If you remember your pig latin, you’ll know that our title suggests that you won’t find the terms, “royal standard,” or “teacup” in the Poodle’s breed standard of any respected registry. These are marketing names not recognized by any major kennel club. That said, “Caniche Royale” is a legitimate term sometimes used in France and Quebec to refer to a Standard Poodle. 

As an aside, while the Poodle is the national dog of France, there is no such breed as the “French Poodle.” In France, Poodles are known as the Caniche, or “duck dog,” while the breed is recognized by the FCI as Caniche. The FCI goes on to state that etymologically, the French word “caniche” (Poodle) comes from “cane”, the French word for a female duck. In other countries, the name of the breed is associated with splashing around in water.  In fact, the English name, “poodle” is derived from the German word pudel, or pudelin, which means to splash in the water.

Most countries outside of France have had a tacit understanding that a barbet was a French word for a poodle. Interestingly, the Poodle was called “caniche” in 1743, which was the female of the barbet in French, and up to the mid 19th century, the Barbet and Poodle were linguistically synonymous for the same type of dog.  Thereafter, the Barbet and the Caniche were gradually separated into distinct breeds.

Image: “Cruise The Standard Poodle” by Melanie Cossey is available as wall art and a phone case here.