Hi everyone im new to the forum, & Im hoping for advice with regards to showing my blue standard.
First of i love this breed! i have wanted a poodle since i can remember, and i always wanted to show.
So with that in mind i found a reputable breeder
When i bought her i was told she would make a wonderful show dog, looking at her i think that myself!
shes got the attitude and loves to show off, But i was a bit gutted to see she has a small white patch of fur on her chest.
Now i could of refused her at that point, but i didn't, i fell in love, i questioned the breeder about the patch and said it should be fine just tell the judge/s its because shes blue,
So im wondering is her show career over before its even started.

In many breeds that are solid coloured for example Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Belgian shepherds, Irish setters a small patch of white on chest or toes is acceptable and not penalised.

I know it is seen in other breeds like Labradors etc, and in some breeds it would put the dog out of serious contention and is penalised, do really you'd need to find out what is the attitude to this in your breed.

In my breed a cowlick (usually on the forehead or muzzle) is not good or bad, often cure, but in Dobermans it would be considered a fault.

With my parents std poodle litter we had a brown with a patch and our breeding mentor (the breeder of the bitch) did say that it wouldn't be fit for show. The standard (http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/services/public/breed/standard.aspx?id=4097) does say solid colours only. Although this is only based on my experience with browns. I didn't show our poodles, only did agility. But that was the advice given to us by the bitches breeder. It may be less of a problem at open level (unless you get a breed specific judge).

Great choice of dog breed by the way! Lovely not to have someone wanting a poodle X. They are great dogs! I would have bought my own after moving from my parents but house size didn't really allow it :P

A dog with a bit of white on chest and or feet would still be classed as solid colour. 

Sounds like it is frowned upon in poodles.

I haven't looked at many breed standards but I checked Standard Poodle and it doesn't say anything about white on the chest allowed, whereas my own breed BSD DOES have it stated that a small amount of white on the chest and on hindtoes is acceptable, and I also looked at Newfoundland as I know that is another colour were you do get to see them in the ring with a small amount of white on the chest, and there it also mentions that this is acceptable. So I would assume that where a breed standard does NOT mention it being acceptable, that it then isn't.

I definitely would not turn round to a show judge and say "the white is because it's a blue dog" as that would not make the handler look good and isn't the sort of thing you you should tell a judge -it would sound like the handler was trying to tell the judge how to carry out their judging.

In my breed a small amount of white on the chest is permissible, and often if they start with a little white it will fade and the main colour will grow over, so this might happen with poodles too. If your girl is a nice example other than a tiny patch of white, I wouldn't worry too much. In fact in many ways you want a fairly good dog but not a stunningly good one to start out with, so you can make all your handling mistakes without people saying 'your dog would have won if you knew what you were doing', and also as poodles are such an intensively trimmed breed you can make all your grooming mistakes on your nice girl. Then when you have got the hang of trimming and showing, and people know that you are serious about showing, it will be easier to find an even better quality one. :-)

>>I definitely would not turn round to a show judge and say "the white is because it's a blue dog" as that would not make the handler look good and isn't the sort of thing you you should tell a judge -it would sound like the handler was trying to tell the judge how to carry out their judging.>>

Definitely wouldn't say that to a judge!!!

> So I would assume that where a breed standard does NOT mention it being acceptable, that it then is

In my breed is states: "Any pronounced variation from the grey colour, sooty colour on lower legs, spectacles or white markings undesirable."

Yet many winning dogs have one or other of these.  Our breed record holder has quite a visible white patch on his chest, especially as the rest of the chest is dark (white markings often blend into the lighter grey of legs and chests).

I think in some breeds the axiom of no good dog is a bad colour is applied more with a dogs construction more important.

I think in some breeds the axiom of no good dog is a bad colour is applied more with a dogs construction more important.

Yes that is a good point -so you're right, it's important to know what is what in the breed in question.

Thank you so much for your Help, I didnt think that would be a very suitable thing to say to a judge after all you should not have to explain your dog to them,
I guess She will just have to stay as a pet, which im happy with, although it saddens me very much that we cant show together i had an inkling anyway to be honest,
i have gone through and gone through the breed standard, but i just couldnt make sense of the colour side of things, Well im hoping to add another girl to our family later this year,
so maybe the dreams not over yet

There is absolutely no reason not to show her for practice, just bear in mind you may be penalised for the cosmetic fault, so I would enter Open shows, as the entry fees are in the region of a fiver rather than £25+ at championship shows.

It will allow you to prefect your handling and grooming skills, and gain confidence.

Under non specialists you may find they forgive the blemish more than specialist judges.

I was just going to say the exact same as Brainless. This has to be the most difficult breed to show due to the extensive grooming involved, so practice your scissoring skills and enter open shows.  Perfect practice without costing lots of money.

Yes and as I said, she sounds like an ideal girl to make your early handling and grooming errors on - try her at some open shows and see how she does. Not every dog has to be the best possible to have fun at shows with. :-)

Well i like the sound of that, i think i may give the open shows a go i guess it wouldn't hurt anyone just to have a little try,
As luck would have it ive been dog grooming for eight years my scissoring skills are quite good if i do say so myself hehe.....But....and its a big but.
I have never done the puppy pants trim..Eek, let alone attempted the lion trim,
But im sure ill get plenty of practice,
My girl herself is I guess i would say perfect (to me anyway) and Seems matched to the breed standard her temperament is wonderful, she is kind loving and too Clever, shes almost human!
Shes 18 weeks old and i was hoping to start ringcraft a few weeks ago
But ive heard stories which have kind of put me off, Mainly people who cant quite hold in the opinion, and i havent got the broadest shoulders in the world.
So we have practiced stacking at home, ...its a work in progess.....

Well ive just found out my area has ringcraft tonight, i guess theres no time like the present, Thank you everyone for you wonderful replies.
xxx

Hope it goes well and remember the most important thing is to enjoy yourself. Let you us know how it goes pls.

Any traditonal clip is to be given equal treatment in the ring by KC edict fairly recently

We had a blast! she was so good and seemed to pick it up quite quickly, she wasnt fazed by the other dogs whatsoever!
I tried to stand her for the judge to go over her but she just wanted to kiss her to death, the judge was really good though she didn't want to push her to much so she only did a little bit of "tickling" as she called it, then i had to walk her back and fourth and she did so well, we did a few other things like weaving in and out of the other dogs And she made me proud
i just want to thank you all for giving us the confidence to just do it, we had so much fun xxx

So glad you had fun - and her too. I bet she'll do just fine at the shows. And great that you're a groomer already, that will certainly help. I am too, and although I do a pretty good lamb trim on a good day, I would be terrified to try a show trim haha! Kissing the judge is always a good sign, my 10 year old still tries to turn round and do it lol

Just to add that if she is blue you may find that the white blends in more as she ages and fades, my blue did not get to her full 'gun metal grey' until she was 3yrs old, blues seem to take ages to mature coat wise.
You never know with some judges placing parti-colours now you may do better than you think. It shows some judges will judge conformation first over colour.

Ah sorry i havent visited for a while.
Thanks Lucy, it was brilliant im  just gutted its Easter Monday this week because its not open so ill have to wait another week now :(
But yep the thought of even touching her hair at the moment is terrifying me incase i mess it up! think ill have to swallow my pride and find an expert
& Thanks CockerCocker i recently emailed a lady referred from the standard poodle club, with my concerns she told me not to worry
as like you say, it may fade or i may be able to hide it, although it is classed as a fault its the parti colours which are"highly undesirable" - although i think there beautiful hehe,
i find that an odd expression hehe

I think the parti's are beautiful too :)

Hi, I showed my 2 standard poodles many years ago, I know lots have changed in that time including show trims but now it is so much easier to do it right!  If you have facebook join as many poodle pages as you can, you don't need to comment or join in but you will see trims, dogs, show tips, and masses of information, not all correct I might add.  Go onto youtube find videos on show trims and how to go about starting to trim a puppy.  For now the only trim you need to worry about is puppy trim, adult clips especially continental won't be until well after the dog is mature which could be two years or more, you need the muscle and mature body to show off that clip.  Face, feet and tail and bath and dry very regularly to get pup used to the routine, when showing mine were done every week and taught to lie on their side for drying, they loved the attention.  For now don't clip too far up the legs when doing feet, just to top of knuckle and no further than back of pad, don't touch a hair on the head as all will be needed to pull up into a topknot, in fact scissor nothing until you are sure what you're cutting off lol.

Have fun your pup sounds gorgeous :)

I once judged a partipoodle at a companion show, it was sooooo beautiful. I was a bit of a solid colour snob before but she changed me :P