Poodle
group of dog breeds originating from continental Western Europe
The Poodle, called the Pudel in German (German: [ˈpuːdl̩] ) and the Caniche in French, is a breed of water dog. The breed is divided into four varieties based on size, the Standard Poodle, Medium Poodle, Miniature Poodle and Toy Poodle, although the Medium Poodle is not universally recognised. They have a distinctive thick, curly coat that comes in many colours and patterns, with only solid colours recognised by major breed registries. Poodles are active and intelligent, and are particularly able to learn from humans. Poodles tend to live 10–18 years, with smaller varieties tending to live longer than larger ones.
The Poodle likely originated in Germany, although the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI, International Canine Federation) and a minority of cynologists believe it originated in France. Similar dogs date back to at least the 17th century. Larger Poodles were originally used by wildfowl hunters to retrieve game from water, while smaller varieties were once commonly used as circus performers. Poodles were recognised by both the Kennel Club of the United Kingdom and the American Kennel Club (AKC) soon after the clubs' founding. Since the mid-20th century, Poodles have enjoyed enormous popularity as pets and show dogs – Poodles were the AKC's most registered breed from 1960 to 1982, and are now the FCI's third most registered breed.
“Poodle” enters the record as group of dog breeds originating from continental Western Europe. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Poodle, group and breeds can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q38904. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1960 and 1982.
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This entry incorporates text from “Poodle” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.