Here is how the poodle standard states the head should look.

Skull - moderately rounded, with a slight but definite stop. Cheekbones and muscles flat.
Length from occiput to stop about the same as length of muzzle. (d) Muzzle - long, straight and
fine, with slight chiseling under the eyes. Strong without lippiness. The chin definite enough to
preclude snipiness. Major fault: lack of chin

As you can see, the head should be moderate. Not too heavy boned and not too snipey. Poor breeders may be either. Poorly bred standards with snipey heads often lack any chin.

You may notice differences between males and females. Males have a broader head and stronger muzzle while females are built more delicately.

No good poodle breeder will have poodles with very heavy-boned heads. If you want a poodle with a more blocky head you might prefer an Irish water spaniel or a portugese water dog. But I would not seek a very blocky headed poodle because you will end up finding a very poor breeder. Better to stick to good breeders that breed dogs that generally meet the poodle standard.

 

Another thing I've noticed is that the way a poodle is groomed makes a big difference in how their snout looks. The longer and fluffier the ears and top knot, the more long and exaggerated their snout looks when it is cleanly shaved. If they have shorter ears and top knot their snout looks less narrow. My dog also looks much pointier when she is recently shaved and blockier when she's grown out her face a bit more.

 

I noticed that too in before and after photos of standard poodle grooming photos! I love a little bit of hair on the face!

 

Welcome! Can you share photo examples?

 

I am kind of struggling to find photos online! A lot have very thin and sharp snouts

I found these on google but not very clear

 

Just wanted to pop in and say welcome.

 

Hi

If you're going to be working with an Australian breeder, here's the Poodle Breed Standard there
Detail (ankc.org.au)

It's likely to be very similar to any major Kennel Club's worldwide, and the standards are usually determined by breed clubs.

National Poodle Council

Ms Susie Kearnes, Secretary
4 Marlow Place
Campbelltown NSW 2560
Phone: 0412 496 460 (b.h.)
Email: nationalpoodlecouncil@gmail.com

Mrs Kay Wright, President
3 Ridgecrop Drive
Castle Hill NSW 2154
Phone: 0422 967 957 (b.h.)
Email: wright_family5@iinet.net.au

You'll want to become familiar with the health testing required or recommended by whichever entity is responsible for determining that. The Kennel Club or the Poodle Council are likely to have breeder member lists or referral sources.

Australian National Kennel Council (ankc.org.au)

Codes of Practice for owners, breeders, judges, and health
Code of Practice (ankc.org.au)

 

Hi

If you're going to be working with an Australian breeder, here's the Poodle Breed Standard there
Detail (ankc.org.au)

It's likely to be very similar to any major Kennel Club's worldwide, and the standards are usually determined by breed clubs.

National Poodle Council

Ms Susie Kearnes, Secretary
4 Marlow Place
Campbelltown NSW 2560
Phone: 0412 496 460 (b.h.)
Email: nationalpoodlecouncil@gmail.com

Mrs Kay Wright, President
3 Ridgecrop Drive
Castle Hill NSW 2154
Phone: 0422 967 957 (b.h.)
Email: wright_family5@iinet.net.au

You'll want to become familiar with the health testing required or recommended by whichever entity is responsible for determining that. The Kennel Club or the Poodle Council are likely to have breeder member lists or referral sources.

Australian National Kennel Council (ankc.org.au)

Codes of Practice for owners, breeders, judges, and health
Code of Practice (ankc.org.au)

Thankyou so much for this I will read and check it out!

 

Hello all!

Thankyou for the welcomes!

I was interested in the looks of this dog, and another particular one I saw on instagram. They look so beautiful

 

Thankyou all for your replies!

When you got your standard poodles, was there something specific you were after?
Also, random q but do you have to shave the face completely down for a poodle?

 

Thankyou all for your replies!
Also, random q but do you have to shave the face completely down for a poodle?

You certainly don't have to shave their face down or keep it shaved. You'll be able to see dogs with shaggier faces in photos here and online, and you can look up 'retriever clip standard poodle' if you aren't into the shaved face classic poodle style. That's just one option.

A lot of folks here like the clean face for different reasons - it's easier to see my dog's expressive face and eyes, and food doesn't get caught in her beard so it's less smelly and more hygienic. Also when her face is shaved she doesn't get mistaken for a doodle, which I like. However, I don't shave her face as often as some others, and let her grow for maybe two months between shaves.

The dog in the video you linked might be thicker than typical in the face but her groom also just looks overgrown (like her face was prob clipped a month or so ago) and she is overweight, so it's hard to see her structure easily. She's an older dog at 11 though so that may be part of it, but just to say that she appears to be heavier than is typical for healthy an adult poodle. But if you like the thicker look, don't mind a lot of brushing, and live somewhere where the dog can tolerate summer in a long shaggy coat, you can maintain a longer style on a lean dog.

 

Another suggestion if you're really into the boxier, shaggier look is to look into a Barbet. They are french water dogs, and while shorter than a standard poodle, their bodies are blockier and the standard is to let them grow long and shaggy. Of course, they have similar high maintenance coats to poodles especially if you keep it long. I've met a few and they were lovely. If Oona hadn't fallen into our laps I might have waited for a barbet puppy.

 

I find that if I don't shave Evelyn's face regularly the hair starts irritating his eyes and he ends up with tear stains and huge globs of mucus on his eyes. I also shave his face so he doesn't drip water all over and try to cuddle with a wet face.

Also his in between stage that was so cute when he was a puppy makes him look homeless now. When he starts looking like a hobo I just have to shave him, so he never makes it to the teddy bear look...

 

Can we see pictures of your other dog just for the eye candy?

 

Ofcourse! Doing a DNA test on him soon to find out his exact mix

 

The length and upkeep of the hair makes a surprising difference in how the dog looks. I normally take my dogs to the groomer every 4 to 6 weeks. Galen missed his last groomer appointment because he had an upset stomach.. He now looks like a different dog with a much coarser head.

Clean, well groomed Galen:

Dirty, ungroomed Galen:

The brown stains around his mouth also illustrate why most people prefer to keep the facial hair short. Galen is a 1 1/2 year old blue dog. He should have a silvery grey ring of hair around his eyes and nose right now. (Eventually all his hair will turn grey.) Instead he has a brown ring.

Dog saliva and dog tears contain porphyrins that will stain the hair. Galen's upset stomach made him drool and lick his lips a lot for several days. The porphyrins in all that saliva stained his hair brown. He would look like an old man with a tobacco stained mustache if I tried to put him in a teddy bear trim right now. The next time he goes in for his grooming they will shave his face again. All the disgusting stained hair will be gone, and he will have his pretty silver face again.

 

The length and upkeep of the hair makes a surprising difference in how the dog looks. I normally take my dogs to the groomer every 4 to 6 weeks. Galen missed his last groomer appointment because he had an upset stomach.. He now looks like a different dog with a much coarser head.

Clean, well groomed Galen:
View attachment 480845

Dirty, ungroomed Galen:
View attachment 480846

The brown stains around his mouth also illustrate why most people prefer to keep the facial hair short. Galen is a 1 1/2 year old blue dog. He should have a silvery grey ring of hair around his eyes and nose right now. (Eventually all his hair will turn grey.) Instead he has a brown ring.

Dog saliva and dog tears contain porphyrins that will stain the hair. Galen's upset stomach made him drool and lick his lips a lot for several days. The porphyrins in all that saliva stained his hair brown. He would look like an old man with a tobacco stained mustache if I tried to put him in a teddy bear trim right now. The next time he goes in for his grooming they will shave his face again. All the disgusting stained hair will be gone, and he will have his pretty silver face again.

Very cute! How long is the hair on the head? Can it go lower than that?

 

Poodles as puppies generally look very cute with fuzzy faces.

Poodles when older more often just look neglected

Poodles when older and groomed look like this

There are ways to keep the furred face still looking good beyond the cleaning after every meal.
You'll notice in the puppy photos the eyes are still very visible. You can see them, they can see you.
This is really important to bonding and training. It's even part of the breed standard "Head and Expression: (a) Eyes - very dark, oval in shape and set far enough apart and positioned to create an alert intelligent expression". If you can't see the eyes you can't see the expression.

You'll also notice that the puppy growth is even so it looks shaped. Poodles have hair which means it keeps growing so even if left long, it needs to be shaped so it doesn't just look neglected.

I groom my boys frequently now since I'm doing it myself, not well, but it's being done .

My girls were always done by a professional groomer but we let them grow quite long between grooms, with me doing landscaping on FFT in between. We used to joke that we'd get new dogs every 2-3 months.

The girls just after a groom

and due for a groom

Whether the more classic poodle look or furred out, the key is to keep things clean and shaped.

 

Here is my dog with a furry face and then with a clean face. I prefer clean face for cleanliness and because I like to see my dog's expressions. The muzzle does look much heavier when kept furry.

 

Sooooooo cute! Do they usually have floofy ears or did you shave ?

 

Tried to find some overgrown puppy photos to compare with Evelyn's overgrown adult photos and came to the conclusion he always looked like a hobo between grooms!

So here's a shaped puppy photo shortly after a groom:

The above would not work well with his adult coat texture imo. But Evelyn is not the best representative of the breed as he has like four different coat textures going on. My boy is a sweetheart, but well bred he is not.

I think he has improper head structure too...:

Lol. The joys of taking pictures of a white dog in a white apartment. The above is the best I can find. His current look is deceiving as I just groomed him...poorly.

 

Oh. I should probably show off his hobo look:

Ignore his outfit...he was going through a phase...

 

Tried to find some overgrown puppy photos to compare with Evelyn's overgrown adult photos and came to the conclusion he always looked like a hobo between grooms!

So here's a shaped puppy photo shortly after a groom:
View attachment 480859

The above would not work well with his adult coat texture imo. But Evelyn is not the best representative of the breed as he has like four different coat textures going on. My boy is a sweetheart, but well bred he is not.

I think he has improper head structure too...:
View attachment 480860

View attachment 480861

Lol. The joys of taking pictures of a white dog in a white apartment. The above is the best I can find. His current look is deceiving as I just groomed him...poorly.

He is very beautiful

 

I find that most poodles look great without hair. I have seen many that are regularly shaved down with a 10 blade. The above photo of mine above with a fluffy face had the top of the head shaved with a 10 and had a fluffy face. Here is mine with an all over short cut.

 

I am not familiar with blade names! Your dog is so beautiful! ist that the natural length of a poodle tail? I am aware some are docked.

 

Same poodle. Pointy vs. not pointy.

 

omg!! he/she is sooooo beautiful!!!!!!

 

Also, can someone please let me know the type of poodle breeders there are out there? Is it only showline / assistance service / therapy? i am curious to see if the working ones would look differant

 

From what I've seen there isn't as much difference in appearance between lines than in some breeds. I think some who breed for hunting don't dock the tails here in the US, but I don't think it's enough of them to really show a trend. Poodles look largely the same if bred with structure in mind, but there are those who specialize in over- or under-sized poodles. Breeding for special sizes or colors is usually at least a yellow flag for caution. A poodle who looks significantly off standard outside of size or color is a red flag. Merle is a sign to run away. Purebred poodles do not come in merle and merle genetics come with health issues vets wouldn't think to look for in a poodle.

I'm not sure if/what difference there is between continents beyond whether tail docking is allowed. There is a medium size in Europe that is much envied over here and has led to questionable breeding practices here.

 

Poodles haven't diverged into different physical types differentiating sporting and conformation lines the way, say, Labrador Retrievers have.

 

Thankyou guys for the response!
Anyone here from australia can share their experience with their breeder?

 

I believe tail docking is no longer allowed in Australia, so a dog imported from there should have a full length tail.

 

That’s good to know! I am not a fan or supporter of docking a dogs tail

 

Hi there! SPOOs are awesome. I currently have a 10 and 1/2 yr old Apricot and a 6 mos old Black. Both females. I also had the mom and litter sister of my older girl. My 2 girls are due for grooming in a couple weeks. They grow out fast.

 

Btw can poodles see when they have hair above there eyes? is it possible just to shave above the eyes for them to see, or must the whole face be shaved?

 

Dewclaws are the fifth toe of a dog’s foot positioned on the inside of the legs. Dewclaws function similarly to the human thumb and are fundamental for a poodle when navigating slippery terrain, sprinting, or gripping onto objects.

Dogs have 4 toes on each paw, and a 5th nail that is high on the paw (so high it could be dubbed "on the ankle" or "on the lower limb"). This is just a soft nail when a Poodle is a puppy. However, if not removed, as the Poodle grows older the base of the dewclaw actually grows into an extra digit, flesh, nerves and all.

My boys both still have theirs and I can say that they definitely do function. When Remo grabs onto my leg with both of his legs, his dew claw is strong and fully operational when grabbing on.

Somewhere in the circled area.

 

Dewclaws are the fifth toe of a dog’s foot positioned on the inside of the legs. Dewclaws function similarly to the human thumb and are fundamental for a poodle when navigating slippery terrain, sprinting, or gripping onto objects.

Dogs have 4 toes on each paw, and a 5th nail that is high on the paw (so high it could be dubbed "on the ankle" or "on the lower limb"). This is just a soft nail when a Poodle is a puppy. However, if not removed, as the Poodle grows older the base of the dewclaw actually grows into an extra digit, flesh, nerves and all.

My boys both still have theirs and I can say that they definitely do function. When Remo grabs onto my leg with both of his legs, his dew claw is strong and fully operational when grabbing on.
View attachment 481037

wow this is so interesting i never knew about this, thanks for sharing!

 

can someone kindly let me know if its ok to discuss breeders on this forum or recommendations?