# What is a short-legged poodle?



## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Long bodied usually. They are supposed to be square height to length, but especially with minis it doesn't always work out that way.


----------



## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

The breed standard says this about a poodle: 

"Proportion: To ensure the desirable squarely built appearance, the length of the body measured from the breastbone to the point of the rump approximates the height from the highest point of the shoulders to the ground."

A poodle that is short on leg would be longer in body than in leg. The attached photo shows a poodle that is correctly squarely built.


----------



## hopetocurl (Jan 8, 2014)

So the little tpoo that I see in my neighborhood that doesn't look like the typical poodle could be a short-legged poodle. They assure me that she is a poodle.


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

hopetocurl said:


> So the little tpoo that I see in my neighborhood that doesn't look like the typical poodle could be a short-legged poodle. They assure me that she is a poodle.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App



When it comes down to it, a poodles is only a poodle because somebody signs a piece of paper stating that they witnessed two dogs registered as poodles doing the breeding that resulted in the puppy. Said puppy might resemble a furry dachshund or be such a perfect example of the breed that they look like a drawing from the poodle standard, but they are both called poodle!


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

I see them all the time here. Short, fat and sassy. Not the best breed... I have only seen 3 toys here that did NOT have that look. One of them was my childhood dog.


----------



## sweetheartsrodeo (Sep 19, 2012)

I had never heard of this, but our little boy Jackson has tiny short legs and a long body... He looks odd when you see him run/walk... Thanks for educating me!


----------



## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

hopetocurl said:


> I have heard this term a couple of times...what exactly is it? Is it a flaw? What would one look like...



Yes it's a mayor flaw. 
Some examples 






















"Moyen poodle" this is a great example of badly breed Moyen poodle. A Mpoo to a Spoo creates bad conformation often producing a Spoo body on Mpoo legs, giving the short legged poodle look. Hence why it is very difficult to get a true Moyen in the USA. 









Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Living in the city, the majority of poodles that I see around here are from pet stores - so rare is a poodle with good conformation around that folks often ask what my girls are - they don't recognize them to be poodles as they know them!


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

There is no poodle variety known as a "short legged poodle". There are short legged poodles and long legged poodles and everything in between. The only one that is correct is the one that is square. 

Jack Russels had short legged and long legged. The long legged is now known as the Parsons and the short legged is the Puddin. But in poodles it is not separated.


----------



## hopetocurl (Jan 8, 2014)

N2Mischief said:


> There is no poodle variety known as a "short legged poodle". There are short legged poodles and long legged poodles and everything in between. The only one that is correct is the one that is square.
> 
> Jack Russels had short legged and long legged. The long legged is now known as the Parsons and the short legged is the Puddin. But in poodles it is not separated.


I don't think it was meant as a variety...more like, "oh, poor thing, it's a short-legged poodle."


----------



## MiniPoo (Mar 6, 2014)

This is a very interesting thread. When I get a poodle I will be looking for an oversized mpoo, or a moyen, if I can find one. Since puppies seem to have shorter legs than they will have when they mature, I suppose I would need to see the parents to make sure that their legs are not too short. I appreciate the pictures included in this thread. I did plan to look at the parents but now I have a better idea of what to look for.


----------



## Dallasminis (Feb 6, 2011)

Here is an example of a short legged poodle, totally NOT square....kind of like a fuzzy hot dog!


----------



## Wild Kitten (Mar 13, 2014)

Dallasminis said:


>


If I met that on the street I would probably think that it's a Bichon Frise in a "Poodle clip"


----------



## Dallasminis (Feb 6, 2011)

Don't tell Jack! He thinks he's a poodle!


----------



## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Look for a puppy with long legs and your chances of square are better. If it's a pet, it really doesn't matter, but it does make a big difference looks wise. Cooper is square and even when he was 6 weeks old, he had long legs for his size. This is at 3 months?:


----------



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

MiniPoo said:


> This is a very interesting thread. When I get a poodle I will be looking for an oversized mpoo, or a moyen, if I can find one. Since puppies seem to have shorter legs than they will have when they mature, I suppose I would need to see the parents to make sure that their legs are not too short. I appreciate the pictures included in this thread. I did plan to look at the parents but now I have a better idea of what to look for.


I don't think it is true that puppies have short legs - they will be small, but should be in the correct proportion to their small body!


----------



## MiniPoo (Mar 6, 2014)

It did seem to me that the legs of a puppy could grow longer at least a little as it matured. But I haven't seen that many litters mature. So I could very well be mistaken. I think Cooper is wonderfully proportioned and I will be using his puppy picture as my guide for looking for a poodle. Having said that, I thought the short legged white dog was still a cutie.


----------



## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

I wouldn't expect a short legged puppy to suddenly sprout legs and be square. What you see at around 8 weeks is what you get.


----------



## spotsonofbun (Jan 3, 2013)

I always thought I didn't like the look of small poodles and then I saw a picture of a well bred one and I was smitten  

The disproportional legs and body and round buggy eyes I find really unattractive in the small poodles. 

I wouldn't mind one from a rescue but I wouldn't pay a breeder for that.


----------



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

spotsonofbun said:


> I always thought I didn't like the look of small poodles and then I saw a picture of a well bred one and I was smitten
> 
> The disproportional legs and body and round buggy eyes I find really unattractive in the small poodles.
> 
> I wouldn't mind one from a rescue but I wouldn't pay a breeder for that.



Even though I love the tinies, I would never ever go to a breeder who breeds those dwarfish looking dogs - if you wait for a reputable show breeder to get a tiny, you will get one every bit as well proportioned as it's bigger siblings, just in a smaller package.


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## spotsonofbun (Jan 3, 2013)

Tiny Poodles said:


> Even though I love the tinies, I would never ever go to a breeder who breeds those dwarfish looking dogs - if you wait for a reputable show breeder to get a tiny, you will get one every bit as well proportioned as it's bigger siblings, just in a smaller package.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I just found out (partly thanks to this forum) that one of the best toy poodle breeder in the UK is actually rather near me. Im hoping to check her out soon and meet the dogs see if they are as beautiful on the inside as on the outside. 

Im just looking for regular Toy, don't mind the colour, doesn't have to be tiny, don't even mind the sex just want a well bred toy poodle.


----------



## spotsonofbun (Jan 3, 2013)

have you guys noticed that bad breeding is more obvious with some breeds than others? or just look a lot worse. 

Labradors horrendously overbred yet I have not met one who wasn't cute. 

Shih tzu's and pugs and especially chihuahuas just can sometimes look awful and nothing like their breed when not bred well. Maybe because they are popular with puppymills.


----------



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

spotsonofbun said:


> have you guys noticed that bad breeding is more obvious with some breeds than others? or just look a lot worse.
> 
> Labradors horrendously overbred yet I have not met one who wasn't cute.
> 
> Shih tzu's and pugs and especially chihuahuas just can sometimes look awful and nothing like their breed when not bred well. Maybe because they are popular with puppymills.



I do think it is worse in the small breeds because they are favored by mills and backyard breeders. I honestly have never met a Spoo that was not pretty nice looking, but oh my there are freaky looking toys everywhere!


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## americangirl (May 30, 2013)

spotsonofbun said:


> I always thought I didn't like the look of small poodles and then I saw a picture of a well bred one and I was smitten



This! Totally! I thought all toy poodles just looked odd and then I realized it was poor breeding. 



Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Sparky (Dec 24, 2020)

N2Mischief said:


> There is no poodle variety known as a "short legged poodle". There are short legged poodles and long legged poodles and everything in between. The only one that is correct is the one that is square.
> 
> Jack Russels had short legged and long legged. The long legged is now known as the Parsons and the short legged is the Puddin. But in poodles it is not separated.


Such a great discussion, thx for all the info. I knew that poodles were supposed to be Square, and our standard poodle has long legs and “perfect” proportion. Our new toy poodle is adorable, friendly, playful, and healthy – but he looks like a “furry hot dog” as someone described! We paid a lot for him and have his pure bred papers, but as someone said, that just means that two purebred poodles produced him (and we did see the parents who both looked square interestingly, although we weren’t carefully examining them).
He is just the most wonderful family dog, and we have no interest in breeding or showing him, so we’re not too concerned about the long body… The only issue is practical, he can’t get down the stairs! I started teaching him to go down at an angle. His body is simply too long for regular stairs. He can get down from the bottom step because there is more room on the floor but he can’t go down from step to step. He gets up no problem and jumps really well. He’s only five months old, very smart, trainable, so I’m sure we will figure it out. I welcome any tips from other owners of a long-bodies toy poodles!


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Sparky I would not assume that your tpoo pup is not going to be a well structured adult dog. Just like human children puppy growth isn't always pretty, sometimes they are all legs and other times they all look like they have doxie or bassett hound mixed in. What until pup is skeletally mature to pass judgement. In the meantime it takes puppies longer to go down steps than up. In the meantime be careful with tiny pup near stairs anyway.


----------



## Sparky (Dec 24, 2020)

lily cd re said:


> Sparky I would not assume that your tpoo pup is not going to be a well structured adult dog. Just like human children puppy growth isn't always pretty, sometimes they are all legs and other times they all look like they have doxie or bassett hound mixed in. What until pup is skeletally mature to pass judgement. In the meantime it takes puppies longer to go down steps than up. In the meantime be careful with tiny pup near stairs anyway.


Thanks so much, this makes sense! 

Here are some pics: 1st is the Toy...then our Standard...then 2 pics of both. What I can say is we absolutely love our poodles.


----------



## Olive Love (Jul 22, 2020)

Sparky said:


> Thanks so much, this makes sense!
> 
> Here are some pics: 1st is the Toy...then our Standard...then 2 pics of both. What I can say is we absolutely love our poodles.
> View attachment 472250
> ...


Hi,
Your dogs are adorable. But this is a very old thread. It is against the forum rules to reply to a old thread. You should start a new thread.
Thank you,
Olive Love


----------



## Michigan Gal (Jun 4, 2019)

If it is against the rules, I believe that you can close a thread. I know they will do this on other boards if people are fighting.


----------



## Olive Love (Jul 22, 2020)

Michigan Gal said:


> If it is against the rules, I believe that you can close a thread. I know they will do this on other boards if people are fighting.


I do not know how to close a thread or if I even can. Anyway, we are not fighting, this is just a reminder.


----------



## Olive Love (Jul 22, 2020)

Michigan Gal said:


> If it is against the rules, I believe that you can close a thread. I know they will do this on other boards if people are fighting.


This thread has not been closed yet because a mod has not seen it yet.


----------



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

I’ve never heard of such a rule. Where is it ? The Rules - Updated


----------



## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

It's really not a big deal, but yes, generally speaking, it's better to start a new thread than to resurrect an old discussion:

_3.6 Unless you have something new to add to an old thread, avoid "necroposting". We encourage you to enjoy old threads, but rather than resurrect a zombie thread from the dead, please start a new thread._

People will often look at the original post and reply to that, missing the new question or comment completely. But that didn't happen here.  

Welcome to Poodle Forum, @Sparky! We're happy to have you and your beautiful poodles. I hope you'll continue to share them with us.


----------

