SpikesPuppy

Is it my imagination or do the Aussies have rounder, tighter cat-like feet wheras the BCs seem to have smaller, more oval shaped feet?

I think a minute silence at the start of the show is a great idea. A wall of rememberance for the members/dogs lost would also be nice. I am not entered but will be having a day of reflection at home.

that is brilliant. :D It gets frustrating at times though because she has no idea how big she is, and although she's not huge (23kg), she uses all her weight when she plays or jumps etc. Maybe I'm just jealous that she clearly has nothing to stress about? LOL. She also says hi to new people (including judges!) with an attitude like "HIIIIII I just met you but you're my new best friend!! Weeehhheeeeee. I love you" ;) At least she now keeps her 4 feet on the ground in the ring but can't stop the body wiggle. Oh, and she's 17 months :D

Many Aussies will not have a tail ;) although some do. If you see an Aussie & a BC side by side there are quite obvious conformation differences IMO. The Aussie is a more solid, squarer dog. They also have different shaped heads and earsets. BTW you can get tri coloured BCs As well as black & white Aussies with no rust/tan. Again with Koolies & Kelpies, if you saw them side by side the differences would, IMO, be fairly obvious.

Nessa is like this. We say she has little birdies instead of a brain She is ridiculously happy.

ooo thanx for that, I have sent a question in regards to weight to see if its alot heavier than the ccrate ones. One reason I want on is because I cant keep lugging her MASSIVE metal crate everywhere I swear it weights like 30kilos its sooo freaking heavy and my arms are still aching from carrying it around this weekend...that and trying to contain the very excited pointee who insisted on bounce bounce bouncing everywhere we went! Get a little hand trolley?? I just plonk our pen ontop of the show trolley and wheel it around. Or carry it if I don't have far to go- but this is difficult not because it's heavy, but because it's wide and I'm short so it's only about an inch of the ground when tucked under my armpit so it often bangs into the ground which hurts

Hmmm, I might have to dispute this. My dogs are like dairy cattle. If I do anything at the same time of day regularly, they notice & tell me when I change plans/timing. Mine are the same!! They know when the neighbour's kids are due home from school and sit at the window to see the excitement LOL. They also know when mum is due home from work etc.

Any Dane or Cav babies yet????

So fuzzy

I have been looking at that brand myself (the eBay one), currently have a Bona Fido brand one which is fine but not as 'smooth' as the C-Crate IMO. Definitely not the same quality but does the same job Never actually seen the eBay type in person though... but it looks shiny Just have to make sure it will fit in your car/trailer when folded up. We use ours when camping and have it 'permanently' set up with tent pegs in the ground just to ensure it's secure.

Victoria, Yarra Valley, it was during the same heat wave that brought us the Black Saturday bushfires, taken a few days before them I think. Iffykarma, Puck was laying out in 50C+ temps. ;) I can't see the picture due my work blocker but it must be something in the water in the valley. I still shake my head at my Sibe that day. She spent most of it lying on her back on the lawn in the full sun on that day , while I spent the afternoon packing everything up, getting the horses organised just in case, filling up the gutters and downpipes with water and spraying the embers that we had landing everywhere. Every so often I would spray her with the hose and she would look at my with a why did you go and disturb me look on her face Crazy dog Yep, Caber was the same that day!! Out on his side on the concrete in full sun it got up past 48degrees here and I had to coerce him inside with treats!! Nessa runs circles around the yard in any weather so if it's really hot we often take her out on lead otherwise she will end up collapsing or something.

Hopefully the real sire is on Main Register and has passed all of his health clearances etc. What a terrible situation for your colleague and what a negative thing for all registered breeders I know accidents do happen etc but the breeder didn't have to be so rude/suspicious about it!

That is really disappointing I'm glad that your dog got the wins he deserved but it's awful to think that you had to 'tell' the judges how good he was and they couldn't (wouldn't??) see it for themselves. Sometimes I wonder who the advertisements are aimed at?? I have been considering just taking out an ad for my guys- maybe for my new pup ;) just because I'm proud of them and it gives me warm fuzzies to see them in print :D but I guess most people do advertise to judges?? Don't see many stud adverts etc. I also see alot of ads where, as someone else said, the dog is almost an afterthought and the advert is mostly the handler, often in a very memorable outfit or hairstyle etc. I have also spoken to judges who have said, honestly, in each group you have a 'failsafe' breed, ie: "If in doubt put up the....." I think all judges should do their own thing but sometimes, I believe that there are other dogs that are just as, if not more correct than the big winners but they don't get noticed because a)the breed is not as exciting/flashy or b)the dog is not expertly handled. Or a judge may not be confident in putting up a less successful breed. I do recall overhearing a judge talking to the exhibitor of the dog they gave Group to..... the dog they gave group to was actually NOT the dog they thought it was and the eventual winner had been brought along to bump up the points needed for the Grand :rofl: On the whole though, I believe the majority of the dogs are honest otherwise I wouldn't waste my time. And advertising is okay but I admit, I stopped buying National Dog as I got sick of seeing the same dogs (and handlers!) every bloody month.

You know, come to think of it- I don't recall seeing anything from the RSPCA speaking negatively of puppy farms??? I was a member for a few years when I was a kid (and before I knew the truth) and got regular newsletters etc. Lots of articles and distressing pictures of battery hens, piggery cruelty, docked puppies, international meat trade, even poor starving cattle and horses with no trees to shelter under as well as individual cruelty acts (neglect, amputations, festering wounds or too tight collars etc) as well as anti-hunting campaigns. But I honestly cannot think of a single lone article on puppy farm hellholes????? Am I wrong??

Really! My mum had one when she was young. I never knew they were in Australia. Yep, these were just brought over as pets though (also this was about 6 years ago) and the breed isn't yet ANKC recognised. This person had one black & tan and one rich gold. Everyone thought the golden one was a Golden Retriever and expected it to have that cuddly temperament. They seem like fantastic dogs for the right, dedicated people I would consider them if they were more readily available.

Come on Ruby!!! We're waiting anatolian- wow they will keep you busy

I know that there are a few Hovawarts in Victoria (they also come in gold/yellow) so that probably is your mystery breed :D Used to go to obedience with two :D Beautiful dogs.

He is a dag :D I'm glad I taught him though as he knows how to put his toys away etc. It's just he doesn't know that a visitor's handbag is a no go zone :D

yep, next show isn't 'til the end of Feb (if they accept the late entries) so I can't even live vicariously :D I will have to bug you instead :) Is that the Bendigo shows SP Hope you can make it :p Not Bendigo- Berwick I think?? Champ. and Open. Same weekend anyway. Next year we will do Bendigo :D

It would be nice to have a large club with the funds/entry numbers AND a range of specialist judges to choose from There aren't that many BT specialist judges in the World. Biggest specialty entry I am aware of for my breed in Australia was 76 under a reknowned international specialist (this was also coupled with a Terrier specialty the following day judged by another reknowned breed specialist).

Caber lies on the hot concrete :D

This is true. They already have the power to seize dogs in puppy farm situations (matted fur etc) so why the Hell don't they do it?????

We're all so pathetic waiting here for results Grp 2 and 5 please

This is a reality that I understand and accept. However I am offering a full refund on desexing for all my puppies which will hopefully encourage people to have it done (although I don't personally agree with the operation myself). I have chosen to breed pups and I have chosen to sell them- I think I am doing a good job vetting people so far, all people and families who I believe will do the best by the dog. But it is still a risk, even selling to my best friend is no guarantee the dog will have a good, loving, forever home. Yes & yes. Do you believe that registered pedigree dogs deserve to be relegated to kennels to whelp instead of in their owner's bedrooms?? No dog deserves to be treated poorly, I am not saying puppy farms should be denied or swept under the rug but I believe that registered breeders need to focus more on promoting our 'product' for a lack of a better term than bagging out puppy farms. Puppy farmers are not passionate about the dogs they breed- they are passionate about the money they make. As soon as the demand for their product falls- they will move onto another get rich quick scheme. If Joe Public knows that pure bred dogs from ethical breeders are really the way to go, he wont even think twice about buying that puppy in the pet shop. Another thing, many puppy farm websites already state how they are 'better' than hobby breeders because of their status as Registered Businesses. This will only strengthen that. SpikesPuppy, I am a member of a breed club - I believe in good ethical registered breeders. My post objected to your phrasing "I'm going to be extremely selfish here and say screw the puppy farms. Forget about them. " Maybe you need to edit that post if that is not what you meant.:D But it IS, in essence, what I meant. I am going to stop ragging on puppy farms and telling people how nasty they are (think about telling someone not to push the red button... they are going to push it!!) and I am going to focus solely on promoting ethical registered breeders and their dogs. I have seen countless articles on the news, current affairs programs and in the papers etc with stories on puppy farms, and yes, they make me cry, and yes, they make most people cry. But clearly, they do not work in deterring people from buying pups from these establishments. Example- when I was working in a pet supply store, someone brought in their 'Spoodle' puppy. Conversation turned to the article on TT the evening prior about the Ballarat puppy farm and the owner was horrified etc and "So glad" that she got her precious from one of the good puppy farms - she saw pictures of the rolling meadows Turns out she got the pup from B. Creek I truly believe there is already way too much regulation on dog ownership and breeding here in Victoria/Australia and too much money passing hands under the table for any more regulation to be of benefit to anyone- ethical breeders or the dogs. I am yet to see a single peice of legislation (passed or proposed) that actually benefits registered breeders and makes life difficult for large scale operations??