nikivds

they are great aren't they? I'm so happy that ruth granted me a free session as a winner of her monthly free sessions, she was very easy to work with and I am amazed at how well the photos turned out

Hi guys, ruhtless did a great photoshoot with my two boys on sunday and I jus wanted to show them off Here is the link to her blog where the pics are posted pepe and nossi photo shoot Thanks again Ruth

I think they are much harder to tell apart since docking was ruled out, I am suprised at how many people have never seen a full tailed Aussie or merle border!! In the agility ring merles are everywhere! I've only seen one red Merle though, I think blue merle borders are the flavour of the month in agility atm. Also since they stopped docking all the Aussies that have joined our agility club have full tails (2 so far), allthough they can be natural bobs so if you see one with a bob or short tail it's likely to he an aussie. I think the only way to tell them apart is that Aussies are generally stockier and more square as mentioned by others previously. With all the working lines etc. it is becoming more difficult with kelpies and koolies now. I saw a new Zealand border that looked like a stocky, hairy greyhound the other day but he came from pure working border lines. Who knows, sometimes it's best to just ask, especially with all the border colours coming out of the woodworks now, I saw a blue Merle with tan points the other day that I mistook for an Aussie. My 2 cents

Probably, I think I have heard of chaos if that's the one you mean

thanks smoothie girl

while we're showing agility comp videos... here are 2 of pepe's runs (my staffy x i mentioned earlier), festival of agility "top 40 run off" for agility dog of the year in NSW (you need to be invited by doing well in regional qualifying heats throughout the year) where he came 3rd behind a koolie x and a border x kelpie (considering they are much bigger than him i think he did well! (and he was only beaten by just over a second) masters agility in coffs harbour, second place behind a kooliex there are many more videos of him on there, he tends to place 1st more often in jumping because our contacts are still a bit slow. (excuse my taking over the thread but i just wanted to show ou how good terrers can be)

I thought socialisation would be very important as with most terriers, I currently own a stafford x who has the typical terrier temperament, he was da with large dogs when I first got him but now he's good unless another dog picks a fight with him, which I think is fair. Tiggy I am still looking at staffords ;) I'm trying to decide between the two but I think manchesters have a better body type for agility. Pepe is much finer than a pure stafford so he copes well with the demands of the sport. I really love the stafford temperament but o haven't met a Manchester in real life so I can't compare them till I do. I am definitely still considering staffords.

Thanks so much for all of the info, I have found it VERY helpful!!! Is it common to see them at conformation shows?? I'm going to an agility trial in march with my staffy and there's a show on at the same time so I was going to have a look. They seem to be exactly my kind of dog so I would love to meet one. Thanks again for the advice

Hey guys, I'm looking for a bit more information on Manchester terriers from people's own experience. If you own one or know what it's like to own one can you give me some details (eg. Is your dog driven? Dog friendly? Playful etc). Any information in regards to their suitability for agility would also be appreciated Thanks

I compete in agility with a Staffy x and a greyhound x. The staffy matches and often beats any kelpies that compete in masters with us, he is extremely driven whilst the greyhound x is not as motivated. What I'm trying to get to is that terriers can be just as good as kelpies and any other breed, it depends on the individuals and how they are raised. Having said that, if you want to get really competitive in agility you would probably be more likely to get a driven, fast kelpie than any of the other breeds you mentioned. I suggest going to some trials, maybe finding some agility vids on YouTube and talking to the owners about their experiences etc. Going to breed shows would also be beneficial so you can get more of an idea which of the breeds you prefer. If you're not going to be very competitive in agility thN I wouldn't worry about the breed's suitability for agility as most breeds can do agility to some degree. Just remember most kelpies are active and need daily mental and physical stimulation.

I wonder how many other people are saying just that... The council didn't put however much into a dog park for one group of ladies. I think you can put in an anonymous complaint, or ask for your identity to be kept anonymous at least. I wonder how many dogs that dog has caused to become fear aggressive. I wonder if that is going to transfer over to a human. For the sake of the dogs I'd be reporting her, anonymously though - No body wants to be spoken badly of, I do understand that Yeah that might be an idea, thanks

Yeah i thought about that but these ladies knd of 'own' the park and I thnk f report the dog they will all carry on about it every time i go to the park. I think i will just avoid that park and go to the other one. thanks though

i have been following these dogs on youtube for a while, they do some awesome tricks, and agility too! They can stand on two legs (both on the same side, ie one front and one back leg), do hand stands, hold newspapers, balance on medicine balls, hop on their hind legs etc. truly amazing trainer!

hi guys, interesting thread! I have a few comments about my local dog parks too, one of them is pretty good, usually always has the same people and most of the dogs are friendly, there is just one that really annoys me because its a group of old ladies that are often at the park (I haven't been able to pinpoint a particular time so I can't avoid them) and one of them has an afghan, these ladies just sit at the picnic table and talk and don't really keep an eye on their dogs and this afghan is very territorial. I brought my rescue dog nos into the park to play, (he particularly loves dog parks because his favourite thing is to play chase) and the afghan bolted over to him stood over the top of him and started growling and lifting his lip. Nossi just lay on his back and whimpered and then the dog started having a go at hime and snapping. I ran over and pushed to afghan off and took nos to the oval outside of the park and walked him around on lead instead. Later when the afghan left I let nos back in and another lady who saw it all said "oh don't worry about him (the afghan) he just thinks he owns the park and he's a bit territorial with new dogs". This relaxed attitude really cheesed me off because poor nossi is already submissive and he was petrified. Now when we go to this park he always starts to whimper and doesn't want to get out of the car. Although once he is in there he is fine. I just dont go in if the afghan is there. One more thing, our other dog park is HUGE (a showground with an offleash oval) and this is great for me because my little staffyx hates being crowded and rushed by young bouncy dogs (which i find happens a lot at dog parks) so at this place I can usually just go to another part of the park and everything is fine because most people's dogs will stay near them. Today however there were these people with 3 huskies and the people were just sitting on the grass having a chat and ignoring their dogs, initially I didn't mind but when I was at the other end of the park (1/2 an acre in size) and I could barely even see the people anymore the huskies were still following me and my dogs around and bothering us and the people did nothing about it! On top of that one of them did a poo and the owners didn't even notice and when I went around and filled up the water bowl at the park the huskies drank the whole thing empty the poor things were so thirsty, obviously their owners hadnt bothered to take them over to the water and fill it up! I just hate it when I'm enjoying a nice walk with my dogs offleash (it is an offleash park) and someone else's dogs are constantly following us around and the owners don't even notice their dogs are a few hundred metres away. Anyway there is my little rant for the day, usually this park is pretty good so I think I am pretty lucky. Thanks for making this thread so I know I'm not alone in my frustrations of irresponsible owners.

I have a staffy x italian greyhound (awesome agility dog) and a whippet x... (staffy/kelpie???)

I have a lot to say on this topic and have filled out the survey (and added a mini essay in the extra comments box) thanks for the link

great photos guys! justiceshades- aren't those paws cute they look huge in that pic too, make him look like a puppy again

and our card for this year :D

I just wanted to share another one of nos who is getting sick of Christmas photos :D

wow i just read this whole thread too and it is very heartwarming, well done for saving so many worthy lives! merry christmas to your family, including the fur kids of course

Thanks

Awesome photos guys!! Here's our 2009 christmas card featuring pepe my rescue staffy, he was very tempted to eat the candy cane

thanks =D he is 5 but he started at 12 months, I have a staffy whippet x 6 month old who has begun very basic puppy training but will be doing real agility later

pepe, my staffy x italian greyhound doing agility! http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=wToXm--WVaQ http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=df0WyjIolnM plus his awesome little "go to sleep" trick!!!! http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=SYobvFRX9JM xx niki, pepe, nossi, sam and dotti