Larger Poodles were originally used by wildfowl hunters to retrieve game from water, while smaller varieties were once commonly used as circus performers.

Numerous works by various German artists from as early as the 17th century depict dogs of recognisably Poodle type.

[3][4] Due to their intelligence, obedient nature, athleticism and looks poodles were frequently employed in circuses, particularly in France.

[2][3][5] Later attempts to create an even smaller variety, the Teacup Poodle, were unable to overcome serious genetic abnormalities and were abandoned.

[19][17] A similar clip was historically used to prevent the poodle from getting weighted down by their fur when swimming to retrieve a bird, while still leaving their joints and vital organs covered.

[6][21] The Poodle has a wide variety of colouring, including white, black, brown, blue, gray, silver, café au lait, silver beige, cream, apricot, and red, and patterns such as parti-, abstract, sable, brindle and phantom.

[26] Phantom Poodles have a solid main color with a lighter colour appearing on their "eyebrows", muzzle and throat, legs and feet and below their tail.

A 1994 book by Stanley Corey ranked them second out of 130 breeds in "working and obedience intelligence", a measure of their ability to learn from humans.

[30] A 2024 UK study found a life expectancy of 14 years for the breed compared to an average of 12.7 for purebreeds and 12 for crossbreeds.

The breeding focused on a small number of popular bloodlines, creating a genetic bottleneck.

[33][8] One study estimated that two average Standard Poodles are about as closely related as the offspring of two full sibling village dogs.

[18] Since the late 1980s, some breeders in the United States and Canada have been selecting for dogs with drive for birds in order to revive the breed for hunting, with some success.

During the English Civil War, Prince Rupert of the Rhine had a famous hunting Poodle who would ride into battle with his master on horseback.

Napoleon Bonaparte wrote in his memoirs about the faithfulness of a grenadier's pet Poodle who stayed with the body of his master at the Battle of Marengo.

[42] The term was used as a label to criticise British Prime Ministers who are perceived to be too close to the United States.

[43] During the 2000s, it was used against Tony Blair with regard to his close relationship with George W. Bush and the involvement of the United Kingdom in the Iraq War.

The singer George Michael used it in his song "Shoot the Dog" in July 2002, the video of which showed Blair as the "poodle" on the lawn of the White House.

[45] By extension, the phrase "attack poodle" has been used to denote a particularly vociferous but servile defender of a given political leader, party, or faction.

It gained popular currency in 2002 when Paul Marsden a member of the British Parliament who ran afoul of the Labour party Chief Whip Hilary Armstrong charged that Prime Minister Tony Blair was setting out "one of his attack poodles" to bring him or her into line.

[46] The term was further popularized by the American culture critic James Wolcott in his 2004 book, Attack Poodles and Other Media Mutants.