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Surplus 'assistance Dogs' In Pp


Curlybert
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I walk past Pets Paradise in Belconnen Mall every day and noticed what I thought were wire-haired German Pointer pups in the window. Closer inspection revealed a sign saying they were 'Austraoodles' - a poodle-kelpie cross. I took a deep breath and inquired as though I was a prospective buyer. The salesperson said they were bred to be assistance dogs but were surplus to requirements. She said several times that the breeder is affiliated with the Guide Dogs association. I queried that and she she corrected herself to say "oh well, if not them it's some other assistance dog charity"

Must say I was surprised that anyone associated with such a seemingly noble cause would flog their surplus pups to a pet shop.

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I walk past Pets Paradise in Belconnen Mall every day and noticed what I thought were wire-haired German Pointer pups in the window. Closer inspection revealed a sign saying they were 'Austraoodles' - a poodle-kelpie cross. I took a deep breath and inquired as though I was a prospective buyer. The salesperson said they were bred to be assistance dogs but were surplus to requirements. She said several times that the breeder is affiliated with the Guide Dogs association. I queried that and she she corrected herself to say "oh well, if not them it's some other assistance dog charity"

Must say I was surprised that anyone associated with such a seemingly noble cause would flog their surplus pups to a pet shop.

more likely they were bred by some backyarder or PF with the idea of flogging them to an assistance group - and to be honest, its not a combination that I would recommend in terms of assistance areas - could be quite high drive.

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That's a fair bit of dog to plonk in a backyard and ignore. :laugh:

If they arent' lucky enough to end up with families who exercise and train them right, I see fence jumping in their futures.

PP are straying into the "false and/or misleading advertising" area with that Guide Dogs claim methinks.

Edited by poodlefan
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I would imagine the good people at AWARE dogs would be furious about this. They have a strong emphasis on the fact that they rescue dogs for their program.

I have seen some absolutely beautiful rescue dogs that they have trained and are using.

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Let's face it, usually the young staff at PP stores wouldn't know the pointy end of a dog if it bit them, let alone the 'breed' of dog they are trying to flog :laugh:

Agreed. Someone at work the other day told me she'd had a conversation with the staff at another of the PP shops and was told they know where all their dogs come from and they were all respected breeders. Huh? That particular shop usually has various sad looking little cross breeds barking and whining in their glass cages. I've also worked with people who have bought dogs from there and plan on breeding. Maybe they sell back to the shop, who knows? They know less than I do and I don't claim to be any sort of expert on animals.

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That's a fair bit of dog to plonk in a backyard and ignore. :rofl:

If they arent' lucky enough to end up with families who exercise and train them right, I see fence jumping in their futures.

And how many will end up in pounds or rescues....after they are bored witless (being two highly intelligent breeds) and tear up the house and garden? :rofl::laugh:

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Guest Panzer Attack!

Slightly off topic - but can PP legally have signs in their window saying "we DO NOT support puppy farms"?

The PP at Highpoint always stinks to high heaven :( I hate seeing the poor pups in there lying in their filth. Always makes me think of my poor Bambi girl...

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I often go into the Belconnen mall one and ask what size poodles the various 'oodles are crossed with. The majority of staff dont even know that Poodles come in 3 sizes. There is a lovely lady at our dog park with a GR x Standard Poodle who was told her dog was a Toy x CKCS - to say she was shocked was an understatement (but she loves and look after her dogs well)

and lastly

Why in the hell would you want a Kelpie x Poodle - what an extremely mismatched cross.

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Kelpie cross poodle :cry:

That would be an odd looking mix. I just see a fluffy kelpie :thumbsup: It might confuse the sheep they are meant to herd though :laugh:

Really don't think that cross would be suited for a guide dog.

The ones in question aren't even fluffy - they have wiry fur.

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Stupid Stupid Stupid! :cry::

Those poor puppies... expect to see them in a shelter in about 6 -12 months...

I passed the PP in Rundle Mall the other day... there was a poster in the window saying something about how they don't support puppy farms and inbreeding and that all their puppies are from responsible breeders. Oh yeah, because there are so many responsible 'Bull Arab/Kelpie' (and whatever random mixes they had that day) breeders!

My mum then had to put up with me rant for a while after that :)

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Kelpie cross poodle :shrug:

That would be an odd looking mix. I just see a fluffy kelpie :) It might confuse the sheep they are meant to herd though :cry:

Really don't think that cross would be suited for a guide dog.

I imagine them looking a bit like the Hungarian Mudi

MudiSavvylookingprettyheadturned.JPG

Edited by DogSportObsessed
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I was by Pets Paradise once and they were selling as a Bichon.. that was well on its way to Golden Retriever size. I don't have anything against mongrels, often very pleasant dogs... but c'mon. It'd be the world's biggest Bichon, that's for certain.

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I imagine them looking a bit like the Hungarian Mudi

Their coats were more wiry than the Mudi's. They had milk chocolate coats with some tan on their faces - not unlike a choc'n'tan Kelpie. As mentioned in my original post, I thought at first they were wire-haired German Pointers.

But yes, I can see a Kelpie resemblance in that Mudi pic!

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The Kelpie x Poodle pup was still there this morning - I took a photo. Poor thing is a little larger this week and has the saddest eyes. Does anyone know if the dogs at PP ever get taken out to be run around in a yard or any time outside of that horrible glass cage? I really wish that there was something we could do for it.

post-34518-1302146365_thumb.jpg

Edited by koalathebear
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