# Oak Hill Farm Standard Poodles



## Ivy0601 (May 15, 2018)

Has anyone gotten their standard from Oak Hill Farm in Poertage, WI? I placed a deposit on a 6 week old puppy last Thursday. Then decided last weekend to take the kids out on a surprise 4 hour trip to meet the puppy. My expectations were to see robust, healthy, clean poodle. Most were but not the dam and sire. We met the puppy first. She is adorable. Plump and healthy. Playful and sweet. Then breeder brings out the sire of the puppies. He is beautiful and calm BUT he is also super thin. I could see his butt bones. When I questioned this she said that her dogs get lots of exercise on their 40 acre farm which is why. I am not an expert in poodles but have never seen one so thin. Then she brought out a 10 month old female with similar markings so I could see how this puppy might look when she is older (she is a tri colored phantom). She too was very thin. She was calm and friendly and also peed. The breeder said that it was a sign of submissiveness and that this dog had never met anyone outside of their staff. Then she brought out the mother. She was at a healthy weight BUT was extremely dirty. I would not have let a dog that dirty in my house. It looked like she had run through a muddy puddle and it had dried. The breeder said that she was due for grooming. Clearly. I was not allowed into the area with the mom’s and puppies. The rest of the dogs (maybe 16 others) looked healthy and clean. Obnoxiously barking and jumping at the fence though. She states that she use to show dogs years ago and has been breeding for 17 years. She feeds her dogs a top of the line food and really good vitamins. After all the research I did I can’t believe I’m in this spot. I felt just ill the whole 4 hour drive home. I’ve already put a $500 deposit down which I don’t believe she will return (I placed it 5 days ago) and I have three kids over-the-moon in love with this puppy. I am still conflicted on what to do. The easiest answer in the short term is to just go through with it. Long therm that could potentially be a terrible option. What if there are medical or behavior problems? It is a huge commitment you are making to this animal. I also don’t want to disappoint my kids. I don’t know for sure this breeder is not caring for her dogs well however there are red flags and my gut is telling me something is off. Does anyone have any experience with this breeder or any advise? 
Thank you for reading my long post. 


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I don't know anything about this breeder, but if it were me I would run away as fast as I could (and consider reporting to humane authorities). If she was willing to show you the dogs in the condition you saw then what is the reality in the kennel? This sounds a heck of a lot like a puppy mill and I would never support a mill.

Read this thread for insights about finding a good puppy. http://www.poodleforum.com/5-poodle-talk/33522-buying-puppy-safely-basics.html

I totally understand that your kids are going to be unhappy about not getting the puppy they have fallen for, but this is a teachable moment for them too.

I wish you the best in figuring this all out.

ETA I just looked at the website. To me there are too many dogs. This is a high volume breeder and there is no health check information anywhere. The pigment on the browns is bad (noses should be black and eyes should be darker). It could be the angles from which the photos were taken, but some of the dogs look long in the back/short on leg. Poodles develop socially to their fullest when bred in home with their first family in close proximity.


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## rkj__ (Dec 24, 2017)

Some things I noticed from the website that were concerning:

1. Upon my quick scan, I did not see any mention of health testing.
2. Brindle poodles. Some people get worked up about this, because it is apparently not naturally occurring in Poodles.


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## Ivy0601 (May 15, 2018)

Thank you for the replies. I feel really naive for having gotten myself in this situation at all. When we got our rescue dog, the rescue was not truthful either and I had a lot of rehabilitation to do with my little guy. It’s so frustrating that people don’t treat dogs with the love, care, and respect they are entitled to as living creatures and our companions.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Don't beat yourself up about this. You want a nice puppy for your family. The website is well organized and appealing. I am sure there are lots of people who are new to finding a puppy that would think things look great from that website. There are also probably some breeds of dogs that can be raised in that kind of kennel environment and be just lovely wonderful dogs, but poodles are too sensitive. Can you try to get your deposit back through PayPal? I don't use PayPal often, but there must be some consumer protection in there somewhere.


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## Halleluyah (Aug 9, 2020)

I know this post is old but I recently was looking at their website when looking for a poodle breeders. I felt something was off so I went searching for info on this glorified puppy mill. One thing that stood out to me was how skittish some of the adults look in the photos. also on their facebook they rehome adults that are no longer breeding and t me that says they're all in it for the money.


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

I'm not bothered by a breeder rehoming a dog that is retired from breeding or showing. Rehoming is better than hoarding. There's a limit to how many dogs someone can properly care for. Someone who is serious about progressing their breeding lines will probably hit a point where they have too many dogs. I'd rather see the retirees moved on to good homes than stuck in crates in the garage.

It does disturb me when I see breeders rehoming adult dogs that have never been properly handled and socialized: skittish, not house-broken, etc.


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