What is the best way to stay informed of litter plans?
Follow us on Facebook, check this page for litter announcements, or reach out via email to ask about litter plans.
Can I pick my puppy?
Puppies will be matched with prospective owners based on a puppy application, “interview”, and the results of our conformation and temperament evaluations. We believe this the best way to set you and your future puppy up for success. While we may consider certain preferences, we do not base our matches on things like color or sex.
Please reach out for a puppy application if interested.
Can I buy a puppy to show and/or breed?
We do not typically sell puppies for showing and/or breeding. Please reach out and share a bit about your goals and/or breeding program.
Can I visit the parents or puppies before pick-up?
We are not a commercial kennel. Our dogs and puppies live in our house as our pets. There may be opportunity to meet parents at upcoming shows, but in general we are not set up to welcome strangers into our homes. Visits can also introduce potential pathogens that could be dangerous for young puppies, and this is not a risk we are willing to take.
How are you involved in the breed?
We are very involved in AKC conformation (dog showing). We have titled and/or trained dogs for performance sports such as dock-diving, Fast CAT, rally, scent work, trick dog, Happy Ratters, and Barn Hunt. While we are currently focused on conformation with our current dogs, we will pursue some performance titles once they are “retired” from the show ring.
Courtney is currently a member-officer of South Shore Kennel Club and a member of Poodle Club of Massachusetts. We attend our national breed club speciality, and attend seminars and educational talks when available.
I am interested in an upcoming/current litter or available adult dog, what are the next steps?
Reach out! We will have you fill out an application and schedule a phone call to get to know you, answer any questions, and discuss next steps.
What is your puppy price?
$4,000 regardless of color or sex.
I see you have ‘OFA Health Testing’ listed on your poodles, what is that?
We publish the health-testing results of our breeding dogs on the OFA public database. The Poodle Club of America recommends the following tests for Miniature Poodles:
DNA Test for prcd-Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) from an OFA-approved laboratory. Yearly Eye Exam by a boarded ACVO veterinary ophthalmologist. Patellar Luxation: OFA Evaluation. Hip Dysplasia: OFA or PennHIP Evaluation.
The PCA Foundation strongly recommends the DNA test for Miniature Poodle Dwarfism
(Osteochondrodysplasia) to avoid breeding two carriers to each other and producing puppies affected with this deforming and crippling disorder. Research suggests that about 10 percent of Minis carry the mutation that causes this disease and that it is not limited to a few bloodlines.
Here is a helpful resource on how to interpret health testing results.
I see you have ‘C-BARQ’ listed on your poodles, what is that?
The Canine Behavioral Assessment & Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) is a standardized, behavioral evaluation tool for dog owners/guardians, handlers and professionals. The C-BARQ is a survey aimed at dog owners/guardians and handlers that provides a set of numerical scores for the following fourteen different categories of dog behavior:
Stranger-directed aggression, Owner-directed aggression, Dog-directed aggression, Dog rivalry, Stranger-directed fear, Nonsocial fear, Dog-directed fear, Separation-related behavior, Attachment and attention-seeking, Trainability, Chasing, Excitability, Touch sensitivity, and Energy level.
In addition, the C-BARQ provides information on the occurrence of a further 22 miscellaneous behavior problems ranging from coprophagia to stereotypic spinning/tail-chasing. (C-BARQ Website)
What food do you feed your puppies/dogs?
We have fed our puppies Farmina, Purina ProPlan, and Royal Canin puppy formulations. Our adults are maintained on Primal Raw Dog Food.
What is your stance on ‘doodles’?
We do not support the purposeful breeding of poodle mixes or “doodles”. We are in agreement with the Golden Retriever Club of America’s statement on this matter.
Do you sell service dog prospects?
We are not qualified to evaluate puppies for service work, nor is this something we aim to breed for. Due to the high “wash” rate of owner handlers (and program dogs), we are not comfortable placing dogs solely as service prospects.
Why do you test for CDDY?
Given the prevalence of CDDY in the breed, it’s not currently possible to eliminate carriers from the gene pool and preserve genetic diversity. However, as breeders we test for it to know when it is possible to select away from it. From UC Davis Veterinary Medicine: “It is recommended that breeds with an allele frequency in the range of >0.25, <0.5) select away from this mutation over several generations and to mate dogs with CDDY to dogs with two copies of the normal allele to reduce the allele frequency without a dramatic effect on breed diversity. Breeds with a high allele frequency (>0.5) will benefit from a much slower approach over multiple generations.” Out of their sample of Miniature Poodles, the allele frequency was 61% (check here for updates).
What is CDDY?
“The Chondrodystrophy (CDDY) mutation was discovered by researchers in the Bannasch Laboratory at the University of California, Davis (Brown et al. 2017) as a second FGF4-retrogene insertion in dog chromosome 12. CDDY includes a short-legged phenotype and abnormal premature degeneration of intervertebral discs leading to susceptibility to Hansen’s type I intervertebral disc disease (IVDD).” (Source: UC Davis Veterinary Medicine)
Where are you located?
Courtney is located about 45 minutes south of Boston in the South Shore of Massachusetts, and Braxton is about an hour from Raleigh in North Carolina.