Monah

Another huge PWD fan here. I regularly see someone who has 5! They are fantastic and great at dog sports etc. They are very very intelligent, naughty!! need supervision (as do all breeds) because they WILL get into mischief. Poodles are another massively wonderful dog that I adore. Too many good things about them to mention, as well as they are just GORGEOUS looking!!!! :D Big no to a Kerry, for reasons others have mentioned, these are specialist dogs even for dog people, dont let the 'pretty' look fool you!! Have a look at Lakeland terriers. These are wonderful (I've had them), weigh around 9kgs (average), compact, happy happy happy dogs. Yes they are terriers, dont shed at all, but because they were originally bred to work with foxhounds or other packs of dogs, they are not (shouldn't be!!!) dog aggressive. Mine would allow any dog/cat/ to eat from their bowls etc. even strange visitor/foster dogs. NEVER ever had any issues with them, great health fantastic with the kids. As with any breed you can get 'rogues' that may not be typical, so you have to go with excellent lines. You cannot beat a 'good' Lakeland if that is the type of dog you are after. I would not say they are 'easy' to train, but they do want to please and are very very intelligent, just not as biddable as say a gundog. The little red fluffy dog in my avatar is a Lakeland, but he is a bit fluffy!! in that pic. :D

Hi Jerojath, of course I HAD to put a few pics of my beloved Blackie I am busy scanning thousands of pics from 1870 onwards, so expect more at a later stage......

Koemi, I think you are spot on. Even many people I know have felt like giving up on a young dog and I ahve been able to persuade them to carry on through the trying times and end up with a wonderful 3 yr old animal. One part of education that is sadly lacking in the general public is the length of 'puppy hood' in breeds. The majority of breeds (or mongrels) will have a 2 yr hell period (to be on the generous side) and most people think a 'puppy' will be grown up around 6 - 9 months, ie. wont dig, bark, toilet indoors, walk well etc. if they train them. When the puppy has a lapse and chews shoes at 10 months or some other behaviour the owners are shocked. They think the pup should 'know' now that it is grown up. Well, it isnt grown up and training is ongoing for life, not a couple of months of puppyhood. I'm sure if some owners were made VERY AWARE that PUPPY behaviour is pretty NORMAL for about 2 years, but with consistency you will have a great mature dog for many years, that owners would either reconsider getting a dog, or stick it out and reap the rewards(hopefully) The amount of people who have complained to me about their dogs and I've said, oh that's pretty normal at that age, and they have been dumbfounded, prooves that this information just isn't getting out there. I thoroughly agree research is a major tool to prevent dumpings, but even with research, if someone WANTS a certain thing, they will gloss over the negatives sometimes. when people see Monah (viz) they adore her and ask how to get one, I say well shes' very active, the answer is either Oh, I would walk one a couple of times a week and take it out weekends :D because to them , this is exercising the dog, so when they read that a dog is active, they relate this to what they think constitutes 'active' or REally? OMG! I would never have the time to do all that (from the realists )

Koemi, I think you are spot on.

Koemi,

Depends on the dog, in the past I've not given food, have had 4 dogs inside etc. When we got our current dogs I put the spin with the acd and the viz on her own. Acd passed so now both are in separate places, one may be in the 'dog' room and the other has the run of the house and either can be in either place. I give a bickie when I go out. Mine are in such a routine, that if I'm wearing certain clothes/shoes, they go out for wees (on cue), come in and go to their respective spots for their treat and I go out, no fuss, goodbyes, pats etc. They look forward to me going out :D and get excited about it ('cause they get a treat ) If i forget something or have to come back in and go out etc., I ignore them completely and they know (how?) that I'm not back to stay as they don't move and when I do come home they are 'pleased' to see me, so there is a difference. I don't leave them together, I think they would be OK, but I'm not really comfortable with it. However, they do both have cats for company if needed.

:D Well this is the only dog I could find remotely like what you described, but they are a german breed, however if it were bred in holland or owned by dutch people maybe that would influence what the walker said? Be interesting to see if it really is one of these, they have fantastic temperaments.

I guess education is the answer, but I really do not know how you get education across. IMO no dog is easy care or difficult to care for. I've had a very broad spectrum of breeds, ages of ownership and different places of origin. Unfortunately humans have strange expectations and this is not only with pets but children, partners, even belongings. Now more than ever 'we' are not prepared to put in any time or energy into just about everything, inc. the list above. We EXPECT it to just 'happen', we allow kids to be revolting and misbehave as 2, then wonder why we have a teenage monster (and I know monsters can occur anyway ) we neglect each other in relationships and wonder where it all went wrong, allow our cats to roam and grizzle when they get run over, lost etc. and treat our dogs badly (neglect) and dont' take any responsibilty for their actions. When the novelty wears off the poor 'popular' breeds suffer the most. Some breeds attract more responsible owners (this is a whole other topic) whilst Acds, BCs, crosses, staffies, swfs, appear to be the breeds that are attractive to many people (me included :D ) If I were to say one breed that I have personally had a lot of experience with that is easy care (for this post), I would say Irish Wokfhounds, because there is minimal grooming (just a quick brush), a quick run and they are ready to be couch potatoes, get on well with everything, no barking (as in nuisance, or indeed hardly any barkiing at all), loyal, gentle, stable, non destructive, etc etc. The hardest part is that they have a short lifespan although we have had one of 14!! I consider my spin easy care, but many people wouldn't

The two in my street(ptibulls) do the same thing when they 'visit' our house, they throw themselves at our doors and windows because our dogs are inside. Silly thing is that I can go and get them and take them home, they are really friendly with people. We are not allowed them here. I'm not sure of the differences, I knw several people with lovely AMstaffs who seem to think there is not much difference or indeed any difference but I don't know much about bull breeds at all. The Amstaffs I know do tacking and agility and live with toddlers. They are very sweet.

very interesting! :D OK, my 2 cents worth. could it have been a black and tan Hovawart?? they are a german breed but the looks are very very similar to what you described. Someone could have brought one in if they have moved here recently. The only other dog I can think of remotely 'similar; re size and colouring is a Drentse Patrijshond and these are Dutch and are a gundog in that country. but they are mostly white and orange. Stabyhouns only come in black and white, or brown and white or black roan. The larger spaniel breeds are French. I'm CONFUSED? :D Unless she got the country of origin wrong? Maybe it was where the humans were from? Or a dog so rare it's not mentioned anywhere? Will hope to find out the solution the mystery soon

This is awful, poor woman. I'm afraid the dog they showed on the news, not the one they shot, another one, was definately either a pitbull or amstaff. it was really waggy and friendly A brown colour. We are in QLD and have 2 pitbulls in our street, I'm aquainted with the owners as a couple of times they've got out and I've returned them, so I know their breed. There are obviously dogs in QLD, how do you prevent ALL of the breed, it's silly. You're not alowed bunnies here either, but I know lots of people who bring their pets from interstate.(another silly rule!)

I have an italian and a hungarian dog, both with celtic names I thought Lincoln was English? There's been a town Lincoln since the first century BC. Americans stole it xxx

glad to hear that sammy cos we love vizslas here and might consider one for retirement cos OH had ridgies when he was younger and he likes the look of the vizslas...kinda mellowed out ridgie froma distance lol I think gundogs are easy to train I'm a useless trainer!! and have trained goldies, viz and spinone, all without any problems at all. Vizsss esp are very very responsive. Nothing mellow about them though

Just like our place, I LOVE the expression when the dog knows the cat is about to launch!! HELP! our poor dogs have to put up with 4 cats, it's so entertaining!

That tentie was bred and is owned y OHs cousin! She is a marvel and also has endurance and tacking to her name Her mum (doggy), her sister (cattle dog) and humans often stay with us. OHs cousin has just got a wonderful working kelpie pup, so here we go again!!!Tas is retiring.(tentie) I am a useless trainer, and even I have been able to train my viz for flyball, agility, obed.! she is a dream. I know BCs are fantastic and outshine many dogs in sports, (and I have one I look after on and off for the last 8 years), but gun dogs are just so responsive and dont seem to take theirselves too seriously, a laugh a minute. I adore seeing small dogs out there doing stuff too. I guess you have to look at the whole picture of a breed, nearly all dogs will be capable of doing sports, but if you want a WINNER at any cost, you need a dog that is competitive. I'm pretty sure someone on here trained their dane for agility and did really well

I'm confused. I'm both, own both, and both are just as important to me. I could not live without either. My brain is thoroughly scrambled. xxx

No pics sorry. My cattle dog did it all her life, she was very alpha so to see her curled up and kneading her 'sucky blanky' was quite hilarious! She went into 'bliss'. My spinone does it, she was not weaned early. She mainly uses a large soft toy that Monah (as a singleton) slept with etc. and then brought with her from the breeders. This toy is 4 years old and still perfect. She HATES it when I have to wash it Roisin will also use her snoozy rug, my furry throw, or a jumper etc. When we travel we always have her sucky teddy!!! I've had several cats dothis too. The worse one was one of my brown burmese (male) who used to suck my female blue burmese on her chest (both desexed and not weaned early). He made her lovely fur all orange!! on her front and she would be soaked. Silly girl, she would put her paws around his neck and hold him while he did it! I will post pics sometime as I have been scanning many old ones.

The glamour shot is nice, but the first BW smile is to die for!! I laughed out loud, she is fantastic!! How could anyone ever be glum with her around???

:D Absolutely wonderful!! :D Dear old Flynn, lovely

Without suggesting professional opinion is not required (that's your judgement call and I cannot responsibly suggest to you it is not needed), I think one of the things your BF could do is to stop trying so hard for Raf to like him. This could be so I have no 'training' or Pei experience so you are welcome to ignore my post :D However, I do have experience of this nature. My daughter's partner has a dog and we have had this dog on and off for 7 years and he is super duper adorable and gorgeous and extremely well trained, to the point that BF can go and leave him(dog) and the dog will not move (ie. he took a neighbours dog home recently as it was roaming, and his dog stayed in the driveway for 20 mins in a sit whilst he was up the road!) however, Boss can be trouble as anything of BFs is protected, even silly things, EVERYTHING. Sometimes I could not get to my back door as the dog was protecting the WINDOW where the kids were ;) I quickly learnt the commands to deal with this dog (we are BEST friends ;) ) and meanwhile we put things in order like nothing of BFs was allowed to lay around etc. and BF was fantastic and if there was an issue, dealt with it immediately. The dog soon learnt that I was 'family' and poor thing also had to come to terms with 4 cats and our 2 dogs. This dog is very very strongwilled etc. and devoted to his master, really devoted!! and needs a strong owner who he respects (which he has). If anyone is 'weak' (me!) he can be a handful. So although I do kiss and cuddle him , I also let him know the boundaries and re enforce my 'strength' all the time. The BF also shows him that I am 'important' by telling the dog 'away' or 'lay' etc. when we are close to each other. THis is a dog who is even like this with the BFs brothers!! not the parents though, and Boss has mellowed these days. I wish you all the best and of course a pei person would be the one to speak too, I have 2 down the road and they wont walk past me?? when I visit. I have to move away?? They are really lovely dogs PS. We use NILIF etc., but with Boss, he was perfect for his owner, but not for anyone else, so it's not a 'cure all' for this behaviour. If it's too difficult, a behaviourist is the best idea. We were lucky that Boss was very well trained, but I had to learn new behaviours!!! I had to be tougher. The culprit! the BC, not the viz.

EEk. HOpe Bundy's OK!! Yes, glad you have the vet booked. Never let any gastro thingy carry on in a young, small or elderly animal. Vet straight away. Even for other animals too. Get well Soon Bundyxxxxx

THis is awful, poor child. I'd like to ad that I think many are a bit too ready to think a 'new' dog of the same breed will be just like their other one and that a dog that is 'good with kids' (cats, whatever), may not be that way with ALL of the said above. These issues need very careful preparation and ongoing supervision. I too do not think (according to info) that this dog was a 'dangerous' dog. He surely could have torn the little girl to bits. A toy held up near a child's face and waved around is a disaster. Such a shame for everyone concerned.

This is a bit hard for me too as I've seen the same vet for 16 years. But, when I moved to Darwin last year I got a very rude awakening. Tried a few vets, wasn't impressed with any. However what I did not like (and had not experienced before, lucky me! ) was: counter crammed up against the door! so no space, extremely expensive, double what I pay here for nearly everything, no specialists at all dirty vinyl!! on the examination tables grotty, tiny recovery area no phone call when my cat was ready very limited products different vet EVERY TIME, so much so that I was told!! to monitor my dogs eye ulcer (size) myself and tell the next vet I saw if it were larger or smaller drugs that needed to be kept cold, insulin and vaccs. were just given to me in their bottles very hot outside, I asked for a foam esky with ice (my vet ALWAYS supplies these) and was told, OH it will be OK, so I went home and got stuff for it myself then picked it up. NO quarrantine facilities dogs with dem mange and god knows what else sharing a very tiny room with everyone else. and many other things that I'm just not used to, including speaking to me as though I was completely ignorant so I gave them my last vets number to ring. Then they admitted their mistake, but did not appologise. What I like My vets do all the opp to the above. Plus I always see who I want, I use one vet for certain things and one for other things adn I tell them this honestly and they are great about it. My vets always take a lot of time with each animal and chat to owners allowing the animal to be watched for a while to see how it is etc. they always rec. other treatments so you can make an informed decision such as specialists, massage, water therapies etc. They do pathology on the spot, free blood sugar tests no app., if it is beyond them they say, and send things to USA or elsewhere. Always give up front costs for everything in writing Know all my pets, dead and alive do home visits for no extra costs inc. PTS and have done this for free send cards, flowers when a loved one passes are very honest about the latest scientific research even if it means NOT treating something give many alternatives, costs, outcomes so you can make an informed decision about things. SPOTLESS, large surgery. They have the latest equipment and keep up with things, never stagnate Ring with reports every couple of hours if your animal has to stay You can sit in on recovery they have quarrantine including a specialised parvo quarantine 'pod' plenty of parking right outside the door always on call I have their home numbers too They will say, "So and so is TOO FAT! " or whatever else an owner does not wish to hear if it is in the animals best interests They educate owners and respect owners knowledge too They give a lot of time and money to charity and put out a newsletter every month with the latest treatments, problems (ie. it's tick time, how to prevent, treat etc. or what's happening OS, and staff info. what courses they've been on, engaged etc)

With Fifi, leave him at home. It sounds like YOU are the one who will suffer, (separation anxiety!), Humphrey will be fine, probably have a big sleep :p

Thoroughly agree. Also, if you are even thinking of breeding properly and with good dogs at a later date, are you registered with a prefix etc?? Do you know that you can't just 'breed' here? nicGSDlover has explained well. Have you tried to see is there are any older or rescue Kangals available? I'm sure it is rarely so, but the odd one may come up from time to time.