PICKEREL PUPS
Health-Tested, Intentionally Raised Puppies in Our Minnesota Home.
Home-Raised. Health-Focused. Family-Loved.
Our program is devoted to raising exceptional AKC Standard Poodles with a thoughtful focus on health, temperament, structure, and the qualities that make this remarkable breed such a wonderful companion. Every Pickerel Pup is raised in our home with daily interaction, early training foundations, purposeful socialization, and individualized temperament evaluation. From the very beginning, we get to know each puppy as an individual—helping us thoughtfully match them with the families who will love them for a lifetime.
And our relationship doesn’t end on go-home day. When you welcome a Pickerel Pup into your family, you gain the continued support of a breeder who is genuinely invested in your dog and remains part of their journey for years to come.
Health Matters
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OFA/PennHIP
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Embark genetic screening
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One-Year Genetic Health Guarantee
Raised in Our Home
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Daily handling
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Household exposure
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Children, visitors, and other dogs
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Real-life experiences
Preparing Puppies for Success
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ENS & ESI
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Crate exposure
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Dog-door training
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Potty-training foundations
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Sit-and-wait exercises
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Confidence-building enrichment
Thoughtful Matching
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Daily observations
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Growth tracking
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Personality report cards
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Temperament assessments at 7 weeks
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Family matching assistance
A Breeder Relationship for Life
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Lifetime support
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Questions welcome anytime
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Ongoing guidance throughout your dog's life
The Pickerel Pups Difference
We're a small, family-run breeding program in the heart of Minnesota, raising puppies inside our home—not in a kennel facility. Every puppy receives daily handling, socialization, enrichment, and individualized attention from birth until the day they join their new family.
From comprehensive health testing and early training foundations to temperament evaluations and lifetime breeder support, our goal is simple: to raise confident, healthy companions prepared for life beyond our doorstep.
Raised in our home. Ready for yours.
Current & Upcoming Litters
Fall 2026 — Standard Poodles
• Cosette × Val → Larger, parti coloring, both black and white and/or apricot and white. Val stands 24" tall and Coco stands 22.5" tall. Long legs, structurally sound and square pups. Athletic and loving.
• Fiona × Claude→ Repeat breeding! We loved this pairing so much, we are going to pair them again. Smaller Standards. Solid and abstract Blues, blacks, silvers, cream, a varying shade of apricots.
Spring 2027 — Standard Poodles
• Agnes x ? → (Pending Test Results) We are reviewing our stud options. This tall cream beauty has so many wonderful features, we can't wait to see her test results. Stay tuned!
An Unconventional Beginning — Doodles to Standard Poodles
Although we believe there are wonderful dogs of every breed and mix, our love for the Standard Poodle came about in a somewhat unconventional way. Pickerel Pups began as a doodle breeding program, and somewhere along the way, we found ourselves falling completely in love with the Poodle itself.
What began as an appreciation for their intelligence, athleticism, beautiful coats, and versatility grew into a genuine passion for the breed. The more we learned, the more intentional we became—and, little by little, our program naturally evolved into what it is today: a program devoted to AKC Standard Poodles.
Our focus now is on thoughtfully producing Standard Poodles with exceptional health, sound structure, wonderful temperaments, and all of the qualities that made us fall in love with this remarkable breed in the first place.
Quality will always come before quantity, and every breeding decision we make begins with the long-term health and well-being of our dogs and the puppies we bring into the world.
Interested in a future puppy?
We welcome you to join our waitlist or reach out anytime. 🐾
The Puppy Experience
"We love our Rosie girl! She is the goodest girl with the best demeanor. She is sweet and loving and a very calm pup! She is also so great with our kids ages 5 and 18 months. She is the perfect addition to our family! Would recommend Pickerel Pups over and over! Thank you for our girl!"
Brittany from MN
"Junie and Albert the best cousins and best pups! Junie is super calm and the smartest dog ever, and Albert is very friendly and cuddly! We love Pickerel Pups and can’t wait to visit you guys again soon!"
Gabriella from IA
"Best experience ever!! The Breeders are so accommodating and super nice people! Our pup is amazing and has the best personality! I highly recommend them!
We love our Pickerel Pups Diesel so much!! He has been so laid back his entire life and so smart!! Best dog"
Chastity from ND
"I can’t say enough great things about Pickerel Pups! Our Minnie from MN is so sweet and loving, and everyone who meets her can tell she came from wonderful breeders. Our kids will always remember visiting Kate & Craig and Olive…watching our little “tan girl” grow until it was time to take her home & be ours!"
Geneva from ND
"We feel so lucky to have been referred to Pickerel Pups. When we lost our Golden Retriever our family was heartbroken. We began searching for our family dog. After reaching out to several breeders, we felt an immediate connection with Kate. The care that the puppies receive before coming to their forever homes is second to none. Not only did she provide weekly updates, but also guidance in helping us choose the perfect puppy for our family with young children. From the long ride home, to bath time, our girl is cool, calm and collect. She is absolutely the sweetest puppy. Our Pickerel puppy loves to cuddle, play, sleep, and eat! She is the smartest puppy and potty training and crate training were far easier than our previous experience. We would recommend Pickerel Pups to anyone!"
Megan from IA
GALLERY
