The Continental Trim: a Brief History

Poodles are an ancient breed, probably originating in Germany or Russia. Wherever and whenever poodles originated is a puzzle that many have pondered. One thing is sure, since the very beginning, Poodles have been trimmed.

Dogs resembling the Poodle we know and love were loosely represented on coins, carved monuments and tombs, as far back as 30 A.D. These dogs, groomed with large hairy forequarters and closely shaved hindquarters decorate medieval manuscripts and paintings from the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

It is still widely debated that the Poodle was or was closely related to the old Water Dog or Canis Familiaris Aquaticus . The Standard Poodle is the oldest of the three varieties. The larger of the Poodles was widely used throughout Europe to retrieve water fowl, while the smaller Poodles were used as truffle dogs, circus dogs and companions.

The two historical names for the Poodle come from words related to water, Caniche (from the French) comes from the rough translation of “Duck Dog” while the German, Pudel roughly means “to splash in water”. (Something I quote whenever it rains at the dog show).

The practice of trimming the hindquarter tight to the skin and letting the front or mane grow long, has been around basically as long as there have been Poodles to trim. Having the hindquarter groomed tightly allowed the Poodle to be unhindered by excess hair when swimming. The longer mane-like hair allowed for extra buoyancy and helped to keep the heart and lungs warm. In times of no central heating, the Poodle could curl up within his or her own mane and keep itself warm. Hunters also began to fashion ribbons into the topknot of their Poodles so they could easily identify there Poodle when in the water.

Although Poodle trims seemed to have begun out of necessity for both man and beast, it was indeed the French influence that really started the Poodle on it’s road to high fashion. As early as 1774, during the reign of Louis XVI, professional dog groomers practiced trimming Poodles on the streets of Paris. It is these early groomers that we can thank for today’s modern trims.

Poodles have survived literally centuries of outlandish haircuts. Today in Canada and the US, Poodles may only be shown in three basic trims for regular conformation shows. The most popular being the Continental Trim. Since the mid sixties we do not see as many Poodles shown in the less popular trim, the English Saddle. Until the mid sixties more Poodles were shown in English Saddle than Continental but that trend quickly changed. Most Poodles under 1 year of age are shown in the Puppy trim. Poodles in North America must be in one of the two other trims once they are over a year of age. In many other countries around the world, different trims or variations of trims are allowed in the conformation show ring.