Sizing

We LOVE poodles! We've had every size of poodle (toy, miniature, and standard) over the last 30 years and we've settled on the most versatile size ever - the smaller standard size!  

There is a lot of misinformation out there about small standard poodles -sometimes called 'moyens'. Moyen is the French word for medium. In Europe, 4 sizes of poodles are recognized by their kennel clubs - small, mini, moyen (or klein, in some countries), and standard. 

In the US, there are only the 3 recognized sizes so there's no category for the size 'moyen'; smaller standards (or moyens) are simply registered as Standard Poodles (because American Kennel Club guidelines state that any poodle over 15" is a standard). 

Poodles are considered ONE  breed with multiple sizes, so your pup's registration category is determined by what size they end up. If a toy poodle litter has a pup that ends up being 11" tall, well, because they surpassed the 10" cutoff, they cannot be shown in the AKC as a toy but they can now be shown as a mini. If your mini litter yields a pup who becomes 16" tall, they can no longer be shown as a mini because they've surpassed the 15" cutoff. 
 
So that leads us to how our smaller standards came to be!  To achieve this smaller standard size here in America, we cross a normal-sized standard poodle to a miniature poodle or to an imported moyen/klein from Europe.  The result is a smaller standard poodle - typically 17"-20" on average.  This unsettles some people (particularly line-purists) but we feel that the benefits are well worth it! For one, these inter-variety pups have greater genetic diversity than either their parents and that is a huge benefit! Secondly, it creates an absolutely wonderful-sized medium dog that is more versatile than either parent! The minis have a tendency to be a bit small for kids and active adults and the standards take up a lot more room and have higher upkeep expenses.

This 'medium' size has so much appeal because of these reasons and more:

1. No counter-surfing!
2. No trash digging!
3. Doesn't take up so much room on a bed!
4. Doesn't take up so much room in a car!
5. Fits great in a camper!
6. Great hiking buddy size!
7. Not too heavy to pick up!

There is a lot of information to learn when you begin a search for a furry family member.  Make sure you get your information from reliable sources and feel free to ask us any questions you may have!