My puppies breeder bred for a strong chest, choosing an Eastern European line to bring in for that. My pup has a solid chest, straight front legs and tight feet, but she is stockier than the AKC show poodles- her bones seem a little heavier. She is 19 inches and 28 pounds (5.5 months), which seems heavier for her current size than most. Her front legs appear a touch shorter like her dams, too.
So- if you breed for a good chest, properly angled shoulders, solid rear and hips, you are going to get heavier poodles, maybe even shorter legs. How would that fit into the standard? You can't have it all with graceful, somewhat fine long legs, but with a solid chest and rear, can you? It isn't genetically possible, is it?
I find my puppies breeding exceedingly interesting and am enjoying watching her develop. On one side she has one miniature 3 generations back (American champion lines) with Standard poodle champions. There are a couple of imported European conformation true caniche moyen several generations back on that side, too. On her dams side she has this stockier Eastern European line mixed with a Canadian preformance line.
Her sires line is the one with the miniature, yet he had long/graceful legs for his size (he was 22 inches). Her dam has the somewhat shorter legs (preformance line? Eastern European line?). My puppies head is gorgeous, her bite great, her feet are good, her chest is solid as it appears her rear is. Her thighs are muscular without being coarse. Her front legs appear a tad shortish like her dam, her rear legs are long, but angled so they line up with the shorter front and her back is straight. When I pet her she feels solid. She will not be a large standard (should just creep into the 22 inch range).
I would like her more graceful which the longer legs do. It would be nice if she was a little less solid, but her timing when she prances/trots is great and she is quite 'showy' and sparkly. I will show you guys pictures stacked in a couple weeks when she turns 6 months. Maybe I will even be able to show you a little video of her moving?
She is interesting and definitely a poodle with a full coat and personality, but a little different than the AKC show poodles. You'll see what I mean.
Fascinating stuff!