Content
- How many types of poodle are there?
- Poodle Characteristics
- 1. Standard poodle or large poodle
- 2. Medium Poodle
- 3. Dwarf or mini poodle
- 4. Toy Poodle
- What kind of poodle to adopt?
One of the world famous dog breeds is undoubtedly the poodle or poodle. This canine breed has a long and royal history, as they were the companion dogs of Louis XVI's courtiers in France in the 18th century. However, the breed does not refer to a single type of dog, since within it it is possible to distinguish up to four different types of poodle or poodle. These types have shared characteristics, but differ in others. If you want to know more about the classification of poodles and the characteristics of each type, continue reading this article that PeritoAnimal prepared for you with the types of poodle with names and characteristics.
How many types of poodle are there?
After many fights between different cynological institutions around the world, it was possible to establish a standard for each of the poodle classes, distinguishing one total of 4 different varieties. This classification is fundamentally based on distinguishing each type according to its weight and size, that is, its height at the withers.
- Standard or large poodle
- medium poodle
- dwarf poodle
- toy poodle
This classification belongs to institutions such as the International Cynological Federation (FCI). However, others like the American Kennel Club (AKC) only recognize three types of poodle: standard (which includes the large and medium), the mini poodle (or dwarf poodle) and the toy poodle.
Poodle Characteristics
All poodles or poodles share a number of characteristics as well as criteria included in their pattern. One of them refers to colors accepted which, in all types, are: black, white, brown, gray, orange lion and red lion. Another of these criteria is the type of cloak that has a abundant fur in all varieties, woolly, curly or wavy texture. Likewise, all poodle puppies are characterized as being physically proportionate puppies.
Next, we show all the poodle types and detail the particular characteristics of each one.
1. Standard poodle or large poodle
This type of poodle is the original. It was the first to appear, and its history is long and full of personalities, as there were many nobles and kings who wanted and valued this dog for company. Among them, the French kings Luis XVI and Marie Antoinette stand out as characters who highly value race.
A standard poodle has concrete measurements ranging from 45 centimeters to 60 cm tall at the withers, comprising weights between 16 and 22 kg. There is marked sexual dimorphism, as males are notoriously heavier and heavier than females. Due to its large size compared to the rest of the varieties, many are the ones who call this dog after giant poodle.
The large poodle has a very long life, so its average life expectancy can easily exceed 16 years, as long as it receives proper care.
As mentioned, this was the first-born variety from which breeders started to work to obtain smaller and smaller specimens, creating the other three varieties.
2. Medium Poodle
Medium poodles are slightly smaller than standard poodles, although these two varieties merge into one according to classifications such as the AKC. For this reason, there is usually a lot of confusion when talking about a standard poodle since, while for some organizations this term refers to the medium poodle, others understand that it refers to the large ones. In any case, an average poodle is one whose size falls between the 35 and 45 cm high at the withers and has a weight between 7 and 12 kilograms.
The medium poodle is considered the second poodle variety to appear, with the following variety being developed from the medium poodle.
3. Dwarf or mini poodle
A mini or dwarf poodle, both accepted terms when speaking of this type of poodle, is slightly smaller than an average poodle. The size difference is much more pronounced compared to a full size poodle. Its proportions and concrete measures are between 4 and 7 kilograms of body weight and the 28-35 cm tall at the withers. As we can see, there is a difference of almost 10 centimeters between this class of poodle and the large one, something easily noticeable to the naked eye.
This is the variety with the longest life expectancy, as some specimens are over twenty years old.
4. Toy Poodle
One of the most famous and popular varieties, the toy poodle has been the last breed variety to be bred. Breeders had to work hard to get poodles of such small proportions. Furthermore, to prevent the appearance of diseases related to its small size, such as complications and organic changes due to dwarfism, several interventions by scientists specializing in genetics were necessary. Still, although more serious and deadly congenital diseases have been avoided, there are still certain changes in the toy poodle that require greater intervention to achieve a completely healthy breed. To find out what they are, also check out the article "Poodle dog diseases".
This dog is really small, especially compared to the standard poodle, as it only has 24-28 cm tall at the withers, even weighing one maximum 2.5 kg. This makes the differences incredible between two specimens of the same breed, although of different type, since between a toy poodle and a standard poodle there is a minimum difference of almost 20 centimeters and more than 14 kilograms. Although many people tend to call this variety the mini toy poodle precisely because of its small size, the truth is that this term is not correct. As we have seen, the miniature poodle dog and the toy poodle are different types of poodle.
The average life expectancy of the toy poodle is slightly lower than that of the dwarf poodle, as it does not usually reach ages above 14-15 years.
What kind of poodle to adopt?
Faced with so many possibilities, many ask this same question. One thing to note is that while there are usually notable differences in character when talking about different varieties of the same breed, this is not something that happens in the case of poodles. In this breed, there are no differences neither in character nor in sweetness between one type and another, and size is the only difference when comparing the 4 types of poodle with each other.
This means that, although we may think that a toy poodle is very different from a large one, it is only true that the standard will be significantly larger in size, but nothing more. Therefore, choosing one or another type of poodle to be part of the family depends solely and exclusively on your personal preferences and the space you have for it. Everyone is equally sociable, easygoing, intelligent and, above all, incredibly sensitive and noble.
If you want to read more articles similar to Poodle Types - Toy, Dwarf, Medium and Standard, we recommend that you enter our Comparisons section.