THE FIRST STANDARD  PARTI COLOURED POODLE IN NEW ZEALAND

by Anne Bennett

Having seen old time black & white photos of Parti Coloured Poodles, and a colour print of a Parti Toy in a poodle book in the 1990's.  I knew that the Parti colour had historically occurred in Poodles but was unaware that Partis had recently made a stunning comeback in the USA.  That is until I attended a seminar in November 2003 and saw a video of two of them. 

At the time I had 2 poodles a black mini who was 11 and a standard mismark aged 9.  The Standard Parti Poodles belonged to Charlene Dunlap of Canine Horizons in the US.  The seminar was on Bridge & Target training and in the video Charlene was demonstrating some of these techniques with her 2 Parti Poodles.  My first thought was "Oh, my God!  They really do exist" My second thought was "They are the most beautiful dogs I have ever seen.  I want one!".

Immediately after the seminar, I began searching for a Parti Poodle throughout New Zealand, then Australia, and finally England.  All with no luck.  I did not speak other languages so the US was my last hope.  Through the internet I found a couple of Parti breeders in the US and emailed them about exporting one of their Partis to New Zealand.  Their response was "Sorry, we don't ship out of the US".  I was almost ready to give up.  This was heaps more difficult and frustrating that I ever had imagined.

After many months, I found Sandi Savedra-Dixon's Yahoo Parti Poodle Group.  Upon going through Sandi's website I fell in love with Star (a Standard Parti)  and decided that I wanted a poodle with her tuxedo markings.  I immediately sent an email enquiry to Sandi (and learned that she is a native New Zealander transplanted to the US).  Instead of getting the usual negative reply, imagine my surprise when she was willing to send me a puppy.  She said she was breeding Star in her next season.  I was on Cloud 9.

So began the waiting game, wait for Star to come into season, wait until she could be bred, wait while she was pregnant to give birth.  At last the puppies were born.  After 12 weeks of age puppies can have their first rabies shot with a titer test 3 weeks later.  If the titer shows clear of rabies, six months from that date the puppy can leave the US to fly to NZ.  When my puppy arrived in NZ she had to clear Customs then go into a Quarantine Facility for 30 days. It was not until after then , on 27th October 2006 that I could bring my Standard Parti Poodle, Dixie home.

I have gained CDX with 2 poodles, Canine Good Citizen Gold with 3 poodles, and ADX Advanced Bronze with 1 poodle.  I have done competitive obedience on and off for 30 years and agility for 12 years.  I am a Founding Member of International Parti Poodle Club, a member of the New Zealand Kennel Club, Auckland Poodle Club & North Shore Dog Training Club.