We have been actively involved in the Poodle fancy since 1976, with over 125 championships around the world, bred or owned by Calisa Poodles.
We have been extremely fortunate tohave had strong support from many wonderful dog people throughout the years, including terrific pet owners and top professionals.
Our first homebred puppy was also our first homebred champion: the white Am. Jap. Ch. Calisa’s Casanova of Norjean, in 1980. There were two equally lovely boys, Ralphie and Mickey, sired by Joe’s first Poodle and our first champion, Ch. Norjean’s Mark of Distinction, out of the puppy-pointed Arundel Pucker Power. Norma Strait took “Ralphie” and rapidly finished him, owner-handled, and sent him to Japan. Even with his extremely limited stud career in the States, Ralphie can be found in the background of many of the top-producing white Toys today. Mickey went to a wonderful couple and was neutered, as were all of our puppies, show quality or not, that went to permanent pet homes.
The beauty and challenge of the red color attracted us early on. Our first litter in reds produced Ch. Calisa Crimson Glory, the first red female to win an AKC Specialty BOV in the early 1980s. Showing the red puppy “Glory” in her first show to RWB to a seasoned Open Bitch, handled by Richard Bauer, was Lisa’s first and only foray into the point show ring.
However, Glory was only the beginning of many firsts in reds: Calisa produced the first America and Canadian champion red dog, Canada’s first red puppy champion and first red Multiple Group Winner,the first red National Specialty Winner, the youngest red Poodle to win a US Specialty (his first time in the ring), the first red female AKC puppy champion, the first red American and Canadian puppy champion, and the red all-champion litter of four, making their red American and Canadian champion and AKC specialty-winning parents red Top Producer Poodles in both countries. We also sent the first red Poodle to France, Calisa Little Red Waggin’, after placing in a PCA Puppy Class under Frank Fretwell. Calisa was home to the Australian Ch Calisa Seeing Red At Sharonde who went Reserve BIS weeks after emerging from quarantine.
We have been extremely fortunate to have had strong support from many wonderful dog people throughout the years, including terrific pet owners and top professionals.
We feel that exaggeration can be a problem in many—if not most—breeds of dogs, cats, and horses. Not only can over-emphasis on one feature affect performance, it definitely affects the pet owner’s perception of a particular breed of animal, and could be a contributing factor to the preponderance of “designer dogs.” We feel that in Poodles, coat has improved immensely overall and great temperament is still the norm.
Online, Poodles are accurately portrayed as intelligent and non-shedding, and inaccurately as yappy and coat care-free. We consider “nonsense barking,” as we refer to it, to be a trait from which to breed away. Since our puppies always would be rummaging about in the office when Joe might be on a conference call (in a definitely un-doggy business), unnecessary barking was a big no-no! We have had puppy owners call us after a week or more, asking if their Poodle will bark! (After they feel that they “own” you and are part of your team, they will bark—to alert and “squirrel!”)
And Poodles do require regular hair care. A single night under the covers or curled in a furry bed can result in “bed head.” We have always felt that the only thing more fun, rewarding, and loving than a good Poodle is one that is also beautiful.
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