# Whendid they start breeding Parti Poodles



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I think for many years breeders would not admit to producing parti or other "mismarked" puppies, and they were quietly killed at birth. There are any number of old paintings of non-solid coloured poodles, but once the standard was written down demanding solid colour they were no longer desirable, and often seen as evidence of cross breeding or a mismating.


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

The parti poodle is the original. I think it's an atrocity that they began culling any multi-colored pups and the AKC or whoever decided that solid colored only dogs were valid. It's absolutely ridiculous and I wish they'd change that. Not only do I think the parti Poodle is beautiful, it was the original Poodle color! It makes no sense to me that it is not "accepted" by a silly breed club. Or maybe it does make sense. Humans in general and AKC in particular can be so frivolous sometimes.

Check out these links:

Huxtable The Poodle | Toy Poodle Blog | Parti Poodle: History of Parti Poodle

The History of Multi-Colored Standard Poodles


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

While the piebald gene is naturally occurring within the breed, it is only within the last 50 years or so that there has been an influx in breeding specifically for parti colors.


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

I hope reputable breeders will perpetuate them and breed quality and maybe silly AKC will change their thinking. I think they're positively beautiful.


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## Pudellover (Sep 8, 2014)

It's not the AKC that keeps the parti colors out, it's the Poodle Club of America. It's sad that they won't let the parti colored be shown in AKC. I love showing in UKC though and they welcome parti colored poodles!


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## AngelAviary (Aug 12, 2014)

You are correct Poodlebguiled, the Parti color was the original Standard Poodle. Of course, I too think that is is just ridiculous that only the solids are accepted by the AKC, and had a great time showing Stella in UKC. There are many, many Parti Color Standards out there that could stand toe to toe with a solid color in the ring and win! Many top notch breeders out there working to improve the Parti colors and get them the notice they deserve. I hope that some day I am involved in bringing the Parti colors to the AKC ring, A good Poodle is a good color!


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## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

When was little, 1970 mom got us a parti-poodle, her name was Shu Shu, she was brown and white. Though being 5, I thought she was a party poodle and dressed her in the paper hat


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## Renai (Dec 29, 2015)

In most breeds the pattern is called piebald, and poodles carry recessive piebald. There is also a dominant version. Being recessive, it's possible that it will never be bred out of poodles unless breeders use gene testing. Extreme piebaldism is seen in many white breeds, such as dalmatians and bull terriers, and can be very problematic, causing ridiculously high rates of blindness and deafness and even developmental problems in the brain. Breeders of dogs in this color are always playing a game of chance, though piebald such as in the poodle is far more rarely problematic. Piebaldism affects the color of the skin as well as the fur. The type of white in poodles, at least that we see today, is caused by very light pigmentation, caused by the "E Locus" which is mapped to MC1R (same gene that gives humans blond or red hair, and if I remember correctly, freckles), opposed to piebaldism, which causes a type of cell that is involved in neurological development as well as melanocyte (color pigment producing cell) development to not migrate fully or at all.

I found many "black and whites" in my dog's pedigree way back, and figure those were piebalds, though maybe they were talking about chest spots or the like. I wish they had been more specific. It's not new at all, and it appears to me that people used to breed for it plenty, though its detractors have certainly been vocal for a very long time. In one of my old poodle books is an article about color that includes some old statements breeders made about color a long, long time ago. One said that white poodles should have pink skin except around the eyes, lips and nose. Another said that was as ridiculous as asking for puppies to be born with their fur already cut in pattern because the placement of the black in those pink-skinned poodles is random. This makes me wonder if those pink skinned poodles were not necessarily white just because of their alleles at the E locus, but were also extreme piebalds, or if some poodles were extreme piebalds that may even have not been white at the E locus!

One interesting thing I noticed was that Nunsoe Duc, the first poodle to take BOS at Westminster, carried piebald, having produced piebalds.


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## Coldbrew (Jun 17, 2015)

speaking of breeding specifically for parti poodles, I've always wondered if there was a possibility that cream/white partis were partially responsible for carrying those recessive parti genes through the years. when they are born it's obvious they are cream and white, but since a lot of white adult dogs start off as cream, by adulthood (and "show time") the cream and white partis would appear to be solid white.


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## peccan (Aug 26, 2014)

Renai said:


> (...) wonder if those pink skinned poodles were not necessarily white just because of their alleles at the E locus, but were also extreme piebalds, or if some poodles were extreme piebalds that may even have not been white at the E locus!


Yeah, piebaldism causes not only unpigmented hair but also unpigmented skin and nails.


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## ericwd9 (Jun 13, 2014)

Sadly, show judges have ruined a lot of good breeds by favoring specific attributes. Standard Poodles have been bred for narrow jaws and thin legs because they look more "statuesque or pleasing to the eye of the judge. The viability and health issues are secondary to the final look of the dog. The standard poodle breed goes back over 1200 years and was piebald. It is a long and famous history for those who would research it.
Eric.


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## peccan (Aug 26, 2014)

Sadly, late 19th century people had a bunch of superstitions concerning breed purity and animal colourations. Almost destroyed the colour range of the Finnhorse, too.


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