How do the fur patterns of a Standard Poodle function?
The editor of the Poodle History Project has found that the historically-correct working-Continental is the most practical clip for field-training, hunt tests, and so on: the dog’s legs don’t cake with heavy mud, yet the hair is long enough in the short parts to protect against brambles (but doesn’t pick them up as hitch-hikers), the dog can swim easily, yet has enough hair in the moderate jacket to keep dry and warm at the skin in cold water and brisk wet windy weather. By contrast, the modern Sporting Clip leaves longer hair on the legs where it gathers heavy mud, and, when wet, the shorter hair on the body curls tightly, leaving skin exposed to cold wind. http://www.poodlehistory.org/PGROOM.HTM that page has a history of the popular clips of now and then..
