Hi, could anyone tell me about GPRA in Poodles? I am looking for a Toy Poodle and rang a breeder who was quite rude and because I didnt ask if the poodles were GPRA tested, she deemed I hadnt looked into Poodle owning enough and would not even discuss selling one!

Hi again Debby, I'm sure you must have been rather taken aback by the breeders response, but I can understand how she feels. She will only want the very best, most knowledgable homes for her puppies.

Use this time to research thoroughly, and make sure you are armed with all the relevant facts, that will enable you to present yourself as the best owner that a breeder can expect to find. Have a look at the breed standard on the Kennel Club site. At the bottom of the standard, is a list of breed clubs. These are the best place for information, ring the secretaries for advice. Good Luck.

Dawn R.

How very rude of her.  It is a good thing that she concerns herself about these things but I think you could be an experienced and capable pet poodle owner and still not know about these things.  She could have very easily just taken the opportunity to clue you up, never mind :), have a look at the KC Standard to clue yourself up on what you should be looking for ;) and then give the Toy Poodle Club a ring on the number at the bottom of the page and ask them to send you any information on health issues.  They will also be able to give you details of others breeders in your area who you can contact with your new found knowledge :)

Look on this web site which will give you lots of info about poodles of all sizes and health issues.
www.napoleon.org

Many toy and miniature breeders will now have a pred Mutation Test for PRA  on their their stock using a  DNA method through OPTIGEN which can let them know if their breeding stock is OK.  Ideally you would want the parents to be "A" or one "A" and one "B".

It was probably Me!!!

I get lots of poodle enquires and  a lot of poodle wanting people don't reseach the breed enough. Reputable breeders won't want to sell you a blind puppy ...  it all about getting the right home for the right dog. So many people in today's world expect us breeders to hand out puppies like sweeties,  I always say to people , if you want a soft , cuddly, play thing go to your nearest toy store

GPRA testing is a sure fire way of telling a good breeder from a bad one, especially now we have Optigen testing, because now a good breeder will be testing, or even not testing but breeding from only A stock ( I'm not that lucky to have all A stock Yet... and no. I don't have any puppies either - it will be  about 18 mouthe before we have a litter.

fiona

Hi Fiona, I aplaude your dedication to the breed, and of course it is important that puppy buyers are knowledgable and aware. :) However I wonder whether you might recognise that 'it's not what you say' to enquirers, it's the way you say it. There is more than one way to get your point across, and I think it's worth educating these people rather than alienating them. :)

If you get so many enquiries, you could really make a difference to the puppy buyers education. :)

Dawn R.