Amika

Like red cars go faster? LOL My breed is Bullmastiff, you have red, fawn and brindle in varying shades. I absolutely love deep reds. Its not the most important factor of course, and certainly not the deciding factor on the right dog / pup. I don't doubt I'll own a brindle and fawn eventually!

We participated last weekend also. One of the idea's I get from the test is that if anything it can to some point show that good companion dogs can be of any breed and that dogs should not be labelled agressive because of their "breed". Hence one of the reasons I participated. Having Bullmastiffs I like to take any opportunity to show how placid, friendly and easy going they are and squash peoples misconceptions.

MMMMmmmmm..... now to find the email with those cheap flights and some "HUMAN" disguises for the dogs and I'll be right there

He was born on Valentines Day so how bout - Valentino's Shadow Heart Spark Love Shadow Shadow's Love Heart Breaker Heart Throb Blackheart (Braveheart) LOL Made for Lovin' Thinking, thinking, ..... I love namings

Aaaaahhhhh funny things fleas.........I once had a BIL who would not let my sister have a dog because they "have fleas and are dirty"! The moved in to a brand new home with brand new curtains and had a brand new baby, one day my sister went to get the baby from his cot and discovered a flea on him :D Turns out the new carpet in the new home was infested ;) Dogs are just the restaurant and taxi....... so needless to say once that was sorted, my sister got a dog!

One of our male bullterriers was 12mths older than my youngest daughter(now 21) once she started walking he started doing exactly what you have described your goldie doing, only it wasn't when she arrived home from work . First time I saw it I was a little worried of course, but I watched him and he just would ever so gently pick up her hand in his mouth and walk with her and he only ever did it with her. He's been gone 10yrs now.

I think they're all awesome......but I need photography lessons! I'm inspired to get a "real" camera and take lessons . OT from OP but I love coming in here to see everyones work......just inspiring! You're all fantastic!

Awwwww love all the pic's. Stonebridge love your trio.....especially the Bulldog, was always going to get me one of those LOL. B&C.....best photo's yet!

I was thinking the same thing. I grew up on a farm so there were always plenty of dogs around but when I wanted my own, we got a Corgi. Loved him. + 1 here. We had a Corgi as kids and she was awesome!! Sturdy, loyal, lovable, energetic etc etc, I ask myself why have I never had another......and I think it's cos I like the brachy breeds.

Hope nobody minds but wanted to share too. Like most I'm usually the one behind the camera too.

Well I can't pick either of my two up......65 and 52 kg, but I still get tired of the little dogs of all breeds who rush up and bark in their faces and the owners do nothing about it because "they're small dogs and can't do any damage". No they may not be able to, but they still cause problems and should be undercontrol, after all mine have to be otherwise they would be targeted and blamed for any bad outcome.

I use to own a vineyard and had various dogs over the years grow up and live out there lives on the property. Some would pick the grapes from the vines occassionally or eat the dried sultana's as we use to dry as well as wine. The only time I needed to take any of my dogs to the vet,(except for vaccinations) was from snake bite. They would also pick oranges and mandarins, break open the walnuts and eat the nuts. Good luck with your property, it's a great lifestyle, one I miss immensley!

In my thinking, and my case as I see it, the two go hand in hand. If I'm home the dogs generally hang with me more but also take direction from me over others (pack leader), but..... in saying that, when my children were younger the dogs were always watchful over the kids but mindful of where I was at all times........got me pondering about this even more now. And thinking of things now, if ever you've played around to see "who the dog loves more" (just for fun) we've often sat at opposite ends of a room or outside and called to see which one the dog would choose to go to.....I've always won. As a kid I think I bonded more with our "family" dogs than any other member of the family too, so maybe it's something about me that I don't realise or understand????? I've always been seen as the doggy member of the family right from young.

I'd agree with most that the dogs usually choose, however what Jed says is something that I have tried myself although my daughter was older. While our "family" dogs have always been with the kids, they were always bonded more to myself. (comes with them working with me I guess). So when my eldest decided she was ready for a "dog of her own" she expressed to me that I was not to pat it or feed it etc. It worked for us, her dog did become more bonded to her. Mind you I had fun teasing her.....stealing a pat or a cuddle from time to time! Not sure if the breed had anything to do with it, he was a Pug, wonderful little fellow.

No haven't forgotten, Mungo couldn't care less but Sienna always lets me know if I've let feed time slip the slightest over what she considers feed time and if I have a pm shift I always know if the family haven't fed them before I get home......it's the first thing Sienna lets me know! Such a piggy!

I actually loved seeing and photographing the dogs in Thailand. While they may not be kept to the standards to which we expect, they all seem to live in harmony.......to the balance of nature, something I think our "Civilised" western societies have mucked up. They know their place without question and I didn't see any "altercations" between any of the dogs themselves (I'm sure at times there would be the normal heirachy behaviour...mum scolding pup etc) and no agression shown towards people. I'd love to spend more time over there observing. In the area we stayed there were lots of donation boxes to help feed the dogs on the street.

Mine come on holiday too, unless it's over seas and then one of the family are usually home to babysit anyway. My family all know that if I'm coming to visit that means the dogs are coming too and thats how it's always been. People would think there was something wrong if the dogs weren't with me.

mmmm....ok, winter stink up around our new chiminea. Loads of baked beans for dinner. Then we'll see who deserves the most sprays. By the way, decided to get really active and change more bedroom sheets. This time in the girls rooms, and I spritzed a bit of the lavender odour go around the air and on the flyscreen of the windows. Extremely pleasant... nothing like I expected. I thought lavender might be a bit overpowering, but it was very nice. Hubby comes out of bathroom after I'd recently pepperminted the drain in there and says "who did a minty poo"

I was thinking about this too.....my male is one of those that has a very strong odour would be nice to have something that could tone it done LOL....mind you I still haven't tried the apple cider vinegar which diluted 50/50 with water is suppose to do the trick!

Along with information on themselves,breed, history and standard. I like to see lots of photo's of their dogs....not just professional stacked ones, not just photo's of show wins, I like to see candid shots. Photo's that show that the breeder and dogs have a personality and it's not just a business and all about show wins. And I like a little bit of "candid" information about each dog too, not just a list of their achievements and pedigree. Hmmmmm.....sounds like I prefer a "relaxed" environment to a "business" environment. Don't you hate how banks are always sooooooo quiet?

And it is a great idea - getting more rescue dogs into good homes. As long as they are genuine rescues and the homes are screened, why not? Pets at Home have a pin board up with what Lort Smith have on offer and people have to refer to Lort Smith if interested, they don't have the animals at the store.

Love the pic's, thanks for sharing.

It's too bad she's in Cairns, my OH would have happily taken her on, but would be better if she can be kept by someone near her owner who would be willing to take her in for visits.

Don't the dogs do every trip with you? LOL They're great at supervising the unpacking and checking out whose getting which room etc...... well thats the way we've always done it Good luck with it all, I hate moving and I've moved more times than I care to remember and I'm sure I will again. LOL

I think there is a flip side to this, dogs who are raised with kids generally become use to their noise and movement. Maybe you could spend more time in areas with kids and let your dog/dogs become accustomed to childrens play behaviour. Im not saying let the kids annoy the crap out of your dog, tease etc as we all know thats unacceptable but just sit near a kids playground and let your dog watch etc, maybe even interact once it seems more confident around them. It's just another form of socialisation. Edit - You could also use this time to educate kids on how to approach dogs, ask permission before patting etc etc. A learning experience for the kids and the dogs.