History and Origins
Country of Origin: Germany
The original Poodle is the Standard Poodle, a water retrieving dog, So, this is a breed who was always very much a worker. The smaller Poodles (the Toy and the Miniature) were created as smaller versions of the original Poodle for owners who didn’t want such a large dog but were enchanted by their personalities and enthusiasm for all kinds of work. The major influencers in this desire for a smaller Poodle were circuses – who were using this highly intelligent, easy to train, friendly and even comical dog in their shows with great success but found the Standard Poodles just a bit too big.
Up until 1907, the Toy Poodle and the Miniature Poodle was both called the Toy Poodle, but as even smaller versions of the breed became popular due to selective breeding, these smaller dogs (under 28cms) became known as Toys while Miniature was used to describe dogs over 28cms but under 38cms.
