Mostly Mischief Miniature Poodles

Jumping into the long weekend like.... What are you and your pups going to get up to?

We are happy to say do all of the health testing recommended by the Poodle Specialty Club of BC and the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. If you aren’t able to get a puppy from me, make sure the breeder you choose does all of the appropriate testing on the parent dogs!

Enrichment fun with a puzzle toy! Watch as the puppies smell the treats and learn to push the sections to get them!

A case in the news yesterday made me want to remind my past and future puppy owners that once your puppy is born, I, as the one who chose to bring them into this world, am responsible for them for their entire lives. If you ever have to give up one of my puppies, whether it is because of an issue with the dog’s behaviour, a life-changing situation that makes it too hard to look after the dog, or the dog gets hurt or sick and you can’t afford the vet bills, I will ALWAYS take... them back. It doesn’t matter how old they are, how hurt or sick they are, or what issues they might have. I am responsible for them for their entire lives and I will do everything in my power to make sure they are taken care of. It is in my contract that if a puppy ever needs to be rehomed I must be contacted before anyone else. I will not judge, I will not ask questions if you feel uncomfortable, and I will pay off any outstanding vet bills you cannot afford. I will do whatever it takes to get the puppy well again and either rehome them or keep them myself. This is my promise to my puppies as a responsible breeder.

Mindy looking fresh after her new haircut! Going back to a shaved face! Pregnancy and nursing take a toll of mother’s coats which is why I always shave my girls short before they give birth. The first haircut after their puppies are grown up is a bit funny as it takes time for the coat to grow back as long and full as it was before.

Mindy’s boys at six weeks old! They grow up so fast! All puppies from this litter are sold. Current wait time is approximately two years. Applications are closed except to local homes and sport homes.

Mindy’s boys at six weeks old! They grow up so fast! All puppies from this litter are sold. Current wait time is approximately two years. Applications are closed except to local homes and sport homes.

We’ve decided that this litter we will be weaning the puppies onto raw food rather than kibble. We believe that raw food is a great way to ensure the dogs are getting the most natural nutrition and it makes for nice small poops too! And of course the dogs love it! We know that most dog owners feed kibble as it in inexpensive, easy to feed and store, and requires no prep work, but raw feeding has come a long way and there are many commercial raw diets out there that are already blended with the appropriate fruits and vegetables to take the guesswork out of preparing meals. For one or two small dogs the cost can be about the same as feeding high quality kibble. We will be giving the puppies a bit of kibble when they are older to help them transition to kibble if their new owners prefer to feed kibble.

Three weeks old! We are now walking around, playing, and starting to eat solid foods!

We’ve decided that this litter we will be weaning the puppies onto raw food rather than kibble. We believe that raw food is a great way to ensure the dogs are getting the most natural nutrition and it makes for nice small poops too! And of course the dogs love it! We know that most dog owners feed kibble as it in inexpensive, easy to feed and store, and requires no prep work, but raw feeding has come a long way and there are many commercial raw diets out there that are already blended with the appropriate fruits and vegetables to take the guesswork out of preparing meals. For one or two small dogs the cost can be about the same as feeding high quality kibble. We will be giving the puppies a bit of kibble when they are older to help them transition to kibble if their new owners prefer to feed kibble.

Three weeks old! We are now walking around, playing, and starting to eat solid foods!

Announcing a successful breeding between Bear (Calvary’s Teddy Bear) and Petra (I Heart Petra Miller)! This will be our first CKC registered litter and will be due beginning of June if all goes well! Expecting brown, brown merle, blue, blue merle, and there is a chance of silver and cafe au lait. All puppies from this litter will be reserved to our waiting list.

Here are Mindy’s boys at one week old!

Our dog run / catio received an AMAZING makeover this week thanks to Timeless Turf & Landscapes! High quality artificial turf that’s easy to clean and won’t budge when the poodle crew are ripping around on it! And yes I’ve already scooped two runny poops off of it with no problems

Happy National Puppy Day from our two resident puppies Henry (8 weeks) and Carmela (9 months)! Show us some photos of your puppies in the comments!

Nanaimo city council will be voting on a proposed new bylaw TONIGHT which will limit households to four dogs or less (among many other changes to cat ownership). This is an attempt to cut down on unethical breeding and dog hoarding but unfortunately punishes ethical breeders who have more than four dogs. If you support ethical breeding and have gotten a dog from a breeder in the past or plan to in the future, please consider writing to city council and/or the mayor to voice... your concerns. Their emails can be found here https://www.nanaimo.ca//city-cou/contact-mayor-and-council or email all the councillors and mayor at [email protected] You can read the new bylaws in its entirety here https://pub-nanaimo.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx Thank you for your support!

Now that the puppies are a bit older we are starting to experience the outside! The gentle rain we had today was the perfect experience for them to feel the wet cement and gravel under their paws and raindrops on their backs.

A few of the crew are starting to open their eyes! New photos coming soon when they are all open

Carmela graduated from puppy class at Best Paw Forward Dog Training today! I highly recommend their classes for not only learning the basic commands but for giving a deeper understanding of how your dog thinks and learns.

Four weeks old!

I am moving my waiting list to my email so if you are on my waiting list for my spring 2021 litter (or want to be) please fill out an adoption application here https://www.mostlymischief.com/adoptionapplication.htm If you don’t fill one out don’t worry you will still be contacted if we have chatted before but I would prefer to have an adoption application filled out first if possible. Thank you! As always if you want to be removed from the list for any reason please contact me and let me know. It takes a long time to go through my waiting list only to find out over half of the people no longer want a puppy.

First solid food today!

We set up a camera so we could see what the puppies do at night! Here’s a short time lapse of their activities

Drying off in front of the fire after their first full bath!

Using the back end of the clipper the puppies can feel the vibration without actually getting their hair cut. This will help them get used to the feeling of being groomed so it isn’t so scary when the time comes! We also shaved bums and paw pads today!

We’re now on instagram @mostlymischiefpoodles ! Follow us for puppy photos and videos!

Trying out a new haircut! What do you think?

Five males and one female.

In more happy news, this little boy will be coming to join our breeding program at the end of November! Obviously he has a lot of growing up to do first, but once he is old enough and passes his health testing he will be our new stud!

Happy thanksgiving! These guys couldn’t wait to celebrate and arrived this morning! There are five boys and one girl. I will be going through my waiting list over the next two weeks.

Petra is due in one week! How many puppies do you see?

Carmela is growing up so fast! How are her brothers and sisters doing?

Carmela having fun in the cat wheel!

Did you know that the optimum time to socialize a puppy is between 8 and 12 weeks of age? It’s so important to properly socialize a puppy to new experiences including all kinds of people, children, other animals, bikes, skateboards, cars, and more! After 18 weeks of age a puppy is less likely to respond positively to new experiences so it’s crucial to get them out exploring the world beforehand. Socialization doesn’t mean just exposure. Make sure your puppy is is a calm, inq...uisitive manner when experiencing something new. If they are surrounded by all sorts of new and scary things they can get overwhelmed and remember the experience as a negative one. Go slowly and if you need to move away from the new stimuli and sit and watch from a distance to reassure your puppy that’s fine! You can work yourself closer with time or meet just one or two people at a time until he or she is comfortable. Have lots of treats and praise handy and remember not to push your puppy too hard especially when they are very young and tire easily. One thing to note is that puppies aren’t fully protected from their first set of shots. It isn’t until after the second that they are safe to go into dog-heavy areas like pet stores and dog parks. Before that stick to walking in your neighborhood, dog-friendly stores, or parks.