Hi and Welcome!

What you see is a haircut, not the poodles nose. Mine are minis but the pics below show what a poodle nose looks like . The longer the fur, the shorter the nose appears. That style will require a lot of grooming maintenance to keep it shaped, and daily washing, after every meal. Most any poodle or doodle can be groomed to look like that. Grooming is just one of the many expenses.

As far as the breeder goes, the health testing is incomplete on the19 breeding dogs listed on the site. Here's the minimum testing requirements:

Health Testing Criteria - Parents Are Tested Not Puppies - Additional Testing

Health Related Publications - Versatility In Poodles, Inc.

Versatility In Poodles, Inc.

vipoodle.org

Toy Minimum Testing Criteria
prcd Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) DNA testing from an approved laboratory
Eye clearance by the Companion Animal Eye Registry (CAER)
Patellar Luxation OFA evaluation

OFA Lookup

Look Up A Dog | Orthopedic Foundation for Animals | Columbia, MO

Our dog search tool allows you to search parents and relatives of your potential new puppy by dog name, breed, disease type and more. Look up a dog today!

www.ofa.org

There is no "teacup" or "pocket" poodle size. Those are strictly marketing terms. When a toy breeder focuses on breeding down in size, the overall health is often the price paid by the pup and then their new family.

"Health guarantee" generally favors the breeder and without correct health testing on the parents to back up the pups best start in life, any "health guarantee" has little to base that on.

Here's a thread on this breeder from 2014:

Homestead Poodles

I was considering Homestead poodles along with a couple other breeders and I was just wondering if anyone knew anything about this breeder? Here is the website: Toy Poodles, Teacup Poodles, Tiny Toy Poodle Puppies for Sale - Homestead Poodles Maybe more experienced eyes could find things that...

www.poodleforum.com

From the website:

"Ordering & Delivery
To place an order..."

That phrasing bothers me a lot. This is a companion I hope to share my life with for 15 years or more if I'm lucky. I order things online, not a part of my family,

I have no experience with this breeder, but I have experience. This is what I expect from a breeder whether I'm getting a pet or a show dog:

My ideal breeder is someone who is doing this because they love the breed. They want to see each new generation born at least as good as the previous, ideally better. They provide for every dog in their care as if that dog is their own. They will be there for the new family, and stand behind that pup for it's lifetime, rain or shine, with or without a contract. They will know the standards and pedigrees of their chosen breed, health and genetic diversity of their lines, and breed to better them. They will know of the latest studies in health standards for their chosen breed and variety.
They will have as many questions for me as I do for them. They invest in their dogs. They don't expect the dogs to support them.

Breeding Program
! to maintain, improve, strengthen the breed
by breeding to standard, for health and genetic diversity,
and will prove their dogs meet these breed standards by showing or competing
or by breeding from titled parents. It's not the title, but what it shows
! focus is on quality, never quantity
! they do not cross breed

Breeding Parents
! registry information available
AKC Registry Lookup

https://www.apps.akc.org/apps/store/search/dog_lookup.cfm? returnpage=undefined&_=2770

! not too old or young for breeding
! not overbred
see Asking questions from a breeder
and
Frequency of Breeding a Bitch
! genetic health testing done appropriate to breed and variety
! other health testing such as hips
! results of testing on own website, OFA site or testing lab
see Health Related Publications - Versatility In Poodles, Inc.
and OFA Lookup https://www.ofa.org/look-up-a-dog

Living Conditions
! in home with family
! breeder allows, even encourages home visits

Puppies
! routine and urgent vet care, immunizations, dewormings
! socialization
! first groomings
! registry papers
! they will not require spay/neuter before physical maturity
! health "guarantee" generally favors the breeder, not the buyer.
health guarantee is no replacement for health testing of dam and sire.
beginning housetraining is a bonus
temperament testing is helpful

Advertising
! individual website to detail history of breeder, goals for their program
! information on dams, sires, puppies
! no trend pricing for color, gender or size,
! no marketing gimmick terms like "teacup" "royal"

! Anything not found on the website should be provided by breeder before buying

If a breeder wants me to believe that they believe in their dogs, they won't stop the investment when it comes time to find the new families. If they want to cut costs by using free advertising sites like craigslist or listing on retail marketplaces like puppyspot or puppyfind, or other classified ad sites such as newspapers, I wonder what else they've cut costs on.

Contact a few breeders to introduce yourself. Even if they don't have or don't offer what you're looking for, it can be a close knit community. They may know where to refer you.

This is a link to the Breed Club for breeder referrals in your area - assuming that you're in or near Maryland, where the breeder is listed:

Maryland - The Poodle Club of America

poodleclubofamerica.org

 

Discussion of Homestead Poodles here: Homestead Poodles

 

Congratulations on your decision to get a puppy! Such an exciting time.

I'll be honest - I'm confused by the breeder's website. They claim that all dogs live in their home, but they have 13 dams and 6 sires?

This is not the only red flag, so please be sure to visit with the dam and sire of your puppy, see their living conditions, and ask lots of questions before proceeding. You can find lots of info on Poodle Forum for what to look for in a puppy/breeder. Here is a good place to start.

Yes, it can be a long process, but it's worth it for the sweet and healthy puppy of your dreams.

Good luck! Hope you'll keep us posted.

 

They claim that all dogs live in their home, but they have 13 dams and 6 sires?

This is commonly seen is small breeds. I’m not saying it’s true with this breeder, I haven’t looked at the website, but small dog breeders sometimes have 15-20 dogs in the house. Lots of mopping to do...

 

Congratulations! Very exciting!

Toy poodles pull fluffy faces off the best! I think I have seen that pic a few times on pinterest, it is adorable. I think you should keep your pups face clean for a few months until she is very used to having it done. Then you won’t have any issues if you ever want or need to shave her face. This is my girl with a clean and fluffy face, I prefer hers clean.

 

The other members have posted great information. Don’t just pick a breeder because the puppies look cute. When I first started my search I almost put a deposit down on a puppy before I knew what to look for in a good breeder. Then I found poodle forum. I saw the red flags and changed my mind. With the help of this group I found a breeder that was reputable. A show breeder. Like you, I wasn’t looking for a show dog, but the most important thing is that breeders that show have puppies that are bred to the poodle standard. Also health testing is a must. Make sure to ask any breeder you are considering about these things. If they refuse to answer or provide proof then move on. There are many puppies out there. You want one that has a better chance of being healthy. Steer clear of any teacup wording. This is not good. Dogs bred this small often don’t even mature to look like a proper poodle and will most likely have more health problems. You can expect to spend 2,000-3,000 on a well bred poodle. Good luck.


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I looked at Homestead. I do actually see some things I like, but many I don't. I would say they're certainly better than getting a pup off a random craigslist breeder or from a pet store. I like that all the dogs are AKC registered. I like that they say any tiny toys are not intentionally bred and only ever sell them with limited registration. I like that they invite you to come to the premises. I like that all puppies are properly groomed. I also like that they're doing some health testing... but it would be ideal if it was completed.

Here are a few red flags that would cause me concern:

• Advertise teacups
• Different pricing based on size/color
• Parent dogs have poor conformation
• Incomplete health testing
• Really poor health guarantee (see listed reasons above)

Rose n Poos has wonderful advice above. You will never regret waiting a little longer, driving a little further, or paying a little more for a healthier, better bred puppy.

 

I would also like to add that depending on the puppy's coat type can sometimes determine the puppies coat density for certain styles of grooming that you might want for your puppy. My cream and sable puppy's both had less dense coats and my sable toy poodle even now as an adult at 4 years has more wavy/softer curl coat than my blue poodle who had very dense curly coarser coat and my male cream who had curly but not as dense coat. So keep in mind sometimes this can definitely affect how easy it could be to style your puppies coat in certain styles.