Gayle.

My guests were all very good and didn't feed the dogs anything, but they got the liquid from the slow cooker chicken ladled onto their kbble, along with some choice shreds of cooked chicken meat, then they got to lick some ice cream bowls. They're happy AND still healthy!

Lots and lots of backyarders truly think that having the parent dogs up to date with vaccinations IS health testing. Combine that with worming and vaccinating the puppies and they think they have all the health tests covered.

You can apply for a license for an experimental breed, but you'd need to have a clear idea of your purpose for wanting to create that breed and a thorough understanding of genetics so that you apply your knowledge correctly to create what you're after. And you'd need to realise that along the way, you'll be bringing hundreds or thousands of puppies into the world who won't meet your "standard" and will have to be ethically dealt with. They will be mongrel puppies, if you are crossing breeds to get to your goal......or really bad examples of an existing breed if you are selectively breeding to develop a different breed.

I just ignore it and don't get into it with them. It's not illegal to cross breed, just ridiculous. They think they're right and they're doing the dog world huge favours and it's like talking to a brick wall so I don't bother.

Burmese aren't "just" cats........they are the most awesome cats ever and I'm so sad to hear one has left this world.

I'm hoping to get The Dog Owners Manual by Karen Hedberg for Christmas. I've heard it's full of excellent info and I'm really looking forward to reading it.

But why get another dog? If they can't cope with a certain behaviour why bring another dog into the same situation?

I'm just flabbergasted that someone who had an apparently perfectly trained dog that they supposedly loved would rehome it because of one small issue. Maybe I need to look closely at the one of mine who growls at other dogs when she's onlead, or the one who tries to herd me so I walk faster to his play area. Or the one who barks when anyone comes to the door. Then there's the one who regularly jumps the 170cm gate and hightails it off down the road. I love them with all my heart and soul and despite their shortcomings and their little issues, I can't for the life of me imagine sending them somewhere else to live. They aren't disposable items, to be replaced by a better model because the last one wasn't quite suited to the task.

Mastiffs aren't a common bred, they aren't a dog you'd be expecting to see in most neighbourhoods and if you see a pedigree one for the first time, I'll guarantee you'll stop and turn for a second look. Giant, majestic dogs. Dunno where all these ones come from that run around making mastiff crosses!

I'm actually a bit mean in Christmas day, my dogs get their regular kibble, a raw chicken leg each and one treat. They don't get lunch leftovers, the chooks get them. One year we gave them dried roo tails and they had the runs for a few days. So no drastic change to their diets, they don't cope as well as we do.

No alcohol please. A drunk dog is NOT funny, and it's very dangerous to allow a dog access to the dregs.

I love driving too, but I can't afford to go that far very often so I'll be saving my long trips for special show weekends like the Albury international in August. And my son is moving to Canberra in January so I'm going to peruse their show circuit and see if I can enter a few weekends there seeing as I'll have free accommodation.

Yeah, it's too far so I'll just send an entry.

I have no idea where Tallangatta is, so it's probably too far for me to travel.

Your breed actually does have a breed specific rescue, they are Australian Shepherd Rescue in WA and it's where I got Shae from. She came to me with main register papers. Fortunately there aren't a lot of Aussies in WA needing rescue but they are there if needed. And in Vic, NSW, Tas....if an Aussie shows up in a pound or shelter, it only has to be mentioned on the Aus Shep email list and the cogs start turning for the dog to be moved to a safe location and a suitable home found. It doesn't happen often, but the speed with which they move is remarkable.

Already I know of one person who is travelling to Newborough specifically because there are neuter classes. She would not have entered any of her dogs otherwise, but now she'll probably enter her two regular show dogs as well as her neuter.

Ther are already 3 in Victoria in January. Two in Newborough and one at KCC Park. That's probably more than the amount that were held in Vic for the whole of this year.

You need to train a pup not to jump, they don't automatically know not to do it and if your previous dog didn't work out because it was jumpy, its likely a mini schnauzer won't work out either. What happened to your previous dog?

People do think that though. I remember a conversation with my sons ex girlfriend when I was arranging the arrival of a pedigree dog from interstate. She told me I should go to a pound to get a dog because I'd save a life. I said I didn't want one of those dogs though, I wanted an Australian Shepherd with a pedigree. She insinuated that by getting the dog I wanted, I'd be condemning another dog to death. But I would never have gone to the pound for a dog because I only wanted what I wanted and not just any dog.

I got Shaes back in time, I posted the entry off this week. I had sent her pedigree off to get her PT added and marked as spayed at the same time then had the entry for the Cranbourne show ready and waiting for her papers.

I would love to be able talk further about this .......but just quickly from my own experience manning the phone for our rescue and dealing with the pounds and surrenders ......the staffy/bull breed crosses would be no 1 type dog found in the council pounds . Out of the 9 purebred dogs that we have available for adoption atm 5 are from registered breeders . Three were surrendered by their owners directly and two came in via the vets where they had been taken in for euthanasia.Three of the other four came from pounds so we don't know where they originated from. That sounds like a high percentage....4 of 9, but is that because pedigree dogs are more likely to be claimed by rescue or offered to rescue groups by vets? I check our local pound website most days and it's rare that I see purebred dogs on there, and if they are, they are generally gone by the next day. The majority are staffy x, JRT x, working breed mixes, pig dogs etc. The most common "purebred" would be the BYB staffy.

Mine are all from different lines. My old boy Benson was from different lines again and he was neutered very young and developed a horrid coat. Thick woolly undercoat and a harsh wiry outer coat that picked up everything. I would never get an Aussie neutered that young again, I'd at least allow the adult coat to develop but that's what his breeder wanted.

Not as much as the ones in the snow but they still look more matted or more ragged than a Puli, especially a Puli in show coat.

Jesus, where on earth is that being aired? How to do yourself the most harm in 30 seconds. Can't see too many rescue organisations benefitting from that little bit of drama.

My entire Aussies have a different coat texture to the neuters....it's silkier and smoother and debris drops out of it. The neuters are more "cottony" and fluffier and they pick up burrs and twigs that I have to comb out. They also have more coat than the entires as they don't do a seasonal coat drop. I prefer the coats of the entire dogs, it's easier to maintain and it's more "moderate". I like the look of the Puli, love watching them at shows, there are some sensational little ones in Vic that just storm around the ring and show off to everyone. I think the coat would be the most work while the cords are forming, they don't seem to have the matted appearance of the Komondor though, neither does the poodle.