Amarante Sheepadoodles and St Berdoodles UK

12/04/2024

Barbara & Dudley’s St Berdoodles 2024…

09/01/2024

Here are the Amarante HQ plans for 2024.

Since our last puppies here in the summer 2023, the large patio area outside the puppy room is now complete and ready for this year’s puppies to play on safely when they are old enough.

Our next litters are due at the end of February. Due to Barbara’s waiting list being full, we decided Olive, Barbara’s full sister, will have her first litter too, so we can now reopen the waiting list as have spaces available. Please send me a private message or email to [email protected] if you are interested in joining this list telling me a little bit about yourselves.

Father to both these litters is our American imported St Berdoodle Dudley. He has a fantastic hip score of 6 (3:3), perfect elbow score of 0:0, current clear BVA eye certificate, he’s DNA clear of all hereditary diseases and has a super temperament.

Sisters Barbara and Olive both have good hip scores, perfect elbow scores, current clear BVA eye certificates and are DNA clear by parentage.

Olive is due February 22nd and Barbara February 29th. With only a week between them, when the puppies are older they will be able to all be together. We have facilities for two litters to be raised simultaneously and there will be no compromise, it just means we have to work twice as hard!

After the spring litters we will have a break until early September when if all goes to plan, we will have again two litters at once, Ruby’s sheepadoodle litter and Margo’s St Berdoodle litter. We are hoping to use our new parti Standard poodle stud Buzz if he passes his health tests for Ruby so she will have F1b Sheepadoodles.

Puppies will be raised within our home, they will be raised on a quality food, have a thorough worm program and be desensitised to noises such as thunder and fireworks. They will be vet checked prior to leaving us and come with 4 weeks free insurance. They leave us with a puppy pack which includes a five generation family tree, a birth certificate, a ‘smelephant’ (a soft toy with the scent of mum, litter mates and me on it) a puppy letter with all the information on feeding, worming, training etc. There will also be a puppy sales contract and a puppy socialisation check list. I start a group chat for each litter for people to ask questions and if they wish keep in touch with their puppy’s siblings.

All news and pictures will be posted on our private group ‘Amarante Doodles UK’ where you can see previous litters and pupdates and stories from our extended Amarante family. You are very welcome to join us. For more information about us do visit our website www.amarante-doodles.co.uk

We are proud to say that we hold a 5 star Dog Breeding licence with Breckland Council. This means we have been thoroughly inspected and have passed all aspects of dog breeding and dog keeping with flying colours. All our dogs live as part of our family in our home and are not re-homed when they retire, they are our pets first and sleep in our bedroom at night and with me during the day.

So, lots of things here to look forward to in 2024! Happy New Year from all at Amarante HQ!

Sheepadoodle & St Berdoodle puppies based in Attleborough in Norfolk, UK.

11/12/2023

Just a little note about nutrition and diet for our dogs. This is so important for the larger breeds like Sheepadoodles and St Berdoodles, well any breed but especially the breeds that have a lot of growing to do in a relatively short space of time.

Firstly the quality. Please check your chosen brand of dog food on the independent website allaboutdogfood.co.uk Even some expensive heavily advertised dog food is bad. I’m not an expert but have obviously had experience with various brands in the 20 years I’ve been breeding. A general rule of thumb is if you can buy it in the supermarket, it’s not good. It is better to spend that little bit extra in food than quite a lot extra on vets bills later in life.

Quantity is also important. Keep your dog lean. Overweight dogs, like humans, are more prone to illness, especially musculoskeletal problems, cancers, hip dysplasia… Gaining too much weight too early on in life with the mindset ‘I’ve got a St Berdoodle and want him to be big’ could cause problems with this excessive growth. Slow and steady is best. Keep an eye on the weight gain and body condition of your dog as he or she grows.

If you prefer to feed raw, make sure you get the balance and quantity right. Opt again for a good quality balanced raw food.

My chosen brands are Skinner’s Field and Trial, but there is even a difference in quality in the flavours. Skinners themselves tell me that when I order a pallet. The price reflects this so easy to see. I give Gentle Dog Food goat flavour to my breeding girls as I believe this is a top end product and I obviously want the best for them. I should also say I add something of quality on their food, human grade meat, sardines, raw tripe or a good quality wet food.

Finally a little bit about feeding itself. I always add a little warm water from the kettle on their food. I find it slows them down thus hopefully avoiding bloat and it makes sure they get fluid with the dry food. I have 11 dogs as most of you know, and the only one who needs a slow feeder bowl is Skyla. All their bowls are on the floor, latest research says raised bowls are more risky for them bloating. A dog is designed to eat from ground level. Talking of bloat, never feed less than 2 meals per day. Obviously puppies leave us on 4 meals a day which is gradually reduced over the months. However adult dogs need their daily portion split into at least two meals a day. Also, from the get go, put the bowl down, and if they wander off and don’t eat it all, pick it up. Don’t pander to them. They will soon learn to eat it all or it’s gone. Can you imagine if I had a dog that liked to dictate to me when and how much they ate…. They would lose it as one of the other’s would eat it, and that never happens. They eat it all! All of them!

I know I said finally last time, but finally finally, beware of the Christmas food that can literally kill our dogs. The big worries at this time of the year are the mince pies, Christmas cake, Christmas pudding, chocolate…. The list is way more than that, but these are the real concerns. And one reason for me coming on here to talk about food is don’t give your dogs a Christmas dinner thinking you’re giving them a treat. I once had to take a poorly cat to the vet at Christmas, the waiting room was full of dogs! I mentioned this to the vet when I went in and he said it was always like that at Christmas, people changing their dogs diet treating them with Christmas food. They don’t need it. Don’t give them your gravy! It’s really bad for them. They don’t need the gluten in your Yorkshire’s. Cheese is not good for dogs. But I’m sure they’d love some turkey on their normal food!

The UK's number 1 dog food advice site. Independent dog food reviews, feeding guide, ingredients glossary, retailer locator and much much more!

23/11/2023

**Waiting Lists**

Due to being let down in previous years we have decided to do our waiting lists a little bit differently from now on. Once the mate selection has been announced, we will offer you the chance to join our Priority List. You will need to provide us with your full name, address, telephone number, email address and whether you have a preference for a boy or girl or coat type. Prior to this I would need to know more about you, things relating to dog ownership, whether you have other dogs and your working hours and arrangements. This can be done either on a telephone call or on a Facebook message (preferred so I can check you out too). You will need to pay a deposit of £50 to join the Priority List, which of course will come off the purchase price. In return we will tell you where you are placed on that list and keep it to a maximum of 7 people. You can still join our waiting list without paying this but you will be further down when it comes to choosing a puppy so there will be no guarantees. Obviously if there is no pregnancy we would refund the £50 or give you the option to stay on the Priority List for either the same dog on her next season, or move to another list.

I hope this gives you the buyer more security in knowing you are on that list and where, and it will give us more idea that we have people waiting before we do a mating.

19/10/2023

Dudley’s been on the slopes 😂 ❄️ ⛄️

12/10/2023

Happy Halloween from the Amarante gang! 🎃 👻 🧙‍♀️ 🕷 🦇

16/09/2023

It’s a wrap! Margo and Dudley’s St Berdoodle puppies are 8 weeks old today. My work here is done… well almost, they’re steadily flying the nest, 4 left today and the other’s in the next few days. Absolutely gorgeous puppies, I wish everyone lots of fun with them, and welcome to our Amarante family! Here they are from left to right: Ensley (making an A shape at the start), Mushu, Dixie, Dougie, Bernard, Megan, Mabel and Sadie… Perfect Puppies! **NOT FOR SALE**

17/07/2023

Ruby has had a wonderful litter of F1b Sheepadoodles born yesterday!

* Health tested parents.
* Five star licence with Breckland Council.
* 19 years’ experience of producing and raising quality doodles.

Here are pics of the perfect 10! Do join our group Amarante Doodles UK to see more!*not for sale*

27/06/2023

My breeding licence inspection went very well and I spent the following 4 1/2 hours doing the required online first aid course with a 100% pass! Now to prepare for our summer puppies! Exciting times ahead!

24/06/2023

It was BVA eye test today for Ruby here and all our Amarante breeding dogs. All passed with flying colours!

06/09/2022

Well, after much thought and discussion I made the call this morning… Jeff is booked in to be neutered on Monday.

I know, I know, he’s a great stud dog, fully health tested, made some wonderful puppies and I bought him with the intention of him having a long term relationship with Ruby. However, Jeff really struggles when the girls are in season (he goes off his food and is so stressed) plus having two entire boys in the house isn’t easy for them or us. 95% of the time he and Dudley are best mates, they sleep snuggled up and play together but things understandably change when we have a dog in or approaching a season. He’s on edge and can’t relax.

The only other alternative is to send him on a holiday or heaven forbid, rehome him and keep him as a guardian dog but I can’t part with him and it doesn’t seem fair to push him out on a regular basis. So, although I’m gutted, the decision has been made. Monday’s the day 🍒 ✂️ 😢

03/08/2022

AMARANTE PUPPY LETTER:

Congratulations on your new arrival! As I know you will be far too excited to take in a word of what I say the day of collection, I am writing everything down.

Feeding
Your puppy is being fed four meals per day at approximately: 7.30am, 12.30pm, 5.30pm & 10.30pm. I have been feeding them Skinner’s Field & Trial Puppy, duck & rice and they have done really well on it. There are other good brands but do your research and check it out. Nutrition is particularly important with a large breed dog for bone and joint health, especially in his or her growing stage. I will measure out the approximate quantity for each meal, in other words one quarter of his or her daily intake. Obviously this will need to be increased as they get older and gradually decrease the number of feeds to two per day... never go to less than this because of the risk of bloat. I have been adding a little water, which releases the flavour of the biscuits and again helps guard against bloat. I do this for my adults too. I also add a little meat, meat juice, sardines or about a dessert spoon of good quality wet food. Pick up what they leave almost immediately so you are in charge of when they eat and they’ll very soon learn if they don’t eat it, it goes. For behavioural reasons never allow them to graze. To avoid food guarding, occasionally put a little meat in with your hand while they are eating then they associate a hand giving rather than taking away. For the same reasons never take their food away from them. That said none of these puppies are nasty around food. Always provide fresh water. Do not give milk. Keep treats to a minimum and avoid Bonios, hide chews and cheaper brand ‘treats’. If you have children, or Grandchildren, involve them in the feeding so the puppy learns his or her place in your pack from the start. I will give you some of the food they are used to so you can gradually change to the brand of your choice.

Worming
They were wormed with a 3 day course of Panacur at 2 weeks and again at 6 weeks old. Please tell your vet this when you discuss the puppies future worm program. I would recommend for them to be wormed again at 10 weeks old although take your vet’s advice on this.

Vaccinations
Allow your puppy a couple of days to settle then take him or her to the vet for their first vaccination. The injection itself doesn’t hurt the puppy so stay relaxed yourself so a visit to the vet doesn’t become a problem. Your vet will advice the time scale of going to public places but normally the guide is a week after the 2nd vaccination and a little longer before risking a very heavily dog populated area. I have socialised your puppy with other dogs. It is a very good idea for you to continue with this socialisation of meeting other vaccinated dogs. Just make sure the dog hasn’t had a recent nasal spray kennel cough vaccine as this is a live vaccine that sheds. I personally don’t give my gang this vaccine. I also strongly advise you to do your own research on the Lepto 4 vaccine and ask your vet to use Lepto 2. If they can’t, I would go to a different vet!

Grooming
The ‘oodle’ of your doodle might require a little maintenance. Their ears might need plucking and their bottoms will need to be kept trimmed. It is also a good idea to have the fur on his or her toes clipped in the grass seed season and keep an eye out for mats between the paw pads. Keep handling their feet, between their toes, ears, eyes etc as frequently as you can in the early stages so there’s no problem when they are older. If your puppy has a more poodley coat then they will need frequent trips to the groomers or alternatively buy some clippers and do it yourself. I recommend either Oster or Andis. I use the Andis two speed with number 10 blades for feet and 7F or 5F for the body.

Training
We’ve started the basics like not getting attention when they jump up, recall by calling ‘pup pup pup’, clapping our hands or blowing a whistle at meal times. Play biting and mouthing are always a problem reported back when puppies leave us. The poodle in the breed is smart, very smart. Don’t use a distraction to stop the biting, for example when they’re mouthing giving them a toy to bite instead. They will soon learn that if they bite, you start playing with a toy… so they’ll do it more for the attention. The mother dog would put her mouth around her puppy’s mouth, please don’t try this at home 😂 but use your hand with a very firm ‘no’ does work too. I would recommend you don’t allow rough play or tug of war games with you or anyone while they are in the mouthing stage as this will encourage it. . If you have any problems ring me. Don’t be afraid to ask me for help. Any situation or noise, which might be frightening, is best ignored and treated as ‘situation normal’. If you even feel: ‘there there don’t worry’ that will come across to the puppy that there is danger. We have played them the CD of noises so they are used to the sound of guns, thunder, fireworks etc so make sure no one reacts in any way, especially during the dreaded firework season. When it is time to start walking your puppy on a lead I recommend the gundog nylon slip leads (for our large breeds) so they can’t slip their collar or a normal collar and lead. Please do not use extendable leads for many reasons, one is that the puppy learns to go where he or she wants and you follow, so who is the leader here. I am also not a fan of harnesses for walking as they are designed for the dog to push in to and pull you along, think sled dogs and horse and cart. They also position the dog to stand in front of you so they lead you, so that’s not going to end well when you ask for recall as they don’t see you as the leader. Many brands of well known and popular harnesses are very restrictive too which causes musculoskeletal problems. Halters are a good idea for times you want or need total control in a dangerous setting, like walking along a busy road, but do handle them carefully. Having spoken to a dog chiropractor the halter type walking aids that pull the head to one side can cause injury to the neck. Training a dog respect and loose lead walking is of course the best way. If you have problems when you get to this stage please ring or come and see me as I can help. Tricks such as ‘sit’ and ‘paw’ are fun but the most important thing to teach your puppy is recall. I use a whistle as they can pick up any stress or anxiety in our voices. Don’t overdo it or they will be like children, become deaf to our nagging. But when you do blow that whistle follow it through. The main thing to remember is most problems associated with doodles are things to get attention so ignoring is the best way to deal with most issues. If you are introducing your puppy as a second dog to the family I can’t stress enough to let them sort their pecking order out themselves, in other words don’t interfere, especially at the beginning. It is very easy to over fuss and spoil your puppy in those early days but in doing this you will have a demanding puppy who thinks their place is on a pedestal with a title to their name, eh Lord Dennis 😉 Yes they are cute, cuddly and lovable, but they need to know they are a dog, not god.

Exercise
Don’t overdo things while they are still growing however they must have enough off lead exercise to avoid problems with behaviour and relieve stress. Let them off lead as soon as possible when in the insecure stage as I promise they will come back to you, and reward this. Ball throwing is not a good idea as the sprinting, twists and turns are the worst kind of exercise for growing joints.

Toilet Training
As you all know they have been trained from a very early age by keeping the sleep area clean and fresh and they have two huge litter trays here. They now prefer to go outside but obviously that’s not possible all through the night so I recommend having puppy pads down near the doorway. Always praise good behaviour but don’t punish bad or you will have a dog who is afraid to go to the toilet in front of you. This litter are particularly good in this department so praising them may confuse the issue as they already know what is expected. Take them out when they wake up and straight after meals, you will soon learn the signs. I don’t agree with using a crate with a closed door to train one of our puppies as they have been brought up to not soil their sleeping area. The exception to this would be a crate by your bed at night when you are next to them if they ask to go out. That said if they do ask don’t give them any attention, not even a ‘good dog’. Put them straight back into the crate when finished and get back into bed. Attention at this time will mean the next night you will find that little whine to go out will be earlier. If you have a happy and relaxed puppy you shouldn’t have any problems like chewing and barking etc.

Settling in
My advice is to try to copy what we have here... a soft bed, puppy pad near the door and a stair gate to keep him or her out of certain areas. Make sure all electric cables are out of the way or blocked. Have fun and ring me if you have any questions, however silly you might think they are. My mobile is 079 7479 6289 and will be switched on 24/7 for the first few weeks in case you need advice. I am here to help for life. And last of all, please keep in touch!

18/07/2022

*not for sale * St Berdoodle Puppies! Two litters, now 3 weeks old! We did what’s best for our girls, so for Meri to have her last litter this time round and Margo to have her first. Fully health tested parents. The Dad to both litters is our American imported St Berdoodle Dudley (Hip score 6 (3:3)!!! Elbows 0:0, BVA clear eye certificate (July 22) and DNA clear of all hereditary diseases). Spaces on both lists so get in touch if you want to know more…