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Hello! My name is Melissa. I live in Alaska. And I am the girl behind Galavanting Poodles.

I have shared my life with dogs since those first moments my family brought me home from the hospital as a newborn baby. My first dog was named Benjamin. Benny was a German Shepherd dog with the warmest fur and gentle spirit. I so clearly remember being a small child and curling up in his warm body for a cozy nap.
Benny was my first friend.

I’ve gone on to share my life with a variety of dog breeds… more german shepherd dogs, some great dane dogs, a cocker spaniel dog, and a few shelter dogs as well.

But it was my passion for hiking and my love of the outdoors that introduced me to my favorite dog partners; standard poodles.

I love that I share my life with my poodles. And I’ve made it my own personal goal to create the very best quality of life possible for my dog friends.

Today, you can find me in the Alaska mountains, always with at least one poodle by my side.

The care and condition of my poodle partners is so very important to me. I spend time working and training with my poodles to make sure they stay in peak condition for all of their favorite adventures.

Often, you’ll find my poodles out climbing, hiking and camping in a variety of different hairstyles!

Yep! It’s true that poodles have hair and, like our human hair, poodle hair needs to be cared for an maintained. I taught myself through YouTube videos, online courses and magazine articles, how to groom and maintain a variety of hairstyles that best suit each poodle. I continue to learn and hone my skills as a poodle groomer of my own dogs. I am forever grateful to my poodle mentors and friends who guide and instruct me, each step of the way!

You can also find me in the dog show ring with my Alaska poodles!

It sometimes surprises people that my poodles are active in the backcountry of Alaska as well as in the conformation ring in AKC dog shows. But, I firmly believe, a structurally correct poodle can be an active adventure poodle in Alaska and show off its form and substance in the show ring.
And when you visit my poodles’ page on this website, you’ll see they’ve been pretty successful in the show ring. All that hiking and mountain play seems to pay off when they get dressed up to play at the dog shows!

Feel free to take a look around my website. Get to know my standard poodle family and learn more about the poodle lifestyle. I share all kinds of great tips about training, feeding (I’m a raw feeding type of gal!), grooming, AKC dog shows and more, on my blog!

And when you see us galavanting through the mountains of Alaska or out and about at a dog show… be sure to say “hello!”

 

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