If you want a breed that is beautiful, very smart, easy to train, clean, non shedding, non smelly, easy to get along with, a good house dog, a watchdog and a good retriever, then the poodle is the breed for you.
They have long life spans of 10-15 years for standards and 15-20 years for toys. Poodles tend to usually be very robust till the very end.
The only drawback to the poodle breed is the regular grooming needed and that they just might be smarter than you!
Poodles are not “SISSY” dogs. I know it is hard to get past the fluffy, fru-fru exterior, but there are various different poodle hair cuts to choose from. Virtually anything you can imagine you can do with a poodles coat. Many talented groomers that compete will use poodles for their cuts as the coat is nice and dense and curly and will hold any cut that you put it into and is very easy to hand scissor and sculpt.
The poodle was bred as a water retrieval dog. And they can retrieve just as well as labs and Golden retrievers.
Poodles are so tough that they have even been used for sled dogs in the Montan Creek, Alaska, seven day race.
Poodles are very versatile. They do well in conformation, agility, Fly ball, and obedience. Poodles are also being used as search and rescue dogs, handicap assistance dogs, therapy dogs, cancer alert dogs, blood sugar alert dogs, seizure alert dogs, mobility assistance dogs, and seeing eyed dogs. They also ex cell at being loving, loyal pets in the home.
So if you are one that calls the poodle a “SISSY” dog, you may want to look at the definition of the word “SISSY”!