A story circulating in the international news and in the blogosphere recently reported that Japanese women had been scammed into purchasing sheep that were being sold as poodles. Come on, they couldn’t see the hooves or hear the ‘Baaaaa’? If I were Japanese, I’d have been very insulted.

Of course, the story of the hoax turned out to be a hoax. From Snopes on their ‘Urban Legends’ page…

The notion that anyone who had ever seen a dog (which is most everyone) could be fooled by sheep proffered as poodles is as implausible (if not more so) as the idea that anyone could really mistake a rat for a dog. (The claim that “sheep are rare in Japan and most people do not know what they look like” is just silly: even schoolchildren who have never seen live sheep learn to identify them from pictures and drawings and can recognize them as something distinctly different than dogs. Certainly the creatures’ bleating instead of barking and having hooves in place of paws are some basic, easily recognized clues.) And in this case the tale is not something that supposedly happened to the indefinite “some tourist” in “a foreign country,” but to thousands of Japanese in their homeland, people who were reportedly shelling out the equivalent of $1600 per sheep-dog before anyone caught on to the scam and blew the whistle.

No, the swindle story never made the news in Japan, which should have alerted gullible net-noobs to something amiss. Besides, the least bit of fact checking would have demonstrated that the company supposedly perpetrating the scam – ‘Poodles As Pets’ – doesn’t exist in Japan.

The hoax hoax was promoted when radio personality Paul Harvey broadcast the story on his For What It’s Worth program, reporting that “Thousands of women paid many thousands of dollars for miniature white poodles which are now growing up and turning out to be furniture-eating-sheep.”

Hahahaha!!! Oh, my. Looks like there are some newscasters out there who needed a classroom poodle in school to teach them that there is indeed a difference between a dog and a sheep. The Japanese already knew better!

King of Dogs!

In deference to my new Russian friends, I’ll start off by mentioning that there is some disagreement about where, exactly, the poodle breed originated. Some say northern Germany, others insist they started in Russia or on the steppes of central Asia. I will say that about 90% the people I’ve ever known in the circus/performing world who work with poodles are Russian, and that they’re quite passionate about the intelligence, loyalty and talents of their dogs. Given the intriguing hints that it was Russians who suffered most of the battle scars from Napoleon’s War Dogs, if poodles weren’t originally a Russian breed those Russians were wise enough to appreciate quality when they met it!

That said, there is no disagreement about the specific job poodles were developed to do – they were water retrievers, and this job explains some things about poodles that people may not have known…

1. Poodles first became famous for their performing abilities in Europe with the Commedia del Arte’s Gypsies and Jongleurs in the Middle Ages, moving quite naturally into circus and Vaudeville over the centuries. It was Gypsies (the Rom) who made most creative use of manicuring their poodles’ coats into fanciful and outlandish hair styles to delight audiences, often mimicking the outrageous wig stylings of the pampered aristocracy. They dressed their poodles in costumes to match, too!

2. Poodle hair is thick and tightly curled (on adult dogs), effectively repelling water if it is not allowed to become corded into floor-length dreadlocks. Because their hair grows continually, hunters who relied on poodles to retrieve their prize learned to trim and brush their dogs’ coats to prevent drowning. The poodle breed is related to both Irish and Portugese water dogs, and is popular as a “Yacht Dog” among the wealthy.

3. Those odd poodle haircuts were designed originally for utility in the job of water retrieving. By leaving the coat long over the hips, chest and head, internal organs were protected from the effects of very cold water and helped to buoy the dog with trapped air. Shaving the haunches and feet allowed the poodles to more efficiently swim. By leaving “pom-poms” on the ankles protected these important joints from the effects of cold as well.

4. Poodles can only be shown in English Saddle, Lion or Continental clips unless they are being shown in stud classes. Most pet poodles are trimmed for ease of maintenance, usually a single length all over, slightly shorter on the neck, longer on head and ears, face and feet shaved. Despite the “non-sporting” classification, the acceptable show clips are specific to the sporting function poodles were bred to perform.

5. Poodles do not shed like other dogs do, thus are a good choice for people with allergies to dog hair or who just don’t like to clean up after a shedding dog.

6. While some breeders do offer parti-colored poodles, these are not recognized by show breeders or allowed to compete in kennel club shows. Acceptable poodle colors are black, white, apricot, silver, chocolate or cream.

7. An artist’s favorite subject for hundreds of years, poodles appear in more works of art than any other dog breed.

8. All sizes of poodle are recognized as being a single breed. The standard is the oldest of the three varieties (standard, miniature and toy), which is why it’s called “standard!” In France and elsewhere, very large standard poodles (in the 90-120 pound range) are called “Imperial Poodles.” Imperial is not recognized as a separate variety by the kennel clubs.

9. Poodles are considered among the three breeds of highest intelligence among all dogs. While there is some disagreement about which breed is the smartest, poodles get a lot of votes! Ranking #2 in the top 10, the top 4 (because #3 is disputed) are: Border Collie, Poodle, German Shepherd and Golden Retriever.

10. A team of standard poodles competes in the Alaskan Iditarod dogsled race every year.

11. Torch singer Billie Holiday’s beloved standard poodle was cremated after his death in Billie’s best mink coat.

12. According to Tammy Bruce’s article, current Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero declared the Poodle to now be Spain’s national dog. This might be political hyperbole.

Links:

Historical Information About Poodles

Rick London: Good Things To Know About Poodle History

Alaska, where women win the Iditarod and men mush poodles!

Real French Poodles from the Languedoc

Now I’m going to try to post this in Cyrillic…

As I recall the story (no, I don’t recall who told it to me), it has to do with Napoleon Bonaparte and his strong martial proclivities. Dogs had long been mascots and soldiers in war, from the time of the Vikings and the early Teutonic wars, primarily wolfhounds and other large breeds. When guns and artillery became standard noisemakers on the battlefields, dogs who would not be shy of the booms or the fire were kept. Among these were the poodle, and Napoleon liked his poodles big.

Known for fierce loyalty, fearlessness and intelligence, the war poodles were known to take part in battles on behalf of their regiments even without specific training for the task. In his memoirs Napoleon praised a poodle who died at the battle of Marengo, licking the face of his fallen Grenadier master. Another poodle named Buff accompanied Lt. Col.Chestmaster during the Peninsula War, while the poodle Moffino got sadly separated from his master while crossing the Berezina River in the Russian campaign. Moffino then traveled from Russia to Italy to find his corporal master, and they were gladly reunited.

One of Napoleon’s enemies, the Duc d’Enghein, took his poodle Mohiloff – a gift from the king of Sweden – with him to prison at the fortress of Vincennes. The dog stayed with his master even as he was shot at dawn and had to be forcibly removed from his grave. The commander of Vincennes adopted Mohiloff, and had him stuffed after he died. A poodle named Moustache became the mascot of a regiment of grenadiers whose standard the dog rescued from the battlefield at Austerlitz. He is also credited with detectiing an Austrian spy and saving a detachment of his company from a surprise attack.

There are many more stories of poodles as war dogs in the Napoleonic campaigns, but the way it was told to me, they actually served in the infantry! Napoleon was a brilliant artillery tactician, and had poodles of his own. While one can make funny, poofy hairdos with poodle hair – which never stops growing – they are finely built dogs of some stature and sport mouths full of sharp teeth they aren’t afraid to use in defense of their masters. The penchant for poodles to be kept and tended by entire regiments meant that their loyalties extended to all members who were kind to them. It is this quality Napoleon put to such good use.

I was told that in some battles he would have his men brush out their poodle’s hair – which had been grown quite long – so that it poofed widely from their bodies and made them look at least twice as big as they really were. Then, on signal as the front lines faced each other across the field, the poodles would leap forward and sprint on their long legs toward the enemy’s line. Teeth bared, eyes blazing, aiming for throats.

Those were the days of muzzle-loaders, long guns that had to be deployed in waves because it took so long to re-load after letting fly a shot. The enemy’s infantry would send a volley toward the attacking monster-dogs, but because their hair belied their true size, those lead balls most often missed their mark and sailed right through the pompadours without leaving a scratch. The dogs were fast and bent on action, the line had no time to reload before they’d be at those infantrymens’ throats.

Meanwhile, while the enemy was busy wasting its shot-volley and panicking as the warrior dogs took them down, Napoleon’s infantry was marching steadily forward. As the dogs burst past the front lines toward the rear, France’s artillery would fire and ravage the enemy’s formations.

This may be mostly legend, or it may be true. Detailed accounts of these poodle regiments were not kept in the Napoleonic wars, even though there are many accounts of the personal companion poodles and battle dogs kept by individual regiments and officers. Poodles did go on to earn their rightful place as France’s National Dog breed, and poodles are still used today in France as police dogs, bomb and drug-sniffing dogs, and as guardian dogs in a number of applications.

It was probably not an accident that Orwell cast Napoleon’s Dogs as enforcers in his novel Animal Farm, for which inspiration he may have drawn upon the fearful legends among the Russian peasantry of Napoleon’s real war dogs in the last fateful Russian campaign.

So don’t be fooled by hype that says poodles can only be prissy companions or trainable guide/service dogs, but look too silly to be effective police or war dogs. Depends on the hairdo, I say, and from the above legend it looks like the frizzier and bigger the hairdo, the better!

Links:

The Poodle History Project: Army Dogs

For all of us Poodle People, poodle gifts are at the top of our own wish lists and always catch our eyes when browsing for other people’s presents. Because I’ve been busy all week browsing for books for the family (we’re all avid readers who treasure our books), I thought some cool poodle books might be the order of the day.

50 Acres and a Poodle
Jeanne Marie Laskas

The editorial and customer reviews for 50 Acres and a Poodle make me think this book would be a great gift for all the Poodle People in my life. There’s nothing any of us like better than to tell poodle stories to anyone who will listen to them, and this looks to be 291 pages of poodle story!

It’s about a writer who, while a certified city-person, spends many a weekend with her Poodle Person boyfriend dream-shopping for a country farm. One day the perfect place becomes available and off they go to do their own re-run of Green Acres. The result is the story of Laskas, Alex and Marley the Poodle down on the farm. I’ve ordered a copy for …someone. Until I figure out who needs it most, I’ll consider it mine.

The Adventures of Super Gonz
Mitchell Yost

In The Adventures of Super Gonz a poodle named Gonzo gains super powers after being hit by a car. When his sister is captured by an evil dog catcher, Super Gonz goes into action to save her. This short story (42 pages) would be a good book for a young reader who loves poodles and super heroes.

Eddie Goes to Kindergarten
Deborah J. Hall

Eddie Goes to Kindergarten is another short (25 pages) children’s book about a standard poodle named Eddie who was training to be a service dog when he visited a kindergarten and learned about the many other careers he could choose if being a service dog turned out not to be his bag. This is a book that teaches kids what helpful jobs dogs can do, so if you have little ones this might make a great stocking stuffer.

Alvin And Amanda vs. The Library of Doom
Alan Zuckerman

For teens and pre-teens who like mysteries, …The Library of Doom is a good choice. It’s about a couple who escape the corporate rat-race by becoming country dwellers and librarians. Just when things are looking great, Alvin is accused of murdering the library’s manager. With the expert help of their poodle Feynman they manage to solve the mystery and live happily ever after.

Sawdust and Greasepaint
Rob Harrell

For the comic book lovers on your Christmas list, Sawdust and Greasepaint follows the circus adventures of Rob Harrell’s popular Big Top comic strip heroes Pete, Dusty the Poodle, Wink the Bear and Stucco the Clown.

The Perky Polka-Dotted Poodle
Harry Highstreet

For the youngest of the Poodle People on your gift list, this is a ‘read aloud’ book for children, all about the letter ‘p’. According to the description of The Perky Polka-Dotted Poodle, the story is about a “journey with a playful poodle and his pot-pourris of plentiful partners.”

So get shopping, Poodle People! Christmas is almost upon us!

We “dog-people” have known for awhile that television’s classic “Lassie” was a series of purebred collies (mostly male), trained to do all the tricks dramatized in the long-running series and its spin-offs from the 1950s to the 1970s.

We “Poodle-People” are used to dealing with a particular breed of dog that is so famous for its intelligence and desire to perform that many people on the street see a poodle and think “Circus Dog.” Performer. Actor. “Trick” dog.

I found a great web page this week entitled What is a Trick? written by standard poodle owner and dog trainer Charlene Dunlap. It examines the question of whether what poodles can be trained to do qualifies as actual learned skill, or just “tricks.”

She mentions skills such as climbing ladders, walking unstable surfaces, and crawling under obstacles to be within the skills taught to police dogs, yet for poodles they’re often considered “tricks.” Dunlap notes:

When Frisbee-catching with dogs became a popular sport, extremely athletic dogs began doing flips and amazing leaps as they caught the flying discs. In bygone days one would have seen such acrobatic stunts taught only in ‘trick dog’ acts. Now, these ’stunts’ (tricks) are quite common in disc-dog training.

Best frisbee dog I ever met was a Border Collie named Angus. Who became known to all our local friends and family as “Embassy Dog” after my sister (married to a Foreign Service diplomat) retired him to our mountain acreage. But I had an even more obsessed fetcher-dog who would not just catch and return frisbees, but also golf balls chipped off the top of the driveway into the terraced mountainside below, retrieve any stick any time you cared to toss one, and any snowball in a blizzard off any precipice you cared to throw it off of. Her name was Kenya, and she was a poodle.

No “specialist” here, she’d fetch anything. When the Asplundh guys came with their chain saws and big mulchers to trim everything under the incoming electrical lines, we noticed they were tossing branches into the mulcher while making friends with a curious Kenya. In a panic my daughter ran out to give them a stern low-down – much as you appreciate that beautiful big poodle-dog, she WILL follow that branch right into the mulcher. Make sure she’s in the house before you make mulch.

Heck, I’m pretty sure that if we could engineer speech faculties into poodles, I could train mine to answer the phone and book gigs. Poodles are regularly trained to be guide dogs, police dogs (bomb and drug sniffing), gun dogs, war dogs (their teeth are every bit as sharp as a Shepherd’s and their hair is much more confusing) and “trick” dogs. Those “tricks” are skills. They’re perfectly capable of putting those skills to good use to save their master or obey his directive…

“Go get Gramps!” A poodle knows who Gramps is, and can fetch all day long. But don’t be too surprised if that poodle decides instead to leap through flames to deliver the rope and then pull Timmy from the well.

Links:

Canine Horizons: What is a Trick?

Poodles – Not Just Another Pretty Face

Her AKC registration name was “Kenya Queen Reba Amelia E.” She’s the only giant mutant mountain poodle… er, Imperial-size standard that we ever actually bought. Got her as a black hairball puppy from a couple whose actual business was to breed English Bulldogs in Savannah. The mama was their house pet, an impressive black. Paid $550 for her, had our pick of a litter of 6.

We’d answered an ad for the puppies, checked first to see if there were any close relatives or cousins in her bloodline and Uncle Bob’s. We wanted them to be a pair, and they were quite the pair. Though they never managed to have any pups of their own.

The naming of Kenya was quite the ordeal in a family with strong opinions and favorites. My husband wanted to name her “Queenie,” but only because his parents never let him name one of their dogs Queenie, and he thought it was a great dog name. I thought it was right up there with “Rover” or “Fido” – awful.

Our daughter pushed for “Reba” because she was in a big Reba McIntire phase at the time, and was going to college with Reba’s niece. I thought that name would look better on a redhead, but what do I know? Our son wanted to name her “Kenya,” and that name fit her particularly well. She earned “Amelia E.” on her own, after taking to the habit of flying leaps off the second story roof whenever the deck gate was shut and someone she wanted to meet showed up downstairs.

She had these great long legs, and a natural spring-action landing pattern. Never got hurt, amazed everybody, and by the time she was grown could use that spring action to make spectacular leaps straight up the mountain side or bound terraces after deer just for fun. Kenya Queen Reba Amelia E., The Flying Poodle.

We just called her Kenya. After our son died in an accident we, Bob, Kenya, our daughter and then 2-year old grandson moved to a cabin and acreage in Western North Carolina to start over. The Pup (our son) had been our business partner and a genuine local celebrity in Florida. The newspaper devoted three pages to his memorial service, television crews covered it live, and we got literally thousands of cards and letters from his many young fans. Suddenly no one wanted our clowns at their events anymore. Too sad, I guess.

Starting over was all we could think of. The cabin is a hundred years old, originally built as a sawmill camp cabin. The Southern Railroad used it as a hunting lodge for executives. When it fell into private hands the roof was raised, a loft was built, and a full bathroom was added in the half-cellar. The chestnut logs and siding came from this property, long before the blight wiped them out.

Our young grandson didn’t like the cabin very much, though he did love the land. For the first whole year we lived here he refused to sleep indoors. So we pitched one of those little dome tents on the second story back deck (fully railed, 10 x 12) accessed straight through the sliding glass door. He slept out there with Kenya every night and it didn’t hurt him. No wildlife (other than Kenya and the cats) could reach him, so it worked out well and he did get over it after that year. Learned to sleep indoors fine.

During that first year a good sized black bear with a yearling and a small cub had spent the winter in an old collapsed barn down in the bottomland. First thing in the spring Mama moved on with her small cub in tow, left the male yearling here to fend for himself. And from the size of him he was fending okay. Yet what he really, really wanted to fend most for himself was Kenya. That bear was definitely smitten, thought she was absolutely T-H-E most gorgeous black bear he’d ever hoped to lay eyes on!

He’d seen Kenya get all defensive and listened to her bark ceaselessly at him whenever he came close enough for her to smell him. Boy bears smell pretty bad, though I guess she-bears think it’s sexy. Kenya did not. By the time spring was definitely upon us, that bear was stepping up his courtship considerably.

My husband and I slept in the loft, with windows directly above the porch with our grandson’s little tent. We had gotten quite used to Kenya’s barking at the bear, who showed up below the balcony every morning just at sunrise to sing her praises. He’d taught himself to bark, no doubt thinking that would make her love him, and his bark was not as easy to ignore.

Grandson could sleep through Kenya’s barking too, but liked that bear bark as little as we did. One morning after the two had barked and barked and barked at each other, we heard our sleepy, now 3-year old grandson yell out crossly, “SHUT UP, BEAR!!!”

He figured out for himself that if he’d just move inside to the bedroom, Kenya would still sleep with him but he wouldn’t have to be rudely awakened by a barking bear every morning of his life. So I guess we have the bear to thank for civilizing the kid somewhat.

The bear moved on once the object of his affections moved indoors, though we’d occasionally hear his mournful barking from up on heartbreak ridge at night. And Kenya always dutifully barked right back at him. We like to think he found a lover from his own species and helped to keep the local black bear population going.

We’ve seen a very big male a few times on the back road, probably 700+ pounds. Just the size our bear would be if he’s lived this long. Not the same bear who comes through in the spring to raid the trash bin, in the summer to hit the berry patch, and in the fall to languish under the pear trees to feast on droppings.

But every time I see a bear (male, female, cub or yearling) I think of Kenya Queen Reba Amelia E., the flying poodle. And one seriously lovesick bear who thought she was the most beautiful thing he ever saw.

“They say poodles aren’t ‘real’ dogs. At least, that’s what I tell motel desk people when we’re on the road with our Imperials and they say dogs aren’t allowed. It almost always works. In truth, their intelligence is amazingly human-like. They learn quickly, are highly creative, and love to be stars.”

That’s from the ‘About’ page of this blog. It describes something every ‘Poodle Person’ knows, and it’s honestly isn’t that difficult to convince other people – like your average motel desk clerk – that it’s true.

For a young guy being set up with a blind date, ‘personality’ isn’t necessarily a strong recommendation. Parents attempting to deal with a high-energy, short attention span child who might be better off on Ritalin, ‘personality’ can be a descriptive defense mechanism. The word itself contains the noun ‘person’, which does seem fairly exclusive to human beings. Yet poodles are famous for having personality to spare.

Poodle personalities can vary as much as any individual human’s personalities can, and it’s an interesting observation that – like other dogs – poodles will often reflect and compliment the personality of their human. Poodles can become easily spoiled. They’ve a certain presence and aura of superiority that no doubt comes from their pampered, high-class history. They hold themselves proudly, prance elegantly, and are amazingly intelligent, which helps to explain their affinity with nobility.

The intensive grooming that poodles require, along with the fact that they don’t shed like most other dogs do also helps to give people the general impression that poodles just aren’t all that dog-like. But it’s that famous intelligence that best recommends the poodle personality.

I’ve posted about working poodles to show how versatile these dogs really are. A sled poodle is no more or less intelligent than a circus poodle, who is no more or less intelligent than a guide poodle, who is no more or less intelligent than a hunting poodle… they start out with high intelligence and the ability to learn pretty much whatever their humans want them to learn. And they’re adaptable as well, meaning that they can serve different roles depending on the situation.

Standard poodles need more exercise than toys or miniatures, as they are bigger dogs. But they are fairly mellow, not jumpy or nervous. They love people, including children. When our grandson Josh was born, Uncle Bob the poodle loved nothing better than to lie happily on the floor and let that young’un crawl all over him or sleep snuggled against him. He seemed to understand that Josh might be frightened of him if he stood and towered over him, so he’d crawl along the carpet right along with him, making sure Josh was never more than a few feet away.

Josh also learned to stand and walk early – at 9 months – and that was all Bob’s fault. Bob would let Josh grab hold of his neck, ears or shoulder hair, then actually help him stand! They’d walk around the house looking for things Josh could get into, and the poodle never got tired of it. I’d never seen anything like that in all my life!

Poodles do not do well in cages unless you crate-train them early on. None of ours could abide a cage of any variety, but then, we’d never expected them to. Because we live in a rural area our poodles can come and go from the house at will during the day. We never had to specifically train them not to roam, because they’ve never shown any inclination to roam. They don’t want to be that far away from their humans. They sleep inside with us at night, always have. I’ve had outdoor dogs, but poodles just don’t fit the bill. When we lived in town we’d have to walk them, and standard poodles are big and friendly enough dogs to need leash training no matter where you live. You’ll be taking them places.

Those notorious sled poodles got their job because they love to pull. Standard poodles are strong animals, so if they aren’t properly leash trained you’ll definitely be sorry. Luckily, they care a lot for what you want and need from them, can read your mind, and will pretty much leash train themselves if you just let them know what you want.

And while it’s not strictly a personality issue, poodles take some serious upkeep. They love water, so regular baths usually aren’t a problem. Their hair grows like human hair – it doesn’t stop at a certain length, but will grow all the way to the ground if you let it. It’s curly and soft, so easily matted. You can do the fancy hairdo thing, but that takes brushing at least twice daily. I always liked the basic lamb cut – “shave the poodle” my daughter calls it. Take it all off except for the pom on the tail and some length on the ears and they’re good for two or three months.

Ears are an issue because poodles have hair that doesn’t stop growing in their ears, too. This has to be pulled out, the wax should be softened and removed, and mites find a happy home in there. Best to get your groomer or vet to do these jobs, but you can learn to do them at home.

Oh… and poodles love to go for rides. They’ll jump right into the back of the SUV or into the van, take a seat by the window and pay attention to everything going on. Our big male Beau loved to ride shotgun (that allowed us to strap him in with the shoulder belt), with the window down and goggle sunglasses. Really freaks people out at red lights, particularly when we’d be driving the little TR-4 with the top down, clown in the driver’s seat, human-size poodle with sunglasses in the shotgun position.

Links:

Poodle Personalities

More about poodle personalities

The first official notice of poodles appears on Roman and Greek coins from ~30 a.d., though suspiciously poodle-like hunting dogs are found in the detailed pictorial histories on tomb walls in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Where, legend has it, they were lion-hunters. When they weren’t the pampered pets of the ruling and priestly classes, that is. These would have been the big guys – “Imperials” – that Napoleon favored so highly.

The Romans had learned the value of large, intelligent dogs in the art of warfare from the natives of Britain, Ireland and the Norse and Teutonic warriors who made such strategic use of the fearless Irish Wolfhounds known for removing heads quite readily from soldiers in battle. Legend also has it that mighty Beowolf commanded such a dog, who never left his side and killed more enemies and monsters than the chieftain did.

Poodles were famous through the Middle Ages as exceptional war dogs, though their natural affinity for water allowed them to become famous Navy and yachting dogs. Known as “Water Spaniels” they performed flushing and retriever duties, and never managed to develop the fear of guns that many other dogs harbor. They were familiar companions to generals all the way through World War 2.

They’ve been used in falconry, and as truffle dogs, herders, guide dogs, HEDs and other special skills dogs because they are so intelligent and eager to please. The big standards and imperials were not common sights among the bourgeoisie until modern times, but have been favorites among circus performers and trained dog acts since Medieval times.

For more great information about the history of these wonderful dogs, check out: The Poodle History Project.