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Breed guide · Dogs
His ancestors fetched ducks out of cold rivers. I dry his curls after the pool.
Last updated 14 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
Tap a card to see what is going on.
At home
You laughed once at the sock on their head. Now it is a nightly show.
What's going onPoodles spent generations performing in France, and they still read an audience. Use it: reward the tricks you want, and stay straight-faced for the ones you don't.
At home
The pool, the fountain, the puddle by the car: in before you can say no.
What's going onThey come from a line of duck retrievers, and swimming is their oldest job. It is easy on their hips, too. Let them swim where it is allowed, show them the way out, and dry their coat right through afterwards, because damp curls mat quickly.
At home
Soft curls one week, a tight knot behind the ears the next.
What's going onTheir coat keeps growing and hardly sheds, so loose hair stays in the curls and knots up. Brush them through to the skin several times a week, and teach them as a puppy that the brush and the dryer mean treats.
At home
Perfect at a new trick on Monday, deaf to the same cue by Friday.
What's going onThey learn very fast and get bored just as fast. Repeating the same command ten times teaches them to ignore it. Five minutes, something new, and stop while they are still keen.
At home
Under your feet in the kitchen, outside the bathroom door, at the window when you leave.
What's going onThey were bred to work beside one hunter all day. A long day alone in a flat is hard for them, and a bored Standard finds their own work. A midday walk or a visit breaks it up.
At home
Off their food, a little flat, sick now and then, then fine again for a week.
What's going onThis may not be sulking. Addison's disease (the adrenal glands not making enough hormone) runs in the breed, and it comes and goes like a mood. Contact your vet the same day.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their day
Built for: Spending the day with a hunter.
In Dubai: Often a day in a flat.
Their water
Built for: Swimming out for birds and bringing them back.
In Dubai: A pool they may not be allowed near.
Their coat
Built for: Keeping them warm in a cold river.
In Dubai: A grooming job for life, in 45°C heat.
The chewing, the clowning for attention and the matted coat mostly come from that gap.
You cannot give them a river and a hunter. You can give them a job, and the ten things below are how.
Your plan is built around their breed: the risks on a Standard Poodle's record at every age, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
They learn fast and work well for food. Paying them from their daily amount keeps them lean and keeps weight off their hips.
Every age, most of all puppies and older dogs
Why
They learn fast and work well for food. Paying them from their daily amount keeps them lean and keeps weight off their hips.
What to do
Weigh their daily food on kitchen scales. Take training treats out of that amount, not on top of it. Feed part of each meal by hand while you train, or from a slow feeder. Your plan scores their body condition and muscle at their puppy visits.
They come from retrievers. A Standard with nothing to carry chooses something themselves.
Every age, most of all 6 months to 2 years
Why
They come from retrievers. A Standard with nothing to carry chooses something themselves.
What to do
Keep a soft toy or a canvas dummy that is theirs. Hand it to them when you come home or guests arrive. If they take a sock, swap it for a treat rather than chasing them.
Food picked up on the walk counts towards their daily amount, and a clever dog learns fast which walker carries biscuits.
Every age
Why
Food picked up on the walk counts towards their daily amount, and a clever dog learns fast which walker carries biscuits.
What to do
Practise "leave it" every day, at home first and then outside. Give whoever walks them the rules: the treats you hand over and nothing else.
Retrieving works their head as well as their legs, and they will keep going past what their hips want.
Every age, gentler for puppies and older dogs
Why
Retrieving works their head as well as their legs, and they will keep going past what their hips want.
What to do
Five to ten throws, then stop. Ask for a sit and wait before you send them. Throw along the ground or into water, not high into the air.
Swimming is their oldest job, and it is easy on their hips. A damp Poodle coat mats fast.
Every age
Why
Swimming is their oldest job, and it is easy on their hips. A damp Poodle coat mats fast.
What to do
Use any water they are allowed into, and show them the way out of the pool every time. Never leave them near one alone. After a swim, dry inside their ear flaps with the ear cleaner your vet recommends, then blow-dry and brush their coat through to the skin.
They will keep playing in the heat long after they should stop.
Every age, shortest for puppies
Why
They will keep playing in the heat long after they should stop.
What to do
From May to September, walk before sunrise and after dark. Put the back of your hand on the pavement for five seconds: if you cannot keep it there, they cannot walk on it. Keep games in the heat short, and take water. Ask your groomer for a shorter summer clip.
They were bred to work beside a person. A long, empty day is where the chewed door frame comes from.
Every age, most of all 6 months to 2 years
Why
They were bred to work beside a person. A long, empty day is where the chewed door frame comes from.
What to do
If you are out for more than a few hours, arrange a midday walk, a visit or daycare. Leave a puzzle feeder with part of their lunch. If they are distressed when you leave, contact your vet rather than trying to fix it at home.
A tall teenage Standard can put their paws on your shoulders, and they learn bad habits as fast as good ones.
6 months to 2 years
Why
A tall teenage Standard can put their paws on your shoulders, and they learn bad habits as fast as good ones.
What to do
From six months to two years, expect jumping up and selective hearing. Reward four feet on the floor every time. Two short training sessions a day, and something new in each.
Hip Dysplasia (a poorly fitting hip joint) is the first thing to watch, from puppy to prime adult.
Every age, evaluation from puppy to 4 years
Why
Hip Dysplasia (a poorly fitting hip joint) is the first thing to watch, from puppy to prime adult.
What to do
Put rugs down where they turn and run on marble. Use a ramp for the car. Keep stairs and jumping to a minimum while they grow. They have a hip screening as a puppy, and an orthopaedic evaluation (a joint and bone exam) as a juvenile and again as a young adult.
Their coat hides their body. Skin changes, weight and lumps are easy to miss under the curls.
Every age, most of all from 7 years
Why
Their coat hides their body. Skin changes, weight and lumps are easy to miss under the curls.
What to do
When you brush them, several times a week, part the coat and look at the skin. Watch for scaling, dull patches or thin hair. Feel their ribs and hips, brush their teeth every day, and weigh them once a month.
Two of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
6 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 4 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
4 to 7 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
10 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Poodle sizes
Poodles come in three sizes, Toy, Miniature and Standard. The Standard is the original, the size closest to the water dog, and the smaller Poodles were bred down from dogs like them. Same curls, same quick brain, a lot more dog.
The Miniature Poodle guide
Colours
Most Standard Poodles are a single colour all over. Black, white, brown, apricot and cream are the ones you will meet most, and there are softer shades too, like silver, blue and a pale beige called café au lait.
The first six months
Their full vaccination course, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first. Then a minute with the brush, a minute with the dryer and a minute with the clippers, a few times a week, with treats throughout, so they like all three for life.
Puppy health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the flat ready
Put rugs or runners where they turn and run on marble, and use a ramp for the car while their hips grow. Keep a few soft toys that are theirs to carry, so your socks have a chance.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Standard Poodles are rare in Dubai, so take your time over the breeder. Ask for both parents' hip scores (the x-ray grades of how well the joints fit) and their eye test results. Hip Dysplasia and Progressive Retinal Atrophy (gradual loss of sight) both run in the breed.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
For a new puppy: First 30 days with a new puppy · Puppy vaccinations in the UAE · Heatstroke in dogs
When it is not behaviour.
The curls will always need drying. If they're slower climbing out of the pool, tell your vet.
Before they were yours.
Before the 1800s
In Germany, duck hunters' dogs swam out into cold lakes and rivers and brought the birds back. The name comes from the German pudeln, to splash in water.
What they still carryThe swimming, the soft mouth, and a dog who watches one person for the next instruction.
The working clip
Hunters clipped the heavy coat short so the dog could move through water, and left hair over the chest and joints against the cold.
What they still carryA coat that never stops growing, and needs grooming for life.
1700s to 1800s
Poodles became favourites at the French court and in travelling circuses, where they learned tricks and routines. That is why many people still call them the French Poodle.
What they still carryThe clown, and how fast they learn.
1887
The American Kennel Club recognised the Poodle in 1887, and over the next century it became one of the best-known show dogs in the world.
What they still carryThe famous clip, and a working drive that was never bred out.
Today
Standard Poodles are rare in Dubai, far rarer than the smaller sizes, and live as family dogs in flats and villas.
What they still carryA cold-water retriever in 45°C heat, with a coat that needs a groomer.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Standard Poodle suits you, so might these.
Miniature PoodleThe same kind of dog: the poodle in a smaller size, with the same bright, sociable nature.
Portuguese Water DogAnother curly-coated water dog, from Portugal, with even more energy.
SamoyedThe same friendly, chatty temperament and love of company, in a white spitz with a thick coat that sheds more.
Springer SpanielA similar size and an active life, in a spaniel with a coat that is easier to groom but sheds more.
