“Enhancing coat color” to get an edge on competition in a show ring is not a modern concept, nor is it an American one, though to our knowledge, it has always been against the rules in all registries. The Poodle Stud Book in England recorded a first-prize winner that was disqualified for being dyed –  in 1879!  There’s never been a “legally acceptable” reason for tampering with coat color, but one might be driven to understand the bafflement of a British Poodle fancier of that time given that the English Poodle Club formed in 1886 only mentioned black Poodles when white Poodles were being recorded in the Kennel Club Stud Books at the same time. The Poodle Club of America, formed the same year, recognized both black and white Poodles, but neither recognized both black and white colors on the same dog (even though some sources maintain that the first Poodles were either black, or black and white).

According to JaneDog, it wasn’t until 1907 that colors and varieties in the breed were acknowledged upon the publication of “The Points of the Perfect Poodle:” “The Toy (Miniature) variety should ‘not exceed 15 inches in height at the shoulder and in all respects should be a miniature of the full-sized dog, with the same points” and the colours “all black, all white, all red and all blue” were listed.

“Four Poodles” by Genevieve Esson is available as a print and a wide variety of formats here.