Hi there. I have been asked by a friend to help her find a new poodle puppy. She is a serial standard poodle owner having had 2 in the past, who lived to a ripe old age, and she is fairly set on getting another one. However this time she would like a smaller one - she said a large minature!! I know what she means! My question is  - are poodles on a continuum of size from the smalest to the largest or are there 3 groups of poodles of distinctly different sizes? ( toy/mini/standard)

Three distinct breeds and unfortunately most standards seem to be very much larger than a miniature.

I know quite a few people who would love a standard of around 20 inches but most seem much taller.

There are 3 different ones as u say. Have a look at the kc breed standards for the correct heights .your.friend can.then decide what she is looking for although nothing is guaranteed of.course each one could.get over or.undersized in the litter

Toy, Miniature and Standard as you rightly state.

The Kennel Club website show a different standard for each.

Standard Poodle is over 15"

Miniature Poodle under 15" but not under 11"

Toy Poodle under 11"

I'm sure that if she looked on the KC website for breeders, and phoned around, she should find what she's looking for.

HTH
Jean  (big poodle fan) 

What ever she does don't let her get a standard x miniature to try for an inbetween small standard / large mini. From what I understand minis and standards have slightly different bone structures which can mean out of balance looking adults.

She sounds like she's after the European moyen / Klein size which is inbetween minis and standards 15-20 inches. Haven't found a breeder In UK yet since they wouldn't do well in the show ring.

I was about to say in Europe they come in 4 sizes or at least used to have 4 options:  toy, miniature, middle size and big poodle  ( direct translation from finnish  :-) )