Poodle Chats with Danielle Small Our chosen ANKC breeder for this month (Nov 24) is the fabulous Melody Benton . 1. How many years have you been involved in Poodles? I am a second generation poodle owner/breeder and have been involved with dogs my whole life. I bred and handled my first Champion (toy poodle) in the late 60’s. 2. What is/was your breeders prefix? What variety have you bred(toys, minis, standards)? HOKU which means ‘Star’ in Hawaiian. I lived in Hawaii for many years showing and breeding standard poodles. I have bred Toys and Standards to Champion Best in Show winners. I have handled many Minis to their titles but even though I find them the ultimate poodle to groom and show for their size I have never owned one myself. 3. How did you become involved in the dog hobby? My father, Arnold Stoltz, started showing dogs in 1923. I still have the blue ribbons from his German Shepherd Ron Don Don who was the son of Rin Tin Tin (a very famous dog in America). My father’s first Toy Poodle was in the early 1950’s. It was silver, had a long back but was a very sound bitch with a beautiful head who produced his first American Kennel Club (AKC) Champion. After that he fell in love with browns and bought a stunning little 10” toy bitch from all mini breeding. In America and in some European countries crossing of the sizes is allowed. He spoiled “Candy” so badly that no matter how hard Frank Sabella tried with her, she would not walk for him. For those that are newer or not familiar to dog shows – Frank Sabella is a very well-known American poodle man and judge, I highly suggest you Google him. My Dad bred Candy and this produced Miss Espresso, (Champion Yot Clubs Miss Espresso), the first brown toy Poodle Champion in America. My love for poodles really took off from here. 4. Is there one particular dog that has played a huge part in your kennels success more then any other? And why? I had a little black toy male toy poodle, “King”, that went Best In Show during my teenage years who was my very first heart dog. King won many junior handling classes including at Madison Square Garden. My second Heart dog, who many people here in Australia and New Zealand have met, is “Stellar”, NZ & Aust CH Hoku Fifty Shades of Grey. She is the combination of years of work to create a silver as good as any top black toy poodle. 5. What is your opinion of the poodle quality today compared to 10-20 years ago in all 3 sizes? I find some outstanding dogs today as I did 10 and 20 years ago; even further back there were great dogs that I remember. There are still breeders striving to improve in everything they do, which is wonderful to see. Unfortunately, as there were in the past, there are still breeders today breeding mediocrity for all the wrong reasons. My dogs have improved greatly from when I first started to present day. I was on the right track but unknowingly ran headfirst into juvenile PRA long before testing was widely available. I had to start completely over again with the only bitch I had left in my lines. I made the decision to import new lines, AGAIN, and kept that picture in my head of breeding top quality silver toys that could match any top-quality black toy. This experience took me one step back in my colour breeding, but this is where I learned how valuable a ‘blue’ becomes when going back to silver. I am very happy with where my breeding program is today and why I am so passionate about healthy dogs. 76 January-March 2025 • POODLE VARIETY
Poodle Variety Magazine January-March 2025 January – March 2025: Page 76
