Poodle Information
Your Subtitle text
AKC Poodle Conformation Explanations & Hiding Faults
We've all read the AKC Poodle conformation standards, but let's take a look at what these actually mean, in "layman" words to better understand what a show quality AKC Poodle looks like.This will be helpful, especially, when having your Poodle clipped and groomed.
Yummy, Healthy Home Cooking for Your Poodle
Find out details regarding Home Cooking VS manufactured dog food and how this affects your Poodle....Read More
The AKC standard for the Poodle is a description of the "ideal" of this dog breed. The current standard is divided into the following sections:
To understand the Poodle it is important to read the stand to become familiar with the points of the breed - However it will mean little to you unless you understand what you are reading! This is why we are going to go into the most important aspects in detail for you.
All dogs have weak points. The perfect Poodle is yet to be born, but when grooming, your goal is to heighten the dog's overall balance, good proportions and other sound points while you try to conceal any imperfections the dog may have.
Here are some personal observations, along with tips to help you achieve better balance and to learn how to disguise faults. Some styles or variations of styles do help to conceal certain faults. These are mostly tips for professional pet groomers because a prospective show exhibitor is only fooling himself or herself by showing a Poodle of poor quality. All the camouflaging in the world is not going to fool a knowledgeable judge. However, even with a structurally sound, typey AKC Poodle, you have to know how to stress the dog's virtues and minimize the weak points. Inferior grooming and conditinoing can slow down or spoil altogether a prospective champion's chances.
General Appearance, Carriage and Condition
Active, intelligent and elegant looking are the words which describe the character and appearance of the ideal AKC Poodle. . The dictionary describes elegant as "graceful, refined and polished" and this is the key to the ACK Poodle's appearance and personality. The dog is elegant from top to bottom and carries him or herself with pride...Never awkard or clumsy, the dog is squarely built and well groomed.
Proportion
The standard calls for a squarely built dog. The length of the body measured from the breastbone to the point of the rump should be approximate to the height from the highest point of the shoulders to the ground. Think of it this way.... If a Poodle fits into a square box, the proportions are correct. If the dog does not, either the body is too long, legs too short or visa-versa.
The Head
An AKC Poodle's head should be attractive and balanced. To determine balance, it is necessary to examine the overall dog. A small head on a very large dog is completely out of balance, as is a big head on a small bodied dog. The ideal head is lean (but not too fine) and slightly peaked and not wide or domelike. The skull should not be coarse or broad at the sides of the forehead. The "stop" refers to the slight indentation between the dog's eyes where the muzzle and the skull meet. The stop should begin at the corners of the eyes, not below or above them.
An AKC Poodle should have smooth, flat checks. Faults are thick skull or one which is course at the sides of the forehead, high bridge between the eyes, wedge-shaped heeads and cheekiness (a term that means prominent cheekbones wich bulge past the eyes).
Continued....
More Information
- General Appearance, Carriage and Condition
- Size
- Proportion and Substance
- Head
- Expression
- Ears
- Yes and Teeth
- Body
- Neck
- Legs
- Feet
- Tail
- Gait
- Coloring and Texture
To understand the Poodle it is important to read the stand to become familiar with the points of the breed - However it will mean little to you unless you understand what you are reading! This is why we are going to go into the most important aspects in detail for you.
All dogs have weak points. The perfect Poodle is yet to be born, but when grooming, your goal is to heighten the dog's overall balance, good proportions and other sound points while you try to conceal any imperfections the dog may have.
Here are some personal observations, along with tips to help you achieve better balance and to learn how to disguise faults. Some styles or variations of styles do help to conceal certain faults. These are mostly tips for professional pet groomers because a prospective show exhibitor is only fooling himself or herself by showing a Poodle of poor quality. All the camouflaging in the world is not going to fool a knowledgeable judge. However, even with a structurally sound, typey AKC Poodle, you have to know how to stress the dog's virtues and minimize the weak points. Inferior grooming and conditinoing can slow down or spoil altogether a prospective champion's chances.
General Appearance, Carriage and Condition
Active, intelligent and elegant looking are the words which describe the character and appearance of the ideal AKC Poodle. . The dictionary describes elegant as "graceful, refined and polished" and this is the key to the ACK Poodle's appearance and personality. The dog is elegant from top to bottom and carries him or herself with pride...Never awkard or clumsy, the dog is squarely built and well groomed.
Proportion
The standard calls for a squarely built dog. The length of the body measured from the breastbone to the point of the rump should be approximate to the height from the highest point of the shoulders to the ground. Think of it this way.... If a Poodle fits into a square box, the proportions are correct. If the dog does not, either the body is too long, legs too short or visa-versa.
The Head
An AKC Poodle's head should be attractive and balanced. To determine balance, it is necessary to examine the overall dog. A small head on a very large dog is completely out of balance, as is a big head on a small bodied dog. The ideal head is lean (but not too fine) and slightly peaked and not wide or domelike. The skull should not be coarse or broad at the sides of the forehead. The "stop" refers to the slight indentation between the dog's eyes where the muzzle and the skull meet. The stop should begin at the corners of the eyes, not below or above them.
An AKC Poodle should have smooth, flat checks. Faults are thick skull or one which is course at the sides of the forehead, high bridge between the eyes, wedge-shaped heeads and cheekiness (a term that means prominent cheekbones wich bulge past the eyes).
Continued....
More Information
- 22 Emotional and Behavior Issues with the Poodle - Understand & Help
- 35 Poodle Issues EVERY owner must know
- Breeding for Color, Explanation of Color Genes, Photos of ALL Poodle colors and types
- Caring for your Poodle...Newborn, Puppy, Adolescent, Adult AND Senior care
- Grooming BOTH pet & show Poodles
- Understanding clippings and the important, detailed elements of baths, drying, wrapping, topknots and MORE
- Pregnancy Must-Knows
- Detailed Training for Commands and Behavior
- And Much More is inside of the Giant AllPoodleInfo Book – Click to Learn More
