wuffles

The only one I have to list is our family dog, Pokey the CKCS. He was PTS at 10 due to a brain tumour. (Pictured with a young me and our friend's toy poodle, Sophie)

I just wanted to pipe in with an example of what happened when we left my dogs inside the house once and went to work. My dogs don't have separation anxiety... They are usually confined to the backyard when we go to work, but the previous night had been very stormy and was predicted to continue. Our older boy is storm phobic so we thought we'd leave both of them indoors for a day. I left them with Kongs and toys and both were exercised for an hour before we left. I came home after 8 hours and I found... Some serious furniture rearrangement, both dog beds, a beanbag, the rug, all been strategically moved to opposite ends of the house. A bunch of magnets from the fridge on the floor, plus a few magnetic takeaway menus in a million tiny pieces all over the house. Two wees on the carpet. One of them had managed to pull an 8 pack of mini Coke bottles from the kitchen bench, still in the packaging... well, they were in the packaging until the dogs got to them. So I found 8 mini Coke bottles strewn over the house in various stages of chewedness... and the corresponding Coke all over the floor and carpet. I found 3 in our bedroom (one under the bed), 3 in the lounge room and 2 in the living room. .... Over a year later they are finally getting back left-alone-in-house privileges for a few hours at a time. I hope you are able to get some help as it sounds very stressful.

But some of them have no teeth. My guess is that perhaps there may be an alternate view that a dog with primitive detention that loses teeth at an early age may be considered a "health issue" by some outside the breed. And its only a guess but no other breed feature I can identify would promote veterinary interest Epilation for show ring preparation was what Jemima Harrison had in her sights. Good grief what a load of tripe Why? To the general public, epilation for a dog isn't normal.

Could it be that cresties are just listed as a "high profile" breed because they look "funny" to the public?

With the "leave it" command and food, one way to do it is to use a piece of biggish flat food like a piece of Schmacko. Put it on the ground and if she goes to eat it, put your foot over it. You can progress to dropping it on the ground and then to other objects. For a specific object, if you are having trouble teaching "leave it" and can't simply put it out of reach (my best suggestion!), how about giving a gentle "uh uh" every time she goes towards it and rewarding her when her focus goes back to you?

I don't have a problem when people who don't know the breed of my dog take a stab in the dark, or ask, but I really hate when they act like I'm lying to them when I tell them her actual breed like they know it all. People who have been training with me at dog club since Ava was a puppy still try to tell me she's a border collie. Comments like "she's the strangest looking Australian Shepherd I've ever seen" are just rude IMO

Interesting, how many dogs wouldn't be all over visitors like a rash if they weren't locked away? Mine certainly settle after a short period but my girl (the "human focussed one") will follow the visitors around, lie at their feet, bring them toys, stare at them lovingly, lean on them... you get the drift. She's outside or crated if non-doggy visitors are around. I don't see her behaviour as strange, or annoying, it's just her. It sounds like the dog is very interactive, and once again I don't think this is strange behaviour, just obviously different than they're used to. And I still say I don't see what's wrong with rehoming in this situation. If that's not the type of dog that they feel they can live with comfortably, then so be it. There are lots of people out there who would love a friendly, wriggly lab to keep them company.

How do you handle dogs that stop dead in their tracks to go to the toilet? I'm still in early stages of training but I'm scared to go faster for this reason... it's so unpredictable!!!

Agree megan_. Our first (rescue) dog is very independent, doesn't follow you around, doesn't even get up when you come home half the time. Our second dog is completely velcro, thinks she's a lap dog, is very affectionate. My OH prefers the independence, I prefer the cuddler, and TBH it took a while to get used to such a velcro dog. I can see how it would annoy some people.

They do go swimming at the beach and at a lake, the lake does have ducks on it but my friends dogs come with each time and none of them have ever had the runs. They also do have a clam shell pool but it's cleaned out regularly, weird thing is older dog will have it for a day but the younger one will get the runs for like 2 weeks. My younger girl has a much more sensitive tummy than my boy. The only thing she had that she gave to him, she was sick for 2 weeks and he was fine after 2 days. He has eaten absolutely disgusting things before (for example a whole bird skeleton) but simple things like bird/cat poo, stale water or old bones give my girl the runs without fail. I pour boiling water over the spots they have been, if either of them has diarrhea, just in case. Not sure if it does much...

Could it be that your yard/environment is reinfecting them? I would have thought that something like giardia would show up in the tests but maybe not? Do they go swimming? Eat bird poo? Clam shell pool?

Totally agree with this. Edit: Just to contradict some of the other posters here who suggest it is a bit of a second dog syndrome, I disagree. I have a MUCH stronger bond with our second dog.

Only convenience as far as I am aware. I use Interceptor Spectrum instead :)

Agree. The irony amuses me. Now people are assuming that people who don't like kids must have been mistreated as children. Interesting. I don't mind children in general, but I am a 27 year old woman and have the natural instincts kicking in. Just this afternoon I was in a supermarket with kids running up and down the aisles playing tag... IMO inappropriate and it's really hard to think "I love kids" after being subjected to an hour of that :laugh: But then at the checkout there was a lovely little girl with her mum, well behaved and quiet. At least she reminded me there are kids I DO like :)

No, it's the same. Most dogs are fine with it. Most, if not all, of the top premium brand kibbles are a similiar size. Cheap, inferior brands mainly have the large kibble. I've used 3 different super premium brands other than Black Hawk and Black Hawk has been the smallest kibble by far. Yes it is small but not a huge amount smaller than some of the others i have used. I had/have no issue with the size, was just responding to sheena's comment :)

No, it's the same. Most dogs are fine with it. Most, if not all, of the top premium brand kibbles are a similiar size. Cheap, inferior brands mainly have the large kibble. I've used 3 different super premium brands other than Black Hawk and Black Hawk has been the smallest kibble by far.

Ava likes anything with animals: any kind of animal, even cartoons. She'll pretty much have a good look at anything with movement including sporting matches. Satch doesn't seem to be able to comprehend the TV at all, unless staring at the speaker when there's a cat counts :laugh:

Anyone who lives around Palmerston please be vigilant with your dogs and properties (including ensuring no loose palings and locking your gates) if this boy is ever released.

One of mine is fine to change foods straight away, the other... She has a bit of a sensitive tum (pity she's also a garbage guts). We've tried a few. Royal Canin (both did well on this despite the ingredients not LOOKING as good in writing), Advance (not so good), Coprice (bad bad bad), Black Hawk (did well and good condition except my girl developed a health condition and on vet's advice we changed foods), and now they have Pro Plan Lamb & Rice (which they are doing great on).

Keep it away from cat poop Seriously, both of mine will guzzle the stuff if given the opportunity.

Thank all, you have confirmed what I thought :) We have no problems with weight (but he does have our other dog to keep up with :laugh:) or anything else.

In agility? Absolutlely. He will also need to be desexed to be registered as an Associate (but I see that he is). In conformation? I'm afraid not. If you're looking for an activity to tide you over before agility, how about Obedience? Associates can do that. oh phew thank you! No I didn't think he could be entered in breed etc but for a second there I thought our agility dreams has been crushed. Aren't breed shows what you were talking about entering in your original post, "until you can do agility"?

As above, with no pedigree papers you cannot show him in conformation shows. You can still enter obedience, rally obedience, agility, tracking, herding, dances with dogs, flyball and endurance trials with him... so there is still plenty to do! ;) All of these do obviously take training and you can find the rules for each of them here: http://www.ankc.org.au/Rules.aspx It is useful to go along to one of the trials in the calendar (without your dog) to watch to get an idea of what goes on. It's even more useful if there is an obedience or agility club nearby which will help you out! To enter these dog sports you need to register Beau as an associate, as well as become a member of DogsWest yourself. You don't have to be a member of the individual clubs to enter their trials. Hope that makes sense :)

I believe that in Aussies missing teeth (as opposed to lost teeth) is quite a large issue. It's listed as a fault in the standard, but not a serious or disqualifying one, so I guess it should be judged in line with the dog as a whole.

I have two dogs, one is a 7 year old large mixed breed and the other is a 2 year old Aussie. At the moment they are both fed Pro Plan Adult (plus bones, sardines, egg, mince, some tinned, etc). Is there any reason to switch my 7 year old over to the Senior version of the food? It is marketed for 7 years+. My boy is a bit of an "old" 7 year old if that makes sense, but he is in good health and good condition and gets exercised daily. He gets Joint Guard added to his food because his hips are a bit questionable. My thoughts are if it ain't broke, don't fix it, and it's more convenient for me to feed both dogs the same thing. I just wondered if anyone knew of good reasons to switch.