Our Guiding Policy is to always do what is best for the dog. Every dog is an individual whose personality, health status and general well being should be taken into account when making decisions that affect their life. Our goal is to raise good companions.

Age to Spay or Neuter – Not too early. We know of breeders that will spay or neuter a puppy at 10 weeks of age before selling it. Breeders do this to prevent a puppy from being bred in the future either accidentally or intentionally.  Considering all of the recent research about early spay/neuter and health consequences we think it is wiser to spay or neuter at a later age.  Our preference is to wait until a poodles growth plates have closed and they have matured mentally, this is usually around 12- 18 months.

Dew Claws – We leave them alone. They came with the puppy when they were born, they have a purpose. Dew claws are thumbs, dogs need them. Read More

Docking Tails – We do not dock tails. Amputating a part of a dogs spine because it’s fashionable to have a docked tail just doesn’t sit well with us. We have owned poodles with docked tails but we will not dock tails for our puppies. It’s one of those things when if you know better, do better. Read More

Health Testing – There are two types of health tests that can be performed on the parents prior to breeding. One is a true genetic test that tells you if a dog has the potential for producing a puppy with that disease. These test will insure a puppy doesn’t develop a disease.  The other is a snapshot in time health screening. It only shows you if a dog does or doesn’t have a disease at that time. Those results can change the next day. They can’t predict if a puppy will develop that disease.  Read More

Hip Dysplasia – It was once thought that hip dysplasia was a heredity disease. Good breeders diligently checked their poodles hips prior to breeding. Dogs with good hips were chosen as breeding dogs. The thinking was that breeding two dogs both with good hips would produce only perfectly healthy puppies. What we now know is that hip dysplasia isn’t that simple. There is some research that estimates that up to 80% of a dogs environment determines their risk for developing hip dysplasia. Reducing a dogs diet by 10% may do more to reduce hip dysplasia risk than any other factor. There are other risk factors such stairs and slippery surfaces. There are dogs that will show hip dysplasia on an x-ray but will never develop the associated arthritis that causes pain or discomfort. What we don’t know is how to eliminate hip dysplasia in any breed.

Purchasing a Puppy – Should be a well considered process. We prefer to interview our perspective puppy buyers and help them match a puppy to their home. Some of our dogs have higher energy levels and would be better suited to a more active home or one without very young children, some are a little quieter and are better suited for lower energy households families that want a more relaxed companion. They all love to play. Read More

Buying vs Rescue – There are many good dogs in shelters. You will find pure breed dogs and mixed breeds, some which you may never be able to determine the breed. You may not know the dogs background information, or how it will fit into your family. When choosing a shelter dog choose wisely, take someone with you to help evaluate dogs you are interested in.   I assume since you are on a Standard Poodle website that this is a breed you are interested in. A puppy is a lot of work, you need to be able to invest time and energy into raising a puppy. Buying a poodle allows you to mold it into the perfect pet as long as you are patient and willing to work with it’s natural personality.

Our goal is to never have one of our puppies end up in a shelter or rescue situation. Should your situation change and you cannot keep your poodle please give us a call.

Willow a standard poodle puppy loves kisses.