Frequently Asked Questions

We wait until we can assess temperament and structure, around 7 weeks or so. Puppies are not selected at birth based on color.

We allow our puppies to come home after 8 weeks, but will keep them til 9 weeks as some people prefer that.

We allow visitors on weekends after screening, usually between the hours of 10 am - 5 pm. Please understand we have very small children, so both adults must be home when strangers visit us for safety and other practical reasons. Weekdays are very seldom an option for visitors ("Mr. Shyre Poodles" Nate works full time). Our children go to bed at 7 pm, so we do not disrupt their schedules.

Although this makes for visiting time restriction, this also allows for your puppy to be very well socialized to children and a home environment!

** we do not allow visitors when we have litters unless you are a deposit holder or are very seriously interested in a puppy, and even then we wait until 6 weeks unless otherwise arranged**. This is for the safety of the puppies and also because of time restrictions.

We look at hips/elbows, test thyroid, eyes, heart, patellas, and the genetic tests NE, vWD. Other tests may be done depending on lineage and need (eg. PRA for miniature lines).

We recently began participating in research that looks at the dog's immune system genes (DLA) and overall gene diversity (STR markers). This allows us to make sure two parents will produce puppies that are more genetically diverse (genes that are not the same or homozygous as well as not common in standard poodles). Since many hard to breed away from diseases are complex and often recessive (meaning two of the same gene are needed to produce it), breeding for more diverse genes should breed away from disease.

The only guarantee with health testing is the current status of the dog UNLESS it is a genetic test. Genetic tests will tell you 100% if a dog will pass something on. Other tests, like thyroid, can be influenced by environmental factors. Therefore, they are tools for making breeding decisions but not absolute guarantees nothing will happen in offspring.

Cost varies per litter, but we never charge more for a specific color or gender period. All our dogs have the same worth as individuals and the same health testing and hard work behind them, so why vary the price for something trendy? Contact us to find out pricing.

Keep in mind that we health test hips/elbows, vwd, ne, thyroid, cardiac, patellas, and eyes etc. We often raise our female dogs to older ages than other breeders prior to breeding (to make sure they have no health problems), feed quality foods, meats/bones and supplements, raise dogs holistically, and show as we are able (depending on "Mrs. Shyre poodles" Rebekah's pregnancy status and childcare needs). As a result, we have a lot of overhead to raise our dogs this way. We also spend countless hours researching/networking with other breeders to make informed heath decisions. This doesn't even include the 24/7 job of raising well socialized babies. We also have the unique ability to raise puppies handled several times daily with children, not something many breeders can boast. In short, we pour our life in to our poodles.

Due to the new rules under APHIS, and the nebulous manner which the rules have been described, we no longer can sell puppies "sight unseen" to avoid being unable to raise our dogs as a part of the family. We will only continue to breed as long as our dogs can remain an integral part of our Shyre family.

This means you must visit us and your new puppy before bringing them home. It is possible you may designate someone to view the puppy as your proxy, hopefully we will better understand the ruling as time progresses.

We are willing to drive to deliver puppies once they are old enough to go home, although we may charge a delivery fee depending on the distance. We do not ship puppies via cargo.

Your deposit is nonrefundable but transferable to another puppy. If deposit is received prior to puppy births they are then refundable if a puppy cannot be matched to you. Other special situations (talked about in advance) may also apply.

No, docking and dew claw removal are practices we feel strongly against. Please see the information on docking on our Standard Poodle page for more information. If you want a poodle with a docked tail, there are many breeders who are willing to do so shortly after birth, some are also diversity minded breeders.

We allow our males to only be used with people we know very well, under terms of private treaty. Females must be completely health tested including the UC Davis Diversity panel. If you are interested in one of our males, please allow time for us both to get to know each other.

No, in fact we require two contracts to ensure our puppies are treated well, like family members.

We ask you sign a contract to love and care for your puppy, and in the event it doesn't work out, return him or her to us or allow us to help in the rehoming. We know unforeseen events can happen at times. Also, we ask that a neuter/spay agreement be signed.

No, in fact some breeder's keep their puppies longer than eight weeks for optimal socialization with their siblings. To allow our puppies to leave before 8 weeks would be a disservice to you, with a puppy with potential behavioral problems, and to the pup himself.

Cash only payments. ONLY Deposits will be taken by check, and this is if they are mailed in. Thank you for your understanding; this is a world where checks can be counterfeited. We will also accept payment via Bitcoin, at a discount, for both deposit and final payment.

I watched a movie once where two men asked what the refund policy on adopting a baby is— the answer is there is none!

We consider dogs to be family members and thus want every family who considers a puppy from us to realize they cannot buy a puppy to try out. Puppies are hard work. If you plan to not be able to let him or her out, play with him or her, then you may want to not consider a puppy but rather an adult dog of a breed that doesn't crave human contact as much as poodles (or possibly another type of pet with less maintenance).

In brief, we welcome all puppies back to our home, however there is a no refund policy, unless it falls under the genetic guarantee.

Please let us know if you hope to breed your puppy, we would much rather help with responsible breeding than discourage people from talking about it. Breeding requires a lot of work and you must be devoted to your pet and puppies.

We rarely sell breeding rights/full registration, mainly because it is actually a lot of responsibility to breed! However, we can direct you to breeders who are willing to do so. We will not allow pups to go to puppy mills to be bred. Occasionally, we will agree to co-own breeding dogs with a very specific contract.

We are often looking for a guardian home. A guardian home is a family who is willing to keep a dog intact for our use in the future (male or female). We pay for all breeding health testing, you get a pet to be a part of your family at no cost (you are responsible for typical veterinary expenses). In addition, you and your family can help contribute to genetic diversity in the poodle gene pool and learn about dog breeding if you like. For females, we would ask for the potential to have two litters with her, being returned to us for breeding and for raising her litter (approximately 10 weeks at our house each time). For males, he would only need to be returned to us when needed for breeding purposes and would need to be kept intact indefinitely if possible (older the male the more we know about their health and vigor). Homes must be within a 1-2 hour drive (or so) of West Liberty, Ohio to be considered. Please see our Guardian dog page for dogs we might like to guardian.

The puppies have been registered with AKC, they will come with limited registration. You will receive paperwork when you come get your puppy.

We only sell puppies with FULL registration to approved breeding homes. If interested in FULL Registration we must discuss your home, your breeding practices etc. New breeders must be willing to co-own with us, and be interested in being mentored, which includes being willing to not breed for color (for the health of your lines). Once you are approved to breed then we will discuss costs. Otherwise your registration WILL be limited only.