# Maltipoo/Havapoo Breeder



## Misteline (Mar 10, 2019)

Poodle forum does not promote the breeding of mixes. While we try to be friendly to their owners you are unlikely to find recommendations for what you are looking for here.

If you would like recommendations for a toy poodle, I'm sure someone will try to accommodate.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Or even a mini, but no you are not going to find us knowing much about or recommending breeders of mixes.


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

Hudzy said:


> Hi there!
> Our family is looking for a dog to love. Havapoo and Maltipoo’s appeal to us. We would prefer to obtain them from a reputable, safe, caring environment. Google searches have come up empty other than classified ads. We’d love some hints on where to begin our search! Breeder names welcomed🙏🏻 Thanks so much!


What characteristics are you looking for in a pet dog? You listed havapoo and maltipoo as types you would like. How would you describe these types in comparison with your ideal dog? How would you describe the crossbreeds in comparison to the parent breeds: Havanese, Maltese, Poodle?


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

Breeders of mixed breeds like Havapoos are usually either in it for the money (greeders), often large scale and don’t care for the dogs the way one would like, or they are backyard breeders who have a dog they love and a friend with another dog so they decide to have puppies. Maybe they are breeding because they themselves want a new puppy from their loved dog.

What they tend not to do is all the health testing recommended for each breed, nor do they compete in any dog sports to show that their dogs have good character. They tend to mate their bitch indiscriminately with whatever dog is convenient. Maybe the dog is owned by a friend or is in the area. 

You can get lucky and find a nice, well adjusted healthy puppy but you’re just as likely to find one with health issues such as luxating patellas that will need expensive surgery.

I‘m sure you don’t want your money going to greeders, especially those who are cruel to their breeding stock. They use tricks like having puppy brokers sell their dogs. Puppy brokers may pretend they bred the puppy and raised it lovingly in their home when the puppy was born in a crate in a barn.

Backyard breeders may be very nice and loving people but they may not have made good choices in the breeding pair.

You may not want to hear this, but make a list of what you are looking for in a dog. Find the breed that most closely matches what you want. By selecting a breed, you can now look for quality breeders who do all the health testing recommended by that breed’s club (here you can see the testing for various sizes of poodles Poodle Information Online - The Poodle Club of America) and who earn titles in either conformation or dog sports to indicate their dogs are both healthy and good temperament. These are breeders who may travel several states to find the best match to keep diversity in the gene pool, best conformation and avoid inheritable diseases.

You will pay a lot of money for a poorly bred mixed breed dog, probable more than you would a well bred dog from a quality breeder. If you still want a mixed breed dog, consider adopting one from a humane society. That way you will see what the dog looks like came a sense of its temperament.

There’s lots of help here to find a poodle. There’s also excellent information that can help you choose a different breed of puppy. Scroll through these posts for additional information to buying a puppy safely and smartly. Finding the Right Puppy & Breeder


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## Ren. (May 20, 2021)

Doodle owner here. What’s the appeal of a maltipoo/havapoo? Is there something specific your family is looking for?

Unless you find a unicorn breeder, who shows their purebred dogs and has done the specific breed health tests for the sire and dam (do your research on the three breeds, not the mix), I would recommend holding out for a shelter/rescue/rehomed maltipoo or havapoo, if your family doesn’t want a purebred dog.

Also, if you do go through with a maltipoo or havapoo, here’s a head’s ups, refer to your pup as a mix outside of the vet. There are some lousy doodle owners out there that have led to the general bias, that doodles are always poorly trained and are never groomed, among other things. Some trainers, groomers, and other dog owners, will treat you accordingly (though not everyone is this way!). I have had several sly comments made about Ren to my face, come across several online posts hating on doodles and their owners, and have felt regret for getting Ren numberless times.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Ren. said:


> I have had several sly comments made about Ren to my face, come across several online posts hating on doodles and their owners, and have felt regret for getting Ren numberless times.


Aw. This makes me really sad. As a former doodle owner (Gracie was half miniature poodle), yes I know better now. But....no regrets. There’s no changing the past, right? All we can do is learn and move forward.

Even buying Peggy—a purebred poodle—I made mistakes. And I was trying _so hard _not to! How embarrassing, right? But you don’t know what you don’t know. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ And I eventually found my way to Poodle Forum, which was a total game changer.

@Hudzy, I’m glad you found us when you did. If you decide to go the poodle route, we’ve got loads of resources to help you in your search. Don’t hesitate to ask questions.


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

Hi and Welcome to you!

I hope you understand that PF is dedicated to the purebred poodle. We welcome members who have pups crossed with poodles, but the focus, especially for breeding and breeders will be on purebred poodles.

If you came to us asking for what to look for in a poodle breeder, we can, and would love to help. All of this is mentioned above but I'll add my comments, hoping to help.

A quality, conscientious breeder will be quickly recognized by a few things.

They do the proper health testing for their chosen breed as set by the official breed club. In the case of poodles, that's the Poodle Club of America. That testing is determined by the life-affecting health issues that might come up, and in the case of poodles, different issues are more likely (not common, just more likely to be, if...) in each variety.

They'll know the history and lines of their own dogs and also the dogs of the other breeder. They'll be competing with their dogs, as will the other breeder to prove that these dogs meet the breed standard for structure, soundness, and temperament. A breed standard is an ideal "blueprint" for the breeder to work towards.

A breeder of crosses will need to do the testing of two breeds, not just one. They'll need to know the history and lines of not just two dogs, theirs and the other breeders, they'll need to know the health issues of both breeds, and do the health testing for both breeds. There can't be a breed standard because crossing two different breeds doesn't make a new "breed". It makes a cross. It takes many generations of thoughtful choices in breeding to create a reliably reproducible "blueprint" at the genetic level.

Conscientious breeders of purebreds are not knowingly going to allow the dogs they've worked so hard to give the very best to, to be used in a crossbreeding program. That puts their kennel and reputation on the line.

All of this is to clarify why being in a position to recommend breeders isn't likely to be possible here.
There's criteria to be met and cross breeding makes that doubly difficult.

Bravo for your desire to


Hudzy said:


> obtain them from a reputable, safe, caring environment.


That's a great start. Even if we can't offer any breeder names, we can still offer suggestions on what to look for in a breeder, and the environment they raise the pups in and keep their dogs in, how to assess websites, things that might still be helpful. Maybe we can even turn you to the full poodle side .

This site has some good info
Havapoo Dog Breed Information and Characteristics | Daily Paws









Maltipoo Dog Breed Information & Characteristics | Daily Paws









(I know, it says "breed" but they refer to them as hybrids thru the article )

and just for fun,
Toy Poodle Dog Breed Information & Characteristics | Daily Paws


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

Why not choose the real breed? I love Havanese, Maltese and all sizes of poodles. It’s easier to find a reputable breeder, who does all the breed health testing, than amongst the crosses. Sometimes designer crosses are more expensive than puppies from breed champion parents which I find crazy and insulting to the breeders who are working to improving their lines.


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

Mfmst said:


> t’s easier to find a reputable breeder, who does all the breed health testing, than amongst the crosses. Sometimes designer crosses are more expensive than puppies from breed champion parents


Both parts of this are true. If you search PF threads for members asking about specific breeders or advice in selecting a breeder you'll see both of these topics come up. To determine if a breeder is reputable, you need those independent sources, outside of happy owners, who may just be lucky so far. 

This is an active thread with members describing their experiences with a specific breeder.








Springbrook puppies? Any experience or insight?


Looking for a red mini in Florida or southeast USA. Found AKC Red Miniature Poodle | Florida | SpringBrookPoodle And was wondering if anyone had any experience with them or if you have any insight from the website if they look like quality breeders? Thank you.




www.poodleforum.com






If you're interested, these are "sister" forums to PF for their respective breeds.
Havanese Forum

Maltese Dogs Forum : Spoiled Maltese Forums


from the same site as the links in my previous post:

Havanese Dog Breed Information & Characteristics | Daily Paws

Maltese Dog Breed Information & Characteristics | Daily Paws


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

Something else...whether they're called mixed breed, cross breed, "designer dog", it's estimated that slightly more than 50% of dogs in the US are not purebred. 

There's nothing wrong with that. 

Hardly any of us haven't had a mixed breed dog in our lives that we love dearly. 

What doesn't sit right is paying thousands of dollars to a breeder who's not doing the testing, the evaluating, investing in their dogs and the rest of the things that define conscientious, reputable, and so on, breeders. 

Price alone isn't the only thing to separate quality breeders from those less than. We've seen members quote as high, and even much higher pricing for pups from parents not health tested, not proven to meet breed standards, sold as purebred when only a DNA test could determine that since they may be sold without registration papers.

If I knew the risks and have dedicated health savings of several thousand dollars for my dog or pet insurance, knew that basically that the breeder and I would part ways as soon as the pup was in my hands because they're very unlikely to stand behind their pup and me thru the pups life, I might proceed with a breeder that doesn't meet my criteria.

But

I also wouldn't pay quality breeder prices, and over, unless I'm getting all the quality breeder perks.


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## MishaMini (Jun 21, 2021)

The fact that you're even bothering to ask about reputable breeders is an AMAZING start- most people don't, at least where I'm from.

I got my current dog from a shelter- his breed was unknown and he just looked like a very fluffy ball of lint.















Naturally, I asked around about what he might be- the answer was overwhelmingly bichon x poodle mix (bichpoo? poochon? bichoodle?). 99% of the people I asked, both online and in-person, said he was some kind of poodle mix.

I bought an Embark DNA test and to my surprise, he was 100% miniature poodle. *The difference between what's perceived as a poodle vs a doodle really is only fur-deep.*

This groomer has a series called "Doodle or Poodle" where she showcases the differences between dogs who are perceived as poodles vs doodles- it's usually based 100% on the cut. Doodles in poodle clips look like poodles, Poodles who are left long look like doodles. If you got a purebred white miniature or toy poodle and left its coat long, people would definitely think that it's a maltipoo.

Here are some toy/mini poodle pics with a "long face"/non-poodle clip





























It's honestly hard to tell the difference between a poodle and a doodle because they seem to inherit most of their appearance from the poodle parent. Doodles are often back-bred to poodles to a point where they're 75%+ poodle with very few, if any, notable Maltese/Havanese traits. It's probably a better choice to go for a mini or toy from a reputable breeder who pays attention to health and temperament.

Davishollowdogs does reviews of dog breeders, most of them doodlers- the results of her doodle deep-dives are pretty bad, unfortunately. Lots of lying about testing, only testing 1/2 of the things that need to be tested for, breeding for color as opposed to health and temperament (prioritizing superficial traits over health is a big no-no), breeding dogs too often, etc. I don't know what the numbers are, but I've seen a lot of doodle owners post their Embark results, and sometimes the admixture isn't what the breeder claimed it was.

It's also possible to get a doodle from a shelter, although it's a bit harder and much like with BYB dogs, you don't know what you'll get as far as breed/health/temperament. You also can't guarantee that they'll be hypoallergenic- a lot of the doodles I saw while I was looking for a dog were surrendered due to shedding. There are doodle-specific rescues and poodle mixes occasionally pop up in public shelters. There are also poodle/Havanese/Maltese-specific rescues.

Regardless of what breed you choose or how you get them, I'm sure you'll be a wonderful owner : )


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