Luvapoo

So another perspective: For me, putting a pup on mains means that I believe it is suitable for both breeding and showing. I sell on mains whenever I think the pup would be suitable for BOTH. I am not a show person and rely heavily on breeder friends and mentors, and the breed standard as shown on this site. For example, poodles have to have a solid coloured coat and occasionally a spot of white may come through on the coat for whatever reason. Or the tail is not straight, or the points are not perfect. We learn as we go. Maybe to you colour sounds trivial, but it does matter, and although my dogs are fully health checked every year and DNA cleared if they don't meet the breed standard, I am not selling that pup on mains. I am however fully confident I am selling healthy pets. I would absolutely love to sell everything on mains and be very proud to see my prefix on other people's pedigrees. But I am only doing it if I believe pup is suitable. And even then no one has a crystal ball when you let a pup leave you at 8 - 10 weeks. Of course I can only speak for my breed but I am sure every other breeder has a breed standard they need to adhere to and may hold puppies back on limited for that reason.

Interesting thread. I am an ANKC registered breeder. I made contact with a breeder listed on this site recently seeking a female on mains. She has pups for sale. She said "oh goodness no, I am very protective of my bloodlines did you know that the grandmother of one of the pups in question was BIS" Yes, the grandmother. She finally said that she would sell me a female on mains but she would have to be half owner to stop me from selling any of the pups I bred on mains. THIS is the mentality of some. Needless to say I was not interested in that arrangement.

It is very interesting although I would suggest the pug, which often requires airway surgery, has far more issues due to being brachycephalic than the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel ever does. I know it is desirable for the cavalier to have a shorter snout in the show ring although many purebred (not necessarily pedigree) CKCS pets I see actually have a longer snout. I bred pedigree cavaliers a few years ago, and I know then it was very difficult to get one that had a clear DNA profile from Orivet. If they weren't affected, they were a carrier of something. I thought being brachycephalic was the least of their problems. Little did I know apparently.

My female vet has told me some awful stories too. She is a sole proprietor because she cannot recruit another vet to our small town, and she is a wife and mother. The 3 am calls and then people refusing to pay because they say "well if you loved animals you would do it for free." Morons. She said there is quite a lot of attrition in the veterinary industry as there are more female vets now and they are often leaving when they have families.

As a Toy Poodle breeder, I like to stalk the Gumtree ads every now and then to see what is out there and what people are selling pups for. Well there is a new so called designer breed called an Aussie Pomfrugoolier Bulldog. You get a nice selection of pomeranian cross Frenchie cross pug cross toy poodle cross tiny toy poodle cross cavalier King Charles spaniel and then cross that with an Aussie bulldog. God help me. You can have one of these puppies for the bargain price of $5,000. What I'm most frightened about is that somebody might actually pay this.

It's a tricky one, and when it comes to diet everyone is an expert. I do buy expensive kibble. I have tried supermarket kibble also. As an experiment I fed supermarket kibble for 2 weeks then slowly reintroduced the pricey stuff by mixing them together. My poodles were picking through it and leaving the cheap stuff behind. That was my answer for them. They get bones and raw mince, and raw chook also. I actually don't care what others do, or do I ever preach, I just do what works for us. As for vaccinations, we took 2 pups to a vet run puppy pre school for a bit of fun. They spent 50 percent of the time telling horror stories thereby trying to sell medications for worming etc and also said our new pups required FOUR vaccinations before 16 weeks. I almost choked.

Have a look at Orivet.com It's what I use with my breeding dogs. But whether there is something better, I don't know. It works for me. Have a look at their website and it will show what they offer which is quite extensive.

I have had a toy poodle that developed this, it's also known as milk fever or eclampsia. My vet only had me take the pups off her for 24 hours. She was substituted with calcium syrup, and given a chicken wing each day and of course we kept a very close eye on her. Pups were weaned at 3 1/2 Weeks onto solids. You are also going to have to keep a very close eye on her teats for mastitis and if there is any sign of development, keep a warm compress on her teats.

I have tried to stay out of this thread, though I have followed it carefully! I always put my price in my dogzonline listings. It absolutely annoys me that people don't. If somebody rings me we don't have to have that discussion and I know they can afford it before we have to have the long conversation re the home they can offer, experience and all the rest. I really don't understand why everyone doesn't do it. Why the big secret?

Just for information, I am an ANKC registered breeder of toy poodles and would sell an apricot female for $5k in the current market. I DO NOT have any pups for sale.. Just saying. I strongly suggest you contact toy poodle breeders that you find listed here and ask to be considered when they next have a litter due. Surely you wouldn't pay $7,000 unless perhaps it was show quality and on mains. It is not so easy to buy a female at the moment, but just wait and check the listings on here daily and you will find one.