Miru

My dog went through a phase of lunging at interesting things, just about pulling my arm out of its socket. I have been training leash manners in her from the very start, but there are still a couple of things (birds, other dogs) that are super exciting. I used a K9 Bridle on her on the advice of my trainer until she could control herself better. I don't like the thing, she doesn't like the thing, but it was never used as a punishment (no yanking from me) so she learned that it only tightened when she, herself lunged. Now she's 98% of the time controlling her own behaviour in just a flat collar, even when something is really exciting. I help her along by asking her to sit and focus on a high-value reward for controlling herself.

I had two Chinese Crested dogs that progressively lost their teeth, as it's linked to the hairless gene. They had no problems eating their dry food and chicken necks right up to the very end of old age.

My teenage dog also went through the rock phase. It started after she watched me painting rocks, tried to get to my box of rocks and when denied, went outside to get her own rocks. She was trying to chew them though, so it was causing me concern. I removed her access to the rocks and gave her some antlers to chew and after a while, she forgot about it. I'm afraid to start painting rocks again though

Thank you, Tassie and Persephone I am happy to keep sharing her training journey! These two pictures are from relatively recent public access training sessions. She came voting with me so I nicknamed her Democracy Dog The other picture is her learning to give deep pressure in a busy environment. I rarely use the headcollar anymore now. She had a habit of just about pulling my arm out of its socket for a little while so my trainer had me use it for safety until we trained her not to lunge at interesting things.

Thank you, Rebanne! I blocked an old lady from patting her at Coles the other day and was berated for it. "She's too pretty you know, it makes people want to pat her!" I don't disagree, I think she would get far less attention if she was a bit more homely

I don't know if I'm doing this in the right subforum, so if it's in the wrong forum, mea culpa. I was around the DOL forums oohhh... 4 years ago? I was looking for information on Aussie Shepherds and was gently redirected to the Aussie Shepherd forum and had a great time learning about the breed. I decided that they were definitely for me and after a lot of waiting and mooning over the puppies for sale section of the site, my little girl was finally born. July 6 last year was her birthday, so she's almost a year old now! This is Pawsitive Art of Dreamtime, aka Muse. She was part of the "Creative" litter and I wanted to keep that theme for her use name, so she is named after the Muses of Greek mythology (not the band). It all felt like total serendipity as I am an artist, so it was perfect. Muse is my assistance dog in training. I have disabilities that she is being trained to help me with and allow me more independence. It will be at least another 6 to 12 months before I do the Public Access Test with her and she becomes GHAD certified (Guide, Assistance and Hearing Dogs). This dog is everything I could have ever wanted in a companion; we are a match made in heaven. Waiting for the 3+ years that I did for the right dog was the best choice I have ever made. Our public access training has begun in earnest and it's been both interesting and nervewracking (for me, not Muse, she loves it all). So far most people assume I'm training her for someone else, so I haven't been grilled about intimate medical details yet, but some people can be pretty hard to deal with and could probably do with some obedience lessons themselves. Muse absolutely lives for training of any sort, so I also do trick training with her in between the assistance dog stuff. I'm thinking about doing something like noseworks or search and rescue as well, (though the latter is only if we both have what it takes!) Here she is personifying the meme "No take, only throw". She wanted me to throw the strap she was holding in her mouth so was offering a beg. Silly dingdong hadn't given it to me yet though! Please excuse the mess around her. One of her greatest joys is shredding things into confetti.

I worried a bit that people might think I was just doing photo manipulations, that's why I recorded myself doing it. I might do a full recording one day, beginning to end, but I worry I'll make people motion sick as I turn the canvas on screen a lot as I work and when it's sped up it's gut churning to watch. I consciously didn't do that for this recording :laugh:

This is Asha the pharaoh hound, completed last night at 2am (I'm such a night owl). I also recorded my screen while I painted one of her eyes, it's a 3 minute time lapse video of about an hour's worth of painting. Click for Video

Yes poocow, I do commissions :)

Thanks so much everyone, you're making me blush

Aw thanks everyone :) I have a website with a ton more art on it - http://www.toastweasel.com/ I don't want to get in trouble for advertising so please just PM me or contact me via my contact details on the site if you have any specific queries! This is another dog portrait I did last week, it's not as polished as the above two as it was done a lot faster and with a pretty low detail reference photo. For comparison, Leo's picture took me 15+ hours, whereas this one took me about 4 hours. This sweet little girl is owned by the lady who comes to trim my horse's hooves :) Her name is Taxi.

So following on from my previous thread, I made the definite decision to go ahead and add an Aussie Shepherd to my family - now I'm playing the waiting game for the right pup to come along and time seems to have crawled to a standstill. I'm going pretty nutty without a dog and I find myself thinking about them a lot, and reading about them, and talking about them, and... painting them :laugh: I've done quite a few dog portraits in the past, but they were traditional media (pencil and acrylic paint) for the most part. These ones are digital, meaning I've used a tablet and stylus to input my brush strokes to special computer software which interprets them. This first one is Piper, a Border Collie who lives where I board my horse. And this second one is the beautiful Leo, who was owned by leopuppy04 I hope I picked the right forum section to share in

Thanks LP, yeah I've decided a male will best suit me too. Differences between the sexes personality-wise was a question I brought up with the other people I was talking to today that you introduced me to (I'm sorry I'm so terrible at remembering names) and I'm glad your advice matches the gut feeling I'd already had. I'll definitely be following the advice of the breeder and won't take it personally if they decide there is not a pup for me in the litter. As much as I'm sorely missing a dog in my life, I'm content to wait for my sake, the dog's sake and the breeder's sake. Aussies are really something special and worth the wait.

Thanks so much everyone, I'm so excited! The Spotted Devil - I did see different temperaments indeed and it was a great way to get a good overview of the breed. I'm really glad I went along :)

I met a whole of aussie sheps today at agility trials, spoke to their people (including Pawsitive, what a lovely person she is!) and asked all my questions... and my heart has been lost to them utterly. Now begins my research for a breeder :) alpha bet - I'm pretty decided but I would still love to come and meet your dogs if I may? I'll email you Thankyou everyone for your input!

I think I've been misunderstood - I'm not afraid of putting in hard work with a dog, it just took me some time to decide that yes I did want a dog again along with all the resultant issues I may have to face in its lifetime. I'm nervous of ending up with DestructoDog II but her problem was far and beyond issues of mischief/boredom/timidity/etc which I have no problem dealing with should they arise. My main concern is making sure I can provide a happy life for whichever dog I end up with. If it turns out to not be an Aussie, I'll definitely look into other breeds so I'm glad people are making suggestions :) I'd just like to fully explore the possibility of an Aussie however, as I am a great admirer of the breed and working breed types in general. My heart is not so set on this breed to the point of ignoring warning signs that it should never be, so it's great hearing stories from everyone about theirs, good and bad. Simply Grand - I was in stitches reading about your dog opening everything!

juice - I don't have any experience with gundogs to know what they are like. I'll look into the ESS, thankyou :)

silentchild - Thanks! LisaCC - I've read the websites laying out why not to get an Aussie and taken them under consideration. I do enjoy working dog tendencies, I see them every day in the border collies and kelpies at the horse property I go to and that's why I'm even considering them in the first place. I just want to be really sure before making a commitment. WreckitWhippet - Thanks for the recommendation :) Thank you everyone, I very much appreciate your time! I will talk to breeders, check them out at shows and take my time to make any decisions.

Thanks showdog, yeah I definitely want a dog to be ok with it's own company as well as the company of other dogs. I brought those up as an example of my daily life - being around these other dogs will be a fact of life for any dog I get. Of course, being other peoples' dogs, I can't rely on them being there forever. That's why I'm having a hard look at whether the energy levels and quick mind of an Aussie are something I can comfortably accommodate. I'm torn because I hear of a lot of Aussies who are more laid back (and know a few) who sound perfect for a companion but there's no guarantees. I guess keeping an open line with a good breeder will be my best bet.

Thanks both, checking out the website as we speak :)

Thanks silentchild - is there somewhere I can find more information about this show?

Awesome, thanks very much :)

Lisa CC - Yes I worry about them outsmarting me for sure! The very things I love about them seems to be the things that may end up being a huge problem if I find I can't deal with it. It's such a tough call.

Thanks for your replies everyone! I really appreciate this :) - Mental stimulation: Yes! Very important from everything I've read and I would be happy to provide this for any dog I end up with. Part of my huge draw to the Aussies is that sharp mind and being able to direct it towards fun things for us both. - My own activity levels: While not very active currently, I have no problems tailoring my days to providing activity for the dog I choose. Being a couch potato isn't quite the level of health I wish to stay at *laughs* - Shedding: Not much of a problem to me. My cats already provide this service, and picking fur out of my food/teeth/clothing is a daily thing already. Thank you for all the input. If I do decide to go ahead with an Aussie I will be very cautious and do my research into lines and talk to breeders. I admit my heart just melts whenever I see them but I want to be responsible and realistic about being able to provide a good life for one. I'm also open towards taking on an adult who's temperament has already been established.

Dame Aussie - Yes I know an Aussie would require daily exercise, would walk/paddock/daily frisbee/ball not be enough? In that case probably not the dog for me. The destructiveness as pups I've read about and have no issue with that in any breed because they grow out of it, I'm just less keen on a lifetime of it. Thanks for the heads up on the anxiety in some of them.