Breeding Since 1981
A Small Program, Built Around One Goal
Silver Moon Poodles is Diane Hawkins’s home-based preservation breeding program near Advance, North Carolina, focused entirely on Miniature Poodles in red, apricot, and cream. Our foundation sire, Journey, has sired many champions and is known for passing on an exceptional temperament — the standard we breed every litter to.
We only breed full-bred Miniature Poodles with a long line of champions in their pedigrees, from show kennels, health tested — no backyard breeders in the pedigree, no cross-breeding, all solid colors. Puppies are raised at home with lots of love and attention.
Q&A
Meet Diane
How did you get started?
Diane's breeding career began in the late 1980s with Labrador Retrievers. She came to Poodles herself as someone with allergies, and has now had Poodles for 25 years. Wanting to get into showing, she sought out the best-quality foundation stock she could find.
What makes the program special?
Every dog in the program is a full AKC Poodle — no other breeds, no cross-breeding. Foundation sire Journey is completely health tested and CHIC certified. Diane and her husband are retired and home every day with their dogs, who are raised right in the kitchen under a big sunshine window, with plenty of freedom to explore.
What are Miniature Poodles like to live with?
Highly intelligent, loyal, and trusting companions — amusing and quirky, with low-shedding coats that many allergy-sensitive families do well with. They tend to do especially well with children and other pets; Diane's own grandchildren help socialize every litter to everyday household life, noise included.
Why a champion line, if I just want a pet?
My customers ask me this all the time. A champion pedigree isn't about show-ring glamour — it's about predictability. Every dog behind a champion line has been evaluated, generation after generation, for health, structure, and temperament against the breed standard. That means your companion puppy grows into the correct size and structure, avoiding a lot of the joint and soundness issues you see from poorly planned pairings, and keeps the true Poodle personality: smart, proud, and joyful, without the shyness or sharp edges that can show up in a line that was never screened for temperament. Every family pet deserves that same foundation of excellence — a show pedigree is simply our way of proving it.
Our Philosophy
What Preservation Breeding Means to Us
These principles guide every decision in our program, from choosing a pairing to placing a puppy.
Preservation, Not Production
We plan a small number of litters each year, each one chosen deliberately to improve on health, temperament, and structure — never to meet demand or a schedule.
Pedigree Research First
Every pairing starts with a deep look at both dogs' pedigrees, looking for complementary strengths and Champion lines that support our long-term goals for the breed.
Health Testing as a Baseline
Responsible breeding starts with appropriate health clearances for our dogs before any breeding decision is made — never an afterthought.
Raised Underfoot, With Puppy Culture
Puppies are whelped and raised inside our home, not in a kennel building, and receive the Puppy Culture Method's early enrichment and socialization protocol from day one.
Right by the kitchen window, where every litter grows up underfoot — close enough to hear the family, feel the sunshine, and get used to everyday life from day one.
“Poodles are sunshine every day.”
— Diane Hawkins, Silver Moon Poodles
Recognition
Milestones & Achievements
Sire of 10+ Champion-Titled Offspring
Journey, Silver Moon's foundation sire, has produced more than ten AKC/UKC Champion-titled offspring.
2020
#6 UKC Dog in the Nation
Journey was ranked the #6 United Kennel Club (UKC) dog in the nation.
Location
Based Near Advance, NC
We’re located in the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina, and happily work with thoughtful families both nearby and further away. To protect our dogs’ privacy and security, we share our exact location directly with families once a relationship is established.