Poodle companions with a distinctive clip, to such a degree that poodles in short pet clips often go unrecognized or mistaken as Poodle crosses ("Doodles"). This association of the breed's appearance and the resulting preconceptions is strong, and reflects in popular culture, where poodles most often are depicted as spoiled and perhaps obnoxious pets, or if anthropomorphic, snobby, selfish, and vain. Poodle owners are perceived stereotypically as fussy, frivolous, and impractical. Poodle Poodles are a group of formal dog breeds, the Standard Poodle, Miniature Poodle and Toy Poodle. The origin of the breed is still discussed, with a prominent dispute over
Toy dog bred down in size for a particular kind of work or to create a pet of convenient size. In the past, very small dogs not used for hunting were kept as symbols of affluence, as watchdogs, and for the health function of attracting fleas away from their owners. Most major dog clubs in the English-speaking world have a toy group, under one exact name or another, in which they place breeds of dog that the kennel club categorises as "toy", based on size and tradition. The Kennel Club (UK), the Canadian Kennel Club, the American Kennel Club, the Australian National