Becoming a Poodle Owner

• Is a poodle right for your family?
• Choosing the right puppy and breeder
• Poodle breeders in Northern California

The poodles (Ch. MTS Black is Back, Karamba Fly Girl Breezy and Ch. Karamba Divine Design) enjoying a day at Foxy Hound Grooming Salon.

If you are searching to find a poodle puppy you would do well to read as much as you can about the breed and attend a few dog shows and trials to meet breeders and owners. Some of the recommended educational sites are the Poodle Club of America site and Versatility In Poodles.

Is a Poodle Right for Your Family?

Poodles are highly adaptable, which makes them excellent family pets. They are extremely people-oriented dogs and, therefore, thrive on human attention. They are excellent watchdogs, but unlike some working breeds, don't usually become "one-person" dogs when they are part of a family.

Being a highly intelligent breed, poodles get along well with other animals, other dogs, and children. Standard poodles in particular tend to be good with children. Toy poodles are very fragile and must be supervised closely to avoid mishandling by small children.

Poodles are fun loving, very playful and overall very agile and athletic dogs. Standard poodles need substantial amounts of exercise, and even toy poodles would appreciate a nice walk and an opportunity to run and play.

See also:

• Practical guide to canine behavior - an online resource at SeeFIDO, which provides a good overview of how poodle compares to other breeds on various aspectsl
• Choosing A Dog page at WonderPuppy website is another comprefensive resource.

Choosing the Right Puppy and Breeder

How can I tell a good breeder?

A good breeder will:

• have clean, well-kept kennels and healthy looking animals;
• allow you to see parents of pups and other dogs;
• conduct all the necessary genetic tests on dogs they are using for breeding purposes, and offer you to see the results of the tests;
• guarantee pups for genetic defects, offering refund or replacement;
• ask you to contact him/her if you have problems and ofer to take the dog back at any time;
• interview you about your life style and accomodations, and recomment a pup to suit;
• have a complete health record with preventive inoculations for puppies;
• require spay or neuter of all but the most promising animals.

See also:

• An extensive set of educational materials for prospective poodle owners at the VIP website (highly recomemnded!)
• Poodle breed review at Hoflin's Dogs Online
• How to select a Standard Poodle - an article at eHow website providing a good overview of issues to consider when buying a poodle. Another article How to Care for a Standard Poodle is also worth reading.

Poodle Breeders in Northern California

• Ark-Ola Poodles
• Graphic Standard Poodles
• MTS Standard Poodles

For breeder referral please contact Rita Perko, who has been the contact person for our club for many years. Her telephone number is 650-858-1111. Rita is highly knowledgable about the breed and knows of club members who may have puppies available.