ABOUT
Our journey into poodles was an unexpected one. I, Taryn, have trained dogs since I was a teenager. I’ve worked with many breeds and mixes, and although I was well aware of the poodle’s intelligence and other positive qualities, I always considered them ridiculous show dogs that I would never dream of owning. In 2010 our world came crashing down. Our happy, healthy 3 year old son had almost overnight become disabled. He was diagnosed with a rare and life threatening form of epilepsy. It soon became obvious that he would greatly benefit from a service dog. By that time I had trained service dogs, so it was an obvious choice for me to do this myself. I had to decide on a breed though. I wanted a very intelligent dog. This took me down to about 5 or 6 breeds I would consider.
I wanted a breed that was calm with lower energy, or at least a breed that had an off switch. This further shortened the list. I didn’t want a breed with too much drive that a child may not be able to handle. Again, a couple breeds came off the list. And I wanted a breed that wasn’t a heavy shedder that would be leaving a trail of fur everywhere we went. I looked down at my list and the last remaining breed was a standard poodle. I was not excited about this, but I knew it would be a perfect fit. The search for a breeder began! We soon welcomed Jet into our family, a black abstract standard poodle. He was just phenomenal, and exceeded my expectations in every way! He was so biddable, and was easier to train than any dog I had ever worked with. I was also surprised at his very level temperament, and ability to just calm down and relax when in the home, even as a very young puppy.
As his training continued I learned quite a bit about the service dog industry, and about the (shockingly) massive amount of fraud involved. Through much consideration I decided I wanted to produce puppies to be trained as service dogs. I would produce puppies that came from health tested dogs with ideal temperaments for working. I would also do everything I could to give the puppies a leg up by practicing early neurological stimulation, and exposing them to as many new environments and situations as possible in the time I had them. We have been very successful over the years in placing puppies to be trained as service dogs. As not every puppy will be a service dog, we have also produced therapy dogs, conformation show dogs, hunting dogs, obedience and agility dogs, scent work dogs, and of course loved and spoiled companions! Anyone that comes to our home is still greeted by Jet, our unofficial mascot. He’s getting up there in years, but he’s always happy to meet new people, and sneak up into your lap when you’re least expecting it! Without him we never would have learned about this amazing and incredibly versatile breed! Let a poodle into your heart, and it will change you forever!
