We're looking into a second Standard Poodle this year, they are amazing dogs. Unbelievably smart (almost frighteningly so) and they make excellent working dogs as they'll learn very quickly (often on 1 repetition) and are up for any task. We've done tracking, agility, retrieving (he loves to swim), hunting, skjoring, obedience, even wilderness canoeing with him and he's excelled at everything we've asked. Poodles are a very old breed and were originally classified as spaniels in Europe (Charley will point, flush and retrieve on cue) but were used extensively in Germany (pudelhund) and France (caniche) as retrievers. Standards are incredibly athletic, and have stamina that just doesn't burn out, at 6 he can go all day and still be looking for a game of frisbee or a run before bed. Charley is 27" at the shoulder (slightly taller than most labs) and around 65 lbs, he is a tall, lean and muscular dog. It wasn't until the dog show nutz took a liking to their coats that they ended up looking like bad topiary. Don't buy into the bs about the haircut 'protecting' vital organs, joints, or adding buoancy, people who hunt with their Standards keep them in a short 1" or so clip all over (the dogs look like a curly GSP). The upside to the curly coat is it's non shedding and hypo allergenic, we shave him down about every six weeks. As others have pointed out dogs are buyer beware, both Charley and our upcoming puppy will be from a breeder who specializes in hunting and working dogs.
