CHAPTER XLIX 

 THE POODLE 



FOR this variety one is certainly entitled to claim ancient lineage, 

 as on very early monuments and inscriptions dogs more or less 

 resembling Poodles in appearance have been found. We know 

 that in France and Germany, for ages, Poodles have been kept 

 as companions and used for sporting purposes, and in many old 

 prints and pictures of people and scenery in France Poodles have 

 been depicted as the national dogs, in the same way as we see the 

 Bulldog shown in pictures of Englishmen. 



Irrespective of coats or colours, there are at least three sizes of 

 Poodles : the large, which may scale up to yolb. in weight ; the 

 medium-sized, varying between i5lb. and solb ; and the small, 

 running from 4lb. or 5lb. to gib. or lolb. The large and the small 

 are almost invariably either black or white in colour, most of the 

 off colours being amongst those of the medium sizes. 



The majority of those Poodles seen in this country had their 

 origin on the Continent of Europe, where they may still be found 

 in France, Germany, Italy, and Russia. Nearly all the Blacks used 

 to be called Russian Poodles ; but the writer has seen more of the 

 larger-sized specimens in Germany than anywhere else, and he is 

 aware that many of the best shown here have been imported from 

 that country. Poodles used to be favourite canine companions of 

 the students of the German universities, where many dogs worthy 

 of exhibition at our best shows might be seen accompanying them. 



That this breed has made rapid strides during the last twenty- 

 five years is proved not only by the numbers seen during our walks 

 abroad, but by the greatly increased entries at any shows where the 

 classification and judges are acceptable to the many owners of these 

 sagacious animals. 



In most of the books on dogs written within the last century, 

 although the authors hold many different views respecting minor 

 matters, they seem unanimous in their opinions that the old Large 

 Water-dog was one of the ancestors of the large-sized Poodle of the 

 present day; indeed, Youatt (who wrote about sixty years ago) 



