Poodle breeders.

A serious Poodle breeder hands you OFA hips (or PennHIP, more common in Standards), a current CAER eye exam, a sebaceous adenitis biopsy result for Standards, and a vWD (von Willebrand disease) DNA test. They tell you which size variety the litter belongs to and they are honest about the temperament difference: Standard Poodles are athletic working dogs with high training drive; Miniatures are intermediate; Toys are companion dogs with toy-breed health considerations. They ask about your activity level. Poodles need real exercise and real mental work; a breeder who places a Standard with a sedentary household without comment is the wrong breeder. Ask to see the dam after she has had a chance to settle so you can read her real temperament past the show-ring polish.

Typical price range.

A Standard Poodle puppy from a responsible breeder usually costs between two thousand and four thousand dollars in the United States, with proven show or working lines on the higher end. Miniatures and Toys typically run between fifteen hundred and three thousand. Anything under a thousand dollars almost always means the breeder skipped the sebaceous adenitis or eye screening, both non-negotiable in this breed. Doodle-cross prices have inflated Poodle expectations in some markets; remember that a Standard Poodle and a doodle are not the same dog and not the same price. Ask exactly what is included: shots, microchip, dewormer, vet check, AKC paperwork, and the lifetime take-back clause.

Health checks worth asking about.

The Poodle Club of America CHIC requirements vary by size. For Standards: OFA hips, sebaceous adenitis (SA) biopsy, an annual CAER eye exam, and a thyroid panel. For Miniatures and Toys: PennHIP or OFA hips, OFA patella evaluation, an annual CAER eye exam, and DNA tests for prcd-PRA, von Willebrand disease, and (in some lines) Legg-Calve-Perthes. Standards also benefit from Addison's disease screening; the breed has higher-than-average prevalence and a breeder who tracks the condition in their lines is giving you the most useful signal.