South Carolina Breeder AKC Champion Health Tested Silver Standard Poodles

South Paws' Poodles
Cheryl Wyatt
1058 Honey Creek
Anderson, SC   29621
864-338-9969

South Carolina breeder of AKC champion health tested silver standard poodles

Silver Standard Poodle Breeder in South Carolina
Read the newest Poodle Blog here. Current entry: "Very Important Info"
Things you may not yet know about Silver Standard Poodles! The silver color in Standard Poodles is so fascinating to me. A silver Standard Poodle is born black and then starts to clear to a silver at about 4 weeks. The color starts on the feet and the tiny hairs surrounding the nose, slowing it continues and the face and feet are silver. The new hair coming into the body is silver when you part the coat and look at the coat closest to the skin. For some silver Standard Poodles, it may take as long as 3 years to completely clear, others are completely clear at a year of age. Many things determine the clearing time table.	*My AKC Champion silver male, Smokey.*
Silver Standard Poodles can be very light, what we call platinum to a darker grey silver. Some can have a brown cast to their coats in patches while they are going through the clearing stage. Judges, unless it a poodle breeder judge, can be very confused by the clearing. Our AKC Poodle Standard says a solid color down to the skin. Therefore, judges really do not know what to do with a nice silver Standard that has a brown cast. In my opinion, your silver Standard will finish it's championship quicker if you wait on the phase to end by scissoring it out little by little. Take your time and let the color clear to the beautiful shade of silver it will be worth the wait. Silver Standard Poodles have no different temperament than any other color Standard Poodle.
A bit more about colors in Standard Poodles The Silver color is are very useful in a breeding program also. I breed White Standards and Blue Standards. I find using a White Standard carrying a silver gene very helpful in producing lighter silvers. A Blue Standard can also be used to produce silver. Some breeders are now using Black Standards bred to Silver Standards in order to improve the quality of Silvers. We have more good Black Standard conformation wise, than Silvers. You may get Blues doing this, but then you can take those Blues and come back to Silver. I find the blending and colors to improve the quality very interesting. It takes awhile to get where you want to be, but if you are wise and willing to take the long road, it will be very rewarding. I have Silver, White and Blue Standards and I think they are all very useful in my program of producing wonderful Standard Poodles
A little about me, the breeder -- I have been in love with the Poodle breed for nearly an entire adult life time. When I was a young woman I wanted a Poodle to show. My love then and forever was the color silver. My first purchase of a silver was a toy for showing from a very famous show kennel. It was disappointing experience, she had really bad knees. My heart was broken and I made the decision to show Sporting breeds instead. Then after much success in the Sporting ring, I approached Poodle handlers about buying a silver Standard. I was discourage, because at that time, there were very few and the quality on silver Standards, compared to black and white, was not up to par. I went on to have blacks and white Standards with some success, but my heart still longed for a silver.	*Puppies produced by South Paws'*
Years went by and finally I decided to pursue my dream of a silver Standard Poodle. I put the word out with friends to help me locate a nice silver, male or female, it did not matter to me. One day the phone rang, a friend on the west coast new of a nice silver litter. Someone had dropped into her grooming shop after just returning from a well known breeder of Standard Poodles. She had seen the loveliest silver male puppy and he was for sale, as far as she knew. I called the breeder after hearing all about him and indeed he was available. I sent my money and got my boy sight unseen. I was not disappointed, he was indeed a nice boy with a good pedigree from tested parents, grandparents and great grandparents. I put my boy with a handler when his coat was nearly ready, and he needed some ring experience. To my total surprise at 10 months, he won a 3 point major from puppy class. Although judges were now starting to look at silvers in the ring, it was still a hard road. I sent my boy, Smokey, back to my friend on the west coast for her to show him. After all, his was a west coast bred boy. My friend is not a pro, but a very talented owner/handler/groomer. Smokey was never out of the ribbons. The judges may not have liked his color, or his style, but they could not totally deny him ! His outgoing personality and his never ending tail wag won many of the judges over. I am late getting started with Silver Standard Poodles, but it is a love affair of the heart. I am striving to produce the best of the best with good health. I want others to enjoy, what I think is the prettiest of all, a Silver Standard Poodle. I am a firm believer in genetic health testing. I will not breed a Standard Poodle before he/she has become of age for health genetic testing. I raise my puppies in my home, feed top quality food, provide Vet care and socialize the babies. I am also a believer in puppy obedience for puppies. Obedience gets puppy and owner off to the right start.
*Smokey's silver daughter, Argenta*	My dream has come true and I could not be happier. I am finally working with the color of my choice, silver. By the way, they are much more popular now, almost too popular. So be careful and check the breeder out, enjoy a silver Standard Poodle. I have had some lovely puppies and I hope to have many in the show ring complete their AKC Championships. The Silver color is my color of choice! Please contact me if you think you could provide a wonderful forever home for a Silver Standard Poodle: Cheryl Wyatt Anderson, SC (864) 338-9969 southpawspd@charter.net