What next?

Sheesh.
 
I think breeders and puppy millers like that are the root of EVERY dog related problem we have.  A person goes out and buys a puppy from a pet store/byb/puppy mill on a whim.  If the puppy is lucky enough to be healthy, there is a chance it is going to be more difficult to train, even just housetrain, so the first challenge of puppy raising automatically becomes frustrating.  The owner might succeed in the end, but by this point they are disillusioned by puppy ownership, especially when the pup was just a spur of the moment purchase anyway.  If they ever did devote any time to socialisation, that falls by the wayside now, because that damned dog is just taking up too much time. 
 
Fast forward several months and the dog is now in fully-fledged adolescence and uncontrollable.  Something has to be done, in the fastest manner possible (because now they have months of non-existent training to catch up on).  They read about the latest new celebrity dog training technique, or the latest gadget, that will train a dog in just 10 days, so they try that.  Since they have established no communication platform with the dog it doesn't know how to respond to this latest odd behaviour from its human, and it becomes fearful, stressed or agressive, or maybe all of the above. 
 
Fed up with the dog who has not turned out to be a fantastic family pet, 1 of 2 things happens.  The dog either gets sent to a shelter already overfull with a hundred other dogs who have been through the exact same ordeal, or it gets tied up outside, ready to bite anyone that comes near.  If it is a female, all the neighbourhood dogs are in luck, because this unspayed bitch is just about ready to go into heat, and she can't even run away.  Another litter of puppies later, we are back where we started.
 
I realise there are exceptions to this, but I remain convinced that people who breed for profit are the root of all doggy evil.
 
Kate
 
 

Cafe Au Lait is a recognized Poodle color,
Excerpt from AKC standard for the Poodle:
 
Color
The coat is an even and solid color at the skin. In blues, grays, silvers, browns, cafe-au-laits, apricots and creams the coat may show varying shades of the same color. This is frequently present in the somewhat darker feathering of the ears and in the tipping of the ruff. While clear colors are definitely preferred, such natural variation in the shading of the coat is not to be considered a fault. Brown and cafe-au-lait Poodles have liver-colored noses, eye-rims and lips, dark toenails and dark amber eyes. Black, blue, gray, silver, cream and white Poodles have black noses, eye-rims and lips, black or self colored toenails and very dark eyes. In the apricots while the foregoing coloring is preferred, liver-colored noses, eye-rims and lips, and amber eyes are permitted but are not desirable. Major fault: color of nose, lips and eye-rims incomplete, or of wrong color for color of dog.
 
BYB's are a HUGE problem I agree 100%....but in this case they're only a bit of on the wording of the color.

*chuckles* [] I thought it sounded like a colour thing, but then when I checked out the ad the advertiser seemed to have no interest in colour and all their interest in the size. I wonder if they know it refers to colour or are under the impression it's a description of a popular size? Considering the sheer volume of teacup, teapot and teacosy poodles out there, I wouldn't be at all surprised to discover the breed now had representatives for other hot beverages. []

Let's give them the benefit of the doubt, though. Thanks for pointing that out. []

Since it's a coffee color, shouldn't we continue the theme and call them a DEMITASSE (little cup)?[sm=rotfl.gif][sm=rotfl.gif]

It seems to go along with the marketting of all these designer breeds in general that we have to make some connection with other things in pop culture to make the breed more attractive-I often wondered how they marketted Brittany  as breed standard said liver color and white...and not too  many people have liver on the top of their list of loves...maybe that is where all these cute descriptive color names comes from.  My husband bought a car and the color was called cappucino-(looked like baby crap brown to me)