The Breeding Program of Ruby Mountain Kennels

We have four female and two male Standard Poodles, all chosen from bloodlines that we have carefully researched over the past decade. We made a decision to concentrate our breeding program exclusively on "Irish Setter Red" Standards, but recognized that color alone would not be enough for us to be truly successful breeders. We are determined to breed healthy and hearty puppies, both mentally and physically. That is why a health and temperament guarantee accompanies each Ruby Mountain Red puppy.

Even with our extensive experience, it is very difficult to look at a six-week old puppy and say with with absolute certainty that the puppy will be a "Giant Royal." However, a significant number of our puppies are of the size commonly referred to as "Giants," "Royals" or "Giant Royals." All of our puppies are of larger Standard Poodle size, certainly well beyond the minimum size for the breed. One of our two studs, Sir Ralee, who is pictured above left weighs 105 pounds. Our other stud, "JR," is on the right.

Photos of our females appear below. Over the years we have developed various methods to make our females as comfortable as possible during whelping. One of the most comfortable and clean places for a new mom and puppies is a play pool - the puppies can't get away and clean up is easy.

Perhaps saying we are very "hands on breeders" is best illustrated by a photo from the "bed check" ritual we go through when one of our females is getting close to delivery time. This is Vickie, ready for bed herself, comforting Valene only about 15 minutes before her puppies were born. We do not treat our females as dogs are treated in puppy mills. Our mother dogs rest well between litters and are kept clean and groomed.

The Colors of Ruby Mountain Reds...

The majority of our puppies are the dark "Irish Setter Red" color although we find a consistent variation of red that we refer to as "cinnamon" which is a lighter shade but clearly not the color known as apricot, which typically fades as the dog ages. A good example of this color variation is shown in these two photos.

The vast majority of our puppies have solid color with no white, as is the standard for our breed. On occasion we have a puppy with a tiny white chest marking. Such a marking means this puppy is disqualified for winning at Westminster, but his owner loves his little "star" and would no doubt disqualify anyone who dared disagree.






Ruby Mountain Red puppies have the very desirable black noses and black pigment. Note how the black nose on little guy on the right is nicely set off by some excess milk in this "Got Milk" pose.