MOONRISE
POODLES

Unfortunately, I do not offer home visits anymore. In times past, visiting the kennel grounds and breeders’ homes to meet the parents was a sound piece of advice! Unfortunately, the times have changed. Puppy buyers nowadays have to worry about unscrupulous breeders and breeders have to worry about the unscrupulous public. Personal safety, the comfort of my family, and biohazard safety are my priority. 


What can we do instead of visiting? I do maintain an active Facebook page, Instagram, and private Facebook group for Moonrise Poodles. I encourage you to look at the candid videos, photos, reviews, and puppy owner interactions on my social media to gain an insight into the level of care my dogs receive and see for yourself how my puppies and dogs are raised. 

Any local prospective owners on the waitlist are welcome to meet my dogs in public or at my workplace by appointment, or we can schedule a video call. 

The short answer, poodles are amazing human-oriented dogs and both males and females make great companions. There are some slight differences in the personality that may appeal and be better suited for your family.

People tend to assume that male poodles have stronger, more forward personalities and are prone to naughty and dominant behavior like marking and humping; and females are more affectionate and won't challenge authority.

In my experience poodle males actually are more owner dependant, affectionate, and willing to please. They love the whole family, favoring those who pay attention to them. They also tend to be more sensitive. Male poodle attentiveness makes them excellent candidates for service work and companionship alike.

Female poodles often display more independent behaviors while still being affectionate with their people. They are the ones who keep order in the pack and look out for everyone's wellbeing. Females are more environmentally alert and can be protective of their territory. In my experience, they are a little bit more subdued in their affection than males. They are thinkers and can sometimes be a bit more stubborn than males. Females tend to bond stronger with a person of their own choice.

These differences are very minor and barely noticeable in everyday life. I encourage you to be open minded about gender and let me pick a puppy who would be a better fit for your family.

All of Moonrise dogs are tested and screened based on the variety and their parentage status. My dogs are screened at minimum as recommended by Poodle Club of America for CHIC standard for
-PRA
-Knees
-Eye checks with an ophthalmologist yearly

In addition, I submit xrays to OFA for Hip, Elbow and CLP certifications
-Basic Cardiac
and test for IVDD, DM and OD

I will happily provide OFA links and images of health certificates to serious prospective puppy owners.

My puppy pick-up date is scheduled for the first Saturday after the eight-week birthday for all my puppies. I make sure every puppy is ready to travel, is eating solid food, and is developmentally mature before they leave my care. The puppies are prepared for transitioning to their new homes through age-appropriate socialization based on the Avidog, and Puppy Culture methods.

I send my puppies home at 8 weeks because The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior recommends starting puppy classes as early as 7-8 weeks as the benefits of early socialization and training outweigh the potential risk of disease when done safely.

The first twelve weeks of the poodle’s life are the most important and formative. This is a relatively short window of opportunity for your puppy to learn everything (s)he needs to know about the world (s)he lives in and to learn to trust it. This also includes learning about YOU and
your family and the environment the puppy will live in.

AKC registration in your name
-Health guarantee
-Microchip
-Age-appropriate vaccination
-Age-appropriate deworming
-First veterinary exam
-OFA ophthalmologist evaluation
-25% off Lifelong membership with Bella and Baxter online training school
-Go home Pack
-Crate exposure
-Started on housetraining
-Experienced with grooming
-First Haircut
-Experienced car rides
-Raised with Puppy Culture and Badass breeder early socialization elements

At this time all of my puppies are sold on a pet only AKC registration known as Limited Registration. Limited registration allows the owner to participate and earn performance titles in all AKC venues - Obedience, Rally -O, Agility, Junior competitions, ext. The only limitation of Limited registration is - no breeding. Any progeny from a dog with limited registration will not be eligible for AKC registration.

If you are interested in Full registration, I am happy to discuss this on a case by case basis. I value miniature poodles’ performance abilities and open to serious owners earning Full Registration by titling and health testing their dogs.
I do not sell my puppies to doodle breeders or commercial kennels.

I am a big believer in trusting the natural processes and allow my moms to wean their babies when they feel it is appropriate naturally. Maternal antibodies from the milk can override early vaccines, so I start vaccination protocol at 7- 8 weeks of age. Your puppy will have at least one set of shots administered by my veterinarian, and I will provide you with a medical record so you can follow the schedule. My vet highly recommends an additional (fourth) parvo only vaccine at 20-22 weeks for full protection. The puppies are dewormed at 2,4,6, and 8 weeks and get checked for worms by our vet before going home.

Yes! No puppy leaves without a contract signed by the puppy owner and the breeder.
I offer a 2-year orthopedic and 5-year sight guarantee and comply with SC state law. I require that any puppy picked up by the new owners visits a veterinarian within 72hr of leaving my care. The contract and health guarantee sample can be found here (link) so you can review the terms before making a commitment.

I ask you to fill out a puppy application and go through a consultation process to make sure you are prepared for a long-term commitment. Poodles thrive in active homes with humans who possess a sense of humor and can provide the time and care to make a poodle a part of the family.

Yes! My poodle puppies come with lifetime breeder support and commitment! You will have my phone number and email address after the application process is completed and the commitment to get a puppy is made. Puppy owners are always welcome to contact me with any concerns, questions or simply to share their poodle’s milestones!
I welcome puppy owners to share pictures and updates on our Facebook page.

Tails - I disagree with cutting off any healthy body part without sound scientific justification. There is no scientific justification for docking poodle tails. It is simply a tradition that belongs in the past. Correct poodle tail carriage is at 12 O’Clock position, and the tail is covered with a profuse coat. This makes it virtually impossible for a poodle to get "happy tail" syndrome, knock things off of a coffee table or cause bruising on your legs. Full poodle tails are as expressive as the poodle eyes and only add to their silly antics repertoire. 

 Dewclaws are frequently portrayed as these useless appendages. Front dewclaws have fully formed joints firmly attached to the metacarpal joint, very much like your thumbs are connected to your hands.  This joint formation has several stabilizer muscles and ligaments running through it. For PROPER removal of the dewclaw to prevent the regrowth of the nail the joint has to be cut out completely causing damage to the surrounding tissue and ligaments. 
This invasive procedure predisposes an active dog like a poodle to early arthritis and potentially chronic pain. Regular nail trims and a proper grooming schedule will prevent nail overgrowth and mat formation that could lead to grooming accidents.

No. Parti colors are one of the original colors of poodles found in the original breed standard. 

The parti colored poodles were excluded from the Poodle Club of America (PCA) breed standard due to club members’ personal preferences at the time of the club’s formation. This was not a health-related decision. The PCA excluded other colors besides black or white as well, and it took a combined effort from the breeders to add them back into the standard. Several European countries maintained parti colors as part of the breed standard and added them back in recent years.

All pets should receive regular wellness check-ups at your veterinarian regardless of color.