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FCI-Standard N 172 / 14. 04.
1999 / GB
POODLE
(Caniche)
TRANSLATION : Mrs. Peggy Davis.
ORIGIN : France.
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 12.12.1991.
UTILIZATION : Companion, dog. 
CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. : Group 9 Companion and Toy Dogs. Section 2
Poodle. Without working trial.
GENERAL APPEARANCE : Dog of harmonious type, of medium
proportions, with characteristically frizzy coat, curly or corded.
Appearance of an intelligent animal, constantly alert, active,
harmoniously built and giving an impression of elegance and pride.
BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT : Dog reputed for his faithfulness,
willing to learn and being trained, which makes of in a particularly
pleasant companion dog.
HEAD : Distinguished, rectilinear, in proportion with the body.
Its length must be a little more than 2/5 of the dog's height at the
withers. Without heaviness or massiveness, but neither being too
fine. The chiselling must be evident under the covering skin.
CRANIAL REGION :
Skull : Well shaped; its width is less than half the length of
the head (the axes form an axial-facial angle of about 16° to 19°).
The whole of the skull seen from above, appears oval in lengthwise
direction and in profile slightly convex. The longitudinal axes are
slightly divergent.
Superciliary arches : Moderately pronounced, covered with long
hair.
Frontal furrow : Broad between the eyes, narrowing towards the
occiput, which is very pronounced. (In the miniatures it can be less
pronounced).
Stop : Very slightly marked, as in dogs of medium proportions.
FACIAL REGION :
Nose : Pronounced and developed, with vertical profile; open
nostrils. Black nose in the black subjects, the whites and the
greys; brown in the brown subjects; in the apricot subjects the
brown colour within the whole range of dark brown, may be going up
to black, without this last colour being preferred but accepted to
avoid possible depigmentation.
Muzzle : Upper profile in straight line; its length is about 9/10
of the skull's length. The two branches of the lower jaw extending
almost parallel. The appearance of the muzzle is solid, elegant, but
not pointed. The lower profile of the muzzle is given by the lower
jaw and not by the edge of the upper lip.
Lips : Lightly developed, rather tight, of medium thickness, the
upper lip resting on the lower lip, without falling over it. Black
in the black, white and grey subjects; pigmented in the browns; in
the apricot subjects coloured within the range of dark brown maybe
going up to black, without this last colour being preferred, but
accepted. The corner of the lips must not be pronounced.
Jaws/Teeth : Fitting normally, teeth solid. The absence of one M1
or M2 (molar 1 or 2) in the upper and of one M2 or M3 in the lower
jaw would not be penalised in judging or in a breeding selection.
Cheeks : Not prominent. shaped by the cheek bones. The
sub-orbital arches chiselled and only slightly filled in. The
masticatory muscles, anatomical base of the cheeks, lightly
developed; the zygomatic arches very slightly pronounced.
Eyes : With keen expression, placed at the level of the stop and
slightly slanting. The outline of the eyelids gives the eyes an
almond shape. Black or very dark brown for the black, the white, the
grey and the apricot poodles; the eyes may be dark amber for the
brown subjects.
Ears : Quite long, falling alongside the cheeks, set on at the
extension of a line starting from above the nose and passing below
the outer corner of the eye, flat, broadening after the base and
rounded at the tip, covered with very long wavy hair. The Poodle
whose ears do not reach the corner of the lips cannot obtain the
qualification " excellent ".
NECK : Solid, slightly arched after the nape of the neck, of
medium length, well proportioned. The head carried high and proudly.
No dewlap. Neck of oval cross section; its length is inferior to
that of the head.
BODY : The general appearance of the body of a poodle is of good
proportions, the length of the body generally exceeding the height
at the withers.
Withers : Moderately developed.
Back : Short harmonious topline. Neither roach nor saddle back.
The height from the ground to the withers being more or less the
same as that from the ground to the rump.
Loins : Firm and muscular.
Croup : Rounded but not falling away.
Chest : Descending down to elbow level, the width is equal to 2/3
of its depth (from spinal column to sternum). The thorax perimeter
measured behind the shoulders must be at least 10 cm more than the
height at the withers.
Ribs : Rib cage oval, broad in the dorsal part.
Forechest : Normal for a dog of medium proportions; the extremity
of the sternum must be slightly prominent and set rather high which
causes a higher, easier and more noble head carriage.
Belly and flanks : Tucked up but not excessively so.
TAIL : Set quite high at the level of the loin. To be docked by a
third nearest to the body, or at the half of its natural length in
the curly coated poodles. However, a long and well carried tail is
not a fault. It can be kept in its full length in the corded coat
poodles. The tail is raised obliquely in action.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS : Front legs perfectly straight and parallel,
elegant, well muscled with good bone. The height from the elbow to
the ground is of 5/9 of the height of the withers to the ground.
Shoulders : Sloping, muscular. The shoulder blade forming with
the upper arm an angle of 90° to 110°.
Upper arm : The length of the upper arm corresponding to that of
the shoulder blade.
Pastern joint : Continuing the front line of the forearm.
Pasterns : Solid, not massive, and almost straight seen in
profile.
Feet : Rather small, firm, of a short oval shape. The toes are
well arched, strong, compact, webbed, resting firmly on a hard and
thick pad. The nails are black on blacks and greys, black or brown
on the browns, on the whites the nails may be coloured according to
the whole range of horn colour going up to black and must correspond
with the pigmentation. The white nails remain a fault. In the
apricot dogs, they must be coloured according to the whole range of
dark brown up to black, without this last colour being preferred,
but accepted.
HINDQUARTERS : Hind legs parallel, seen from behind, muscles well
developed and well visible. The joint with the hock is fairly
angulated. The angles : coxal - femoral, tibial - femoral and tibial
- tarsal must be sufficiently pronounced so as to avoid straight
quarters which sometimes produce an undesirable slanting rump.
Thighs : Well muscled and robust.
Hock joint and Hock : Vertical. The poodle must be born without
dewclaws on the back legs.
Feet : See forequarters.
GAIT/MOVEMENT : Light and springy, never flowing and extended.
SKIN : Supple, not loose, pigmented. The black, the brown, the
grey and the apricot poodles must be pigmented according to their
coat colour; for the whites, the silvery skin is desirable, but the
pigmentation must not alter the coat colour. There are also white
poodles whose light skin is spotted, not only on the inner parts,
which is frequent, but also on the rest of the body; this does not
constitute a fault. The general pigmentation in its greatest
intensity is desirable on: eyelids, nose, lips, gums, palate, mucous
membranes, natural orifices, scrotum, pads. It must be black in the
black, the white, and the grey dogs; dark brown in the browns; in
the apricots, it must be as uniform and as dark as possible,
according to the whole range of dark brown which can go up to black,
without this last colour being preferred, but accepted to avoid a
possible depigmentation.
COAT
HAIR :
� Curly coated Poodle : Abundant hair of fine texture, woolly and
curly, elastic and resistant to pressure of the hand. It must be
thick, dense, of uniform length, forming even curls which are
generally combed. The coat hard to the touch giving an impression of
horse hair is undesirable and shall be retrograded in favour of the
desired texture.
Corded Poodle : Abundant, of fine texture, woolly and dense,
forming characteristic thin cords of even length. They must be at
least 20 cm in length. The longer they are, the more they are
appreciated. The cords on each side of the head may be tied up by a
ribbon above the ears and those on the body parted on each side to
avoid an untidy coat.
ALLOWED SHOW CLIPS
" Lion clip " : The poodle, whether curly or corded, shall be
clipped on the hindquarters up to the ribs.
Also clipped : the muzzle, above and underneath from the lower
eyelids; the cheeks, the fore-and hindlegs, apart from cuffs or
bracelets and optional motifs on the hinquarters, the tail, except a
round or oblong terminal pompom.
The moustache is required for all subjects.
Keeping hair on the front legs, called " trousers ", is admitted.
" Modern clip " : Keeping hair on the four legs is only permitted
providing the following norm standards are respected :
1. - Shall be clipped :
a) The lower part of the front legs, from the nails to the tip of
the dewclaw, the lower part of the hindlegs up to an equivalent
height. Machine clipping, limited to the toes only, is permitted.
b) The head and the tail as the preceeding rules describe. Shall
be exceptionnally permitted in this clipping :
The presence, below the lower jaw, of hair cut short not
exceeding one centimeter thickness; its lower line will be cut
parallel to the lower jaw. The beard called " goat's beard " is not
tolerated.
The suppression of the pompom on the tail (but this will
slightly diminish the rating for " texture of coat ").
2. - Shortened coat : On the body, to show on the back line a
moir (shot silk) effect more or less long of at least 1 centimeter.
The length of the coat shall be progressively increased around the
ribs and above the legs.
3. - Regularized hair :
a) On the head which stays with a casque (topknot) of reasonable
height as well as on the neck, descending behind the neck to the
withers, and in front, without discontinuity down to the shaven part
of the foot following a slightly slanting line from the upper part
of the forechest downward. On the upper part of the ears and up to a
third of their maximum length, the hair may be cut with scissors or
shaved in the direction of the hair. The lower part is left covered
with hair of a length increasing progressively from top to bottom,
to end up in fringes which can be adjusted.
b) On the legs, " trousers " marking a distinct transition with
the shaven part of the feet. The length of the hair increases
progressively upwards to show on the shoulder as on the thigh a
length of 4 to 7 cm measured on straightened hair, in proportion
with the size of the dog but avoiding any " bouffant " (buffy). The
" trousers " on the back legs must allow the typical angulation of
the poodle to be seen.
All other fancy clips which do not comply with these norm
standards are eliminatory. Whatever the standard outline obtained
through the grooming, it must never influence the classification at
the shows, all dogs of the same class shall be judged and placed
together.
" English clip " : Add to the " lion " clip motifs on the
hindquarters, i.e. bracelets and cuffs. On the head : a topknot. For
this clip, the moustache is optional. Absence of demarcation on the
hair of the hindquarters is tolerated. The topknot is optional.
COLOUR : Poodles with curly or corded coats : black, white,
brown, grey and apricot.
The brown : Must be pure, rather dark, uniform and warm. The
graduations in the brown shades must go neither to the beige nor to
its lighter derivatives. Neither must the coat be of such a dark
brown so as to be near black, i.e. excessive dark brown or aubergine
coloured (dark purple).
The grey : Must be uniform. The graduations in the grey colour
must not reach either the black or the white.
The apricot : Must be of a uniform colour neither tending to
the beige or the cream, neither to the red or auburn, nor to the
brown or its derivatives.
SIZE :
Large Poodles : Above 45 cm [17.7"] up to 60 cm [23.6"] with a
tolerance of 2 cm. The large poodle must be the enlarged and
developed reproduction of the medium poodle from which he retains
the same characteristics.
Medium Poodles : More than 35 cm [13.8"] up to 45 cm [17.7"].
Miniature poodles : More than 28 cm [11"] up to 35 cm [13.8"].
This poodle size must show in its ensemble the appearance of a
reduced medium poodle, retaining as much as possible the same
proportions and not showing any sign of dwarfism.
Toy poodles : Below 28 cm [11"] (desirable ideal type, size of
25 cm).
The Toy poodle keeps in its ensemble the appearance of the
miniature poodle and the same general proportions, complying with
all the requirements of the standard. All presence of dwarfism is
excluded, only the occipital crest may be less pronounced.
FAULTS : Any departure from the foregoing points should be
considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should
be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
Lack of stop or stop too pronounced.
Nose small and nostrils insufficiently open, or too big. Nose
discoloured or spotted, pink.
Muzzle too thin or pointed, convex nasal bridge.
An undershot mouth is a fault which must be penalised according
to its importance. Yellow teeth, caused by distemper, do not
constitute a fault if those same teeth are themselves placed
correctly. The badly placed or missing teeth constitute a fault
proportional to the importance of the irregularity; all the
incisors, canines, premolars and both molars 1 (M1) in the lower jaw
must be present; the lack of one premolar (1 PM1) is not penalised;
the lack of 2 premolars (2 PM1) : maximum qualification " excellent
"; lack of 3 premolars (3 PM1 or 2 PM1 and 1 PM2) : maximum
qualification " very good ". The absence of one Molar (M 1 or M 2)
in the upper jaw or of one molar (M 2 or M 3) in the lower jaw would
not be penalized.
Eyes too big or too small, insufficiently dark or with a
reddish tint.
Ears too short, too narrow or carried folded.
Croup falling away.
Tail curved over the back, too thin or set too low.
Dog too leggy.
Hindquarters too straight.
Flowing or extended movement.
General pigmentation insufficient, palpebral depigmentation
(spectacles).
Lack of hair around the eyes.
Thin or soft coat.
Indecisive colour or not uniform. A few white hairs on the
chest are tolerated.
All dogs affected by dwarfism cannot qualify " excellent ". The
most obvious signs of dwarfism are : protruding skull (apple head),
absence of occipital crest, pronounced stop, too prominent eye,
pointed muzzle, too short or turned up, lower jaw retracted,
chinless.
Vicious dogs, aggressive or too nervous.
ELIMINATING FAULTS :
Lack of expression in the type of the head.
Overshot mouth.
Absence of one insicor.
Tailness.
Dewclaws or traces of dewclaws on hindlegs.
Dogs whose colour is not a solid colour (whole-coloured).
White markings.
White hairs on feet.
Dogs exceeding 62 cm in size.
The poodles which are not clipped in conformation with the
standard will not (as long as they are like that) be judged for the
awards at the shows and official events, without however being
disqualified for reproduction.
N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles
fully descended into the scrotum.
Poodle photo courtesy of www.internetclipart.com.
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