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Responsibly Bred Red and Multi-Colored Standard Poodles in Dallas - Fort Worth

Friday, October 22, 2021 | By: Tracy Allard

I met Stephanie Hart of Independence Poodles located in Arlington, Texas in 2018 when she contacted me about photographing her fist litter of puppies. She had seen my work on Instagram and Facebook and wanted to capture professional images of her first litter. She came to my studio in Carrollton and that, as they say, was the start of a beautiful friendship. 

As a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, I was impressed with Stephanie's dedication to the health and well-being of not only the puppies, but also of the breeding adults. Some are Hart family pets and others live in guardian homes which allows Independence Poodles to responsibly breed a larger gene pool and have each adult dog receive the benefit of living in a family home and being challenged to earn the American Kennel Club (AKC) Canine Good Citizen certification as well as at least two sport or performance titles. 

Every adult dog I met to photograph was confident and well-mannered, even in strange and new circumstances. The puppies were the same; outgoing, curious and self-assured. So much of behavior is hereditary so starting with good breeding stock is imperative. I never saw myself as a poodle person, but I can't help shaking the feeling that sooner or later I'm going to end up with one of her puppies, they're that awesome. 

Since 2018 I've photographed all the breeding adults as well as most of the litters. Stephanie believes in supporting her breeding program with quality images that uphold the time, effort and investment she puts into it. Below are some of the hundreds of images I've taken over the past three years. 

(click on any image to view full screen)

A Little Cutie Pie From One Of Independence Poodle's Red Litters

Stephanie names her litters with themes so when possible, I'll match the background to that. This little guy was born around Easter and the litter was named "Ellie's Famous Rabbits" so we went with a springtime, pastel look. 

Stephanie's first dog was a poodle and she's never been without a dog in her life. Her grandmother always had mini poodles and when she got married, she and her new husband made a family of three with the addition of a labradoodle. It was then that she remembered all the traits that she loved about poodles and decided that their next canine addition would be a standard poodle - and here's where she ran into a roadblock. There were very limited local resources for health-tested standard poodles in the Dallas - Fort Worth metroplex. 

Seeing a need, in 2016 Stephanie threw herself into the educational process of what it means to be a responsible breeder from breeding not only for color, but more importantly for key traits wanted for family dogs, conformation, companionship, service and performance sports such as dock diving, competitive obedience, conformation showing and more. All her adults are tested beyond what is recommended by the breed club (including genetic panel, eye / cardiac / hips / elbow and thyroid certifications) and are also listed with the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, which is a voluntary data base of health-tested animals.  

Standard red poodle puppy portrait

Independence Poodles And Penny Whistle Photography, A Match Made In Heaven

Apart from being a stellar breeder, Stephanie has also become a friend. She's always up for my crazy ideas like "lets do a maternity session" (and mine to hers as well, like..."let's put little crochet bonnets on puppies" - been there, done that). As I've entered print competition this year in pursuit of my Master of Photography degree, she's willingly brought dogs to the studio for me to create unique, fine art images. 

I've come to know her family as well; her three sons adopted from Ethiopia (you can read that story here) and her ever-patient husband, Justin. I've photographed her oldest son for his high school graduation and the younger two in the studio with their dogs. Independence Poodles really is a family affair, from the Hart family, to their guardian homes, to the puppy adopters; it's a wonderful, tight-knit group. 

Who Doesn't Love A Dog In A Flower Crown?

Beautiful Stella Nova, a black and white parti poodle (that's not a typo, a parti poodle has white as the primary color with irregular patches of other acceptable solid colors such as black, red, silver, beige, cream, apricot, etc.) knows how to work the camera so when she popped into the studio for her glam portraits, we had to do something befitting the princess that she is!

Black and white parti poodle with flower crown

Independence Poodles Gives Back

The Independence Poodle Breeding Program has become so successful that their puppies are actively sought out for service work. A recent client needed a diabetic alert dog, but because Stephanie does not place puppies on a first-come-first-served basis, but rather matches puppies with their new owners based on temperament evaluations which are done at seven and half weeks of age, it was unknown which puppy would be matched with this client. Stephanie scent imprinted saliva samples with the entire litter throughout their 8 weeks with her so that every puppy would be a potential candidate for this owner and the best match was made at eight weeks old based on the individual dog's strengths for a life as a service animal. 

Producing service dogs has become a passion for Stephanie and she gives back too, donating puppies to Aggie Guide Dogs for their intensive training program and eventual placement as service animals benefiting the lives of their owners. 

Sometimes We Just Embrace The Chaos

It always looks good if you can get all the puppies lined up and looking at the camera at the same time, but alas sometimes you've just got to embrace the chaos of what trying to photograph a litter of ten puppies looks like most of the time! 

You might think that raising a litter of puppies is easy work, but you'd be wrong. Very wrong. When done correctly, raising a litter of puppies is exhausting work. Stephanie has created her own puppy protocol which is a mixture of the Avidog, Puppy Culture and Badass Breeder protocols.  

All puppies are exposed to early neurological stimulation which is conducted daily from the third to the sixteenth day of life as well as scent introduction which improves their scenting abilities as adults as well as provide general, overall behavioral benefits.  

As their breeding program has matured, Independence Poodles now requires that all guardian homes work to achieve the breeding dog's AKC Canine Good Citizen title as well as two performance titles. Breeding for temperament, companionship and serviceability are her paramount goals. I'm lucky enough to be included in the private Facebook Group for puppy owners (I asked to be let in so I could follow all the little puppies that I've photographed) to see what wonderful, confident adults they've grown into, some already earning titles of their own! 

You can follow Independence Poodles on the socials at Instagram and Facebook as well as their website.  

Fun and chaotic portrait of a litter of puppies

All Around The Circle

As you may know, I'm part of a blog circle with some fabulously talented pet photographers from around the world. Each week we write on a common them, this week it was about a specific breed found in your area so I'm looking forward to seeing what breeds other pet 'togs have in front of their lenses starting with Ina from Ina J Photography shares her pet photography sessions with Corgis and then continue clicking on the link at the bottom of each page until you end up right back here and then you will have completed the circle! 

Tracy Allard of Penny Whistle Photography is a Certified Professional Photographer with the organization Professional Photographers of America; a designation held by fewer than 2,000 photographers nationwide and a hallmark of consistency, technical skill, artistry and professionalism. Tracy loves all breeds of dogs, as a matter of fact she believes in love at first sight because she falls in love with every dog she meets! 

Penny Whistle specializes in both on-location and studio photography providing pet, equine, family, couples & engagement and high school senior portraits as well as corporate headshots and commercial photography services in her studio located in historic downtown Carrollton as well as on location in Coppell, Grapevine, Southlake, Flower Mound and surrounding communities in Dallas – Fort Worth, Texas.

Contact me to learn about my Breeder Packages!
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