pip1981

I'm really sorry this happened to you and your friends. I'm sure the owners know in their hearts that it wasn't your fault, please don't let their initial reaction make you feel guilty. (Diva, I'm sorry this happened to you too)

Sorry guys, I'm a bit late to reply...have been away for the long weekend Thank for all the input, I ended up ordering a mountain/climbing rope collar (for everyday wear...lol) and matching lead, along with a martingale to try for walking. Will most likely get them in the mail tomorrow. Was directed to Callicoma Kelpies by a fellow DOLer, thanks! They were great to deal with I may still order a rolled leather one, it seems the Weaver brand ones from the U.S are the only ones sold here (unless made to order locally I guess) and Callicoma sells them at a very reasonable price. Thanks again everyone!!

dyzney: that's so generous, you're a gem hope all goes well for the poor little pup

oh, you're so cute, I really appreciate it, but if it's too big for your girls, it will be too big for dakota, her head/neck is a lot smaller than it looks under all that fluff..LOL

thanks for your input mackiemad- your collar sounds lovely, i don't mind the price tag so much as she has only had fairly cheap collars in the past, and I'm a firm believer in 'you get what you pay for'. She currently has no collar though, and I really want to get one before we head down to the beach for a couple of days next week. I'll try and wait for a few more opinions- hopefully from some long haired double-coat doggie owners I shouldn't be too fussy, no collar has ever caused major damage, and she's not a show-dog, I just like her coat to stay nice, and I think it must get uncomfortable/itchy when her coat rolls up under the collar. It doesn't really matt, just gets condensed, it can be brushed out fairly easily, but it seems shorter.

Thanks for the offer Roux, but I'd like to hear a few more opinions first Thanks for the advice stonebridge, she's had a 'normal' leather collar before, which I believe was dyed, albeit a 'natural' colour, and haven't had probs as long as we remove it before swimming, etc. She's also had a leather collar that was dyed purple! The OH forgot to remove it before a swim, so we know all about colour leeching...LOL She looked very pretty, thankfully, she's not a show dog.

Hi, I need to buy a new collar for Dakota, and have read that 'rolled leather' collars do less damage to the coat (Dakota is a Samoyed..). I don't really know what 'rolled leather' means, could someone please explain it too me? Is it as simple as the collar is made into a tube shape, or does it mean something else? I'd also like to hear from anyone with long-coated breeds that uses this type of collar.. And, where do I find a good one? Preferably Aussie made.. Thanks DOLers (p.s We are also interested in trying either a halti/gentle-leader or a martingale, just for walking, any advice/preferences? We only started using a harness because we felt there was no way she could escape us, lol, but now that she has done quite a few sleigh pulls using the harness, we feel it will be very hard to encourage loose lead walking on a harness..hehehe)

Great pics tlc! ur little tree looks great!

I think you've done a great job!! I gave up, and got someone to photoshop hats onto mine...lol

this is a funny close up of dakota under the dining table last christmas, you can rarely see her eye colour in pics as they are so dark irl, but the flash shows them here...i think you can see the friendliness in them love everyone else's pics btw, great topic idea :D

Lovely pics, I love the 'give me a sausage' look...

Happy 3rd Birthday Lacy! tlc: The photos are beautiful! I especially love the beach shots, the one of them running towards the beach, and the group shot on the rock, fantastic! Such gorgeous dogs

thank you so much! i have e-mailed you

Does anyone think they could help me out by photoshopping some santa hats onto these three? or anything christmassy really... so far i haven't been able to do any proper posed shots, and i'm quickly running out of time to get my cards out.. thanks in advance, carissa

tlc: he is one cute puppy! the last pic is quite funny, i think tully is watching Sunny pee, have a close look, am I imagining things? lol tully is very sweet by the way, as are your others, love your xmas sig. don't think there are any Sam breeders on DOL, just owners, but I'm not sure? regardless, i'm glad to hear he's a little reg. pup. thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the nice comments everyone! We've just had our second sleigh pull today, I will add pics of that soon, although I still failed to get a good pic of the run itself, just plenty of the gorgeous doggies. colliehound: I don't really know anything about the temperament of your breeds, so I can't compare at all, but I have to say (without bias), that out of all the breeds I've come across, Sammies are the friendliest, most gentle dogs. They adore people, especially children. Most Sammies I've met are fine around all other dogs, but our girl in particular thinks every person/child/dog/cat is her new best friend. They are no where near as hard to train as is often decribed of them, the only negative there would be their natural instinct to pull, so it can be hard to train walking without pulling...lol, but then again, we're not experts, perhaps we haven't persisted enough. I can't speak for all Sams, but Dakota seems highly intelligent, she took to basic commands first try with usual guidance for puppies, and does not need rewards to do as asked, praise is enough for her. She knows at least 7 of her toys by name and will get them when asked. She moves in reverse if we say "back", and if she is trying to get to me or something from a certain direction and can't, I just say "go around the other way" and use a hand gesture and she does it. I have on more than one occasion, offered her a choice of 3 items for dinner, she will sniff each one and then nudge her choice with her nose. She's plays with her ball and another toy by herself, by making the ball spin in a random direction with her foot. Obvious negatives, you have already mentioned, it's all about the hair...but you learn to love fluff when you love a Sammie. If you're not showing them, you don't have to be ridiculous about the grooming, they only matt in certain areas, as long as you keep those in check and do the rest less often, it's fine. No doggy odour, so hardly need bathing, just a brush will get them sparkling again most times. They obviously get a bit hot in summer, but seem to handle it better than you would expect to in a fur coat....lol. The shedding is not constant, for Dakota there are a few very bad months of it (like NOW) when she's shedding her undercoat, and then it's less. She is desexed, I believe entire females shed twice a year, and males, once, not 100% sure on that though. I hope I've given you an insight, but my knowledge is limited to what I've learnt from Dakota, her breeder and on DOL. She is my first (but not my last) Samoyed. I'm telling you now, I would never be without one!

I'm really enjoying everyone's offerings on this topic! Lovely to see all the animal love! LOL Do you guys think the dogs and cats respect the birds because we do, as their 'pack leaders'? We had Winki out of her cage again this afternoon, and I think we will do so more and more, because she seems relatively comfortably around Dakota, and Dakota seems to enjoy her company. If Dakota gets too close, Winki just does a sort of warning peck on her nose..it's very cute, and Dakota responds to this by leaving her alone, it's great! Maybe this is the beginning of a great friendship! Shell: Lucius is very pretty, and yes, very much like Winki! I love his name too. wolfgirl: I love your galah's mode of transport...lol..cute

Thank-you sooooo much, I adore it!

hahaha, maybe I should change the title of this topic...seems bird and dog are more likely friends than I first thought! love your pictures... btw Ripley, your alexandrine is absolutely beautiful! (of course ur dog is too! gorgeous puppy)

This is our Samoyed Dakota, and her friend, our cockatiel, Winki. I don't think we would leave them alone in a room together, but they seem to get along ok...lol

This is our second year participating in Santa Sleigh runs organised by Dakota's dam and sister's owner. We really enjoy it, and this year we introduced Winta ( a member of Dakota's extended familty that I found on DOL) and his friend the Dal/BC x rescue. They had a good time too. I posted these pics in the Spitz thread, but thought some others may like to see them too Enjoy My girl Dakota Her litter sister Star Her Mum Brianna Her distant cousin? Winta The honourary 'Samoyed for a day' Deni The whole team patiently waiting while the kids open their pressies inside All finished Thanks for looking, Carissa :D

Lol, such a cute pic. Dakota follows me everywhere she can, including the loo, she often waits 'til I sit down, runs out again and comes back with a toy for me to kick for her, while I'm sitting there...LOL...it's like she knows she has me trapped. (I haven't helped the situation, as I do kick the toy for her She also plays audience for almost every shower I take, and then helps 'dry' me when I get out...

Hi Everyone, I'm always admiring everyone else's beautiful signatures, but I am defitely not good at working that stuff out. I was wondering if anyone would like to help me, if it's not too much trouble? I'd love a signature made up of any of the following pics, my only request is that it includes Dakota's name somewhere, I'm not very creative myself, so feel free to design any way you choose, I will love it regardless! Thanks in advance if anyone's interested. Carissa and Dakota

Yay! Sounds great!

Hahahahaha, this one's adorable, conjoined triplets!