they were officially called French Poodles, with all the courage and valor associated with that particular country. French was dropped when it was established that Poodles originated in Germany and France dropped out of favor.

The word Poodle is associated with lap dog, wimp, someone who carries out the wishes of a more powerful person.

We can’t overlook the “no bad, silly or yappy dogs, only bad, silly or yappy owners” truism that sometimes applies to Poodles. At one time they were the trendy dogs of the day, the spoiled Darlings of the Silly Set.

And of course the Poodle haircut. At first, I considered having her trimmed like a terrier, but I soon understood the historic and totally logical reason that the Poodle clip has been around for thousands of years. I even wrote a post explaining my theory on the origin of the Poodle clip.

However, I still wasn’t a fan of the show clip. There are so many cute and practical pet clips. The show clip seemed to be over the top.

Partly it is the hours and hours of grooming, the sacrifice of puppy hood that the show dog endures while they stand still for endless grooming. What a boring way for human and dog to spend time together.

BUT, to be perfectly honest here, whenever I see a dog show, I fall under the spell of the Show Poodle Presence. In their centuries-old-clip, Poodles are the dogs people notice, the beauty queens, the fairy tale princesses, the Prince Charmings. No other dog can match their unique Poodle-ness, their striking bearing and prancing paws.

That’s when I wonder how much it would cost to have a pet groomer come to my house for a few hours every day…

Then Misty the alpha Poodle smiles at me and says, “Don’t even think about it.”

Comments

[jackie]

I'll have to take your word for it...I'm still a pitty bull dog person...and it's not helped by the fact that every time I do to Babs, her neighbors little poodle barks it's head off at me..even after I bribed it with doggie treats..

[rosemary]

Violet.....the fouffy dog....umm, hum. The ONE time I had her done in a poodle cut I regreted it in an instant. She acted like I had taken her blankie away and moped for days. She loves to play, run, roll in green stuff and is far from fouffy. She gets "detailed" not groomed.

[Sophie Brador]

I grew up with a poodle ... a little white one named Caesar. Then, as an adult, one of my first dogs was a grey poodle. They are really great dogs. I always find it interesting how quickly they win people over. You just need to spend a bit of time with one. Here, poodles are called caniche, which sounds like an interesting Italian dessert, except that it's French. Standard poodles are called Caniche Royale! I love it!

xo
SB's mom

[threecollie]

Poodles are very high on my list of favorite breeds...because of the amazing intelligence and personality. My first obedience school teacher had a standard and she was a fabulous dog...completely sold me on the breed.

[Louka]

I'm rather partial to standard poodles myself. I'm not overly fond of toys and minis, having had bad experiences with yappy, badly-trained, insufferable dogs, but I do respect their intelligence. I managed to teach my grandmother's totally untrained poodle four or five basic commands in a half hour that he still remembered a month later when I came back to visit. All this without having practiced in between visits. Although northern breeds will always be #1 in my heart, standard poodles are steadily creeping up to #2. I have the firm intention of owning a standard poodle one day. I know of two excellent breeders in my area and I've met dogs from both who were total sweethearts, one even having a reputation of being perfect. So if one day you see someone mushing a team of two northern-breeds and a grand caniche, you'll know it's me!

Grand caniche is actually the proper term in French, although caniche royal and caniche standard are popularly used. This was a matter of debate on my (french-speaking) dog forum and someone finally looked it up.

[jan]

It's probably too late to change this blog to The Caniche (and dog) blog. But I really like that title.

[serendipity]

I keep thinking that it's my imagination that my dog can understand what I say and can even read my thoughts. But after reading your post, they really can, don't they?

[stacy]

Everyone in my family had poodles when I was growing up, so I've always loved them. They are so smart and eager to please and they love cuddling and playing. Forget the barrel of monkeys...give me a barrel of poodles prancing around!

[teetotaled]

Lovely post Jan. Perhaps you have changed Misty's view of humans just as she opened your eyes to the fabulousness of poodles :) (My mother's huskey is a Misty also!)

[cube]

I only know of poodle intelligence second-hand. I've never owned a poodle, but if I did, it wouldn't have one of those fou-fou haircuts. I just couldn't bring myself to do that to the poor thing.

[Matt]

I always had that same connotation with poodles - wimpy and girly...especially with those haircuts. But, as the case with all dogs, the stereotype doesn't usually fit.

[Chrissy]

I've often been told that dogs and their humans have similar traits. Some people and their dogs even look somewhat alike. If this were the case, I'd have thought I'd be more of a poodle person. You know, all frou frou shi shi, lots of energy, totally cutesy all the time. Instead, I've got an adorable mutt who is always looking disheveled no matter how much he is groomed. He's very attention seeking, and loves to go everywhere with his humans! As soon as he sees us approach the car, he's already there and ready to hop into the passenger seat.

Are you and Misty the alpha Poodle much alike?

[Chrissy]

P.S. I do like poodles. Since I've got a big dog, I like the idea of being able to carry and hold a dog like a toy poodle. My friend has a toy poodle named Toy and he is the most adorable thing ever. Yeah, he's a bit yappy, but he sure loves his human!

[Gypsy]

You have taken the words out of my mouth! I never thought that I would have a poodle. They were always the high strung pampered babies and I love my terriers. Now that I have Smokey Jo I have discovered that they are so much more. Jo Jo has actually taken to the little agility course I set up for Charlie and Monty.

I am afraid that I just do not have the time or inclination for the "proper" poodle cuts. Jo jo will always just have a puppy cut with a bit of puff on top of his head - just because I like it.

[Big_Dave_T]

Seems like I read somewhere that poodles are the most intelligent of dogs. I know our poodle is smart WHEN HE WANTS TO BE. He pretends to have a hard time understanding "no", like when we tell him no more treats, or he has to stay home, or he's been out enough for the day.

[Carol]

Look, it helps if you know how I 'envision' the personalities of my dogs -- I see them as the reincarnations of dissolute Parisian courtesans, with the occasional brittle fashioniste or chanteuse thrown in for good measure. Fraaanch (that's how we pronounce it), but with a seedy underbelly - Fifth Arrondissement, if you will.

Show ring poodle, otoh, are 8th Arrondissement - all Chanel and Vuitton and poofy haircuts.

Working poodles are a different story, of course...

[Denis de la Poupon]

Les carniches sont allemands ? Ridicule ! Bergers Allemands ? Ridicule ! Ce que tu appelles les carniches sont vraiment Caniche.Ce que tu appelles les bergers allemands sont vraiment Alsations. L'attitude anti-Française de l'anglais va trop loin quand elle se prolonge aux chiens. Ne conviens-tu pas ?

Mssr. Denis de la Poupon

Translation by the Venerable Pam as follows:
The poodles are German? Ridiculous! German Shepherds? Ridiculous! What you call the poodles is really Caniche. That which you call the German shepherds are really Alsations. The anti-Frenchwoman attitude of English goes too much far when it is prolonged with the dogs. Don't you agree?

[Diamond Emerald-Eyes]

That isn't really a theory, that is where the cut developed from. The fur was left on the joints and on the chest to provide insulation in those areas, and on the top of the head to help the dog retain body warmth in cold water. Everything else was clipped short to streamline the dog so it could swim faster. The pom on the tail was left as a visual aid to help the hunter keep an eye on the dog in heavy underbrush. It's a very functional cut. Stupid looking, but functional.

Bean have much respect for working dogs, so she does misjudge puddles, er, poo-dles.

[jan]

It is my theory that after the Poodles got the cute hair cut, they lived in the manor, rode in the carriage and didn't do much hunting any more.

[Barby & Xsara]

I wasn't a big fan of poodles before I started competing in agility. But then I disovered how wonderful dogs they are. They are incredibly smart and so kind, my beagle really loves them too. I think they have a great character!