Why Miniature & Toy Poodles

In my capacity as a standard poodle breeder over many years, the question would crop up from time to time whether I was ever going to raise any other sizes of poodles. My answer was always the same, "no, never, the standards are my passion and I will never raise any other size." Well goodness, never say never as the old adage goes. My mistake (if it was one) was to make a phone call to a local breeder for my son and his wife in January 2006. I chatted for a very long time with the breeder, and she talked me into making a visit to see her poos. I had never seen such gorgeous miniatures with the lovely face of a standard. Her integrity in her breeding program, the incredible mentor that she has worked with, the excellent pedigrees of her champion lines and the quality and temperaments of her dogs captivated me. I walked out her door with a gorgeous girl that we named Ellie and my husband and I fell so in love with her, I went back for her sister Lucie a week later.

My answer was always the same, "no, never, the standards are my passion and I will never raise any other size."  Well goodness, never say never as the old adage goes!

We tragically lost our beloved Ellie in May of that same year, when she was hit by a car on our driveway right after being let out for her morning ritual. Her memory remains and her dear sister Lucie has been an incredible blessing in our lives. She is truly my "miniature" version of Rayeh, my first standard in her looks and her temperament.

Lucie and Ellie

Later in the year, we were very fortunate that Armani became available to us from a show judge and handler to add to our breeding program. He is absolutely stunning in looks and confirmation, with a very kind and gentle temperament of a quality that we desire to breed with Lucie to produce incredible kids of the same.These two were the beginning of our crew from which Sapphire Mountain Miniature & Toy Poodles was born!  As we are retiring several of our guys and gals in our standard program, and cutting back to just a few in that program, we are very happy and very blessed with the wonderful poodles that we call OURS!

Thank you for looking at our website and we hope it is helpful in your choice of your next family member.

The Family of Flintstones

As a youngster growing up amidst the cornfields of Iowa, one of my childhood favorites was none other than the infamous cartoon program, The Flintstones.  Many of us from that era fondly remember the beloved characters of the Flintstone family which included Fred, Wilma and Pebbles; and the Rubble family, Barney, Betty and Bamm Bamm.  Then of course there was Mr. Slate, Fred's boss, who was nearly bald with only two hairs to his head and big black glasses, and would often be heard  hollering at Fred.  And last, but certainly not least, we will never forget the Flintstone family dinosaur Dino!Many moons later, from some of these characters, we have built our own family of toy and miniature poo's that we call the Littles.  Pebbles, Bamm Bamm and Betty are our gorgeous red toys; and Wilma and Penny our rich brown miniatures.

The Littles have won our hearts and of course taken over our home.  They love the standards and can often be found hanging from one's ear or snuggling in their legs, against their side or perched on top.  At night they love to snuggle with us in bed.

Visit the Sires and Dams pages for your individual introduction to our family of Flintstones and others.  We have taken a lot of pictures of the Littles for you to view and enjoy.

Current Litter Photos

About Poodle Breeds

In the United States, the Standard Poodle is 15 inches or more in height and weighs 45 to 65 pounds. The Miniature Poodle's height range is between 10 and 15 inches, and weighs in at somewhere between 10 and 18 pounds. Toy Poodles, on the other hand, are 10 inches in height tops and weigh about six pounds. Shoulder height is the most accurate way to determine variety in the poodle breed.

European breed standards include four sizes of poodles. The Euoropean Toy Poodle has a maximum height at the withers of 11 inches. The European Dwarf Poodle is not a true dwarf, but ranges in size from 11 to 13.85 inches in height. Miniatures in Europe range from 13.75 to 18.75 inches, while European Standard Poodles have a minimum eight of 18.75 inches and a maximum of 23.5 inches.

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