That's great! The standard poodles (big ones) are originally from Germany and were water retrievers. They are still used today very successfully as hunting dogs. Ours however has not been on a hunt but did try to catch some ducks and geese at Greenleaf Lake this summer. He took my wife by surprise and took off into the lake when she was distracted. He swam out just past the vegetation line, gave up then came back. He's a rescue dog we'd only had 4 months so were a little freaked out about this. He's proven to be an awesome dog in the 11 months we've had him.This happened in the 80's.
I ran beagles for rabbits. My buddy who is an engineer, determined in his mind, and with some help from the internet that poodles were originally hunting dogs in Egypt. The full sized ones were used to hunt cheetas or something.
Over the years, we all know what they are now, but the engineer in him said the trait to hunt was still there. So one morning he grabbed up his moms poodle, and put it in the dog box with my beagles.
The poodle had always been professionally groomed.
At the end of the day with a full coat of sand burrs, and other stickers, he dropped the dog back at his moms house.
I personally witnessed some parental abuse of a child, but wisely kept my mouth shut.
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