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The no-shedding thing is a HUGE factor for us, as we're allergic to "regular" dogs. We had a show pointer that we waited years for, who we ADORED, and even with his short coat, we wound up having to return him to the breeder to be re-homed. It was a shame, as not only did we love him, he was the finest quality pointer you ever saw. So it's poodles for us all the way.
We also breed and show minis, and if I post pictures of them on Flickr with no size-cues (nothing in the shot that could be used to compare scale), I will invariably get invites to add the pic to the standard poodle groups. And THAT is what breeding quality miniatures (and toys, to a lesser extent) is about. All three varieties have the exact same breed standard, so ideally, you should not be able to tell which is which without size cues. I'm tremendously flattered when someone says, "I thought that was a picture of a standard!"
I also think that most poodles--and I mean pretty much ALL of t hem--that non-poodle people have experience with are poor representatives of the breed. Short legs, long bodies, cropped-off bunny-tails, big bulging eyes, soft thin coats, iffy temperaments, yappiness, etc. While these dogs have everything to offer as pets, they're just not true to poodle type, and sadly, that's what the breed is judged on.
ON THE OTHER HAND--we as poodle enthusiasts (and really, this is true with just about all breed enthusiasts) do not WANT our breed to become popular. We're still recovering from the poodles' reign of popularity decades ago, which resulted in the glut of profit-bred, poor-quality dogs we're still seeing today. We LIKE demand to stay on the low side, because that means that there's less incentive for backyard breeders and puppymillers to crank them out. I believe that, as of this year, Labrador Retrievers have surpassed the poodle's record for consecutive number of years in the #1 popularity spot in America, and all you have to do is open your local paper and see the dozens of listings for cheap Labs from backyard breeders to see the consequence of popularity.
My MOL recently purchased a labradoodle and was telling me that is it non shed and it will act like a lab. This is what people are buying into. Well, is sheds, ALOT. Everyone needs to be informed about what they are buying and not buy into "it will look like this and act like this." How do they know? I have to say that I really do love the poodle breed (this is my first) and we are in obedience classes now and will hopefully be trying for his CGC title. They are very quick on the commands and they really just want to please. Such a lovely misunderstood breed!
