# Poodle Chest



## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

Sorry the pics are turned the wrong way! Hope you can still see the pics okay.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Yes, Leroy's chest is narrow. Notice how his front feet turn out or go "eastie westie"? This tends to happen when the front is too narrow. Ideally, you want a front that is set back, meaning that the shoulders are set back and laid back and the chest is further forward and broad enough that the front feet will point straight out.

Of course, he is handsome just the same! Many poodles do have a narrow front and since he is not showing in the conformation ring, this is A-OK!


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## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

ChocolateMillie said:


> Yes, Leroy's chest is narrow. Notice how his front feet turn out or go "eastie westie"? This tends to happen when the front is too narrow. Ideally, you want a front that is set back, meaning that the shoulders are set back and laid back and the chest is further forward and broad enough that the front feet will point straight out.
> 
> Of course, he is handsome just the same! Many poodles do have a narrow front and since he is not showing in the conformation ring, this is A-OK!


I never really noticed his chest till today. I always new his chest was "weird" cause clothing never fit him correctly. I still love him just the same though. Buuut - I would LOVE to see a poodle with correct conformation - one of these days!


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## spoospirit (Mar 10, 2009)

_This is, unfortunately, a very common problem in the breed today. There are a lot of poodles in the show ring lacking chest too. We saw one this past weekend at show and we could tell, even with all the puppy hair, that she didn't have much chest.

Our bitch we bred last spring has more chest than Leroy but still doesn't have as much as she should. When we chose our stud dog for her, we made sure he had good chest to pass on to the puppies. The bitch I kept and the one my sister kept both have chest on them. We will try to keep that going when we breed them in the future.

It seems that the loss of chest is due in part to show people breeding show dogs who are actually lacking chest. They do this to attain a 'look.' I hate this. This is how the GSD got ruined in the hind quarters. They ruined a dog for what they believed to be aesthetically pleasing with no regard to how this would affect the animal's health or ability to perform.

Leroy is a handsome boy and his lack of chest shouldn't worry you. I'm sure you love him no matter what._


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## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

spoospirit, I adopted Leroy from a rescue; he was a breeder surrender. Now I see why! He didn't meet up to the standards I guess. He has a different look in body to some of the standards I've seen. Granted, those standards are pet clients, so who knows what their background is. Leroy has a ballerina's body, very thin and dainty, with a tiny chest.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Chests have been lost as many breeders have focused so much on the rears and the chest is hidden in all of that coat.

Yet, eastie-westie gives it away everytime! 


I really do think that Leroy is a handsome dude, though!


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## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

ChocolateMillie said:


> I really do think that Leroy is a handsome dude, though!


Thank you! I think he's handsome too! He is my baby and I will love him the same.


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

ChocolateMillie said:


> Chests have been lost as many breeders have focused so much on the rears and the chest is hidden in all of that coat.
> 
> Yet, eastie-westie gives it away everytime!
> 
> ...


 Thanks for posting this thread tokipoke, because I was wondering about my poodle's chest/eastie westie feet too. Now I know why he toes out.  I kept thinking to myself "but his legs are straight! No crookedness here". He also lacks depth of chest, so now I can add "lacks width of chest" to his faults.  His chest is fairly "forward" though, if you KWIM...and his shoulder layback is fine as well, as far as my eyes can tell. So I guess you can lack in width and depth but still have enough "sticking out", if that makes any sense? Sorry, I'm still learning the technical terms for stuff!


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Yah, his chest is narrow by conformation standards, but Leroy is handsome with or without a chest. 

The chest is a big deal right now in poodles. My dogs breeder said she chose my dogs dam from the European line because of the excellent broad, muscular chests and shoulders many of them have. By American standards Bonnie's dam would be too muscular/wide and not dainty/flashy enough. Her sire was super flashy. Bonnie did end up with a decent chest and some flash. A judge told me she was happy because she could get a full hand width between her legs and she has broad, muscular shoulders and back. Of course, she also has a tail that curls at the end and she appears body long compared to many American standard poodles. NONE of them are perfect.  

If you want, you can play with his grooms. We have taken to grooming mine super short in the rear and on the chest so she doesn't look long, cutting the hair shorter inbetween her legs to show her chest, cutting the hair narrower on her legs all the way up to give her the longest looking legs possible. She doesn't look so long bodied now. You can show off something nice by keeping the hair short like we do to show off a flat, broad back, for example. 

You can hide or show off a lot with a good groom! 

Leroy is wonderful. Who cares about a chest? It's the heart inside it that matters.


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