# Leroy may NOT be a poodle!!



## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

I realized that Leroy may not be full poodle. This was after several comments about the size of his ears. He has huge ears that almost reach his neck. He has huge feet, and large muzzle. Not narrow and dainty like a poodle. After reviewing photos of mixed dogs, I think he is a DOODLE!!! My fears have been realized! There's nothing wrong with doodles, just thought I had a standard poodle this whole time. I still say he is a poodle because he may only be 25% doodle and 75% poodle. Everything else about him is more poodley: hair, rear angulation, tail (and how he holds it up), and the way he walks. The fact he may be a doodle is encouraged even more by the way he looks right now. I've been growing his hair out like the panda/Teddy style. He will immediately get a shaved face and feet tomorrow!


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Poodles are suppose to have long ear leathers, is that him in your display pic? That's no doodle. (;


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

I agree, poodles are supposed to have long ear leathers, but many do not. Judges used to grab the end of the ear and pull it forward and see how close it was to their nose. What people may be commenting on is that Leroy has the type of ears a good poodle SHOULD have and they aren't used to seeing it! Lots of poodles have too short of ear leathers. 

He looks 100%, completely poodle in the pictures I have seen of him and he looks like a nice one at that. I have never met a doodle with the poodle prance. It would be very unusual for a doodle to get that prance. Also, poodles have narrow cheeks and skulls exactly like Leroy's. Most doodles have a wider skull with much more cheek. Male poodles often have largish muzzles, but they are usually longer than a doodles nose. The females are more feminine looking. Also, doodle eyes are not usually almond shaped like Leroys. They have rounder eyes. 

People may be mistaking him for a doodle because he has a fuzzy face. Can you post a picture of his entire body? I would be very surprised if Leroy turned out to be a doodle, he looks nothing like one in his pictures. People are ignorant of standard poodles because there aren't many of them. 

Where did you get him? Does he have papers? I'm telling you, that dog is all poodle.


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## Katie (Jul 7, 2011)

OK here goes, from the doodle owner! Leroy is a poodle!

Ruff does have the poodle prance and he is a very poodly doodle, but Leroy doesn't look like a doodle to me...and, unlike many people here I suspect, I do spend some time looking at doodle pictures. I have seen doodles with shaved faces too, and honestly as far as i can see leroy is all poodle.

There are many 3/4 doodles like Ruff, who are 'almost' poodle (and i suppose genetically one could get a poodle or a lab from a doodle...but this is a guess, I'm no geneticist) but I can still tell.

Dont worry!


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## peppersb (Jun 5, 2011)

I agree with outwest and Katie. Leroy certainly looks like a poodle to me.

But I am not so sure about my boy Bob. My groomer has thinks that he is not all poodle. She thinks he might have some spaniel in him. He definitely does not have a poodle prance and he is just put together wrong. His body is stocky, and he can't balance himself on his back legs, and he has never been able to run very fast. Poor boy can't keep up with the other dogs in the dog park. My groomer says he has "loose lips" and she says his shoulders are all wrong. (They look OK to me, but what do I know?). Anyway I got him when he was 4 from someone who said he had his papers, but the papers could never be produced and his former owner couldn't remember what breeder he got him from. So I was thinking that my groomer was right. I decided to blow a few bucks on having him DNA tested. To my surprise, the report came back as 100% poodle. But I've heard that those DNA tests are not 100% reliable, so I am still not sure. Another theory I have is that he might be a mini-standard cross. In Europe, from what I've read, you are not supposed to breed two poodles who are more than 10 cm (about 4 inches) apart in size. I've heard that if you do, you often get all the wrong proportions. Anyway, I love Bob to death. He is not exactly a perfect example of what a poodle should look like, but he is my very wonderful boy-dog. Here are a few photos.


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## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

Thank you all for your comments! I don't care if he's doodle or poodle, I'll love him the same. It's just surprising that he may or may not be a doodle! It's confusing - the more doodle pictures I see, I see it in him, the more poodle pictures I see, I see the poodle in him. Now I know my definite preference is shaved feet and face. I will post pictures of his transformation this weekend, and get some good full body shots. Btw, the length of his ear (from where it's attached to his head to tip of leather) is 7 inches. Is this normal or too long?


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## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

outwest said:


> Where did you get him? Does he have papers? I'm telling you, that dog is all poodle.


He was adopted from a poodle rescue. He was listed as a "standard poodle." I got him at 12 weeks. 

Yesterday I took him to the post office and a lady confidently asked, "what kind of dog is that?" and before I could answer she commented "oh! That's an Irish wolfhound!"


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## Katie (Jul 7, 2011)

Hummm.....Bob.

I think I may be with you with Bob, I can see what you mean, but if the test said all poodle, then presumably that is what he is. But i do have to say he looks a bit doodley to me. He's a handsome chap however, and your darling, so that is OK!


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

I look forward to seeing Leroys pictures. As you say, it doesn't matter what he is, he is yours and you love him. There are not usually standard poodle puppies in rescue, but that doesn't mean he isn't one. Most people just don't know dogs. I guess I have never seen Leroys body, but his head is a poodle head.


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Pepper, Bob looks all poodle to me, just a 'seasoned' poodle (; their shape changes as they become seniors.


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## lavillerose (Feb 16, 2011)

There are plenty of purebred poodles that by the current show ideal are considered coarse or stocky. That doesn't mean they aren't pure. It doesn't take much to throw off a good breeding plan. 

My 'fine' example is my family's first Spoo, Pepper. Now, I have gone on PoodlePedigree.com with his parents and looked through every single line, and to my astonishment, Pepper not only is pure, but he traces back to just about every single reknowned poodle breeder out of the England, Canada, and the US. I could rattle them off, but let's just say they were big names in the poodle world in their day, and some of them still are major players. Which is pretty funny when you take a look at my enormous (29", 85lb), sighthound chested, peglegged, wide eyed, doofy looking, greasy boy.

He came from a breeder who was quite elderly and I wonder if they were aiming for something that just didn't mesh with current trends or just possibly should have gotten out of the game a few generations earlier (which they did after his litter). In just about three generations, they'd turned several well-respected champion lines dating back to the 60's and beyond into... whatever this is. 

But Pepper is now 9 years old, the first in what will probably be a long list of poodles in our family, since we're officially sold. We've gotten a second Spoo from rescue, and I have my mini girl from a reputable show breeder. Pepper might be a bit on the homely side and definitely stinkier than the average spoo, but he's my mom's heart dog, and we love him.


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## MamaTiff (Sep 23, 2011)

tokipoke said:


> He was adopted from a poodle rescue. He was listed as a "standard poodle." I got him at 12 weeks.
> 
> Yesterday I took him to the post office and a lady confidently asked, "what kind of dog is that?" and before I could answer she commented "oh! That's an Irish wolfhound!"


How old is he? I look at his picture and think he and Darby look alike. I also got her from a rescue.


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## PammiPoodle (Jul 16, 2011)

Yes, I agree with MamaTiff, Darby and Leroy do look alike! I thought that long before this thread, I just noticed two very similar looking dogs in the avatars. : ) They're both cute!

I'm glad you say that you don't care and you love him either way. I once told a client who booked me for a Border Collie that her price would be higher than quoted because her dog wasn't what I was expecting. She understood and told me she thought she might have been a mix, and what did I think she was. She sounded very open minded and eager to hear my opinion. I said "Hmm, looks like a Chow mix." Her face dropped and she looked at her dog like it just bit her! "Oh, no...I don't like Chows!" ??? Hahaha The dog was a sweetie, in her teens and been with the mom since puppyhood. But the thought of her being part Chow was enough to make the mom cringe away from her!

And, Outwest is right, people really don't know what they're looking at. I had a very handsome Yellow Lab. The stocky, blocky English kind. You wouldn't believe how many people would ask me what he was (Labs are one of the MOST common and popular breeds, but people still had no clue), or tell me he was a beautiful Saint Bernard or Basset Hound or some other random thing! Hahaha So many people have asked what Lumi is. When I say Poodle then they often say "Mixed with what?" Hahahaha Reasons for her not being a Poodle include "too cute", and "her hair isn't curly". No wonder people don't want Poodles! They think they're trolls with 80s perms!


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## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

Got some photos! You guys are the best judges out there! You decide - is he doodle or poodle? Here are the before photos (before I shaved his face and feet):


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## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

Here are the after photos. Keep in mind I know noting about stacking poodles lol. I quite like the mustache on Leroy. He looks very sophisticated. Before, he was Country Poodle. Now he's City Poodle!


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## Standard (Aug 25, 2010)

I would say poodle! If he is a doodle, he certainly leans much more to the poodle side of the genetic spectrum.


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

100% Standard Poodle


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## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

I think I was letting people get to my head. No one called him a mixed breed when I had him in the miami clip! I haven't sculpted his body hair to look like anything yet. Trying to grow it out from the 7F Miami. He needs more hair on his legs, especially his front ones and his chest. The hairs on his chest and going down his stomach are fine cotton-candy-like hair that mats just by me breathing on it. I am ready for this coat change to be over! I will be shaving his donut mustache to a German mustache and then a French mustache in November. By Dec he will have a clean poodle face


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## spoospirit (Mar 10, 2009)

_Looks 100% poodle to me too._


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

That is 100% poodle. He's terribly cute. His moustache is cute, too.


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## Anntig (Jun 9, 2010)

Looks like a poodle to me too & as for the ears we've got a spoo staying with us at the moment whose ears can touch in front of his mouth, i've met both his parents and they're both from well known, reputable kennels.


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## MamaTiff (Sep 23, 2011)

Definately poodle!

And where did you get those pirty nail thingies????


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## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

The nail art is Sally Hansen's Salon Effects. It's a nail polish sticker that you stretch over the nail and it sticks by the heat of your fingers. So much easier than putting on nail polish! I did however put on a coat of glitter nail polish to keep the sticker from peeling. It's supposed to last up to 2 weeks on people, but since dogs run around we'll see how long it lasts. They have many different prints. Just make sure you're dog doesn't chew on their nails before using any kind of nail polish.


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## sschoe2 (Mar 16, 2011)

There is a fair amount of variability in poodle ears. Some have thick fur with long ears that are flat on the bottom (My previous dogs Shana and Randy) others have thin fur and they are pointed on the bottom (Barkley). I've had comments about Sari being part doodle when she was a puppy but she is unmistakably poodle now.


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## ekbaby734 (Jul 1, 2011)

I cant say I've learned enough about poodles yet to say whether or not he is 100% standard.. But what I do know is that Hes sure a cutie pie! :dog:​


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