The Complete Poodle Clipping & Grooming Book by Kalstone

Video on the Continental trim by Taffe Mcfadden.

Good tips on grooming and more:

http://melzano.com/groomingpage.cfm

http://www.chapfordpoodles.com/page3.asp

www.arpeggiopoodles.tripod.com

www.poodleclubofamerica.org

www.akc.org

The Standard for the Poodle (Toy variety) is the same as for the Standard and Miniature varieties except as regards heights.

General Appearance, Carriage and Condition
That of a very active, intelligent and elegant-appearing dog, squarely built, well proportioned, moving soundly and carrying himself proudly. Properly clipped in the traditional fashion and carefully groomed, the Poodle has about him an air of distinction and dignity peculiar to himself.

The Toy Poodle is 10 inches or under at the highest point of the shoulders. Any Poodle which is more than 10 inches at the highest point of the shoulders shall be disqualified from competition as a Toy Poodle.

Proportion - To insure the desirable squarely built appearance, the length of body measured from the breastbone to the point of the rump approximates the height from the highest point of the shoulders to the ground.

 Substance - Bone and muscle of both forelegs and hindlegs are in proportion to size of dog.

Head and Expression
(a) Eyes-- very dark, oval in shape and set far enough apart and positioned to create an alert intelligent expression. Major fault: eyes round, protruding, large or very light.

(b) Ears-- hanging close to the head, set at or slightly below eye level. The ear leather is long, wide and thickly feathered; however, the ear fringe should not be of excessive length.

(c) Skull-- moderately rounded, with a slight but definite stop. Cheekbones and muscles flat. Length from occiput to stop about the same as length of muzzle.

(d) Muzzle-- long, straight and fine, with slight chiseling under the eyes. Strong without lippiness. The chin definite enough to preclude snipiness. Major fault: lack of chin. Teeth-- white, strong and with a scissors bite. Major fault: undershot, overshot, wry mouth.

Neck, Topline, Body
Neck well proportioned, strong and long enough to permit the head to be carried high and with dignity. Skin snug at throat. The neck rises from strong, smoothly muscled shoulders. Major fault: ewe neck.

The topline is level, neither sloping nor roached, from the highest point of the shoulder blade to the base of the tail, with the exception of a slight hollow just behind the shoulder.

Body
(a) Chest deep and moderately wide with well sprung ribs. (b) The loin is short, broad and muscular. (c) Tail straight, set on high and carried up, docked of sufficient length to insure a balanced outline. Major fault: set low, curled, or carried over the back.

Forequarters
Strong, smoothly muscled shoulders. The shoulder blade is well laid back and approximately the same length as the upper foreleg. Major fault: steep shoulder.

(a) Forelegs - Straight and parallel when viewed from the front. When viewed from the side the elbow is directly below the highest point of the shoulder. The pasterns are strong. Dewclaws may be removed.

Feet - The feet are rather small, oval in shape with toes well arched and cushioned on thick firm pads. Nails short but not excessively shortened. The feet turn neither in nor out. Major fault: paper or splay foot.

Hindquarters
The angulation of the hindquarters balances that of the forequarters.

(a) Hind legs straight and parallel when viewed from the rear. Muscular with width in the region of the stifles which are well bent; femur and tibia are about equal in length; hock to heel short and perpendicular to the ground. When standing, the rear toes are only slightly behind the point of the rump. Major fault: cow-hocks.

Coat
(a) Quality--(1) Curly: of naturally harsh texture, dense throughout. (2) Corded: hanging in tight even cords of varying length; longer on mane or body coat, head, and ears; shorter on puffs, bracelets, and pompons.

(b) Clip-- A Poodle under 12 months may be shown in the "Puppy" clip. In all regular classes, Poodles 12 months or over must be shown in the "English Saddle" or "Continental" clip. In the Stud Dog and Brood Bitch classes and in a non-competitive Parade of Champions, Poodles may be shown in the "Sporting" clip. A Poodle shown in any other type of clip shall be disqualified.

(1) "Puppy"--A Poodle under a year old may be shown in the "Puppy" clip with the coat long. The face, throat, feet and base of the tail are shaved. The entire shaven foot is visible. There is a pompon on the end of the tail. In order to give a neat appearance and a smooth unbroken line, shaping of the coat is permissible. (2) "English Saddle"--In the "English Saddle" clip the face, throat, feet, forelegs and base of the tail are shaved, leaving puffs on the forelegs and a pompon on the end of the tail. The hindquarters are covered with a short blanket of hair except for a curved shaved area on each flank and two shaved bands on each hindleg. The entire shaven foot and a portion of the shaven leg above the puff are visible. The rest of the body is left in full coat but may be shaped in order to insure overall balance. (3) "Continental"--In the "Continental" clip, the face, throat, feet, and base of the tail are shaved. The hindquarters are shaved with pompons (optional) on the hips. The legs are shaved, leaving bracelets on the hindlegs and puffs on the forelegs. There is a pompon on the end of the tail. The entire shaven foot and a portion of the shaven foreleg above the puff are visible. The rest of the body is left in full coat but may be shaped in order to insure overall balance. (4) "Sporting"--In the "Sporting" clip, a Poodle shall be shown with face, feet, throat, and base of tail shaved, leaving a scissored cap on the top of the head and a pompon on the end of the tail. The rest of the body, and legs are clipped or scissored to follow the outline of the dog leaving a short blanket of coat no longer than one inch in length. The hair on the legs may be slightly longer than that on the body.

In all clips the hair of the topknot may be left free or held in place by elastic bands. The hair is only of sufficient length to present a smooth outline. "Topknot" refers only to hair on the skull, from stop to occiput. This is the only area where elastic bands may be used.

Color
The coat is an even and solid color at the skin. In blues, grays, silvers, browns, cafe-au-laits, apricots and creams the coat may show varying shades of the same color. This is frequently present in the somewhat darker feathering of the ears and in the tipping of the ruff. While clear colors are definitely preferred, such natural variation in the shading of the coat is not to be considered a fault. Brown and cafe-au-lait Poodles have liver-colored noses, eye-rims and lips, dark toenails and dark amber eyes. Black, blue, gray, silver, cream and white Poodles have black noses, eye-rims and lips, black or self colored toenails and very dark eyes. In the apricots while the foregoing coloring is preferred, liver-colored noses, eye-rims and lips, and amber eyes are permitted but are not desirable. Major fault: color of nose, lips and eye-rims incomplete, or of wrong color for color of dog.

Parti-colored dogs shall be disqualified. The coat of a parti-colored dog is not an even solid color at the skin but is of two or more colors.

Gait
A straightforward trot with light springy action and strong hindquarters drive. Head and tail carried up. Sound effortless movement is essential.

Temperament
Carrying himself proudly, very active, intelligent, the Poodle has about him an air of distinction and dignity peculiar to himself. Major fault: shyness or sharpness.

Disqualifications
Size-- A dog over or under the height limits specified shall be disqualified. Clip-- A dog in any type of clip other than those listed under coat shall be disqualified. Parti-colors-- The coat of a parti-colored dog is not an even solid color at the skin but of two or more colors. Parti-colored dogs shall be disqualified.

Value of Points
General appearance, temperament, carriage and condition.......30
Head, expression, ears, eyes and teeth.......20
Body, neck, legs, feet and tail.......20
Gait.......20
Coat, color and texture.......10

Approved August 14, 1984
Reformatted March 27, 1990

Forco-a wonderful product to help with digestion, and get the most nutrition from their food. www.forco.com

Farnam Super 14-has essential oils and fatty acids to help with a beautiful coat and growth.

After Bath(conditioner)-made by Chris Christensen, softens coat and makes blowdrying faster and easier.

I am currently using Bio-Groom products and I like them very much.

www.DrsFosterSmith.com

www.petedge.com

www.dog.com

www.showdogstore.com

Dear Poodle Lovers,

If you are looking for a toy poodle why should you choose a Quality Breeder? I am referring to Breeders that are dedicated to having their Poodles genetically tested so that they are clear of prcd-PRA which is an inherited blindness that is common in Toy Poodles, also these Quality Breeders have their breeding Poodles x-rayed to check for hip or knee problems which also can be hereditarily passed on through breeding, this will be seen on their websites as OFA "Excellent" or "Good". Some Quality Breeders also check for von Willebrand's disease  DNA test Type I. this disease is characterized by the abnormally low production of a protein found in the blood called von Willebrand's factor which plays a key role in the complex process of clotting a damaged blood vessel. This is more common in other dogs but all sizes of poodles can have this factor.

Quality Breeders  make sure their bloodlines are not only  screened for these hereditary diseases but they also screen their breeding for unpleasant personality traits. Most of these Breeders show their dogs which  represent their best of their bloodlines. A show poodle has to be conformationally correct. The show poodle also has to have a wonderful temperment that is not timid or aggressive when being around the show atmosphere with different kinds of people and dogs all around and much noise of  people talking, phones ringing, dogs barking and the loud speakers. The same quality of personality,  health and temperment it takes to have a show dog , this is the same quality you will be getting in a pet poodle from a Quality Breeder.

 Why the Cost? It takes many years to acquire the reputation of producing champion poodles. It takes a considerable amount of money to prove this at the shows, to have your breeding dogs tested for hereditary diseases and bad traits, to take all your puppies to the vet for their shots, worming and to be continually examined all over from their hips,knees, eyes, mouth, teeth, lungs, heart, etc. before that puppy is given to its new owner. The Quality Breeder takes the time to see how the puppies that left their home are doing in their new home and to give whatever advice to the new owner that is needed, sometimes its a long term relationship with the new owner if the new owner wants to learn how to show or to breed toy poodles. When a pet puppy goes to a new home the Breeder may have the registration "limited" which means that the new owner is not going to show or breed this puppy and usually there is an agreement to have the puppy neutered at a certain age. The reason for this is because even though the pet puppy has wonderful breeding and is completely healthy with a great personality, there is something that that puppy doesn't have that is right for the show ring and so the breeder wants to weed out whatever is not right for the showring from the gene pool. Most pet puppies from Quality Breeder's range from $600-$1500. A show quality puppy can range from $1200-$3500. These are just general figures to give you an idea what your expense might be for a quality bred puppy.

Why not a cross between a poodle and another dog? Many people are crossing poodles with other dogs to try and get a hypoallergenic puppy. But they do not consider the health issues that can crop up with these crossings. The poodle was originally a water dog for retrieving fowl, therefore he needs a square body and the bones are light but strong. If you cross the poodle with a body type that is long back with short thick bones, you can come up with spine problems and leg problems depending on which genes the puppy gets. Usually if someone is crossing a poodle with another type of dog neither of these dogs have been genetically tested for hereditary diseases and the diseases that are specific to poodles are now added to the diseases that are specific to the other dog cross, so now you have even more diseases to watch out for. Another problem I have seen is that since the poodle doesn't shed and is mixed with another dog with a totally different coat, more matting does occur which is serious because if you do not keep the mats out of the hair it will keep knotting up and getting bigger and tighter which hurts the dog's skin. I have seen a standard poodle crossed with a golden retriever, this dog was not neglected and had everything a dog could want, the owner is a doctor, but that dog was matted from head to tail. I advised the owner to have the dog completely shaved because there was no way to get those mats combed out. The owner eventually got rid of the dog because of the high maintenance. Poodles will mat and need to be brushed if not daily about every 3 days but they don't mat badly unless they are crossed with other dogs.

What about a pound poodle puppy?

 To buy a pound puppy or a non quality bred poodle puppy takes a big heart, Why? because once you bring this puppy home you are not guaranteed on the hereditary diseases that may show up in its life and/or the temperment it may possess, also if it has poor conformation, its going to have bone problems. So if you acquire one of these puppies you should be willing to do all the testing that a Quality Breeder has already done to ensure what this puppy may get in the future and work with the vet on helping to ease the pain the dog may go through as it matures or to slow down the progression of any of these diseases it has inherited. A puppy is not something that you throw away when things go bad, these are like children to you and you are expected to take care of them until they pass away from hopefully old age. You pay less in the long run from buying a puppy from a Quality Breeder who has done all the screening so that their puppies will live long happy lives with as few problems as possible.

Here are some websites that have Quality Toy Poodle Breeders.

www.poodlebreeders.com