How it all started
How Chippindall Toy Poodles started.
Many years ago we had a young red heeler dog (Scooter, now deceased) who was bursting with energy, bored, and causing utter chaos in the garden. He needed a companion. Jessica (Judith's daughter) found a grey Toy Poodle puppy in a local pet shop. He was about 4 months old and the pet shop owner called him Henry. Judith had Toy Poodles when she was a teenager, so seeing this poor puppy stuck in a glass cage in a pet shop triggered the "pet shop rescue" response. So, Henry was brought home, despite Peter's reservations about pet shop rescues. BIG MISTAKE. Don't ever do a pet shop rescue! The dogs are undocumented, you have no idea about the parents, and no idea about any possible hereditary diseases the puppy might have. Not only that, but the puppies can develop behavioral problems because they have been stuck in a glass cage for a long time. Henry was a bit of an escapologist when he was a young dog, he would bolt out any hole in the fence. He could also be aggressive towards strangers, some were bitten.
Henry was a great distraction for Scooter. He stopped tearing up the garden almost immediately and his attention was redirected to Henry. They ended up being best mates, the only serious disagreement they ever had over their long lives was a fight over a bone that Scooter was burying and Henry tried to nick. So in that respect Henry was a great success. However, at about 3-4 years of age Henry started getting fits, most likely epilepsy so the vet told us. Then at about 4 years old he became diabetic and later went blind. Being a much loved family pet, nothing was spared to keep him going. So, over the years we kept the local vet in business with blood tests and insulin purchases, plus other various health problems that arose partly as a result of his diabetes. Henry lived to the ripe old age of 13, far more than the vet's estimate of another 2 years after he went diabetic. So Henry cost us thousands in vet fees. In the end I found him in the garden, dead from what was probably yet another seizure. Epilepsy and diabetes are most likely inherited, so we are unimpressed with the breeder of Henry whoever that might be.
When Henry was about 3 years old (before the fits started), one of Judith's work colleagues mentioned that he wanted to mate his white toy poodle female and needed a sire. Henry was offered and he sired 2 puppies. It is tempting to say that was the second big mistake, but we kept one of the puppies and he was our dearly beloved Mr Chips. The other puppy (Benny) was taken by a friend and he passed at the ripe old age of 15. Chips was a lovely affectionate lap dog who loved attention and cuddles, and we both loved him. However, Chips was not a particularly healthy poodle and had to be put down at the age of 7 after seriously injuring his back. That was a very sad day. Benny also has had his share of health problems, and he also had epilepsy like his father. Chips was the leader of the dog pack, so when we lost him the other dogs were a bit lost. Poor Henry was completely lost because father and son were very close, and for some years Chips was his eyes. Henry (now completely blind) used to follow Chips around everywhere.
As Henry got older, Judith started thinking about getting another toy poodle because we were not expecting Henry to live for much longer. The years went by and Henry just kept going, while we kept the vet in business. This time the next dog would be a pedigree from a registered breeder, no more pet shops, and no more unhealthy dogs! So a trip to Cooma and we came home with a super cute little toy poodle puppy - Pinecresta Popcorn Posie, otherwise know as Poppy.
As a young dog Poppy was full of energy, and loved to run along the beach, go for walks, chase birds rabbits or kangaroos, or just belt around the garden. When I took her to our property at Kalaru, she would belt around in circles with a lump of horse manure in her mouth. She loved it and still loves running around on the Kararu block. The only trips to the vet have been for the annual vaccinations. So, Poppy is really healthy. After the experience of Henry and Chips, we put good health at the top of our desirable qualities we look for in our breeding dogs. Good temperament is also very important, any aggressiveness is completely unacceptable. Poppy is a quiet non aggressive dog and has had one litter of puppies. We have kept two of her puppies (Ebony and Marley).