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"While it is concluded by all authorities that the large-sized specimens of the breed are the older varieties, there is sufficient evidence to show that the Toy Poodle was developed only a short time after the breed assumed the general type in which it is known today. This type, incidentally, has changed less than that of almost any other breed. It is a dog that has come down to us as the ancients knew it. Refinements have been effected, but there has been no change in the essential characteristics.
"The first concrete evidence of the existence of the Toy Poodle in England is not found until the eighteenth century, when a toy known as the 'White Cuban' became exceedingly popular in England. It was a sleeve dog, and it soon became the pet of every grand lady in the country. This breed's origin was attributed to the West Indian island of Cuba, from whence it travelled to Spain, and from there to England. Queen Anne had several of these dogs in her latter years. She had first seen them about 1700 when there came to England a troupe of performing dogs known as 'The Ball of Little Dogs.' These Toy Poodles were exceptionally well trained, and they danced to music in almost human fashion.
"The Continent had known the Toy Poodle several centuries before it came to England, and there are line drawings by the great German artist, Dürer, that definitely establish the breed in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. How long the dog had been known in Spain is problematical, but it was definitely the principal pet dog of the latter eighteenth century. This is known through the paintings of the famous Spanish artist, Goya. In many of his portraits of the ladies of the court may be seen excellent examples of the Toy Poodle. And France enthroned the Toy Poodle as the pampered favorite during the reign of Louis XVI, about the same period.
Early in the 18th century "there was a showman, Crawley by name, who performed in London and out of it, with a troup of poodles highly to the satisfaction of the curious at that time. 'The Ball of Little Dogs' he called his exhibition; the dogs he said came from Louvain...and had performed before Queen Anne, greatly to Her Majesty's delight. These dogs danced, two of them, with the grandiloquent titles of Marquis of Gaillerdain and Madame de Poncette, showing extraordinary training by the manner in which their movements kept time and cadence with the music which accompanied them," wrote Rawdon B. Lee in A History and Description of the Modern Dogs of Great Britain and Ireland (non-sporting division) (London: Harold Cox, 1894), p. 171.
I find this particularly interesting as 'Crawley' was my Family name!
A woodcut from: Gervase Markham, Hungers Prevention (London, 1621),
"The Toy Poodle is credited with being the principal ancestor of the truffle dog of England. It is believed that the Toy Poodle was crossed with a small terrier to produce a dog that was ideal for its strange occupation. The truffle is an edible fungus that formerly was considered a great delicacy. The high prices were so attractive that the hunting of truffles became a widespread trade, expecially throughout certain parts of Hampshire and Wiltshire. The difficulty of procuring truffles lay in the fact that the fungus grew underground. They had to be scented out by a dog so that the master could dig them out. The dogs had to be carefully trained, and usually they were white in color, because truffle-hunting was done at night. The sagacity and the scenting powers of the poodle were said to form a perfect complement to the terrier's ability to go to earth.
"Since working dogs in the wider sense are those who are financially useful to their owners, one must count among them those which circuses and variety shosw use to display their tricks and training. The real value represented by such animals is possibly the highest a dog can have. The well-known counting and calculating Poodle, "Professor Weiss," supported--by means of his astonishing eye-training--a family of four for more than 15 years. Clever trainers which present popular performances can command ministerial salaries. Even though many trainers prefer smaller short-haired breeds like Fox Terriers or Pincers because of smaller transportation and maintenance cost as well as less coat-care, others are not deterred by these factors and use Poodles either mainly or exclusively, realizing that Poodles, because of their great intelligence and unusual appearance, are particularly suited for these types of performances.
William Youatt, The Dog (Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1848; first published: London, 1845),
1800 [-05]. Sydenham Teak Edwards, Cynographia Britannica; "The Poodle" depicts a larger parti-coloured water-dog-type with an intact tail (dog reminiscent of Youatt's illustration ) standing facing left, and a smaller dark dog, of a more modern type, in a slight play-bow, with a moderately-cropped tail and wearing the historically-correct Continental, including a tail-pom, facing right. Here's a genealogical chart dated 1805 by its recent (5/2000) seller. The buyer, GL (who helped to jump-start the Poodle History Project's fine arts section, "Gordon's Poodle Visuals") writes: "Well, what I found interesting is that there are three sizes of Poodles given: Standard = Water Dog; Miniature = Small Water Dog; Toy = Shock Dog or Toy Dog. And that they are shown as being directly related with the last two being bred with the Spaniel to reduce the size. Now the MP has always been regarded as a 'modern' breed. This chart seems to confirm that the three sizes have always co-existed."
