Poodle Splashing

During rotation last week, my preceptor mentioned that poodles were once used as hunting dogs. Apparently the oil on their fur helps water slick right off (as for ducks), and standard poodles (as opposed to miniature or toy poodles) actually have webbing between their toes for more efficient swimming. This prompted some online research of my own. What I found was fairly fascinating!

According to Poodle Place, this water retriever was once used to collect successful kills from ponds and the like. The fur keeps their bodies warm, while the odd shavings allows for improved mobility. It was functional before it was fashionable! Leave it to the aristocrats to seize the opportunity for personal expression by means of a live animal's trimmings.

Per the American Kennel Club, poodles originated in Germany, in spite of their status as the national dog of France. Also, the smaller breeds were once used to hunt for truffles. Funny, but when I think of truffle hunting, I think of pigs, not dogs. There is also something vaguely amusing about a wiry-furred animal hunting for mushrooms. It's a much messier operation than eating wet food off of a decorative plate or being hand-fed bits of cooked meat, as I have known one lady to do for her toy poodle. I swear, these pet owners are more attentive than many a parent!

Per Wikipedia, poodles fall between collies and German shepherds in terms of intelligence, which makes them relatively easy to train. Like most dogs with a wiry coat (such as my old Airedale terrier), the hair does not shed in the usual way; that is, it gets tangled with surrounding hair and mats instead of falling all over your furniture and carpeting. I suppose that this would be irrelevant for an outdoorsy animal, as vegetation would effectively pull those loose hairs out, but an indoor poodle would require grooming.

That's all I've gathered from a cursory search. Suddenly, I want a poodle of my own. I wonder how my cat feels about company...