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About the Poodle

Origin: France
Typical life span
10-18 years
Size
Medium — from its typical weight
Weight
Male
20-32 kg
Female
18-27 kg
Height
45-61 cm
FCI status
Recognised by FCI
FCI group
Companion and Toy Dogs
Origin
France
Also called
Caniche
Known hereditary risks
11 documented conditions, with the test for each

About

What is a Poodle?

An exceptionally intelligent, proud, and elegant dog with athletic bearing and curly hypoallergenic coat. Originally bred as a water retriever, this athletic breed excels as a companion and in various dog sports.

Poodle history and origins

Originated in Germany as a water retrieving dog, with name derived from German 'pudelin' meaning 'to splash in the water.' Later standardized and refined in France where it became a popular companion. One of the oldest hunting dogs recognized globally for intelligence and versatility.

Poodle appearance and size

Males typically weigh 20-32 kg and females 18-27 kg.

What the breed standard says

Bred for
Companion dog
Behaviour and temperament
“A dog renowned for its loyalty, capable of learning and being trained thus making it a particularly pleasant companion dog”

Quoted from FCI standard n°172. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.

Breed reference from The Dog API.

Characteristics

Size
Medium
Exercise needs
2 of 5
Easy to train
—
Amount of shedding
—
Grooming needs
4 of 5
Good with children
—
Cost to keep
—
Tolerates being alone
—
Intelligence
—
Health of breed
11 conditions documented

Pros & cons

Pros & cons for the Poodle

What you get with the Poodle

  • Purpose stated in the standard: “Companion dog”
  • The standard describes the breed as: “A dog renowned for its loyalty, capable of learning and being trained thus making it a particularly pleasant companion…”
  • Longer-lived than a crossbred dog — median 14 years across 6368 animals, against 12

What you are taking on

  • 8 serious inherited conditions are documented, mainly in bones & joints and brain & nerves. The health guide tab has the test to ask for on each.
  • High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “Profuse of fine, woolly texture, very frizzy, elastic and resistant to pressure of the…”

Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard; McMillan et al. 2024, median age at death; Poodle Club of America Foundation / OFA CHIC screening protocol. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.

Characteristics

FCI standard · Poodle

Coat and colour

As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged undesirable.

Coat

Curly Coat: Profuse of fine, woolly texture, very frizzy, elastic and resistant to pressure of the hand.

It should be thick, well furnished, of equal length and form even curls.

Corded Coat: Profuse of fine, woolly texture and dense, forming characteristic cords which should measure at least 20 cm

Colour

  • Preferred
  • Permissible
  • Undesirable
  • Disqualifying

Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.

Solid colours

Base colour

Black, white, brown

  • Brown should be deep, rather dark, uniform and warm.
  • Undesirable: Any white marking in black and brown coats
  • Grey, fawn Beige and its paler derivatives
  • Grey must be uniform, deep, neither blackish nor whitish, but depending on age may present some shades of grey.
  • Fawn must be uniform.
  • Can go from pale fawn to red fawn or even be orange fawn (apricot).
  • Eyelids, nose, lips, gums, palate, natural orifices, scrotum and pads are well pigmented.
  • For light fawn subjects, all pigmentation should be as dark as possible.
  • Undesirable: Any white marking in grey and fawn coats
  • Other colours: Parti-coloured dogs, two colours Predominance of white colour, with the other being distributed irregularly: Black and white.
  • Blue/grey and white.
  • Fawn and white.
  • Brown and white.
  • (Some patches can appear on the white parts on the legs or the body, but they are not sought after) Predominance of a clear colour with white parts on the legs, forechest and sometimes a mask on the muzzle and/or tip of the tail (dogs with mantle, tuxedo) Brown coloured back Black coloured back Dogs with fawn coat colour: (predominance of one colour, with clearly defined fawn markings of a clear fawn colour): Brown with fawn markings Black with fawn markings Mandatory fawn markings: • above each eye • on the cheeks and inside the ears • on the side of the muzzle • at the end of each limb and inside • on the chest, around the scrotum in males and around the vulva in females Fawn markings should not be charcoal or too pale.
  • Undesirable: Any white marking
  • Tricoloured: Black, white and marked with fawn.
  • Fawn markings present at least on the eyebrows and around the scrotum in males and on the vulva in females.
  • Other pluricoloured dogs: Brindle and white Brindle

FCI varieties

FCI lists 4 varieties of Poodle — Standard, Medium size, Miniature, Toy — and recognises every one of them in all 3 colours: Other colours, Brown Black White, Grey Fawn.

Measured at 15+ months · Height at the withers (cm)

Size classification

Height at the withers. The sexual dimorphism must be clearly visible in all varieties, but FCI states one range per variety rather than one per sex.

202530354045505560
  • Standard45–60 Over 45 cm up to 60 cm with a tolerance of +2 cm
  • Medium35–45 Over 35 cm up to 45 cm
  • Miniature28–35 Over 28 cm up to 35 cm
  • Toy24–28 Over 24 cm (with a tolerance of -1cm) up to 28 cm (sought after ideal: 25 cm)

One range per size, for both sexes.

Height at the withers in cm. Transcribed from FCI standard n°172, read 2026-08-31.

Shortened from FCI standard n°172 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.

What the standard penalises

What a judge marks the Poodle down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.

Severe faults

Marked heavily against a specimen in the ring.

  • Eyes: too big and too round, or sunken, not dark enough.
  • Ears: too short (not reaching the corner of the lips).
  • Snipey or pointed muzzle.
  • Convex muzzle.
  • Roach or sway back.
  • Tail set on too low.
  • Croup falling away.
  • Rear angulations too straight or over-angulated.
  • Flowing or extended gait. Sparse, soft or wire hair. Subjects with solid coloured coat: undefined or not solid colour. Partially depigmented nose.
  • Absence of 2 PM2

FCI standard n°172

Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Poodle in general; any individual animal can differ.

Health guide

Health & screening guide for the Poodle

Known hereditary risks for the Poodle breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.

11 conditions documented

Health checklist (PDF)

Bones & joints

Hip dysplasia

Serious

Malformation of the hip joint that lets the femoral head sit loosely in its socket, leading to wear, arthritis and pain. Chiefly assessed in the STANDARD and MINIATURE varieties; the Toy variety's CHIC protocol does not require it.

What to ask for

An OFA (or PennHIP) hip evaluation on both parents, registered with OFA

2 sources

Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease

Serious

The head of the femur loses its blood supply and breaks down in young, small dogs, causing pain and lameness that usually needs surgical correction. Reported in the TOY and MINIATURE varieties, typically between four months and a year of age.

What to ask for

An OFA Legg-Calvé-Perthes evaluation on both parents

1 source

Osteochondrodysplasia (Miniature Poodle dwarfism)

Serious

A deforming, crippling skeletal disorder producing stunted growth, bowed limbs and enlarged joints, visible from about three weeks of age. Specific to the MINIATURE Poodle; an estimated one in ten Miniatures carries the mutation.

What to ask for

A DNA test for the SLC13A1 deletion (osteochondrodysplasia) from an OFA-listed laboratory on both parents

2 sources

Chondrodystrophy-linked intervertebral disc disease (IVDD)

Serious

A raised risk of premature disc degeneration and disc herniation from the FGF4 retrogene insertion (CDDY) also implicated in Dachshunds. Testing-lab data show it at very different frequencies by variety: roughly 9% of Standard Poodles carry it against roughly 60% of Miniature and Toy Poodles, so the practical risk is materially higher in the smaller varieties.

What to ask for

A CDDY/IVDD-risk DNA test on both parents

2 sources

Brain & nerves

Neonatal encephalopathy with seizures (NEwS)

Serious

A fatal inherited brain disorder: affected puppies are weak at birth, develop tremor and severe seizures by four to six weeks, and none survive past seven weeks. Reported specifically in the STANDARD Poodle; about a third of Standard Poodles tested carry one copy.

What to ask for

A DNA test for the ATF2 mutation from an OFA-listed laboratory on both parents

2 sources

Eyes

Progressive retinal atrophy (prcd-PRA)

Serious

An inherited, blinding degeneration of the retina's rod and cone cells; night vision fails first, then daytime vision, usually diagnosed around age three with no treatment. This is the TOY and MINIATURE Poodle's CHIC-required eye test; it is not a Standard Poodle CHIC requirement.

What to ask for

A prcd-PRA DNA test from an OFA-approved laboratory on both parents, plus a current annual ACVO ophthalmologist eye exam

2 sources

Immune system

Hormones & metabolism

Hypoadrenocorticism (Addison's disease)

Serious

Autoimmune destruction of the adrenal cortex, causing loss of the hormones that regulate salt balance and stress response; untreated, an adrenal crisis can be fatal, and lifelong medication is needed once diagnosed. Reported specifically in the STANDARD Poodle, where it is estimated to be highly heritable.

What to ask for

No DNA test exists; the causal genes have not been identified. Ask whether Addison's disease has occurred in the sire's or dam's parents, full siblings or previous offspring, and request the OFA Thyroid or cardiac elective result the breeder has on file (one of the three CHIC health-elective options for this variety)

2 sources

Blood

Von Willebrand disease Type I

Monitor

A mild-to-moderate inherited bleeding disorder from low von Willebrand clotting factor; many carriers show no signs, but affected dogs can bleed excessively after injury or surgery. The DNA test is validated across all three Poodle varieties, though the Standard Poodle's parent club specifically recommends it as a breeding elective.

What to ask for

A vWD Type I DNA test from an OFA-listed laboratory on both parents

2 sources

Digestion & liver

Gastric dilatation-volvulus (bloat)

Serious

The stomach fills with gas and twists on itself, cutting off its own blood supply; without emergency surgery it is fatal within hours. The Standard Poodle is one of the deep-chested breeds named at elevated risk, and a first-degree relative's history of the condition raises an individual dog's own risk.

What to ask for

No DNA test exists. Ask whether the sire or dam has had a prophylactic gastropexy, and whether gastric dilatation-volvulus has occurred in the litter's close relatives

1 source

How long the Poodle lives, in the records

Median survival 14.0 years

95% confidence interval 13.8–14.1 years, from 2,399 recorded deaths among 6,368 dogs

Mortality hazard 0.64 (0.61, 0.67) relative to crossbred dogs, whose median is 12.0 years.

Measured in the United Kingdom from 584,734 dogs. Median survival is not a prediction for an individual dog.

McMillan, K.M., Bielby, J., Williams, C.L., Upjohn, M.M., Casey, R.A. & Christley, R.M. (2024) Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death. Scientific Reports 14, 531.

Gallery

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Puppies

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