APAW – Poodle Pups for Working Roles

Denali came to APAW as a hopeful breeding dog from Sabina of Pirouette Poodles, who had been breeding for service dog aptitudes for multiple generations. Denali was a wonderful, stable, confident, social dog though managed to develop strong prey drive and tended towards being a happy presence rather than overly biddable. She was raised and trained by her guardian family, with whom she travelled to give presentations as a demo service dog as well as being a regular therapy dog for nursing home residents. Her partner also completed Denali’s conformation and trick titles as well as earning multiple legs in rally.

Denali’s genetic diversity results were very mainstream (low diversity, very common in pedigrees with AKC show lines such as hers), which statistically put her at higher risk towards breed-typical health concerns. Her two litters were planned with genetically diverse older studs to help boost diversity numbers in her offspring. Denali developed liver complications around 9 years old and passed due to suspected liver cancer later that year, surrounded by her family.