# Good breeder?



## reraven123 (Jul 21, 2017)

A big red flag is that she has merle "poodles" as breeding stock. Merle is not a color which occurs in poodles, which means that these dogs are not purebred poodles. The merle color comes with health issues including blindness and deafness, and has been discussed many times on this forum.

Breeders introducing the merle color into the poodle breed are being dishonest by saying they are purebred poodles, and are also introducing health issues into the poodle breed. The puppy you are looking at is black, so may or may not have any merle in her breeding, but this is not a breeder I would have anything to do with.


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## TeamHellhound (Feb 5, 2021)

They aren't a breeder I would consider. In addition to the merle coloration already mentioned, my concerns are "what are they doing with their dogs besides breeding them?", and the fact that they have eleven adults and three litters on the ground. There are no registered names on any of the dogs, and while they say "OFA tested" for them, without registered names, you can't look anything up.


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## Psauri (11 mo ago)

She did send me the link for the OFA testing
Sire: Pepe
Testing results: Advanced Search | Orthopedic Foundation for Animals | Columbia, MO

Dam: Sally
Testing results: Advanced Search | Orthopedic Foundation for Animals | Columbia, MO


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## EJStevenP (Oct 27, 2021)

The merle issue can't be stressed enough. Breeders are messing with genetics when they play with merle and the resulting dogs are the ones that can suffer. Merle is a hot thing now which means $$$. A breeder out for $$$ isn't someone I would consider. Her website doesn't mention testing for color genetics. If she doesn't do that and is breeding for merle, a double merle is possible which is what causes a host of health problems including blindness. Also, I understand that toys cost more because the litters are smaller, but $3,300 sounds like a lot of money for a non-show dog. The cost of both of my standards (one from a pedigreed line) combined was less.


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## MaizieFrosty (Apr 12, 2019)

Would be a hard pass for me.


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## TeamHellhound (Feb 5, 2021)

Neither the sire not dam have patella results listed, but the dam's half-sibling (sire) has a grade 2 luxating patella. The sire's eye exam is out of date, but it looks like both the sire and dam have Distichiasis? There is a PF member who's dog has that condition, and it's not fun, to say the least. 

And yeah, the while merle coloration thing.


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## Psauri (11 mo ago)

Thanks for all your responses! I'm going to pass based on all the information you guys have given me. I'll know what to look for moving on so I really appreciate it!


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## Johanna (Jun 21, 2017)

Good for you Psauri! If you don't know how to get in touch with a local poodle or all-breed dog club, we can help. You can probably find it for yourself, though, using Google.


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## Starla (Nov 5, 2020)

That’s a smart choice. Also, I didn’t see mentioned how young the mama dog is.


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## TeamHellhound (Feb 5, 2021)

Starla said:


> That’s a smart choice. Also, I didn’t see mentioned how young the mama dog is.


According to the OFA page linked, her DOB is 9-14-2020, yeah, there's that, too. Sire's is 7-1-2019, according to his OFA page.


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## EJStevenP (Oct 27, 2021)

Thank you for making a good choice. I know it is difficult to walk away when faced with a adorable puppy but it's a small step in not supporting irresponsible breeding.


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