# "Perfect" SPOO Breeder - Your TOP Pick?



## Supergirl13 (Sep 26, 2015)

This is somewhat a continuation of my post in the New Member Intro section, so apologies for the redundancy... 

My husband and I spent over 10 years now researching Poodles; we're absolutely in love with every aspect of the breed and are now getting down to breeder research. 

We're in no rush to add a pup to our family; we're both more than willing to wait for a year, two, or three... however long it takes, as long as we find that pup who'll be perfect for us!

*Our non-negotiable "musts": 
*
-- HEALTHY. We've had our fair share of unhealthy fur babies; we stick with them and do everything in our power to make it all right, but it's incredibly draining, emotionally, physically, and financially. We'd like a dog from healthy lines and a responsible, involved, experienced breeder. PRIORITY!

-- Easily trainable. Yes, I know Poodles are extremely intelligent; we want that dog who's exceptionally driven to please and LIKES to learn.

-- Loving. Love velcro dogs, not aloof ones.

-- Sporty. Easy to train for agility, obedience, and possibly birding (just for fun). We're into dog sports and want a pup who'll thrive being active and using that amazing Poodle brain!

-- "Intuitive intelligence" -- is that a "thing"? I don't know, but we've had our fair share of dogs (about 15 between the two of us), and some of them have this intuition as to what's wanted from them, what's expected, what's needed. They have an emotional intelligence that goes beyond just smarts or the ability to learn. This is what we value most. 

We're looking to make this dog a therapy dog, as well. I love training and am willing to work hard, but not harder than necessary. The main thing that drove us toward the breed, outside of their majestic beauty, is their intelligence... so this is of utmost importance to us. 

*Preferences, though not musts by any means: 
*
-- A breeder who matches their pups to new homes based on personality as opposed to who paid/put down deposit/called "dibs" first. We feel personality matching should be more important than selection based on appearance.

-- We prefer more "robust" dogs. Thicker boned, hearty, as opposed to the super delicate ones. I notice a distinct variation within SPOOs as far as this is concerned, so I thought it's worth a mention. Again, by no means a deal breaker if the "musts" are all in place. 

-- We're leaning towards a female as opposed to a male, only because we've had several males at this point who piddle on themselves and need to be washed after every walk, which is exhausting. Silly, I know -- not a deal breaker, personality points outlined above are significantly more important!

*Things we don't AT ALL care about:
*
-- Location of breeder. We travel frequently with our fur kids as a family, have homes in several states, and work from home. Our primary place of residence is in North Idaho (by Eastern Washington State), but we have residences in Southern California, Texas, NYC, and Miami. We frequently travel to Colorado and are often in Canada. The location of our breeder makes NO difference, we only want total compatibility. 

-- Color. Over the past 10 years, we've gone from loving white, to loving black, to preferring grey... then adoring reds, then being crazy about partis, then wanting nothing more than the white, and all through the entire spectrum again. We've come to the conclusion that all are stunning in the own way, and our list of priorities above is significantly more important. 

All of that considered (SORRY ABOUT THE LENGTH OF THIS!); what would be your TOP PICK for a breeder? 

*If you could get your next pup from any breeder in the country (or world), where time/travel/money would not be limiting factors, to whom would you go? 
*
Thanks very much in advance.


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

I adore ArreauStandardPoodle's poodles. NOLA has nice ones, as well. (both are awesome members here)

I don't figure you could go wrong with either.


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

Wintergarden Poodles in Kamloops, BC produces very good dogs; my dogs are out of her lines and never had a health problem, not even an ear infection. One of my friends has two BeMine poodles from the Fraser Valley (also BC) and just absolutely loves them. I also love Nolan and Arreau poodles.


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

Oops Nola, not Nolan


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

I didn't have the luxury of a nationwide search, so I feel very fortunate to have found Nancy Wilson of Bar None in Corpus Christi. AKC Breeder of Merit, all the health testing including extremely low COI, took one of her dogs to Westminster this year. Her Website is hardly current. I would call and find a mutually convenient time to talk to her about her Poodles.


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

Paragon is also a member of PF, and her dogs are lovely! (silvers)


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## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

Another vote for Bar None (my Dulcie's sire is GrCh Wildrose Bar-None Most Wanted (Rielly)) because my breeder clearly thinks a lot of them and I have the utmost respect for my breeder. Which brings me to my next recommendation, Avalon Standard Poodles (in southwest Wisconsin). Dulcie is the product of one of their beautiful dams (Avalons Crowne Jewel) and Rielly from Bar None. 

Avalon has gorgeous poodles - and they are all bred for health and temperament. Mary Skogg, the breeder is a vet and has been breeding poodles for 30 years, aiming for strong healthy lines as well as beautiful conformation. I don't think you could go wrong there. Oh, and since you've gone back and forth on color -- Avalon's puppies are mainly white, black and blue -- with the occasional breeding producing silvers. Absolutely stunning puppies, wonderful breeder.

Looking on their website, they have a litter this month, expecting white blue and black. Probably all snapped up already, but you never know! I do think they are planning another litter for later in the year or early 2016.

Good luck in your search!


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## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

I should probably add that I am training Dulcie to be a therapy dog and even hoping to do more specialized work with people with special needs with her. She has the friendly loving nature - loves attention and cuddles - and she also has that amazing poodle calmness, even as a puppy, in the face of so many startling things. We live in downtown Chicago and she has seen it all - takes it all in stride, mostly - and when she actually is startled, she recovers instantly. Having met the other poodles at Avalon on a couple of occasions, I can say that this seems to be a general trait that most of them share. Dulcie is also very athletic and loves to run run run and fetch. She learns very quickly and will hold a sit and wait in a busy park, ignoring passing dogs, people, bikes, stroller and even squirrels until I give the command to fetch the ball (or release her from her sit/wait).


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## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

I am quite pleased with my Jacknic poodle. Wilson will be my replacement for my current service dog. My daughter also has a pup from the same breeder that is now her service dog; Nike passed his CGC before he was six months old. I researched for several years before choosing a breeder, and had many of the same criteria you have listed. I, too, was willing to wait for the right litter; Kathy Esio-King was very easy to work with and I would go back to her for another pup. I would like to add that there are several really great breeders on our forum (Arreau is another of my favorites). You, however will need to be brutally honest with yourself about what kind of dog you want.... so many times people will say they want an active dog and then when they get one, it is a bit more than they bargained for. They same can be said about wanting a dog that is "birdy" and then complaining that their dog is too focused on birds. You sound like you have put a lot of thought into your "wish'' list so I don't think this caveat really applies to you. Oh, maybe I should warn you that our Jacknic pups are smart ...we have had to stay on our toes to keep ahead of them!


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

I'm thrilled with my girl from Lacy Lane Poodles/Melanie North. Maizie is gorgeous, sweet, loving, smart, trainable (I'm working toward getting her certified as a therapy dog), and Melanie's dogs are healthy. She's a small breeder, so you'd probably have to wait until next year for a pup, but it would be worth it.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

My Javelin is a Madela Standard Poodles pup and has Ale Kai Mikimoto in his pedigree. Mark and Delana are fabulous people and located in Connecticut. 

Another Northeastern breeder I would recommend is Majessa poodles, also in Connecticut. I have friends whose dogs are Majessa dogs and they do obedience with them.


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## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

Charmed said:


> I am quite pleased with my Jacknic poodle. Wilson will be my replacement for my current service dog. My daughter also has a pup from the same breeder that is now her service dog; Nike passed his CGC before he was six months old. I researched for several years before choosing a breeder, and had many of the same criteria you have listed.


I am very interested that you have service dogs. I too have a great service dog and am always watching for breeders who have produced service dogs. My spoo was from Marquis Diamond and is now 6 1/2.


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## aasteapots (Oct 6, 2013)

Our breeder has service Spoos. Our Spoo was in service for my Autistic sons. The temperament is exceptional. We got her for Alexander Poodles in NY. We will be bringing home our new pup in a few weeks.


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## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

aasteapots said:


> Our breeder has service Spoos. Our Spoo was in service for my Autistic sons. The temperament is exceptional. We got her for Alexander Poodles in NY. We will be bringing home our new pup in a few weeks.


Always glad to hear of another spoo breeder with SD's in the lineage. But thought the requirements odd - Live within 1 1/2 hours? Have dog of opposite sex? Most breeders are more interested in how the owner lives, feeds their spoos, trains, etc.


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## dogdragoness (Oct 18, 2015)

Mfmst said:


> I didn't have the luxury of a nationwide search, so I feel very fortunate to have found Nancy Wilson of Bar None in Corpus Christi. AKC Breeder of Merit, all the health testing including extremely low COI, took one of her dogs to Westminster this year. Her Website is hardly current. I would call and find a mutually convenient time to talk to her about her Poodles.


Ahhh love her! If only she didnt breed for a larger spoo, I would have gone with her.


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## marialydia (Nov 23, 2013)

Just saw this and will also say that Arreau poodles fit your needs very well. My Pericles is Arreau's My Heart Will Go On, and he is super smart, absolutely a velcro dog, powerful and athletic, fully health tested, and a total lovey. Arreau will also match your dog, none of this business of you picking your dog on the basis of a short meeting.


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## aasteapots (Oct 6, 2013)

kontiki said:


> Always glad to hear of another spoo breeder with SD's in the lineage. But thought the requirements odd - Live within 1 1/2 hours? Have dog of opposite sex? Most breeders are more interested in how the owner lives, feeds their spoos, trains, etc.


That is because she wants to keep her intact male for breeding so they have to be close and for him to be with another male can cause issues so she wants a home with a female dog. She doesn't want him to be the only dog int he house as he is used to being around all of the other dogs at her home.


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## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

marialydia said:


> Just saw this and will also say that Arreau poodles fit your needs very well. My Pericles is Arreau's My Heart Will Go On, and he is super smart, absolutely a velcro dog, powerful and athletic, fully health tested, and a total lovey. Arreau will also match your dog, none of this business of you picking your dog on the basis of a short meeting.


Yes, Arreau is planning on having some poodles to be born in the US so there will not be the current border crossing problem. However it may take 2 - 2 1/2 years due to breed cycles and testing.

Not quite sure what you mean "Arreau will also match your dog..."?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I believe what is meant by "match your dog" is that Cherie will choose the puppy from the litter that best matches what you say you are looking for in temperament, etc.


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## dogdragoness (Oct 18, 2015)

I have actually had better luck when the breeder picks the puppy for me based on my lifestyle, and my requirements.


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