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Poodles were originally bred as hunting dogs, and here's the lowdown on why poodle haircuts are so weird, courtesy of Slate, via J-Walk Blog.
An unshorn poodle's thick coat could weigh it down in the water. With the bottom half of its body shaved, the animal was more buoyant and could swim more freely. The long mane and hair around the chest were left intact to keep the poodle's vital organs warm in the cold water, and owners also kept the hair around the joints to protect them from cold and injury and to help prevent rheumatism.Shaving the hair around the face left the poodle's mouth and eyes free so it could fulfill its retrieving responsibilities, and tying the hair on a poodle's head into a "top knot" also kept hair out of its eyes. Owners eventually tied these knots with brightly colored ribbons to help them identify their dogs from afar.
See? Manly reasons all.
Posted by Ted at February 12, 2004 11:26 AMtru dat.
Posted by: jim at February 12, 2004 11:36 AMI'd say something witty and sarcastic but since we own a Chihuahua I'm gonna keep my mouth shut.
Posted by: Stephen Macklin at February 12, 2004 03:40 PMI'm with you 100%. One of the coolest dogs I've ever known was a standard poodle--50 or so pounds of good manly dog. I didn't know he was a poodle until they told me, because they never gave him one of those froo-froo haircuts.
Posted by: victor at February 12, 2004 04:52 PM*cough*bullsh*t*cough*
Not buying it. Poodles are Frog dogs.
Posted by: Kin at February 12, 2004 05:57 PMPoodles actually have good guarding instincts. The only problem is they have acquired that "sissy dog" reputation and when someone encounters a poodle they are less likely to take it seriously.
This is a problem for the dog because a lot of a guard/watch dog's arsenal has to do with bluff and if your body language tells the dog that you don't believe it the dog will typically back down.
Except for the dogs I mentioned on my "Dog Eat Dogma Post" some time ago. Don't fuck with any of those breeds.
I can believe it.
Kind of OT, but still related: my husband and I were driving through our neighborhood the other day, on our way back from some errand. We saw a great big dude with a full beard and tattoos walking a tiny little pomeranian.
My husband grinned, "That's one guy I'd never mess with."
"Why not?"
"Because he's so secure in his manhood he can go out in public with a puppy cat and keep a straight face."
I thought that was a pretty good point.
Posted by: Linda at February 13, 2004 08:06 PM