Our Breeding Philosophy
We are so excited you are on this page! To us, it means you're either looking now for a new family member or plan to in the future. Or maybe, you're just curious about us and our practices and philosophies. Feel free to shoot us an email at any time or call/text. We would be happy to help any way we can. If we don't have what you are looking for, we may be able to help point you to a breeder who does.
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First off, we are extremely open and honest. However, with that being said, we must also clear up one thing: due to disease and the scary world we appear to be living in these days, we will no longer allow home visits. We have never personally had issues but would hate to risk anything happening to our home or our family (dogs are included in that word "family"). We can do FaceTime calls, etc. However you feel comfortable seeing our home and us seeing yours, we will oblige gladly, just not a home visit to our house. It is too risky for the health of our babies.
Our puppies are very important to us. With over fourteen years of breeding Standard Poodles, we only have a handful of owners we do not talk to on a regular basis. Most of our previous puppy buyers contact us often and have offered to be references when requested. We wouldn't have it any other way. If you do not want this type of relationship, you may want to find another breeder who does not prefer to keep up with the puppies he/she has produced. We take an active role as a breeder and want to be kept up to date and want you to feel like you can rely on us for help training, boarding when needed, advise, etc. We like to remain a part of our puppies lives when new parents allow. If you have any more questions please let us know! We love to talk about our dogs and puppies. We have a set Protocol, the Agape Puppy Protocol, and we'd love to tell you about it. Head over to The Nursery for more info.
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We recommend several things when getting any new puppy. For more information on this, please see our Shopping List page. Please know that all prospective puppy buyers will be screened and vet reference checked.
Health testing results on parent dogs are located on the Our Dogs page. ​
Please fill out an application if you are interested in a puppy from us
Our puppies are Microchipped and supplied with 30 days of pet insurance.
Goals
We specifically and intently breed for service work and our dogs excel at therapy and performance. We have had several puppies become exceptional partners with their human counterparts in Service work, Therapy work, Hunt Test, Agility, Obedience and Rally. We are very selective in the outside males we choose to sire our litters. We do own one intact male (Bunker) and we will use outside males depending on litter goals. Temperament and bloodlines play a large role in the sire selection process as well as health testing and the health of the dog's lines.
In Preparation for New Homes
Our puppies are using a doggy door and almost completely crate and potty trained by the time they go to new homes at 9 weeks old. They will come with age appropriate shots, a 2 year health guarantee, will be regularly de-wormed, micro-chipped and registered with AKC Reunite. Each puppy will come with a new custom made collar, a SnugglePuppy that smells like Momma and litter mates, and will be sent home with loads of information to make the puppy's and your transition easier. All puppies are cleared to go to new homes by an "in-person" appointment with our licensed Veterinarian.
Temperament Testing
All puppies are temperament tested at 7 weeks to better select which puppies would be best suited for specific jobs.
We do this to assist in placement of puppies to homes with specific job requirements, most specifically for service in this sense but also for homes wanting to compete in any arena of competition. We use a modified protocol based off of Puppy Culture and Badass Breeders protocols. Our puppies are also started with ENS practices (Early Neurological Stimulation) and our modified version of Puppy Culture to help aid in an emotionally balanced dog who will adapt easier to change and challenges. If you are unaware what ENS is, you may visit this link. There are five main benefits observed in canines that were exposed to the Bio Sensor stimulation exercises and I’ve done it with all of my puppies and have seen a difference in them as they age.
Tails!
We no longer dock tails, they are left natural. Several breeders in the United States are moving towards no longer docking or removing dewclaws. It is an illegal practice in Europe when done simply for cosmetic purposes. I have always been on the fence about both practices being neccessary. Historically, for Poodles, the tail was docked to help prevent damage in the field (during hunting) which may later require amputation. However, the job of a Poodle in the field is similar to that of a Lab or Golden, and cases of tail injuries in the field, in that capacity, are rare.
Please always do our own research and find a breeder who follows what you believe in. Some helpful articles, please visit:
RSPCA's article on tail docking
American Veterinary Medical Association
We do still remove dewclaws but may also move away from that in the near future as well.
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