Raising happy, healthy puppies begins first and foremost with carefully evaluating and choosing which dogs we breed.  We are highly selective regarding which dogs we choose.  When it comes evaluation, we focus on three key components: temperament, health, and structure.  Temperament is paramount.  That is because even if a dog has perfect health and structure, it still will not make a good pet if it has a bad temperament.  Health is important, for obvious reasons--we all want our poodles to live long, healthy lives.  For that reason, we do extensive health testing on our dogs and when using an outside stud require the same level of testing on the dog.  And then we have structure.  Some people falsely believe that structure is only important for show dogs and because they "just want a pet," they don't need to worry about structure.  However, this is simply not true.  A dog with correct structure will be less-prone to physical injures and more likely to be active into their later years.  Therefore, structure is important to consider, even for those that are just looking for a family pet.

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Getting our puppies off to the right start is also affected by how we raise our girls and care for them during their prenatal period.  First, all of our dogs are raised in our home.  We do not have a kennel.  Our dogs lay at our feet during the day, lounge on our laps during the evening, and sleep on our bed at night.  They are very loved and bonded to us.  This positively affects them and in turn how they raise their litters.  Good dogs make good mammas, and the way a dam raises her litter has a significant impact on the puppies.  Further, studies have even shown that petting and showing affection to a pregnant dog has a positive effect on the puppies.  

 

Aside from this, we also ensure that our pregnant dogs receive all the nutrients they and the developing puppies require.  We typically feed Royal Canin.  We also supplement with human-grade meats, such as beef, turkey, and chicken.  Additionally, we feed our dogs foods that are high in fiber like pumpkin, sweet potato, and blueberries.  While pregnant, our dogs get a probiotic to ensure good gut-health.  This is important because the puppies get their gut biome from their mother.  Additionally, we give our dogs vitamins--they take a standard reproductive support vitamin prior to breeding, and then prenatal vitamins while pregnant.  After whelping, we transition them on to vitamins specifically for lactating dogs until the puppies are weaned.

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We raise our puppies following Puppy Culture and Avidog protocols.  This includes early neurological stimulation (ENS) and early scent introduction (ESI).  Because grooming is an essential part of basic care of a poodle that each puppy will experience on a regular basis for the rest of its life, we introduce them to grooming basics early.  When they are only 3-4 weeks old, puppies are not yet capable of fear, so we use this excellent opportunity to introduce them to different elements of the grooming process.  As puppies get a bit older, our puppies learn to play with our older dogs and hang out with our cats.  We also litter train the puppies to help make house breaking easier.  Further, we introduce them to crates, by first leaving an open crate in their play area.  Then, once they are comfortable in the crates, we practice placing them in the crate with the door closed for a couple minutes at a time to help them get used to being in a crate.  This will make crate training much easier.  We also introduce the puppies to clicker training, and start teaching them some basic obedience, such as sit, down, come when called, and how to walk on a lead.  To be clear though, puppies will still require training and housebreaking, however these practices will create a foundation to make the process easier for their new owners.