What a beautiful litter of puppies this has been. All these beautiful shades of brown, with a few partis sprinkled in, and one gloriously dark black puppy. And SOOOOOOOO many girls, little Snipe definitely has been an eye catcher as the only boy. This litter has been full of surprises for me. Their Momma Lily is very mild-mannered, lower drive and energy expenditures (which makes her a perfect home companion) and their Daddy Charm tends to err towards higher drive with a really nice off switch. These have been the CALMEST and LEAST ROWDY puppies I have ever had. Like, they are soooooooo chill its unreal. These are definitely going to make great family friends for their families.

I know it definitely feels like time is dragging for you, but for me, it has flown by far too quickly. Now, the moment has finally arrived for you to choose your very own poodle puppy. From those very first wobbly steps to their delightful and playful antics, it’s time to embark on this exciting journey of adding a new furry family member to your home. Take a deep breath, embrace the joy of this experience, trust your instincts, and make the choice that will undoubtedly change your life for the better in so many wonderful ways.

This is a very long pupdate and has tons of great information, so please take your time and read through everything carefully. Once all deposit holders have made their selections, we will update the Available Puppies page of our website. I do anticipate that we will have several available females from this litter.

All the gathered data is viewable in the spreadsheet. Push the button below to view the spreadsheet. As we move through the process, I will be highlighting and adding the family’s name to the column for each puppy, as they are chosen. After all reservation holders have made their selection, the remaining puppy(ies) will be made available to those interested.

Alright, so you probably opened that spreadsheet and went “WOAHHHHHH, what am I looking at?!?”. I know I would. You’re probably wondering, what the heck does all this mean? Don’t worry, I gotcha!! Keep reading.

BAB Puppy Evaluations

In the past we have done the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test (PAT). This was a great test and provides a lot of great information, however, there were a few things in that test I didn’t like and I felt that the test was not the best at honoring the puppies and building trust. One of our primary goals is to teach puppies that the world is safe, people are good, and other dogs are kind. In the Volhard PAT, there are a few steps to the test that work in direct contradiction to that goal. We’ve begun using the BAB Puppy Evaluation designed by Jeanette Forrey of 4E Kennels. This evaluation is more thorough, honors and builds trust with the puppy, and tests the puppy in a more “real” setting.

How Is The Testing Performed?

The puppies are placed into a room they’ve never been in before, on a new surface, and surrounded by new distractions. The tester sits in the middle of the floor, the puppy is placed into the testing area and is given a few moments to wander around, engage with the tester, check out the toys, or just sit and look around. If the puppy hasn’t wandered over to the tester after a few moments, the tester will begin coaxing the puppy to come greet her. After the tester and the pup have built some trust, the tester will begin the test by asking the pup to play with the toys, work on the equipment, walk on a new surface, experience wobbly surfaces, engage with startling objects, handling, and unstable situations. The test is free-flowing and there isn’t a set order for the pups to be asked to complete the activities. If a puppy becomes too stressed, the test may be stopped to allow the puppy to de-stress.

Definitions

Human Assertive - This is not aggression. Assertiveness is the dog’s willingness to invade your space. Highly assertive dogs will be dogs that will sit in your lap, try to steal your pizza, and will likely want to meet most all people. This is a highly necessary trait for service dogs like Diabetic Alert and Behavior Modification/Disruption.

Prey Drive/Intensity - This could be something like chasing cats, but that is not the only thing that comprises Prey Drive. You can train away from chasing your kids and cats. Prey Drive could also be called intensity. Does the pup focus on his toys? Does he pick them up and shake them? Prey Drive is an indication of intensity and focus. Dogs with high prey drive will need a way to channel that safely.

Nerve Strength/Resiliency - This is an indication of comfort and ability to recover from new situations and new environments. This is an adjustable trait and can be fostered in a pup lacking this particular trait.

Tenderhearted - This is a big one. This is an indication of how this particular dog will handle big emotions (Huge Family Celebrations, PTSD, Depression, High Anxiety). Dogs that are extremely Tenderhearted will break down if put in home environments with a lot of extreme emotions. These tenderhearted dogs will feel responsible for your emotions and try to fix them.

The Recordings

Rather than uploading the videos directly to this webpage and slowing down the load time considerably, I have linked each video to the cover photo below. Please click the cover photo for each pup to be taken to Youtube where you can view the videos directly. The scores for this test are found in the sections labeled Stable Traits and Adjustable Traits on the spreadsheet.

I want to share an observation about these puppies. Each litter is unique and grows at its own pace, but we look for general milestones at specific times. This litter has reached their milestones 2-3 days later than usual, which just means they are maturing a bit slower. As a result, they were "mentally/emotionally" younger during testing than the typical 48/49 days. This made them seem more reserved & timid than usual. Additionally, they had their first vaccine just 24 hours before testing, which can also make them a bit sluggish.

Links to Puppy Pages

Picks will be done in order of deposit received/commitment to the litter. As a reminder, the order is as follows.

1. Paige Sigman

2. Noelle Bareswilt

3. Tiffany Archer

Following puppy picks, I will be circling around to those who are “waiting in the wings” and then we will be opening puppy picks to newcomers on a first come basis.

Following the receipt of this e-mail I will begin reaching out to individuals to discuss and confirm their selection. This could be as simple as an e-mail stating “I want Goose, please” or a more complex phone conversation. Please plan to have an appointment within the next 36 hours. The document that tabulates all the testing details is changeable on my end. As puppies are chosen, I will mark them as unavailable on the master list. I will also make announcements on the Valaurah Farms Facebook and Instagram as well regarding chosen puppies.