Canine and Human Ladies of Family Affair Standard Poodles

Female Poodles for Sale

“We” understand that most ladies tend to prefer lap dogs….Perhaps “we are” an exception. – Emily Bronte

Please read to you see the ROSE at the bottom of the page, to be sure you have seen it all.

This page is an introduction to the Ladies of Family Affair Standards, both Canine and Human.
Just like our name implies, this is a “FAMILY AFFAIR”.

First you will meet the Canine Ladies of Family Affair Standard in living color, view their slide shows, pedigrees, height, weight and any testing results. Then you will meet the human, hard working of Ladies of Family Affair Standards.

The Canine Ladies who make up Family Affair Standard Poodles

White & Cream Standard Ladies

Apricot & Red Standard Ladies

Black & Blue Standard Ladies

Grey & Silver Standard Ladies

Brown, Café Au’ Lait & Silver Beige Standard Ladies

Parti, Phantom, Sable & Brindle Standard Ladies

The Family Affair Standard Poodles have been carefully chosen through research. Our first priority, in the process of selecting our standard poodles, is health and temperament. We have two conformations of a Standard Poodle; the daintier, fine lined show-type standard, and the heavier boned, stocky, old hunting/retriever lines.  Because of research and selection, we are able to combine these two conformation types to produce a superb, well-rounded Standard Poodle puppy who can be your newest family member.

The Poodle Club of America is, of course, made up of humans that are pretty special, amazing and dedicated people. They write the standards for the breed, and the standard has to some extent changed the original look and purpose of the Standard Poodle. We use this standard to pick and choose our LADIES purchased or kept for breeding but we sacrifice some control of the EXACT AKC SHOW LOOK and select for more random qualities of beauty, temperament and health. Our primary goal is to enrich the very small gene bank of the Standard Poodle pedigrees, which is and will continue to be the best weapon against genetic disorders.  The preceding statements may raise some eyebrows and ruffle some feathers.  It might even become a topic on Poodle Forum, but we stand firm in our belief and respect those who disagree.

Again, because of our selective breeding, we can produce every color available in the breed of Standard Poodles. We have white standard poodles, cream standard poodles, apricot standard poodles, and red standard poodles. We offer the striking colors of jet black standard poodles, blue standard poodles, grey standard poodles, and silver standard poodles. In the brown family, we have true deep brown standard poodles (some call it chocolate) as well as the café au lait standard poodles and the gorgeous silver beige standard poodles.

In 2009, after lots of research and prayer, we added the ability to produce the very controversial colors of phantom standard poodles and parti standard poodles.  We also have brindle standard poodles and sable standard poodles.    We are concentrating on the diversity of these colors by crossing our solid color Gentlemen with our parti and phantom Ladies.  In the selection of our color variety of Standard Poodle Ladies we are striving to improve on the health and conformation.

These colors are allowed to be registered with the AKC but not allowed in the conformation show ring. Our hope someday is that the non-solid variety of a Standard Poodle will be accepted in the show ring as a color variety just as the Cocker Spaniels and other breeds of color. Some breeders PROFOUNDLY disapprove of any Standard Poodle with any color other than a solid color.  However, a self-portrait of Rembrandt shows him with his parti colored standard poodle, in 1631!  The earliest 3 colors of the Standard Poodle were black, white and black & white combination (parti color).

To see early history pictures and read more about the origin of these poodles of color, please click here. Below are slideshows of our Canine Ladies and along with links to their Pedigrees and any Health Testing.

Hard working Ladies who make up Family Affair Standard Poodles

My name is Wendy, and I am the jack–of–all-trades at Family Affair Standard Poodles. I have worked very close with my mom now for many years. I try very hard to be the manager, but my mom, who is supposed to be retiring in 2016, sometimes has a hard time letting go. LOL!!! My mom and my sister Holley, helped me design and write the website in the beginning.  I did all the technical work on the website as well as the routine updates. I was finally able to pass that on to my Aunt Beth when she came on board. I designed and created all of our forms and records we use in our daily work and routines, (i.e. medical record cards, breeding cards, work schedules, etc.). We have now begun to use Pedfast’s “The Breeder’s Standard” Software to help with our record keeping, pedigrees and co-efficiencies.

One of the most fascinating things I do is the research on color genetics and then studying the pedigrees for low co-efficiency. I give advice where needed as a nurse and mid-wife.  I also spend a great deal of time with our Standard Poodle puppies. I thoroughly enjoy the responsibility of examining and performing our socializing protocol with our Standard Poodle puppies. In addition to taking care of our puppies at a young age, I work with the ones we keep and the ones we buy for our breeding program; on leash training, crate training, basic commands and socialization.   I can often be found in the pictures and videos as well.  During these times I receive a lot of puppy kisses and I get to smell the sweet scent of puppy breath.  I am very involved and busy in the public relations department. I take very serious the responsibility of placing our puppies into the right forever home. This is exceptionally important to all of us and I assure you we all take it very seriously! I also manage our relationships with other reputable Standard Poodle breeders.

I appreciate all your phone calls and emails, so daily, many hours are spent fielding your questions about Standard Poodles.  All Standard Poodles possess specific qualities, but with varying degrees of these qualities. I make it my mission to get to know each potential new puppy owner and introduce them to puppies who match their lifestyle and personality. Darlene and April and the other ladies here, also meet and greet our families and help in the role of placing puppies in their forever home as well.

My mom, Cindy, began breeding West Highland White Terriers and Standard Poodles in 1989. Her wisdom and talent have proven to be outstanding in the design of our breeding facility and the structure of the entire breeding program. The knowledge she has passed on to me is invaluable. It makes me so conscious of the importance of superior maintenance and routine repair of the grounds.  My mom’s wisdom of the grooming and medical care, as well as the mental and social well-being of our canine family members, makes her the master mind behind it all. Mom still helps me answer health questions or training issues that her years of experience better qualify her to answer. I am still learning and am sure I will for many more years to come. Most of the website photography, up until 2014 was done by my mom with all of us behind the scenes making all kinds of weird noises to get the canine Ladies and Gentlemen as well as puppies to look at the camera and smile. She still is editing and preparing the photos for the website which she enjoys very much.

Holley, my sister, had done a lot of research on dog food, training equipment, finding show handlers and advertising. She also did our co-efficiency work-ups and kept our pedigrees up to date with our canine Lady and Gentlemen information. In addition to all of this, Holley handled our litter registrations and all of our AKC paperwork. She was in charge of getting our contracts and guarantees to you. She also helped me reply to emails and phone calls from you about our standard poodle babies.

Late in 2011 Holley weaned herself from working full time with our Standard Poodles because she was offered a wonderful opportunity to go back to her first love of training and showing American Saddlebreds.  She works with an amazing woman who has shown and trained Saddlebreds for years. Her name is Mary Ann Harris owner of Woodbridge Farm and Holley is grateful for the opportunity to work with her. My mom is very thankful to Mary Ann for giving Holley the chance to do what she loves best and is such a great mentor and friend to Holley.  Holley helps train and works the horses and has a great riding lesson program for children.  As a result, Holley’s computer and paper work responsibilities with the Poodles were divided between my husband, Blake and me. Now I have been able to relinquish those responsibilities to April and my Aunt Beth. Blake is now a wonderful stay at home dad to our son born July 28, 2015.

Darlene began here in 2007 after Gina (previous Full Time Kennel Tech) had to leave us due to health issues. Although we miss Gina, Darlene has been an irreplaceable addition to Family Affair Standard Poodles. She started out doing the daily poop scooping, cleaning, feeding and watering. She gave vaccines and medications. The list was endless. She had to put up with my mom, Holley and I, and our constant barrage of “can you help me do this” or “please do that”.  Most of the time she did all this with a smile and a cheerful “Hello Sunshine!”  Notice I said most of the time.  No one can deal with all of us with a smile every day. LOL!!! Her winning smile and her bubbly personality adds to the comradery among our team.

Darlene now helps me manage the kennel and is the official full time groomer of all our Family Affair Standard Poodles. Our Standard Poodle puppies get their first face and tail haircut, ear cleaning and nail cutting from Darlene.  Each of our adult Standard Poodles get groomed every 8 to 10 weeks, so the grooming is a never-ending cycle. She begins her day at 6:30 AM by opening all the doggie doors to the whelping boxes and cottages, where our mama’s and babies stay. Then moms and puppies are let out into their yards and exercise runs to potty and play all day.  Darlene has done it all here at FAMILY AFFAIR, so if anyone’s absent she can jump in and take over their responsibilities for the day. We are so blessed to have Darlene. She is pictured below with her beloved Raven. Although her first canine love is her Miniature Dachshunds, she is as dedicated to our Standard Poodle Ladies and Gentlemen and our Standard Poodle puppies as we are.  Darlene is loved and appreciated by all of us, and enjoys spending time with us even on her days off.

One of our favorite things to do together is to watch, what we call, the “CANINE SUPER BOWL” which is, of course, the American Kennel Club Westminster Dog Show. All the Ladies here at FAMILY AFFAIR STANDARD POODLES hope to take a trip together to New York City in the future, to attend the American Kennel Club Westminster Dog Show. I think we can make it happen!

Erica was with us when she was 14 to 16 years old.  She was very responsible and dedicated at that young age.  When she wanted to join our team again at the age of 25, we were very pleased. She came back to us on a part time basis in early 2013.  She was reliable and observant when examining and observing puppies and adults.  We quickly realized she was also a great asset in the office and computer department as well.  In just a few months, she started full time and then took over a lot of the task Darlene had been responsible for over the years.

Erica begins her day with a quick hands-on inspection of all the babies.  She gives medication, routine wormers and vaccines. Erica weighs and individually identifies each puppy with different colors of fingernail polish the day they are born.  For three weeks all our Standard Poodle puppies are weighed every day. If anyone loses weight or is not gaining at the rate they should, Erica steps in and hand nurses and/or bottle feeds them. All of that attention to babies must have affected her, because in early 2014, Erica gave birth to a beautiful baby girl that looks like a china doll.  Her name is Kaelyn. We are looking forward to working with Erica for many years to come and watching Kaelyn grow up.

Becca (fondly called Lil Becca) started with us, in late summer of 2012. .  She took a long break from here in 2013 to prepare for the coming of a sweet baby girl named Shelby, born early July 2013. Shelby is a very special little girl to us all. She has inherited her mama’s love for the dogs too. We missed Becca so very much and were happy when she was able to return in late 2013. When she returned Lil Becca pitched in and helped me with the socialization program. Becca had a natural born talent in relating to dogs and what their actions and attitudes indicate.  She was skilled at correcting or enhancing those behaviors. But unfortunately for us and a happy thing for her, she married and had a second baby girl late 2014. She left us to become a full time stay at home mom. We are very proud of her and love her dearly and hope one day she will be back.

April started to work with us in the Spring of 2014 in a full time capacity as our weekend and evening Kennel Tech. We have known April since she was a teenager and were so glad she decided to come to work here. Even though her love for our standard poodles is very apparent, we quickly realized her natural born talents are in paperwork, time management and customer service. She transitioned to a Monday through Friday schedule and helped us with creative ideas for our day to day operations. We have already implemented some of her great ideas into our program. She rotates the Saturday schedule with me where she handles the customers that are here picking up their new puppies or just looking. She is very knowledgeable can answer most if not all of the questions you will have. She does our Contracts and works closely with AKC on Litter Registrations and Puppy Papers. April is our daytime labor and delivery Tech and also helps with neonatal care by hand nursing or bottle feeding our newly born standard poodle puppies. Her love of the standard poodle is again very apparent when she is helping me with our Solicitation Programs. She has proven herself as a valuable asset to FAMILY AFFAIR STANDARDS.

“Hi April,

Thanks for the info.
Your a great asset to Family Affairs and I hope they realize it, your a sweetie to deal with and also as a person!
Barbara Hodgson”

Dear Wendy,
I had the pleasure of visiting your farm with the so many loving poodles last Wednesday…..at first I was completely overwhelmed with the size and number of babies, toddlers, and adults there….but after two hours of spending time with wonderful April, I left feeling completely at ease and at peace with your breeding establishment….Gypsy is the perfect standard with her loving ways as expressed to us in the nursery….of course, she is the soul mate of April and I can truly understand….
Thank you again for such a lovely and meaningful visit….we also fell in love with April….she loves the poodles so.
Sincerely,
Nancy Nash Long Clayton
Tarboro, Kitty Hawk, Pinehurst

Margaret started with us in the late Summer of 2014 and she is called our “Superwoman” She is strong and hard working. Margaret works evening and weekends and is available for night time puppy deliveries as well. She comes in the afternoon and administers second doses of medications and bottle feeds or nurses any babies that need it before bed time. Our moms, who are with their new born puppies, are let out for their last potty break for the day by Margaret. She closes up whelping areas and tucks everyone in with good night kisses. Our moms stay in with their babies so they will not wander outside and are kept where it is warm or cool depending on the time of year. Giving the last hands-on exams of the day to all babies is one of the last duties she does. Margaret, with her hands on approach, works closely with all of our Adults to ensure their health and happiness. She has insight into behavior signals and acts on them.

Margaret excels in organizational and house keeping skills. Keeping the poodle nursery, kennel, grooming area, the office and our homes spic and span is all part of Margaret’s duties. Margaret also has a keen eye for landscape design and keeps all of our plants growing and our flowers blooming.

My Aunt Beth begun helping us from time to time back in 2010 with paper work and caring of our newborns. We finally convinced her to leave the corporate world and join us on a full time basis and in 2015 she became our Administrator of Business Operations and HR. Her resume, which includes many years in retail and corporate management, assures she is irreplaceable to us. Needless to say, we were very excited for her to join us. She has been an intricate part of taking our current programs and business practices and streamlining them. She researched, found and implemented new Kennel, Human Resources and Tax Preparation software programs to make our mounds of record keeping easier. With her business sense and my experience my mom finally feels like the time is right to step away.

Since my Aunt Beth has been around kennels and breeding her entire life because my memaw also raised Maltese and Yorkies, she excitingly sits over night during the week with our moms during their labor and delivery. She also makes flight arrangements for shipping and transports most of our puppies to the airport, sometimes in the wee hours of the morning. She has been instrumental in helping us launch our new Website in 2016.

Mom wants to retire and spend more time with my brother and start painting and sewing. She still lives here on the property and her wealth of knowledge will be available to me on a daily basis as needed. The video taking and photographing of our puppies and adults is VERY time consuming and hard work. We began using Ann as our part time photographer in late 2015 to take over this part of my mom’s responsibilities. In January of 2016 we made the decision to bring her on full time. The port-folio of her work is amazing and we are very excited about her working here as our photographer and videographer. This is a very important part of our program because this is how you see our babies for the first time. During picture and video sessions we really get to know the individual puppy along with our other socialization programs. Ann is going to move into much more of a bigger part of Socialization Programs. Her laid back personality but hard working ethic made her an easy fit for us. She handles all of our inventory for supplies and equipment and runs errands like picking up dog food and other supplies. She transports any Standard Poodle puppy or adult that needs a vet visit or a trip to the Master Groomer before she takes their “professional” pictures. We look forward to having her here at FAMILY AFFAIR STANDARD POODLES for many years to come.

We love all our LADIES and we all make a great team and love taking care of our Standard Poodle family together.

We have often hired part time help over the years; each one has been an asset to FAMILY AFFAIR STANDARD POODLES. Though FAMILY AFFAIR STANDARD POODLES was just a stepping stone on their way to growing up and moving on to other careers, they each did a good job when they were with us. We enjoyed our part time ladies and were glad for the opportunity to meet them and work with them.   There was Taylor a very soft spoken, hard-working young lady, who had a very tender heart.  It was obvious with her patience and gentleness when working with the dogs. Cherise, who was a saving grace during a very difficult time for us in 2009 and 2010, was a very compassionate young woman, when it came to the well-being and happiness of our Standard Poodles. Rebecca was an easy going, hard worker who loved the outdoors and working with the dogs.  Some other part time girls who have come and gone over the years are Casey, Destiny and her sister Crystal. These were all special LADIES.

My commentary wouldn’t be complete without mentioning, my niece, Savannah.  She was a real asset to us.  She was certainly born with the love of puppies in her genes. Savannah played with and socialized our Standard Poodle babies and helped crate train, as well as bed train them. She helped with the obedience process as well. She also taught our Standard Poodle puppies to fetch and helped them with their first adventure into the wading pools and pond. She really loves that sweet puppy breath. It was a common, happy site to look outside and see Savannah with a Standard Poodle puppy on a leash or one chasing her down the path.  To this day when she spends the night with my mom (her Mamaw), she usually ends up with a baby in her bed. Savannah also has her mom’s love for horses and more specifically the Saddlebreds. She was at our farm a lot but since 2011 she has also spent a lot of time showing the Saddlebreds with her mom.

My Mema, who is pictured below in the rocking chair, was a successful breeder of Maltese and Yorkies for 15 years. She has had a tremendous influence in the way we manage our dogs and business.   Even my precious mother–in-law, also pictured on the slide show, did some of our editing and proof reading for our original website. “Mom”, which is what I call her, has also helped with cleaning and other kennel chores in emergencies. The greatest thing Mom has done is, along with my parents, helped Blake and I financially to be able to move to my parents farm, Arrowhead Acres, permanently. This has been such a blessing for my husband and I.  We are right here on the property, with all of our Standard Poodles that we love so much. We appreciate her, and my mom and dad for all their support and we look forward to raising our family and living out our lives here on the farm.

Here at Family Affair Standards we will continue to learn and evolve in our endeavor to make this a wonderful place to adopt or purchase your next family member, an amazing Standard Poodle puppy. With our selection of canine “Ladies” and “Gentlemen” and with so many human “Ladies” and “Gentlemen” hard work and dedication, we are able to offer you a healthy, well-socialized, beautiful, and intelligent new family member from FAMILY AFFAIR STANDARD POODLES.

rose