Gayle.

The weights of my dogs haven't really altered. The skinny boys are still skinny, Dusty still puts on weight after she's been in season and Shae never changes. Ripley drinks a lot of water after his meal and first thing in the morning but he was fed BH before he came to us so I don't have a yardstick by which to judge if it's an excessive amount or not.

A Chi X wouldn't be too hard to hide, unless it's crossed with a Saint Bernard or something else enormous.

I've read that too, and it always confused me. What did pregnant wolf/dog bitches do for their carbs before they started to live with people? And why weren't they better adapted to their natural diet? My dogs eat fallen fruit......plums, peaches etc. And Benson used to pick it from the trees, he'd test it for ripeness with his teeth first then pull off the ripe ones.

That address doesn't work anymore. Try this: http://www.dogsvictoria.org.au/

Texture of the coat, if it's a coated breed? I know with my breed the coat changes texture (gets fluffier or fuzzier) and there's more of it because they don't do the seasonal coat drop. But in all honesty, I've got an entire bitch and a desexed bitch and you'd be pretty hard pressed to tell which was which. Th entire bitch has loads of coat at the moment because it's just all grown back after her being in season, the neutered bitch just has loads of coat all the time.

So glad this ended happily. Love to you and Mindy, may she recover speedily and be back to her old self in no time.

Unless you have a confirmed home for her, I'd PTS.

I have a favourite colour in my own breed......I love black tri's, but I don't have a least favourite colour so I'd probably be happy with anything. At the moment, pics of Aussies with all black faces tend to reduce me to tears and I doubt I could own another one any time soon, but maybe one day. The blue merles tend to attract more attention than the black tris and I almost always draw a few admirers when I'm out and about with the merles, but I love the stark contrast between the solid black and sparkling white, and the richness of the tan points. I like even markings rather than an offset blaze or one white leg and one coloured leg. But that wouldn't be a deal breaker for me. In other breeds I have favoured colours.....collies I prefer merles, border collies I prefer black and white, Tibetan Terriers I prefer gold and white, or white with black patches, GSD's I prefer all black.....but it's unlikely I'll ever own any of those breeds so it's just liking those colours, not wanting them.

Gorgeous pics! Mine can all climb up on my raised garden beds in the courtyard so they can look over the fence when I lock them in there. And Isaak learned to climb a tree outside the courtyard when Dusty was in season and locked in there. Fortunately he couldn't figure out how to get from the tree onto the courtyard.

You can have tubal ligations and vasectomies done. I know there's at least one breeder on DOL who does that to protect the puppies she's bred. It doesn't need to be a complete castration, that can be left to the new owner to have done if they want to, when the dog is fully grown.

I agree with this. If puppy is piddling in the house during the day, he shouldn't be in the house. Put him out and he'll learn his toilet is outside, faster than if you keep him indoors and take him out when you think he needs to go.

Some breeds are just more expensive to buy because people will pay that amount for those breeds. And I don't believe it has much to do with what it costs to raise the litter, because why would a litter of Whippets, Border Collies or Australian Shepherds (all sell for $1000 and under) cost less to raise than a litter of any other breed? I've stopped being surprised at the price of puppies but it doesn't mean I'll pay those prices. I'll just find something cheaper. I can just as easily love a dog that's free to good home as I can a $2500 puppy. The last two dogs I got free to good home came desexed, on main register, microchipped etc. I can show them in neuter classes if I want to (I don't want to) and enter them in ANKC sanctioned events under their registered pedigree name. And in fact, one of them recently gained her first title so she now has letters after her pedigree name.

Not everyone wanting to buy a puppy knows about buyng from breeders, and if they do, a lot consider anyone who bungs two dogs together to make puppies, a breeder. For quite a number of people buying a pet means going to a pet store. Then there are those who've been turned away by breeders, it doesn't stop them wanting a puppy, it just makes them widen their search to include pet stores.

Hope everything is ok. This is my worst nightmare. Thinking of you both.

I remember being shocked at a $2500 price tag on a puppy who was then expected to be returned to the breeder for her to have a litter to sell. I had no idea such prices or conditions existed in the world of pet puppies. Even now I would not pay that for a dog, although I'm no longer surprised by it.

Get the puppies desexed before they leave then you'll never, ever have to have that discussion again. And you'll never have to rely on a contract or "promise" that might not stand up in court. As someone else said, there's no difference between getting them done at 8 weeks or 6 months, so save yourself the headache of having to justify your decisions and don't sell puppies entire.

Can a desexing contract be upheld in court? Once someone has paid for something, it's theirs to do what they like with(as long as it's lawful) and breeding dogs isn't illegal.

Like all the herding/collie breeds, they are highly ntelligrnt, easily bored and require a good amount of training. Lovely dogs though. Loads of grooming. Don't underestimate the amount of grooming, it would not be a quick brush daily that's for sure.

I know of one breeder who offers to mentor any of her puppy buyers who indicate they might like to breed. In fact, this is the only way she will sell a puppy without a desexing contract but she assumes nothing and judges no one.

I think you were polite but judgemental, and needn't have bothered with the second reply. Maybe have a stock standard answer to anyone who wants to buy your pups for breeding, reply to all such enquiries with that and leave it there. Don't go into reasons, justification, why's and wherefore's. Either that, or open yourself to being a mentor and start encouraging people who want to breed a litter, to do it properly.

Nothing goes with the kibble, it's a complete and balanced meal on it's own. However, in the mornings they get a chicken drumstick for breakfast and on weekends they sometimes get a pork bone each in the middle of the day. If you mix something with the kibble because you think it's boring on it's own, it's not you that's eating it and dogs don't mind boring.

Aussies LOVE swimming, they were dying to go splashing in the waves, but they were told not to and they are seven really well-behaved dogs who showed an amazing amount of restraint. Wow, that's amazing! There is no way in hell that I could keep snowy out of the water if we were at the beach unless I had him on a leash or made him sit next to me and kept and eye on him the entire time! That is an amazing amount of control and training that those dogs have! Honestly, it's not really "training", although dogs trained to "stay" are easier to work with than those that have never heard the word. Dusty isn't trained to any high level of obedience, she doesn't even have any obedience letters after her name, she's just an inherently good girl that would rather die than do anything to displease me. I spent a lot of the afternoon taking pics of the other dogs and not her, and she just stayed close by me and didn't get in my way. Two of the other dogs ARE trained to a high level in obedience, but one of the others is a 17 month old pup and she was as good as the rest of them. All of them though, spend time at trials or shows, and I wonder if it's that background that gives them that inherent good behaviour.

Some of them will be submitted for the Australian Shepherd Club of Vics 2013 calendar. The submissions are closed for the 2012 one, but I'm hopeful that one of my pics will make it (Dusty asleep on a park bench).

Thanks for sharing your experience, I my be able to try this. Have you found that herding breeds like to always be that bit out in front even if not pulling? How long does it usually take for the average dog to learn with the technique you shared? My friend said it only took a few minutes for her dog to get the idea, then about another half hour to re-inforce it. None of my dogs pull on lead, that's not through good training, thats just sheer good luck. They tend to walk a little in front but without pulling. So I haven't tried it with them but it works with Shae, my herding dog......one tap of the stick in the space that she's not allowed in and she gets it. And I didn't have to teach it, she instinctively knew it.

Here's a way to teach a dog to walk beside you that doesn't use a special collar, harness or headpiece. My friend with a strong pulling Dobe tried this out at my suggestion and it works and it's now ingrained and the dog walks beside her, and gaits beside her in the show ring, unlike before when it was towing her along and she couldn't keep up. You need a stick or a riding crop or something straightish and longish. Have the dog on your left side as you normally would and the lead in your left hand. The stick is in your right hand and each time the dog pulls forward, bring the stick across and block the dog from stepping out ahead. The stick becomes an extension of yourself and the dog won't go where you are "claiming" the space. It all sounds a bit Cesar Milan-ish but it's a technique I've learned at herding to keep the dog from going between me and the sheep........I plant my stick in "my" space and she goes around me and moves the sheep as a group. It even works to keep the dog from nipping the sheep on the bum......if she starts, I tap the sheep to let her know they are MY sheep and she stays back away from MY space.