I've decided to create this page to cover some random information that will hopefully help you understand the dog world! These are my opinions, views and experiences. Everybody has their own opinions and these are mine. Proceed with caution :)
This page is a work in progress
What to look for when buying a puppy - we all hear the phrase "reputable breeder" all the time. What is that exactly? For me, it's a breeder who takes breeding seriously, who does their research on pedigrees, health concerns, titles their dogs, cares for their dogs properly, does breed specific health testing, breeds to the breed standard, raises puppies in a way that they are healthy, well socialized and groomed regularly, answers questions for their potential puppy buyers before/after the sale and takes their dogs back at any time and any age if anything comes up that the new owner can't keep the puppy/dog. I want a breeder who knows structure, who I know when I buy a dog from them it's going to look like a Poodle, act like a Poodle and be a Poodle.
Red flags when looking for a puppy - I see so many "breeders" on Facebook with pictures of puppies that are 8 weeks old and have never been groomed, this is a huge red flag. If a breeder doesn't groom their puppies RUN. Poodles require grooming their entire lives, when started at a young age they learn that it's just how life is, they accept it and move on. Grooming is only traumatic when the puppy/dog does not get groomed regularly. Blow dryers, clippers, nail grinders are all loud and vibrate so they can be scary to a dog that has never been groomed. A Poodle needs to be groomed every 6 weeks at a minimum the longer you want the hair the more grooming a dog will need.
Champion Lines - if they don't show this means nothing, just because a dog has 1 or 2 champions in their pedigree doesn't mean squat. This claim is made to make people feel like they are getting quality when this is just not the case.
Rare colors! - OMG! There is no such thing as a rare color in Poodles or any breed. Poodles come in so many different colors and patterns. The only color that Poodles do NOT come in naturally is MERLE. This is NOT a naturally occurring color in Poodles. But "my breeder had the testing done to prove my dog is purebred", breeders who make these claims will do anything to convince you the mutt they are selling you is purebred. In reality purebred DNA testing only goes back 3 to 4 (at max) generations so if a Poodle was bred to a merle Australian Shepherd on that 5th generation it will not show up in the DNA because it doesn't go back that far. Merle is a dominate gene meaning that only 1 parent has to be merle for a puppy to be born merle. Then that merle puppy that is 50% Australian Shepherd and 50% Poodle is bred to a Poodle, another merle puppy is born. This is repeated until the puppy will DNA test as purebred. How did they become AKC registered? Someone along the way LIED. They registered a litter as purebred when in reality it was not. There is NO merle color option when registering a puppy, so they registered the puppy as a solid color or as a parti color. This is called "hanging" papers.
Hypoallergenic - There is no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog. There are dog breeds that produce less dander than other breeds but no dog is 100% hypoallergenic. Most people have a dander allergy so they have little to no allergic reaction to Poodles because Poodles have less dander. If someone is allergic to dog saliva then it won't matter what breed they have, they will still be allergic to a Poodle because of their saliva allergy. I see this claim made on every doodle website that their dogs are hypoallergenic, this is simply not true.
Teacup/Royal/Giant/King - Breeders who claim they have teacup Poodles, royal Poodles, giant Poodles or King Poodles are trying to sell a "product". Poodles come in 3 sizes in the United States, they are Toy, Miniature and Standard. A Toy Poodle is any Poodle that is up to and including 10 inches tall at the shoulder. Miniature Poodles are any Poodle that is over 10 inches up to and including 15 inches at the top of the shoulder. Standard Poodles are any Poodle that is over 15 inches. While some Toy Poodles may be smaller than normal or some Standard Poodles larger than normal, REPUTABLE breeders will not use these terms to describe their dogs. Again, this is a marketing strategy that bad breeders use to sell a "product".
NO REPUTABLE BREEDER WILL EVER BREED MIXED BREEDS or KNOWINGLY SELL THEIR DOGS TO PEOPLE WHO BREED MUTTS! Anyone who says they are reputable but they breed mixed breeds are NOT reputable. The reasons they are not considered reputable? They do no health testing, they do not care what the two dogs they are breeding together look like, they have no regards for health or temperaments, they do not title their dogs, they are breeding 2 (or more) breeds together to get a cute marketable puppy that people impulse buy. They will literally lie to potential owners telling them that their puppies are hypoallergenic, don't need to be groomed until a year of age or more or never, they provide no follow up support, they don't take their dogs back if something happens with the new owner, they tell people that their mixed breeds are healthier than purebreds because mixing of the 2 breeds will only give them the "good" genes and none of the bad genes (they call this Hybrid Vigor). The list keeps growing. The dogs these people breed are poor quality, have no idea what a breed standard is, don't care if the dogs have proper temperaments, etc. They only breed to make money. They give dogs away or send them to the pound when they can't sell them, then just turn around to breed more. They may have fancy websites and super cute puppy pictures but buying from these people only promotes bad breeding and bad breeders.
There are only 2 reputable registries for purebred dogs in the United States, these are AKC (American Kennel Club) and UKC (United Kennel Club). Neither of these registries guarantee that the dog you are buying is a quality dog/puppy. These are only entities that keep track of pedigrees and registrations for purebred dogs. So just because the breeder registers with either AKC and/or UKC does not mean you're getting quality. A quality puppy comes from a breeder who shows and proves their dogs by titling. Titling can be in conformation and/or sports. Conformation shows are held to evaluate dogs in comparison to their written breed standard. Each breed has a written standard that is governed by their respective breed club. So, for Poodles it would be the Poodle Club of America for AKC and the United Poodle Association for UKC. For Poodles the biggest difference between the breed standard in AKC and UKC is that UKC allows Multi Colored and Parti Poodles. UKC allows them to be shown in conformation shows. Only solid Poodles can be shown at AKC conformation shows, however they are registered with AKC and can participate in all sports such as obedience, agility, trick dog, etc.
Dog Vocabulary - these are words and abbreviations that are used regularly by dog show enthusiasts and dog breeders that the average pet owner may not have heard before or may not know exactly what they mean.
Sire = the father of a litter of puppies
Dam = the Mother of a litter of puppies
Bitch = Female dog that is an adult or a puppy
Dog = Male dog that is an adult or puppy
Pet/Companion Quality = a puppy or adult that does not meet the requirements of the breed standard to do well in the show ring. This does not mean the puppy is not of good quality, just has some fault that would not do well in the conformation ring.
Show Quality = a puppy or adult that meets or exceeds the breed standard that will hopefully do well in the show ring.
Breed Standard = the breed standard is a written document that outlines what a breed should look like in size, coat, color, temperament, structure, etc. Go here to learn more about breed standards.
AKC = American Kennel Club
UKC = United Kennel Club
Red flags when looking for a puppy - I see so many "breeders" on Facebook with pictures of puppies that are 8 weeks old and have never been groomed, this is a huge red flag. If a breeder doesn't groom their puppies RUN. Poodles require grooming their entire lives, when started at a young age they learn that it's just how life is, they accept it and move on. Grooming is only traumatic when the puppy/dog does not get groomed regularly. Blow dryers, clippers, nail grinders are all loud and vibrate so they can be scary to a dog that has never been groomed. A Poodle needs to be groomed every 6 weeks at a minimum the longer you want the hair the more grooming a dog will need.
Champion Lines - if they don't show this means nothing, just because a dog has 1 or 2 champions in their pedigree doesn't mean squat. This claim is made to make people feel like they are getting quality when this is just not the case.
Rare colors! - OMG! There is no such thing as a rare color in Poodles or any breed. Poodles come in so many different colors and patterns. The only color that Poodles do NOT come in naturally is MERLE. This is NOT a naturally occurring color in Poodles. But "my breeder had the testing done to prove my dog is purebred", breeders who make these claims will do anything to convince you the mutt they are selling you is purebred. In reality purebred DNA testing only goes back 3 to 4 (at max) generations so if a Poodle was bred to a merle Australian Shepherd on that 5th generation it will not show up in the DNA because it doesn't go back that far. Merle is a dominate gene meaning that only 1 parent has to be merle for a puppy to be born merle. Then that merle puppy that is 50% Australian Shepherd and 50% Poodle is bred to a Poodle, another merle puppy is born. This is repeated until the puppy will DNA test as purebred. How did they become AKC registered? Someone along the way LIED. They registered a litter as purebred when in reality it was not. There is NO merle color option when registering a puppy, so they registered the puppy as a solid color or as a parti color. This is called "hanging" papers.
Hypoallergenic - There is no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog. There are dog breeds that produce less dander than other breeds but no dog is 100% hypoallergenic. Most people have a dander allergy so they have little to no allergic reaction to Poodles because Poodles have less dander. If someone is allergic to dog saliva then it won't matter what breed they have, they will still be allergic to a Poodle because of their saliva allergy. I see this claim made on every doodle website that their dogs are hypoallergenic, this is simply not true.
Teacup/Royal/Giant/King - Breeders who claim they have teacup Poodles, royal Poodles, giant Poodles or King Poodles are trying to sell a "product". Poodles come in 3 sizes in the United States, they are Toy, Miniature and Standard. A Toy Poodle is any Poodle that is up to and including 10 inches tall at the shoulder. Miniature Poodles are any Poodle that is over 10 inches up to and including 15 inches at the top of the shoulder. Standard Poodles are any Poodle that is over 15 inches. While some Toy Poodles may be smaller than normal or some Standard Poodles larger than normal, REPUTABLE breeders will not use these terms to describe their dogs. Again, this is a marketing strategy that bad breeders use to sell a "product".
NO REPUTABLE BREEDER WILL EVER BREED MIXED BREEDS or KNOWINGLY SELL THEIR DOGS TO PEOPLE WHO BREED MUTTS! Anyone who says they are reputable but they breed mixed breeds are NOT reputable. The reasons they are not considered reputable? They do no health testing, they do not care what the two dogs they are breeding together look like, they have no regards for health or temperaments, they do not title their dogs, they are breeding 2 (or more) breeds together to get a cute marketable puppy that people impulse buy. They will literally lie to potential owners telling them that their puppies are hypoallergenic, don't need to be groomed until a year of age or more or never, they provide no follow up support, they don't take their dogs back if something happens with the new owner, they tell people that their mixed breeds are healthier than purebreds because mixing of the 2 breeds will only give them the "good" genes and none of the bad genes (they call this Hybrid Vigor). The list keeps growing. The dogs these people breed are poor quality, have no idea what a breed standard is, don't care if the dogs have proper temperaments, etc. They only breed to make money. They give dogs away or send them to the pound when they can't sell them, then just turn around to breed more. They may have fancy websites and super cute puppy pictures but buying from these people only promotes bad breeding and bad breeders.
There are only 2 reputable registries for purebred dogs in the United States, these are AKC (American Kennel Club) and UKC (United Kennel Club). Neither of these registries guarantee that the dog you are buying is a quality dog/puppy. These are only entities that keep track of pedigrees and registrations for purebred dogs. So just because the breeder registers with either AKC and/or UKC does not mean you're getting quality. A quality puppy comes from a breeder who shows and proves their dogs by titling. Titling can be in conformation and/or sports. Conformation shows are held to evaluate dogs in comparison to their written breed standard. Each breed has a written standard that is governed by their respective breed club. So, for Poodles it would be the Poodle Club of America for AKC and the United Poodle Association for UKC. For Poodles the biggest difference between the breed standard in AKC and UKC is that UKC allows Multi Colored and Parti Poodles. UKC allows them to be shown in conformation shows. Only solid Poodles can be shown at AKC conformation shows, however they are registered with AKC and can participate in all sports such as obedience, agility, trick dog, etc.
Dog Vocabulary - these are words and abbreviations that are used regularly by dog show enthusiasts and dog breeders that the average pet owner may not have heard before or may not know exactly what they mean.
Sire = the father of a litter of puppies
Dam = the Mother of a litter of puppies
Bitch = Female dog that is an adult or a puppy
Dog = Male dog that is an adult or puppy
Pet/Companion Quality = a puppy or adult that does not meet the requirements of the breed standard to do well in the show ring. This does not mean the puppy is not of good quality, just has some fault that would not do well in the conformation ring.
Show Quality = a puppy or adult that meets or exceeds the breed standard that will hopefully do well in the show ring.
Breed Standard = the breed standard is a written document that outlines what a breed should look like in size, coat, color, temperament, structure, etc. Go here to learn more about breed standards.
AKC = American Kennel Club
UKC = United Kennel Club