April 15th, 2014

It has been a while since I last blogged - not much to say without puppies here and no pupcam. But, finally, we have big news! RedTeddy Mini Poodle now has two more dogs! 

Well, dogs is a big word, one is a Toy who is now about 1.8 pounds and 11 weeks old. The other, her half brother, is a week or two older and significantly larger, maybe 4.5 pounds. so he is probably going to end up a medium size Mini. 

I've been looking for a black Mini Poodle for over a year using the AKC website as well as stud sites. No hits, except a few from other breeders who were charging over $2400 for open AKC registrations. This is not too incredible - I'm not sure what I would charge to allow someone to purchase one of ours and plan to have several litters, as I am. But, I wasn't certain the price and the puppy would be equal even with the high fee. 

In the end I found a small breeder Upstate whose pups are all AKC and who also had both parents right there onsite. (My biggest concern was not to get a puppy mill puppy brought in from out of state - I want to actually see both parents.) The breeder I found has a loving home and several Poodles and Chijuajuas as well. Our agreement included the stipulation that our Leo would be available for stud for her female Mini Poodle - something Leo will appreciate, and with that the exchange was win-win even though I have to do all the pre-breeding testing for both new puppies.

Although this breeder does not do OFA nor Optigen testing, she has been breeding for a long time. Sometimes longevity and a love of the breed can stand in for expensive tests. This is not something I will ever do - all our adults are tested 'just in case.' I may be naive, but my impression of this breeder was that she is honest and caring. Therefore, I believe that her when she says her dogs have not had puppies that have gone blind or lame. I know I am am taking a risk and I will do the testing on these dogs; if they are positive for prn and/or have malformed hips or any other deformities I will not breed them. It is my hope that the history of their lines means that they are not carrying bad genes, but only time will tell.

The Optigen test can be done as soon as I receive the puppy registration documents from AKC. OFA/ hip testing will take longer but my vet will be able to tell me if she notices any potential problems. 

If all goes well, the boy will breed with Tasha, and the female will breed with Chops. Chops is the son of Connie and Leo. Then we can keep pups from these litters, the darkest reds, and breed back to Turkey (Leo's dad). This is subject to change - of course, it will take years to accomplish, so for now we are just enjoying the two new little ones!

Photos soon...