her name she was named ‘The Poodle’. She will even answer to that name! We are very active outdoors and The Poodle went everywhere. She went down- hill mountain bike riding, swimming in the rapids on the Chilliwack River, mountaineering, boating on the Fraser River. |
| Paris Poodles Search and Rescue |
extensively and finally found a breeder who bred dogs who just happened to be Standard Poodles. I say it that way because she felt the dog was first the fact that it was a Poodle was second. So home came my curly coated Dog! |
Our Friends were initially shocked and horrified to see us with a Poodle. I recall one day I asked a friend of mine to hold my dog’s leash so I could go and use the toilet. He took the leash reluctantly stating that it was as bad as asking him to hold a woman’s purse! Coming from a Working dog background I raised my Standard Poodle like a dog! I learned very quickly that because she was built solid the ONLY thing that made her look like a froo froo dog was her coat. I learned how to clip her coat to NOT look like a froo froo dog! The Poodle won the sceptics over. |
We trained The Poodle to do Search and Rescue work. We trained several days per week for over a year. She was very good at it. She showed fantastic drives and endurance. She loved to search. However it was not to be for her. The RCMP is the validating body for all Search Dogs in BC. All dog handlers must be on a recognized Search and Rescue team. All dogs must pass the RCMP search standards. Therefore if you have a dog that the RCMP does not validate you many not use it in Search work. Period. More information on this may be seen on the British Columbia Search Dog Association web site at http://www.bcsearchdog.org/ . The Poodle was in training to be a Search Dog and I was a full member of the Chilliwack Search and Rescue team. We decided to take her into the annual Christmas parade with her search vest on. She was a hit in the parade. People loved her and she loved the attention. The local RCMP Inspector was watching the parade too. No one had told him that a “foo foo dog” was being trained for SAR work. The following morning the Inspector clearly stated that The Poodle was not to be used as a Search Dog. He had not watched her work nor cared to. Right there the Poodle was retired. There is no appeal process. If the head of the RCMP in your area does not support your dog you are done. So The Poodle went from SAR candidate to house dog. End of story…. Or is it? The inspector who opposed The Poodle as been transferred to a different community. Through our breeding program we have produced a search candidate with fantastic drives and a strong desire to please. We have started this pup in Search work. Just to be on the safe side we have been calling the pup a 'mutt'. (The registration papers and fantastic lineage is our secret!). We have also supplied OTHER people with dogs who are now being used in a working capacity. They too are keeping the pedigree and true parentage of their dog a complete secret. Just like the German Shepherd dog, the Standard Poodle is splitting into two breed categories: Working and Show. We are breeding the WORKING dog back into a working breed. |
| A Paris Poodle retrieving from water.... as a Standard Poodle SHOULD be able to and WANT to do!!! |
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Our love for the Standard Poodle began over 11 years ago when my dog and I were taking agility classes together. A fellow classmate had a Standard Poodle. Prior to meeting that Standard Poodle that I had been an avid German Shepherd Dog fan. I had owned several German Shepherds from both North American and European breeding. I had trained my German Shepherd Dog for Search and Rescue (SAR) work. Imagine my surprise to meet a breed that made my dog appear…. Well how do we say it? Lacking? The Standard Poodles intelligence is usually ranked in either number 1 or 2 place (depending upon who’s study you read). The German Shepherd Dog is around number 4. Who would have thought there could be such a difference between those numbers?
Standard Poodle is used around the world for disaster work due to their light size, agility and their ability to think. I contacted several Search and Rescue members from Europe and North American and discussed their use of the Standard for SAR work. I found out that I had to be careful where I got my Standard Poodle from because just like in the German Shepherd Dog breed there are Breeders who breed so much for conformation (the animal who looks the most like the breed standard) that the animal can no longer function in a working capacity. I discovered that due to poor breeding some Standard Poodles were being bred to be so fine that they were fragile and lacking in ability to form good strong muscles. I needed a working dog so I certainly could not get a dog that was too fine – I needed muscles! Some poor examples of the breed have been bred to have such a straight front that those dogs can no longer swim!!! The poodle was originally used as a water retriever dog! A Standard Poodle that cannot swim??? That is insane! |
| The Philosophy Paris Poodles breeds by: Pedigree indicates what the animal should be. Conformation indicates what the animal appears to be. But Performance indicates what the animal actually is. |
| Search and Rescue Organizations in British Columbia Canada. |