Standard Poodles - I have questions!

[Eye_in_the_Sky]

So, after about a year of thinking about getting a dog, and considering all of our needs (allergies and 2 cats and an almost 5 yr old boy), we have settled on getting a standard poodle.

My question is this: How do I sort through the good and the bad breeders? How many litters a year does a respectable breeder breed?

And what about health guarantees? Is 3 yrs enough, or is a lifetime guarantee really the only smart way to go?

What should we expect to pay for a quality pet? I have no desire to breed or show - just play and perhaps bring the dog to work with me. It would also be cool to swim with the dog at my family’s lake home.

And while I know cold is just the icing on the cake, I am partial to blacks, blues, grays and silvers. Is there any genetic weirdness with those colors?

Any suggestions, help, thoughts would be appreciated. We are in no hurry - we want the right dog in the right time.

[clm08]

You can get some useful info from my thread on poodles:

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=351784

There were some good suggestions about potential breeders to contact. Good luck!

[AlmostDun]

A thought on health guarantees – I personally don’t see use of a health guarantee if you are required to give up ownership of the dog to take advantage of it. Say the dog develops a serious but manageable issue, like deafness, at around one year. Am I really going to return him to the breeder, possibly to be euthanized, at that point? He’s part of my family after a year. I think some of the puppy mills are quite aware that they won’t have to honor their guarantees if they simply offer to trade a defective dog for another pup.

It’s not unusual for a good breeder to charge over a $1000 for even a pet quality dog. The reason is that the testing, vet bills, and other breeding costs still exist if the pup doesn’t turn out to be show quality.

[To_the_MAX]

http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/adopting-vs-buying-and-how-to-tell-if-your-breeder-is-responsible

I especially agree with post 28 on the above link.

[IFG]

I agree with the above poster. I will say that Standard Poodles are absolutely wonderful dogs. In my area, puppies go for about $1000- $2000. Puppies are health tested, and most of the relatives are titled, either for conformation or performance (agility or obedience). I also looked at CHIC and Poodle Health Registry to see if any near relatives were listed.

[IFG]

Forgot to add, I agree with carp on health guarantees. Despite my best efforts, my 3 1/2 year old Spoo was just diagnosed with Addison’s Disease, despite no near relatives having had it. I would not return him for the $$.

[WeDoItAll]

Standard Poodles are fabulous family dogs, whether farm or apartment. health guarantees really don’t mean much for the reasons stated above. Realize that “royal” (large standards) nor “____” I can’t remember the name but think it starts with a “k” that backyard breeders call the small standards do not really exist in the breed standard, so I would run from anyone who uses that terminology with their dogs.

Truly, a well bred dog will likely cost $1000-$2000. However, don’t get caught up in the health guarantee (7-30 days to make sure you have a healthy puppy should be enough), if you do a due diligence search on the relatives, that is really the best you can do. AND make sure you understand the results … kind of like doing a prepurchase exam, nearly every dog will have something in its background somewhere.

[Townsend]

Hi Eye in the Sky,

There was also this thread from Feb. where a lot of people responded about Standards.

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=340528

Townsend

[Bluey]

Health guarantees to me mean a breeder is doing what it can, but there is no guarantee that something won’t be wrong, just that the breeder will do xyz if it does.
It is more important that the breeder is testing for all that breed can be tested for.

My little dog, not a poodle, was going to be my next agility dog.
The young breeder was showing in conformation and agility and was working with another breeder that was the mentor.
It was obvious my dog had something wrong with her left hock a few days after I got her at 11 weeks old.

She was my pick of the litter, also the breeders, so I picked another.
Right before going to get her, the breeder said she was not growing as much, was going to end up too small, which was right, so she let me have her.
I don’t know if the breeder also knew there was something wrong with her leg and if so, that was bad, because she knew I wanted to do agility.
I think the breeder didn’t know that.

Do you think I would take a puppy that is mine now back and exchange for another?
No, I had her checked good, the vet, a specialist in orthopedics decided operating would not resolve anything, so we just did crate rest for several weeks with therapy and trained a bit very lightly while young and now 6, she still limps a bit at times, but is otherwise healthy and happy dog.
She doesn’t know all the fun she missed as an agility dog, but there is no way I was returning that puppy to get another.

Breeders know that, so their guarantees are a bit misleading.

Anything you get may be a “lemon”, not what you were paying for, but with something alive, guarantees have to be flexible.
You can’t so easily get a replacement and trash the defective one like you can a bad toaster.:eek:

Do your homework, try to see thru the hype commercial breeders, disguised as “good” breeders put out, especially on the internet, check out references.
Take your time to find one.

Good luck, poodles are really marvelous dogs for what you want.

[IFG]

And, while there are no guarantees that he will stay that way, our Rescue Spoo, who is now 2 1/2, and I know is from a puppy mill, has been very healthy. In fact, he came to us at 10.5 months with a twisted front leg. We had a veterinary orthopedist examine him. The twist was all soft tissue; the bones were normal. It was probably from being stuck in a crate because he was a bit out of control in a house with three young kids.

I had no plans to do agility with him. My husband did obedience classes. Then he did one agility class just to keep him busy and quit. The puppy was trying to sneak out of the house to follow me and the older dog when we went to agility, so (with the vets blessing) I took him along. He is amazing. FAST, FAST, FAST. He does agility like a border collie. Loves it.

So there you go, my well-bred dog has addison’s. My puppy mill dog is an agility fiend–at least for now. Oh, and the twisted leg? I looked at it the other day, an it is almost straight.

Edited to add, I love them both no matter what, and I wouldn’t return either one. If the puppy didn’t leave after he ate the Teacher’s edition of my husband’s Latin textbook, he is staying!

[AlmostDun]

Regarding health concerns specific to black poodles, some of them get cancer in their toes. I don’t know a whole lot more about it other than that a researcher was recruiting for a genetic study, and someone has started a registry.