about

Our Breeding

Old English Sheepdog

vs

Sheepadoodle

It was always my plan to breed pure OES, I did and I was successful. However, the common thread among OES lovers was that they are:
Too big
Too high maintenance  (I wholeheartedly agree with this because at least twelve hours of my week is dedicated to grooming alone)
Too many health issues.
Very hard to source from a reputable breeder

The Old English Sheepdog

Old English Sheepdogs are like gentle, loving teddy bears. They are comical and clown like. They are friendly, intelligent, faithful and protective. They are even-tempered and adaptable, though they can be very strong willed and can simply ignore commands.

The Old English Sheepdog, which has an average lifespan of 10 to 12 years, is prone to minor health conditions like deafness, cataract, gastric torsion, otitis externa, progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), cerebellar ataxia, retinal detachment and hypothyroidism, or major health issues like canine hip dysplasia (CHD). ASA test for all breed specific diseases known to the OES and we don’t use any breeding dogs that are affected. 

Although Old English Sheepdogs don’t “shed”. Their coat even when short, requires daily or every other day brushing. Their size and coat length make this time consuming and frustrating. Their coarse, long-haired coat needs to be brushed right through to the dense, waterproof undercoat or the hair will become matted and the dog may develop skin problems and be plagued by parasites.

Because the Old English Sheepdog is an adaptable, intelligent dog of even disposition, no aggression, shyness or nervousness they display a natural love for children. As herding dogs they very easily get under foot and can knock down small children.

The OES is not the dog for anyone that does not have the time, energy, ability or resources to properly groom or exercise their dog.

The Miniature Poodle

Little needs saying about the poodle. It is like they were put on this earth to be the great equalizer of modern dog breeding. Many people have misconceptions about them in that they look like “sissy dogs”. Poodles have the advantage of being the lightest shedding, most hypo allergenic coats in dogdom. 

One should ignore the “Poodle clip” as they can be clipped to look like any normal dog. Mini poodles are mini athletes and excel in advanced competitions. They do so with such strength and grace that it is breathtaking to watch. A well conformed poodle should be “square” which simply means that their legs are long enough that their height is approximately equal to their length. 

Miniature Poodles are both elegant and athletic, moving with a light, springy gait. If you see a poodle that has short legs then they have inherited a physical deformity called chondrodysplasia. They don't have the same elegance or agility as square Miniature Poodles and they are more susceptible to disc disease and should be avoided. 

A mini Poodle is one of the smartest and most trainable of all breeds. They are a "thinking" dog who pays rapt attention to his owner, learns quickly, and responds eagerly to positive training methods.

Indeed, Miniature Poodles NEED some sort of mental stimulation in order to be happy, even if it's just challenging games such as hide 'n seek, or fetching a variety of named toys.

This intelligent breed cannot simply sit in the backyard and be ignored.

Disease & Illness

Eye diseases are the major concern in Miniature Poodles:

 Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) can appear at 3-5 years old. Fortunately, a simple DNA test is available so you can find out at any time (without waiting for symptoms) whether your Mini Poodle has inherited PRA, or not.

Severe cataracts can appear from birth to 3 years old and usually lead to blindness. Cataracts appearing after age 3 are usually milder.

Other eye problems in Miniature Poodles include tear duct disorders, corneal ulcers, eyelash abnormalities, retinal dysplasia, and glaucoma. 

The most common orthopedic health problem in Miniature Poodles is luxating patella (loose knees). Legg-Calve-Perthes disease is more serious, but less common. Hip dysplasia occurs in the breed, as well.

Ear infections are common due to the long narrow ear canals and profuse hair in the ear canals.

ASA also test for all breed specific diseases known to the miniature poodle and we don’t use any breeding dogs that are affected.

What is Hybrid Vigour?

I will try to keep this as simple as I can. There are volumes of information out there if you wish to study this topic in more detail.

Simply hybrid vigour results when two different dogs (or plants) are paired in order to reproduce the most desirable characteristics of both samples. I think it is important to understand that “pure bred” dogs are produced within a very limited gene pool. Hybrid depression then occurs as the physical soundness of a dog deteriorates. This can be seen clearly in many breeds of dogs. Golden Retrievers and Labradors with hip dysplacity and heart problems in many small breeds. It is very sad to see a beautiful dog – a family pet, die from a simple walk along the beach.

Just like us, a puppy will receive one copy of its DNA from Mum and the other from Dad – this then reduces the risk of disease by 50% and is described as an F1 cross.  An F2 cross is the pairing of two F1 dogs (this is commonly referred to as multi-generational offspring) and the incidence of inheriting latent and patent heritable diseases is virtually eliminated thus creating a strong healthy puppy.

The “BUT” in all this is that some breeders do not do any genetic testing, they simply rely on the overly used magic words – HYBRID VIGOUR.  Without testing’s they do not know what diseases they are dealing with. Never buy a puppy without first viewing the parents testing. The results of these testing’s also enable us to use them as a tool for colour breeding as well. It is my aim to produce predominately black/blue and white puppies with just a sprinkle of colour here and there.

How do we stabilise the breed?

Just like Labradoodles and many of the other doodles a third breed is infused to stabilize the positive characteristics and also create a breed standard miniature.

Over the last 10 years my parents have bred me the perfect “almost poodle”. “Smokey” our beloved family poodle lived his life with a three percent infusion of Cavalier King Charles (achieved over a decade of selective breeding). The reason CKC was chosen was to maintain the beautiful teddy bear face that makes the Cavalier King Charles such a popular choice.

After much debate my husband won naming rights and we are the proud owners of 4X, a beautiful miniature Poodle who is a divine ruby colour. Sadly our Smokey died this last summer (2015-16) but we are cheered by the fact that we have three sons of Smokey. Will lives with my sister and JT lives with Mum and Dad. 4X will be used as a sire for our F2 puppies and those puppies will be priced accordingly.