About Us

How we came to have our first family dogs

Lily working Magic at their first Ribbon Day

I first became interested in Spoodles when I decided our family needed a dog.  As a child, I had enjoyed having my own dog and I thought the experience of caring for their own pet would be good for my two daughters, Rosie and Lily, who were then aged five and three.  I was also concerned because they were becoming frightened of dogs as they were not used to them.

Why we chose Spoodles

Both my children suffered from eczema as pre-schoolers and my youngest also had asthma.  I was therefore concerned about possible allergic reactions to dog hair.  After much research (and, trust me, I can get carried away when researching an idea!), I settled on the Spoodle breed.  I liked the happy-go-lucky nature of the cocker spaniel combined with the intelligence of the poodle.  Plus, the addition of a low to non-shedding coat was an added bonus.  Size-wise, light weight and about knee-high seemed to be just right for the needs of a growing family.  I was also concerned about the potential health problems associated with many pedigree and pure breeds so cross-breeding seemed the way to go.

Rosie with her dog, Taieri Tig

Magic and Otis

Magic and Otis were our first two Spoodles.  We were only supposed to getting one puppy initially with the idea being that we might add another one to our family in a year or so.   We chose Magic because of her personality.  From very early on, it was clear that she was highly sociable, confident and playful.  Given my daughters’ anxiety around dogs, the breeder recommended that she would be right for us; she was absolutely right!  However, I fell in love with her (much bigger) brother Otis.  I often say to people now that the puppy picks the owner – well that it was happened with Otis.  I thought he was stunning and his gentle, but excitable, personality shone through.  In the weeks leading up to Magic’s departure to our home, I kept asking the breeder if Otis had found a home yet; each time she said, “not yet”.   In the end, I caved!  We adopted two Spoodles!  Not the best breeding decision but, at this stage, I had no intention of breeding.

How Taieri Spoodles came about

Katy and Otis doing the Highland Fling!

It had never been my intention to be a dog breeder but I was looking for a job that brought in a small income but still allowed me to be at home with my children.  The popularity of Spoodles was increasing and people often commented on our lovely dogs and enquired about their breeding.  The local dog breeder, Angela Jack, who we had got Magic and Otis from and who has since became a good friend, was no longer breeding Spoodles as her girls had retired – so, after a lot more research (and lots of help and advice from Angela Jack and my wonderful local vet), I decided to give it a go.  Muffin was our first breeding bitch and she was mated with Otis – our first litter was born back in 2012.   From very small beginnings, we have steadily grown so that we now have two stud dogs (Otis and Douglas) and four breeding bitches (Magic, Tig, Tilly and Poppy) in our breeding programme with two up-and-coming bitch puppies (Easy and Echo) who will hopefully feature in our 2017 breeding plans.

Lily with one of our guardian dogs, Tilly.

A small breeding programme

From early on, I made a decision to remain small.  All our dogs are first and foremost pet dogs and are thus part of the family.  Our puppies are raised in the heart of our home and we think that their parents should be too.  Therefore, I don’t want to run a kennel-style breeding programme where our dogs are kept outside in kennels and are essentially breeding dogs rather than pets.  Therefore, we have our original two, Magic and Otis, plus Tig (who is my eldest daughter’s dog) living with us here.  Our other breeding dogs are in guardian homes and so enjoy the benefits of being the family pet and then return to us for breeding duties.  Read more about our guardian programme in the Guardian Programme section Guardian Programme Our dogs are carefully selected for the breeding programme based on their breeding line, their temperament, their health and their appearance.   They are then carefully matched with local families to be part of the guardian programme.

DNA Health Screening

In 2015, we began DNA testing our dogs so that we can screen for genetic disease, coat colours and traits.  These tests are carried out in an Australian laboratory and have been an essential part of our future breeding programme planning.  It helps us breed healthier animals for generations to come.  It is also one of the ways which distinguishes us from pet breeders who are simply “breeding the family pet”.

Mitch, Lily and Rosie receiving their first ribbons with Buzz (also a Taieri Spoodle puppy), Magic and Tig.