A haircut doesn’t make a dog, and those cuts actually served a purpose prior to the show ring. Poodles were originally bred as retrievers who would go into water so their coat was left long over areas which needed warmth (kidneys, heart, etc.) and shorn short everywhere else to lessen the weight of a wet coat. They are very much dog, and rated smartest after the border collie.sweet....I've heard they are "real dogs".....not fancy or fluffy wimpy dogs