KENAI
Poodle

The breeds · companion · water dog (standard size)

AKC Toy / Non-Sporting · UKC Companion / Gun Dog · FCI standard 172

Poodle.

Bred in Germany as a water retriever used by duck hunters; the Miniature and Toy were scaled down from the larger dog and all three share one standard. The standard describes a very active, intelligent, elegant, squarely built dog.

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

14YRMedian lifespan13.8 to 14.1, measured on real dogs.
14 / 25INHeight · miniature standardall 14, all 24.5, all null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
4–70LBWeight, all linesstandard dogs 65 lb (60 to 70); miniature 12.5 lb (10 to 15); toy 5 lb (4 to 6); standard bitches 45 lb (40 to 50).
1HRSExercise, every dayUp to 1 hour per day. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The lines

Within one breed the line can matter more than the breed. Where the lines differ, the page says which one a value belongs to.

miniature

Miniature Poodle.

standard

Standard Poodle. The historic water retriever; the only variety eligible for AKC retriever hunting tests. The app's "Standard Poodle" maps here.

toy

Toy Poodle.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

miniature line14 in (13 to 15)

Breed clubThe Poodle Club of America

Center is the midpoint of the parent club's typical range; the standard's own band is 10-15 in.

standard line24.5 in (22 to 27)

Breed clubThe Poodle Club of America

The standard sets only a floor. Center is the midpoint of the parent club's typical range, not a standard figure; the standard does not give heights by sex.

toy line10 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 1990

The standard gives only a ceiling and no source opened prints a typical range, so no center is recorded.

Weight

miniature line12.5 lb (10 to 15)

Breed clubAKC

The standard sets no weight; this is the registry breed page's typical band. Center is its midpoint.

standard linedogs 65 lb (60 to 70) · bitches 45 lb (40 to 50)

Breed clubAKC

The standard sets no weight; this is the registry breed page's typical band. Center is its midpoint.

toy line5 lb (4 to 6)

Breed clubAKC

The standard sets no weight; this is the registry breed page's typical band. Center is its midpoint.

Coat

Curly: of naturally harsh texture, dense throughout; or corded, hanging in tight even cords. An even solid color at the skin (parti-color disqualifies). Shown in the Puppy, English Saddle, Continental or Sporting clip

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 1990

Shedding

Does not shed (RKC 'Sheds: no', all three varieties); the coat grows and is clipped

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · Curly coat of naturally harsh texture, dense throughout (or corded); kept clipped

DerivedAKC breed standard, 1990

Derived from the standard's coat description: a dense curly coat sits between the short-dense and heavy tiers, so 3. The clip the dog is kept in changes this in practice; the standard's show clips leave much of the body in full coat.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

14 years (13.8 to 14.1)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

The Dogs Trust table carries one pooled Poodle row and does not separate the varieties, so this single figure applies to the Standard, Miniature and Toy alike; it is not a per-size estimate.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

Up to 1 hour per day

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped: up to 1 hour = 60. The Miniature and Toy pages print the same band.

Exercise need

Up to 1 hour per day (all three varieties)

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Energy

4 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

4 of 5 · Every day (RKC grooming band, all three varieties); coat length medium; does not shed; the parent club says Poodles require regular clipping and grooming, done by an owner who learns it or by a professional grooming shop

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped: every day or regular clipping = 4. No source opened prints a professional-grooming interval, so the 5 tier is not claimed.

Grooming

Every day; regular clipping

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Why they get given up

A Florida poodle rescue says its dogs come from county shelters, breeders going out of business and owners who can no longer care for their pets, from senior owners passing away to loss of a job to families having children and no longer having time or space

EditorialPoodle and Pooch Rescue of Florida

One rescue's statement, not a count; the reasons it names are general owner circumstances rather than anything breed-specific. Single editorial source.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

Bred in Germany as a water retriever used by duck hunters; the Miniature and Toy were scaled down from the larger dog and all three share one standard. The standard describes a very active, intelligent, elegant, squarely built dog

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

The parent club's own words: the original Poodles were water dogs used for retrieving, and their conformation and coat pattern still reflect it.

standard lineRetriever: the Standard Poodle is eligible for AKC retriever hunting tests (Junior, Senior, Master) and AKC spaniel hunting tests; the parent club holds national retriever and spaniel hunt tests, lists the Master National Retriever Club among national championships open to Poodles, runs its own WC/WCX and UWC/UWCX hunting certificate tests, and awards medallions for AKC hunt titles

Breed clubThe Poodle Club of America

The parent club's national hunt events are open to Standard and Miniature Poodles only. The AKC's eligible-breed lists for retriever and spaniel tests name both varieties and not the Toy.

toy lineCompanion. The Toy shares the retrievers' standard and temperament but is not on the AKC eligible-breed list for retriever or spaniel hunting tests

Breed clubAKC

Primary game

standard lineWaterfowl (the registry's history: a water retriever used by duck hunters)

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Historical role as the registry states it; no source opened counts what working Standard Poodles are run on today.

Range

standard lineClose: the retriever is steady at the line and sent to retrieve; test distances on land and water should not normally exceed 100 yards (Junior, Senior) or 150 yards (Master)

Breed clubAKC, 2025

Range here means retrieve distance in the test, not a quartering search range.

Field trial standard

standard lineAKC retriever hunting tests score four abilities 0-10: marking (memory), style, perseverance/courage/hunting, and trainability (steadiness, control, response, delivery); dogs must perform equally well on land and in water; Senior and Master dogs run blind retrieves and honor another dog's retrieve

Breed clubAKC, 2025

Retriever rules are shared by every eligible breed; nothing here is Poodle-specific. The Standard and Miniature are on the eligible list.

Water work

standard lineRetrievers shall perform equally well on the land and in the water and are tested on both at every level

Breed clubAKC, 2025

Cold water

standard line3 of 5 · Bred as a water retriever used by duck hunters; the traditional trim clipped the hindquarters to aid swimming and left bands of hair on the joints and tail tip for protection from cold

DerivedThe Royal Kennel Club

Derived from the coat and the breed's water history. A clipped dense curly coat with no undercoat described in the standard does not reach the tiers reserved for dense double-coated water breeds.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

11.6% · 11.6% dysplastic of 42,404 OFA hip evaluations on record (all data through Oct 2026); 87.1% normal (13.5% excellent, 58.8% good, 14.9% fair); mild 8.9%, moderate 2.5%, severe 0.2%; breed rank 117 of the breeds listed

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA lists the Poodle as one breed, so the three varieties are pooled; Standards dominate hip submissions. Voluntary registry: affected dogs are under-reported and evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, so true prevalence is higher.

Elbow dysplasia

3.4% · 3.4% abnormal of 11,613 OFA elbow evaluations on record (grade 1 2.8%, grade 2 0.5%, grade 3 0.1%); breed rank 103

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Varieties pooled; same voluntary-registry caveat as hips. OFA patella table: 2.7% abnormal of 15,785 evaluations (rank 72). OFA sebaceous adenitis table: 7.0% equivocal and 2.8% abnormal of 6,771 evaluations. OFA thyroid table (8,112 evaluations): 1.6% compensated autoimmune thyroiditis, 0.1% idiopathic hypothyroidism, 8.0% equivocal, 0.0% autoimmune thyroiditis.

Most common disorders

miniature lineUK Kennel Club 2014 owner survey, Poodle (Miniature) n = 206 live dogs (36.4% with at least one reported condition; median age 4.62 yr): skin cyst 4.37% (95% CI 2.32-8.09), urinary incontinence 3.40%, lipoma 3.40%, chronic itching 2.43%, pancreatitis 1.94%, otitis externa 1.94%, otitis media 1.94%

StudiedWiles BM, 2017

Owner-reported, non-random sample. The Toy variety had 153 respondents, below the survey's threshold for a within-breed table, so no Toy figure is recorded.

standard lineUK Kennel Club 2014 owner survey, Poodle (Standard) n = 253 live dogs (35.6% with at least one reported condition; median age 4.64 yr): skin cyst 5.14% (95% CI 3.03-8.59), otitis externa 2.37%, lipoma 2.37%, Addison's disease (primary hypoadrenocorticism) 1.98%, conjunctivitis 1.98%, unspecified tumour 1.98%, hip dysplasia 1.58%

StudiedWiles BM, 2017

Owner-reported, non-random sample. Separately, VetCompass (Schofield et al. 2021, 905,543 UK dogs in 2016) found the Standard Poodle had 51.38 times the odds of laboratory-confirmed hypoadrenocorticism of crossbreeds (95% CI 14.49-182.18), the greatest odds of any breed in the study; the authors found no association for the Miniature or Toy. The parent club's health page lists, among its conditions, Addison's disease, atrial septal defects in Standard Poodles and bloat, and describes sebaceous adenitis as a common disorder in Standard Poodles.

What the studies found

Population-level findings, shown as a spread. Breed sets the odds; the parents set the dog.

Toward strangers

0.6 of 4 · C-BARQ stranger-directed aggression breed mean 0.55 (online sample, n = 169); breed-club sample 0.65 (n = 69); ranked 3rd (online) and 4th (breed club) of the 8 breeds common to both surveys, where rank 1 is the most aggressive (Dachshund)

StudiedDuffy DL, 2008

The study pools the standard, miniature and toy varieties in one Poodle row. Aggression subscale, not fear; no SD published in Table 5. Owner-questionnaire population means, never a prediction for one dog.

Toward other dogs

0.8 of 4 · C-BARQ dog-directed aggression breed mean 0.81 (online sample, n = 169; rank 3 of 8); breed-club sample 0.64 (n = 69; rank 4 of 8)

StudiedDuffy DL, 2008

All three varieties pooled. No SD published in Table 5. Owner questionnaire data.

Aggression, as studied

Owner-directed aggression means were low (0.07 online, 0.13 breed club). In the online sample 1.2% of owners reported a snap or bite at a stranger and 7.7% at another dog; in the breed-club sample 4.35% reported a snap or bite at a stranger and none at owners or dogs. The authors note Poodles were among the breeds rated highest for stranger-directed aggression, consistent with a 1988 survey that scored the breed high for watchdog barking and territorial defense.

StudiedDuffy DL, 2008

Population-level findings from questionnaires; the three varieties are pooled.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 4; Mental Stimulation Needs 5; Trainability Level 5; Barking Level 4; Watchdog/Protective Nature 5; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 5; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 1; Coat Grooming Frequency 4; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 5; Adaptability Level 4.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 19 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Standard Poodle, Miniature Poodle, Toy Poodle

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your poodle, on the record.

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