Hi folks, back from a day at the beach (maybe I shouldn't be telling you this - I don't want to get back to the Northern Hemisphere with a bounty on my head!)

Anyway, I couldn't help but notice from the numbers of dog owners walking their pooches along the shore that the Aussies have really fallen for the "oodles" fashion. Poodles crossed with Labradors, retrievers, spaniels (I feel sorry for these poor, exhausted poodles) are sweeping the nation, with people paying up to AU$1500 for what is basically a mongrel. Go figure.

The story of the origin of the species (good title for a book I reckon) is a simple one. A blind man wanted a guide dog but had allergies, so some bright spark decided to cross a Labrador with a poodle to produce a guide dog whose hair wouldn't fall out. Brilliant. However, one question springs to mind. Why not just train a poodle?

When we stereotype dog breeds, we miss the obvious. Not every Labrador is a guide dog, and not every guide dog is a Labrador. Not every Jack Russell spends it's time listening to a record player and St.Bernard's never carried brandy up to stranded mountaineers. Sorry but it's true (I'll be telling you there's no Santa next...). 

Dog breeds were initially created to be more physically able to perform a function, but it doesn't mean that the individual will be naturally good at it. So never forget these wise words - a dog is a dog is a dog.

Interestingly, it turns out the allergy was caused by dog's saliva...

Tony Knight