Nothing is more leaky than an office at a Puppy Farm, workers are treated with scarcely more respect than the dogs and we have as usual received a lot of documents about the business at Sunset Hills. Many of the Family Care Homes are very concerned about the dogs they love and have to return to the puppy farm and the future of those that are still with them. So this one is for all of you who are worried about the Sunset Hills dogs.
Here is the list of some of the dogs, some with pictures, that were owned by Melinda Radus when she sold out to Nichii Gakkan, we know there are many more hidden away. We have compiled a list of 136 dogs , over 3/4 are bitches enabling something like a hundred litters to be born every year at Sunset Hills or more likely more..
Here they are and if anyone can update us on the fate of the dogs please get in touch, we hope for the best for them ALL, the labradoodles, the poodles , the cocker spaniels and the many unknown mixed breed dogs now owned by Nichii Gakkan.
Does ANYONE doubt that Sunset Hills WAS and IS a puppy farm? There are still the same old tired lies that puppies are born in the home and socialized , is anyone fooled? Do the sums yourself, 5 litters born between 16th April 2011 to 2nd of May, that 
would mean a minimum of 15 litters in the “home” at one time. A sad and silly lie.
I couldn’t fit more than 2 litters in my dog friendly home , it’s just impossible of course, but puppy farms have to say this in order that the public believes they are not handing their money over to dog abusers and dog pimps.
Can YOU tell us where these 136 dogs are? Please look carefully, maybe some of them are safe, desexed, and in a good home. We certainly hope so, but how could they make money for the owners if they are?
Tim Tam #10 is my dog’s dad. When Nichii Gakkan took over I emailed to inquire about him, but never got a reply.
Lacey #93 was sold to Lomondhill Labradoodles in Scotland back in 2008, just after my dog’s litter.
Lacey’s dad Valley View Teddy Bear is on the GTG Genetic Data base in Melbourne as a Epileptic dog. So is mine.
im glad i could help if you need anything else just ask and i will see what i can do
Dear Alison2. Thanks for the offer. See if you can do this. Please destroy my personal records that you have in your possession. They were never meant to be used for anyone other than Sunset Hills. I don’t need to tell you my name; you probably already know it. I also don’t need to tell you my name because it doesn’t matter who I am. You have received stolen records and destroying ALL of them is the decent and moral thing to do. I know you are trying to shut this place down and have for a long time now, but please do not use me or my pets in your quest. Thank you.
Couldn’t have said it better Doodle Lover
Shiraz looks familiar , Angela Cunningham had a litter from her last year. The stud was her toy poodle and two Tegan Park puppies went to Sunset Hills. Please don’t tell me that Angela is a family care home. I guess its the same TP Shiraz but she was more than six years old then.
Dear back room girl. It is an amazing thing but most dogs from a particular breed will look alike – it’s the aim of the breeder. I have Shiraz in my care right now, at my feet, as I type. If her stud was a toy poodle he was a very, very big one. She’s also not six years old. She has been in our house since she was a puppy and is well loved and cared for. She was not mated when she recently came in season as she had a litter last December; she’s not being asked to put any strain on her body for anybody’s gain and neither I, or the contract I signed, will allow that to happen. I hope you find the TP Shiraz you are looking for.
@ doodle lover Good to know one of the bitches called Shiraz is safe, think Angela’s Shiraz will be her dam or granddam? Anyhow TP Shiraz did produce puppies for Sunset Hills from a toy poodle stud when she was 6 years old. The puppy farmers use AI so size health weight and age is no problem, in fact some studs have died or been sent abroad and are still producing puppies.
Pretty sure there is no TP in her past. I have another bitch from the list – “safe” with me and could tell you of at least 10 of these dogs that are in family homes. I have probably met another 20 people who have dogs in their homes but I can’t remember all the names of their dogs. I met them at gatherings of family care homes where we all brought our dogs from our homes and then took them all home again with us. I have witnessed the fact that they are not kept in poor conditions at Sunset Hills but are actually loved by families. After the transfer of ownership none of them, that I am aware of, were taken from their true owners and forced to return to the Sunset Hills property. They are still loved and cared for.
I recently was at Sunset Hills and had a tour of the property, I found it to be very clean and a happy place for the puppies.
At a guess I would say that your list of 136 dogs live in happy family homes. (is this a bad thing?)
This site you have seems to be very mis-informed from what looks like gossiping bored housewives, I think that you should maybe spend your time either posting the TRUTH regarding Sunset Hills being a reputable responsible breeder, or maybe hunt down REAL puppy mills that mistreat dogs?
I have read through your forum of posts….and all I see here is a witch hunt.
I will definitely be purchasing a Labradoodle puppy from Sunset Hills.
to jane.it should look good they have spent 90,000 dol on upgrades .and as for board housewives try living next door .unless you have put up with this for 7yrs you wouldnt know. no company is going to spend 2.3mil on a dog breeding kennel and not make there money back.look at the real picture.also the same company bought cloudcatcher kennels.thats a lot of xbreed dogs .
correction it was purchased for 3 mil
It would seem that Jane is not questioning how many dogs there are but how/where they are kept. I know that a lot of these dogs live in family homes and not on site and agree that the REAL puppy mills, the ones that have hundreds of dogs in stinking cages, knee deep in excrement, should perhaps be the target of people who want to make a change.
Again, very well said!
I am the owner of Toby mini and she has been living with me for nearly 4 years. She has only had one litter at the beginning of the year and was desexed with her contract finished. She is now fully in our care. I have spent time at Sunset Hills and have been very happy with the care my dogs have received. My other dog Lyric was a family care home dog as well and was desexed early on because they felt they didn’t need to breed her as well as her sister. We have only had positive interactions and I would appreciate our names being removed from this list as well.
Oh My G** All those dogs in the pictures . When we were looking for a puppy for our family we saw the websites with long lists of dogs like Sunset Hills and asked how they can actually breed so many puppies and look after them. It was hard enough with one puppy, how can anyone say this is responsible breeding?. I asked my friend who bred two litters of goldendoodles this year about the five litters in two weeks. We both want to know what happens to the puppies no one wants? Do they just stay at Sunset Hills? I bet there is a lot well hidden.
Go to a breeder who cares like my friend or get a rescue..
You have it all wrong about Sunset Hills. I have been involved with them for 6 years, been to the property many times and own 2 dogs on the list above. I also know quite a few of the others and they have all been well cared for. My dogs have bred 2 and 3 litters respectively over the 5 years of their contact ( living with me as a family care home) and now are desexed and live in a very happy family home environment. Melinda was a very responsible breeder, her dogs were health tested, socialized and looked after very well. I have recently been to the property and spoken to the new managers, and it is well maintained and the dogs on the property are well looked after, as has always been my experience. I don’t know where you got the idea that Sunset hill is a puppy farm as it is definitely not, and I don’t appreciated my dogs details being used inappropriately.
I have two of the dogs on the list and they live at my home with my family. I’ve also met many of the others on the list. Some I’ve met locally at dog parks and others I’ve met at Sunset Hills. My dogs go back to Sunset Hills for grooming (which is free for family care homes), breeding and my family has been to their yearly get-togethers so we have been to the Sunset Hills property many times. The yearly get-togethers are a family fun day where the Labradoodles and their people families gather for a few hours. I’ve chatted with many of the families at the gatherings and I haven’t come across anyone who isn’t very happy with their Labradoodle or the treatment at Sunset Hills.
There have been times when Sunset Hills breeding has even been slowed down, due to ill-health of staff or other circumstances when they knew they didn’t have appropriate staffing levels to continue responsibly at the same rate.
Melinda didn’t ‘sell-out’ but sold her business due to her family’s wish to return overseas. She sold the company to a group wishing to use the Australian Labradoodle as therapy dogs in nursing homes. She kept clients well aware of what was happening and provided information sessions with the family care families and the new owners during the changeover period.
I’ll admit there was a period where the property was not being maintained at its previous high standard after the business sale but this was short term, perhaps 6 months maximum. I never witnessed any ill-treatment of the dogs, it was just the property aesthetics. The Sunset Hills property has since been considerably upgraded and now looks fantastic. It has many areas for new litters to stay safely with their mums and plenty of space for all dogs to adequately exercise. Dogs are not kept at Sunset Hills long term. New puppies either: Get sold locally as pets or the occasional breeding dog; Are sent overseas to become therapy dogs in nursing homes, or; Join a family care home if they are considered suitable candidates for breeding. These dogs get medical testing at around 12 months old to confirm. If the test results show they are not suitable for breeding, Sunset Hills arranges their desexing and they live permanently with and belong to their family care family. If the test results show they are suitable for breeding they live with their family care family except when required for breeding. Sunset Hills may require the dogs for up to six years for breeding. After this time, or earlier at their discretion, they will arrange for the dog to be desexed and live permanently with and belong to their family care family.
My family and I love our two Australian Labradoodles for whom we are the family care home. They are looked after well when they visit Sunset Hills, as are all the other dogs we see there. SUNSET HILLS IS NOT A PUPPY FARM.
How disgusting! These poor dogs! There is no such thing as a good puppy factory they are all abhorrent and should be shut down. Sunset Hills is a disgrace.
Hello Debra. I clicked your link and had a look at the Oscar’s Law site and it is very interesting. I commend you on the work you are doing to shut down puppy factories. I was particularly interested in the ‘About’ page where you describe puppy factories. I don’t know if you have ever visited Sunset Hills (and I am not sure you would have as you are located in Victoria) but the puppy factories described on your site and Sunset Hills are polar opposites. I would never have got my dogs from a place like those described on your site but I did get them from Sunset Hills where I found the puppies well cared for, in good conditions and with lots of love and attention.
I am wondering why you haven’t allowed the response from SunsetHills to be published here? I know that they have replied to the allegations on this website but that their reply is still awaiting moderation. Surely a balanced view would include their input?
The reason why the response from Sunset Hills was delayed initially was because it came from the same computer as a previous comment pretending to be from a happy puppy buyer giving a non responsive email address. If accepted I told them that the use of the same computer would be pointed out. I have told them also that I will not allow threats against my contributors
SSH claims that the computer used was open to other use by clients etc but apart such use of a company computer being unprofessional and contrary to data protection, the time of day makes that incredibly unlikely and style of writing was identical to the message from SSH management.
They have not resubmitted without the threats
UL
I have been reading the above posts and have felt the need to reply to some of the allegations made against Melinda Radus when she owned Sunset Hills.
We own two of the family care dogs mentioned in this list, both have lived with us since they were approx. 10 weeks old, the eldest being almost 7 years old. We first visited Sunset Hills 7 years ago once we made the decision to have a labradoodle join our family and our last visit was approximately 12 months ago when our second dog had her last litter and I have lost count of how many times we visited the property. Dog 1 was contracted to have 4 litters over 4 years (had 2 litters) and dog 2 contracted for 4 litters in 5 years (had 3 litters). Neither dog was bred until they were over 12 months of age and had health testing including Hip Penn tests and ophthalmology tests and neither dog had litters from consecutive seasons. Our dogs lived as a part of our family except when they came into season and when they gave birth to the puppies. I have since read another post about drugs given to a dog to bring it into season and this could not have been done to family care dogs as they were entirely in our care.
I have met numerous dogs from the list and their families at regular get-togethers and have never witnessed any form of mistreatment. We have only had positive interactions with Sunset Hills when it was owned by Melinda. When our dogs had puppies we received regular phone and email updates including photos of them and were able to visit at any time. When dog 1 had her first litter we were interstate on holidays and received a phone call when first puppy was born, another during the labour and a third call after all puppies were born to give another update.
The only time we had any negative thoughts about Sunset Hills was just after the sale and this was more that the personal touch that Melinda provided was missing. I can’t comment what facilities are like now as it has been 12 months since our last visit but I know that if I were to be getting another labradoodle, the first person I would contact would be Melinda Radus and I would DEFINITELY purchase another dog from her.
Awesome Leanne, Thankyou i am a Labradoodle Family carer too, and i have the upmost respect to all Sunsett Hills Owners, Breeders, puppies and other family members, cause i could not have asked for a more beautiful character Labradoodle than my char-lee she is the best dog i have ever ownerd, in my 35 years of having dogs, and this can only be because Sunsett Hills qualities and DNA testing is Purrfect, thanks To Melinda and Rachel…..
Sunset Hills is on a very difficult definitional line. What exactly is a puppy farm or puppy mill? I have seen so many different definitions, ranging from “It’s only a puppy mill if the dogs are neglected”, “It’s a puppy mill if they have more than x number of litters a year, or x number of litters per bitch”, “It’s a puppy mill if they have more than x number of dogs in their possession, or in their ownership”, etc. It’s the hazy definitional line that all commercial breeders use to claim that they are not milling their dogs.
In my definition, a puppy mill sells more than x number of litters per year, and typically with income in mind rather than the soundness of the dogs. With a quarter of a million cats and dogs killed each year in Australia for lack of homes, the mass production of puppies is to me inexcusable, no matter how well cared for the breeding dogs are.
Still, Sunset Hills, given that it truly appears to put its dogs in guardian homes, is admittedly a step above the rest. By my definition can I truly call it a puppy farm, or is it the same as all of these dog owners choosing to have a few litters by their dogs before they desex them? I suppose it depends on a few things. 1) What care do the mothers and pups receive on-site before and after whelping? Is there a socialization program in place for the pups? And what sort of care do the resident stud dogs receive year-round? 2) What sort of genetic testing is going on? (I see that the females are scored for prcd-PRA at least) Are matches truly chosen based on which male and female would create the most physically and mentally sound puppies, pups that would further the “breed” standard for Labradoodles?
I don’t think I’ll get answers to those two questions without going out to the site myself, so I’m going to reserve judgement on Sunset Hills. Back to the differing definitions of puppy mills, I imagine some would have even more of a strict definition than I and would believe that such a large-scale operation is never okay. But by my definition, I suppose they could either be a puppy mill or they could be a large-scale responsible breeding program.