Cute Puppies

Who we are

We are a family of 4 who enjoy our rural property. Ross is a professional geneticist by day and breeds orchids in his spare time. Katie is the ‘dog lady’. Building on a life-long passion for animals she decided to initiate a small breeding programme focusing on phantom factored poodles and labradoodles.

Where we are located

We have a small farm on the outskirts of Christchurch, half-way between Lincoln and Prebbleton. Call if you want to come and visit. (Map and contact details)

Our breeding objectives

Our primary objective is to produce dogs of sound form and temperament that make fabulous family pets. Our practice of testing all our breeding stock (eyes, hips and elbows) reflects our firm commitment to sound breeding practices. As part of that effort we also work very hard to avoid any co-ancestry (where the two parents used in a mating share common ancestors) in our breeding programme. Co-ancestry inevitably leads to inbreeding, and consequently to loss of vigour and the joint and health problems that can creep into pedigree breeds. It is, however, very hard to avoid co-ancestry in a small country like New Zealand where almost every dog of a given breed is related to every other one. Hence we chose to import a dog from the US as part of our foundation stock and we maintain a database of pedigrees and co-ancestry indices on all the animals we use for breeding. A summary of this information is provided with each pup. If you are interested, we can also provide a predicted colour genotype. This is a predictive score of the most likely genes carried by that animal and would be of most value to a breeder wishing to predict the outcome of a planned mating. Feel free to ask about how this can be used.

How many dogs do we produce?

We produce one or two litters a year. Our focus is on providing unique, high quality family pets at a reasonable price. As all our breeding animals are genuine family pets which live with us, and all our puppies are handled extensively by our daughters to socialise them before they go out to their new homes -- we feel that this is an appropriate scale for our type of breeding operation.

What sort of facilities do we have?

We have a dedicated whelping room where the mother dog can spend uninterrupted time with her litter. The room is cheery and comfortable, which is just as well as Katie insists on setting up a camp stretcher to oversee what are invariably night-time deliveries. The other main advantage of a dedicated whelping room is that it can be setup and maintained specifically with the dog’s needs in mind. The temperature is held comfortably high in the early weeks as this a time when pups are unable to regulate their own body temperature and they are at most risk of disease. Warm, clean, well ventilated conditions speed them through this vulnerable phase and set them up to prosper later on.  As the pups grow our children enjoy spending lots of time with them in the whelping and weaning boxes. When they are older the pups can explore our property and play with the older dogs.

What are ‘Phantom Poodles’?

The term "phantom poodle" does not refer to a different breed of dog, only to its color and markings.  Phantom poodles are bi-colored poodles, with the same markings as a Doberman.  That is, they have a lighter color appearing on their "eyebrows," muzzle and throat, legs and feet and below their tail. 
The distinctive black and tan colour pattern familiar in many other dog breeds was once also common amongst poodles. Legend has it that when the French aristocracy adopted the poodle as their signature breed (the breed actually originated in Germany) they chose to keep only solid coloured dogs to separate their animals from the common masses. The prejudice against patterned animals became embodied in the breed standard, and patterned animals still cannot be shown in many countries.
The phantom characteristic is recessive, allowing it to go undetected for many generations in a population only to appear as a ‘throw-back’ in a genuinely purebred line when two ‘carriers’ are mated. The phantom poodle’s stunning appearance has led to a softening in attitude in some countries as they have gained an avid following among dog enthusiasts. Germany leads the way, which is fitting as it is the birthplace of the breed. Phantoms and partis are also becoming increasingly popular in the USA, the United Kingdom and Canada.

What is a Labradoodle?

A Labradoodle is a cross between a Poodle and a Labrador. The result is a highly intelligent dog that combines the best of both breeds. First bred in Australia, the Labradoodle was ‘created’ be a companion and guide for allergy-suffering human beings with sight impairment or total blindness. As a result of their Poodle heritage, most Labradoodles have little doggy odour and no-to-low shedding coats. These characteristics are hugely beneficial for families with allergy-sufferers and/or those who would rather not contend with drifts of dog hair during the annual molt.

Labradoodles are very loving dogs who adore attention from their humans. They are active and intelligent and thrive on daytime adventures and night time sessions relaxing with the family. Labradoodle coats vary from low-shedding ‘hair’ coats (more common in first generation crosses) to curly ‘wool’ coats that are low-to-no shedding. Coat types can generally be assessed when the pups are quite young.

What is a Phantom Labradoodle?

A phantom labradoodle is simply a labradoodle with the phantom pattern. The phantom pattern is very uncommon in both poodles and labradoodles. We have worked hard over the past seven years to bring together unrelated phantom lines from two different countries to create a breeding pair that will consistently produce fabulous phantom labradoodle puppies with real hybrid vigour. Trixie and Andre have also produced a few cream / apricot babies -- reflecting the apricot and red colours further back in their pedigrees.

Where did our dogs come from?

Trixie was purchased on a breeding contract from Kereru Labradoodles in Whangarei. She is a great family pet with a real ‘Disney Dog’ appeal. She is loyal and focused and full of the joy of life, and absolutely loves the kids.

Kismet was imported from the United States (where she was registered with the American Kennel Club) when it became clear that we would not find the perfect phantom poodle closer to home. In addition to the phantom pattern, she had loads of red, apricot and brown in her impressive pedigree.

Kismet was bred to a registered miniature poodle who we suspected carried the recessive phantom pattern. The result was a litter which included Andre, our beautiful black and cream phantom poodle stud.