Dog excrement Democrat left on 3rd Avenue (6)

I believe the answer is:

poodle

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'dog' is the definition.
(poodle is a kind of dog)

'excrement democrat left on 3rd avenue' is the wordplay.
'excrement democrat' becomes 'pood' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'ord avenue' becomes 'e' (ord letter of 'avenue').
'pood'+'l'+'e'='POODLE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for poodle that I've seen before include "Dog (seen in a parlour?)" , "Small dog" , "toady?" , "Pet dog with clipped curly coat" , "5 [MANS BEST FRIEND]" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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