RiverStar-Aura

@JamesI I think Sumpy was a blue/tan Australian Terrier -- a breed very close to my heart and in my opinion, one of the best breeds ever! They are still around today but harder to come across; usually when I have my own Aussie out and about, people ask if she's an Aussie and when I say yes, the reply is usually "I had one of those growing up back in the day and it was the best dog ever!" If you need help in sourcing perhaps an older Aussie, let me know because there are a lot of breeders I can name and recommend for you. This is Kirah, my current Aussie Blue/tan pups are born all black and as they get older the tan head comes up more and more. From your photo, both dogs look quite young!

If the plan is to sit and watch the dog run off lead then I wouldn't recommend any breed personally. No owner should be sitting in an off lead park and this is one of my biggest peeves. I would suggest something medium in size -- maybe up to about 22kg. A breed I've fallen in love with for both size and temperament is the German Pinscher and I've met a few through showing and agility. They are an active breed so will require mental and physical stimulation though. i also like the Schipperke but probably too much coat for what your parents are after.

A lot of shedding is caused by the undercoat too rather than the topcoat so make sure you're not just brushing/combing the top layer. Then, you might as well learn to live by my phrase: I don't have dogs to be clean or wear white.

Bart truly looks like such a lovely goober in every aspect of the word. He looks so happy and at home and might I add spoilt! Just a question, is Bart currently allowed out in public without a muzzle? I understand he's going for his green collar temp test tomorrow so I'm assuming not. Mostly I was wondering if the law differs in different states. Sometimes I think it's such a shame greys are required to wear muzzles because every one I've met to date are just amazing and have wonderful temperaments (even if they are muzzled) to the point I joke that many SWFs I see should be muzzled instead.

I never get very worried over studies like these because I personally don't see the point of labelling different breeds as intelligent or not. What they always fail to take into consideration is the individual purpose of each breed, which of course will dictate its ability to learn. Those breeds in the lower tiers deemed as the least effective working dogs are mostly hounds, who would normally work independently. In my eyes, why would a dog bred for independence need to learn a trick quickly as their jobs don't rely on following directions from a human. Terriers are another lot. In my experience, terriers are definitely NOT stupid by any means and in fact are far smarter than a border collie IMO. A BC will just do what it's told whereas a terrier will question why it should do something. I always think a BC would jump off a cliff because it was told to, whereas a terrier would look at you with a head tilt as if saying "why would I want to do that?" In any case, I'm a sucker for a terrier and would choose a dog with attitude and question everything over one who would blindly follow whatever it was told any day!!

I don't know if it would work for where you go biking but I've seen those little trailer things that attach to the back of bikes -- they're usually designed for toddlers but I'm sure would be a good size for your girl. I've attached a link with pictures of what I mean. This one is pretty expensive at $1000 but it's the type of trailer I mean: https://www.bikeexchange.com.au/a/bike-trailers/croozer/vic/carlton/croozer-kid-for-two-plus-new/102615741

So sad to read this update Dame Aussie; you must be absolutely devastated. Take comfort in knowing you've tried your absolute best. You have to look out for your family and I'm sure you'll be able to find a wonderful child-free home for him. Best of luck to you

As someone who really, really, REALLY, loves the novel I was deeply disgusted and angered by this video. I didn't/couldn't watch to the end because seeing the poor, clearly terrified dog being thrown into the water was enough. I can't understand why a dog comfortable with rushing water wasn't used and horrified by the lack of caring shown by all those on set. Had it been my dog being used for that scene and I saw that going down, there's absolutely no way in h*ll I'd be letting it continue.

Thanks for that info PK. I'll definitely start making enquires because I love watching dogs sniff around.

What a fantastic story and thanks for sharing! I love greys too and I often get excited when I see them being walked around my neighbourhood. Bart looks so comfortable and at home already -- he's definitely fitting in and taking over!

I personally don't see any real benefit in pet insurance and would much rather money in a bank account accruing interest. People assume that because they've got pet insurance all their vet bill woes will be solved, which I don't think is an accurate representation at all. Insurance only kicks in *after* the fact so people can still be initially hit with bills for thousands of dollars (even the likes of $10000+). If the money for those amounts can't be sourced then surgeries can't/won't go ahead anew most specialists require an up front payment before commencing any initial treatment. Call me sceptical but I just find the whole area of pet insurance to be just another money grab for these multi billion dollar companies.

Wandering cats can also be attributed to the incessant barking of neighbourhood dogs too. I have a vancant block next to us and is a hotspot for the neighbourhood cats, which in turn sets my dogs off both day and night. I'm frequently chasing them from our front lawn and they've turned one of our front garden beds into the local toilet and of course the garden they've chosen to use is the one right at our front door. Of course I don't allow my dogs to bark incessantly though; I'll tell them they've been good for alerting me to the cat, chase the cat(s) away then proceed to tell them that's enough. It's hard though because my poor dogs get so aroused whenever they spy a cat and if I could trust them to come back, I'd be very tempted to open the front gate and allow them to chase after the bastards! My own cat stays inside my backyard and has done so since a kitten. She's more than happy to stay inside our boundaries and has never once left the property (although she's mostly an inside cat). Here she is pretending to be a plant!

The puppy is the breeder's property and as such, they're under no real obligation to sell it to you. You've been offered a refund of your deposit so I'd be accepting it back and saying thanks. Perhaps the breeder doesn't have a puppy they feel is suitable for you at this time and as you've been waiting for such a long time, they've offered the refund. I don't know the circumstances but I'm glad you're getting your money back.

I'll look into it because I *might* be moving to the Penrith area soon, which makes Castle Hill a little easier to get to. If not, I'm pretty sure there's a place here that offers K9 Nose Works classes. The only problem I have is that Messr Zeusling is more food orientated than toy -- although he does have an epic 'where is it?' search command in the backyard in which he'll hunt out whatever his chosen toy du jour is. He's not too good out of the backyard where there are just ZOMG!!!!!!! SO MUCH SMELLZ OF GUDNEZ!!!

It looks so fun but I've often wondering if entering my beagle into any kind of scent competition akin to cheating, especially as he's a scent hound!