A Standard Poodle's elegant clip is also its camouflage: dense curls hide skin, and long, heavily coated ears hide their canals. Treat the home check like an extension of grooming, with the dog standing on a table or non-slip floor, good light, and enough time to part hair rather than skim it. Work in grooming order — ears, body, feet, movement — so the routine feels familiar to a dog who already knows handling well.
The Long Ears Deserve First Attention
Lift each ear leather and look as far into the canal as you comfortably can, then sniff: a healthy Poodle ear has little smell, so a yeasty or sharp odour, redness, dark waxy build-up, or hair packed at the canal opening all go in your notes. Watch for the behaviour that backs it up — head shaking, scratching at one ear, or tilting the head. Check the skin along the ear edges under the long hair, where mats form and pull. Move to the eyes next, looking for discharge, tear staining that has worsened, redness, or squinting, then lift the lips along the long muzzle to review the teeth: scan for tartar at the gum line, a broken tooth, or sore red patches, including the back teeth that casual checks miss.
Through the Curls to the Skin
Part the curls with your fingers down to skin along the neck, chest, armpits, belly, and groin — the friction points where mats tighten against skin and where redness or scabs hide longest. A mat you can feel but not see is exactly why this check is done by touch. Feel across the back and hindquarters for lumps or sore spots on this tall, lean frame, and judge body condition by hand: a Standard Poodle in good shape feels ribs under light coverage, with a defined tuck behind them that a full show coat can disguise completely. Examine each neat, compact foot, spreading the toes to look for matted curls between them, redness, or a cracked pad, and check nail length on a breed whose tidy feet make overgrowth easy to overlook.
Movement and Everyday Signals
Watch her walk and trot away and back, looking for the free, springy stride this breed is known for. Note any shortening stride, stiffness after rest, or hesitation before jumping up, with the date it started. Alongside the hands-on pass, track appetite, water intake, stools, and itch level — a Poodle scratching more at night, or licking one paw persistently, is telling you where to look harder next session. One odd day is noise; the same note three sessions running is a pattern worth handing to your vet in words.
Call the Vet When the Pattern Says So
Book a vet visit for ear odour with head shaking, a lump that grows, skin that stays red or broken, limping beyond a day, a loose or broken tooth, or appetite and energy changes that persist. Eye discomfort in particular should not wait for the next routine appointment. Recording each session's findings in KinsLe's Pet Passport keeps your Standard Poodle's ear, skin, and weight notes travelling with her records to every vet and grooming handoff.