Nik

The boyfriend said the same thing. He comes over trying to offer me $20 for Charlie but goes home getting a job offer He is really a cute little boy... waiting 6 years of a puppy is going to damn near kill him (not him waiting but his parents going to murder him because he WILL ask them every single day if he is 12 yet!). Reminds me of me! I used to write pony onmy Mum's shopping list! Never got one!

I'll put a small bag together here for you LP -I need to do a clean out of kids toys anyway... Annie only plays with them rarely, and they never get ripped apart. She'd much rather play with her tug toy lately.

Tell them Echo and Bob will be there. They loved both last time as well as little Alera puppy. Well, I'm hoping to take them to the snow on the Monday, so maybe I can bribe them!! Just sightseeing/snowman making at Mt Donna Buang, but exciting enough for us! Pity Annie can't join us though.

Trying to work out whether I can con the kids into coming out with me again. They only want to go when it's warm . If we do, we wont be staying long, so will just bring a small snack for us. And Annie the Aussie Shep of course.

done

Want an Aussie Shepherd? She's rather gorgeous if I do say so myself! I'm in the western suburbs of Melbourne, so not too far!

I have a show line Aussie who is very intelligent and keen and does very well at herding (for a dog and handler with no training at it!) Together a few weeks ago, at her first attempt, Annie and myself, mostly by ourselves but sometimes helped by a friend on a motorbike and his kelpie, moved 1200 ewes and lambs of various ages. She displayed tireless behavior, and from what I've read up on the breed, worked true to her breed. Haylz, I love my Aussie. Like many other Aussie owners on here, I was going to get a border collie until I found this breed. We previously has a bc x kelpie (my avatar girl), and wanted something like her but knew that there was way less predictability with a cross I had contacted many bc breeders and were in a few waiting lists for litters. But we wanted something a little different, and with 4 young boys wanted a dig that would be calm and steady (mostly). I've found that with Annie. She's all that I ever asked for.

J'embrasse mon chien sur la bouche! (I kiss my dog on the mouth)(Unknown) In order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him (Dereke Bruce) Our perect companions never have fewer than four feet (Coleete) The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too. (Samual Butler; Notebooks 1912)

Ok, here goes... A really companionable and indispensable dog is an accident of nature. You can't get it by breeding for it, and you can't buy it with money. It just happens along. (E.B.White, The care and Training of a dog) Even the smallest poodle or Chihuahua is still a wolf at heart (Dorothy Hinshaw Patent, Dogs: The Wolf Within) I like that one! When a dog runs at you, whistle for him (Henry David Thoreau) Not sure about that one... He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion (Unknown) ;) ;) I love love love that one If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man. (Mark Twain) there's more...

There's some on my calender... My little dog - a heatbeat at my feet (Edith Wharton) Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealosy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace (Milan Kundera) Are these the sort you're after?

She's gorgeous. I can't wait to have cuddles next time I'm at Kepala. Gee the Lappies make cute puppies!!

Can't wait SG! My cousin is down that way, so she could bring her rough coated collie I haven't been to the Brighton beach one, but a little further around is Ricketts point, where there is a cafe! Offleash dog beach and good coffee. Two big ticks in my book! And to Wizzle who lives in Glen Iris, the walks along Gardiner's creek are just fantastic!! My parent's lived in Glen Iris for almost 10 years (just moved to Canterbury) and I grew up in Camberwell. I love the way that all the wakling tracks link up in that area, and you can walk for miles without leaving the green corridors!

Going here next weekend for the Aussie Shep Club of Vic fun day! Weather permitting of course!

I'm up for a bushwalk! Is there anywhere that is pram friendly?

Hi all, Just wanted to share these photos of Annie with a baby Joey. Sadly, the joey didn't make it and died last night , but our girl was so gentle with her - it made my heart sing!

Thanks Sandra. As you can tell I'm a bit of a novice, but I'm learning fast!

Sorry, guess I should have edited first post. Her season was over 3 weeks ago. No, she didn't leave the property and she went a little crazy but got used to it. I just have a question about her breast tissue. I'm on my phone so it makes editing a little tricky

Thanks all to the earlier advice. Well her season came and went with minor inconveniences (mostly my dog going a little stir crazy!) and it's now been three weeks. For some reason her breast tissue is swollen and blue looking. I can almost have a anatomy lesson with her, seeing the connecting blood vessels between the teats! They are not hot to the touch, and not hard but there is a definite raised bit. There is a zero chance that she is in whelp. Should I take her to the vet to check her? It's just that we're going to our farm today which is in the middle of nowhere and I'd hate her to get suddenly ill where the vet is about an hour away. Thanks. Nik

I tried it with my dog when I first brought her home (she was on optimum at the breeders and I slowly weaned her over) She was never very keen to eat it, so I tried her with a sample pack of Eagle Pack, which she loves, and that is now the one we use I also had trouble getting Artemis, and now I'm having a little trouble getting Eagle Pack. I can't win!

I love the Dromana drive-in. I have so many childhood memories of that place!! Unfortunately I won't be able to make it as we're going to be up on the Murray River next weekend.

Apart from Brighton beach, which I've only heard about, there's a small doggy beach at Rickett's Point. I went there on a really hot weekend last year (actually after I'd been at KCC park checking out the Aussies!!) and it was great! The beach was pretty shallow, and as Annie was only a pup at the time she loved running in the shallow water. Only 2 other dogs there at the time. And another huge advantage it that there's a cafe on the beach just a few hundred metres away! Although dogs aren't allowed on the deck, there was plenty of shade to tie her up in, and she was in full view at the time . If you're willing to make it over here to the west, Altona has a great dog beach which is offleash all year round (and I'm sure Annie would love some Aussie playmates :D ).

When I was in year 9 at school, we went away for an entire term (it was one of those "development" camps that was supposed to keep us out of trouble!), and I swear it took my dog at least a week to even look at me when I got home. He eventually got over it and we were back to normal pretty soon after.

I had an Australian Terrier (Kelly) growing up who lived to 17 1/2. He was quite sprightly right up until he died, only was a little blind as he had cataracts (I think). He died due to cutting his paw on something and contracting septisemia, which we discovered too late so he had to be pts ;( My avatar girl,(also Kelly- my husband and I had dogs with the same name when we met) a BC x kelpie lived to almost 16, again very active until the last month or so. She had heart failure in the end, but the day before she left us she was chasing balls at the park! Both of my Kellys are sorely missed

I don't know if it's illegal or not here (but I read somewhere it was effective this year? Not sure) but it's still legal in other countries, maybe they had him/her imported or something. Seems like a long-shot, I know! There is a natural bobtail in Rotties, but there are also breeders that still do the home hack job on their 3 day old pups and call them bobtails A friend of mine just got a natural bob rottie... apparently 3 in the litter had the short tails and the others all had long... if the breeder was docking, surely they'd do the whole lot rather than just a few? She's sooo cute, and was scared of my big boofa Aussie!

Looks a bit like dog I saw at the park today, which was a border collie x beagle, so I'd say ACD x beagle