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
American Eskimo Dog in the 1930s and 1940s as a circus performer. There are three size varieties of the American Eskimo breed, the toy, the miniature and the standard. They share a common resemblance with Japanese Spitz, Danish Spitz, Volpino Italiano, German Spitz and Samoyed. The American Eskimo Dog was originally bred to guard people and property and, therefore, is territorial by nature and a valiant watchdog. It is not considered an aggressive breed but, due to its watchdog history, American Eskimo dogs are generally quite vocal, barking at any stranger who comes in proximity to their owners' territory. In Northern Europe, smaller