The Ark

Please don't listen to the knockers, poocow! Gorgeous Morgie has made it as far as she has because she has been judged against the standard, not against other dogs, and found to be of high enough quality to be entitled to her points. She obviously ticks all the boxes she needs to, so don't hide her away! Be proud of her, and yourself - we are! Hell, I'm about to start showing an Aussie with a tail, for goodness' sake! As long as we have fun, and do our best with our dogs, I think that's what matters. And the clothes????? Isn't it the dog who is being judged here???

I used a bittering spray (navy blue bottle, picture of blue ACD on it) for my Maremma pup today as she's been licking her leg. I washed my hands and went straight in to make a cake. Licked my fingers then, didn't I!

Bring on Autumn!!!!

Bec, I had a heart attack wondering the same thing!! I have screwed up so many entries so far that I wouldn't be surprised if I had forgotten to enter altogether! I'm planning to be there, though.

No , she's gone to a SA home, but that's okay as I just need to learn to be patient and wait for what is right. I am learning.... I think I'll just have some fun with this boy for now, and see what happens later in the year. I have been thinking of Merlin type names, but Tally is Taliesin the Mage, who is the main Merlin in the book. His successor as Merlin is a deformed guy named Kevin, who does happen to play the harp and sing beautifully. I have thought of maybe "BrandyArk The Harper Bard" (the harper bard being Kevin before he becomes Merlin) and then his call name could be Harper. Kevin does turn out to be a traitor and is executed by the priestesses of Avalon, but I can ignore that bit! A lot of the characters in the book play the harp as well, so maybe I could broaden it to just "The Harper". Arrow's new name is Bobbi, so his owners probably don't really need "Elf Arrow" as a registered name, and I have thought of swapping that to my boy's name as well and calling him either Elf or Arrow (Arrow would be a bit weird having had the other pup called Arrow for this long). I am really in trouble for even thinking of changing his name, but I do have to fill out a lot of paperwork (show entries etc) using the name, and call something out to him every day, so I would like it to be something that I like.

Okay, it took me so long to do my post that I missed a dozen more. Thanks Dotty - I'm sure they'll have some fun together!! Aziah - thought you'd like it. Goldiegirl - good luck with your new bubba!! Having this litter of pups has been like having a baby all over again, although the pups do sleep slightly better than any of my babies did! They insist on waking up at 5am though. At least, unlike babies, you can just open the front door and put them outside for a couple of hours and go back to bed! ETA (I'm so happy I worked out what "ETA" means after about 6 months!!): Our theme for this litter was Avalon (based on "Mists of Avalon" by Marion Bradley).

Breaking out of my own little world for a minute - awesome result Freckles and Matt!!!!! I can't imagine how happy you are with that! I also do love Matt's name.... And Aziah - have you been away yet? I nearly sent you a PM earlier today but thought maybe you were on holidays. ;) Looking forward to Morisset!

Just in case none of you are hanging on every post in the Aussie thread, our decision has been made..... (drum roll..............) Meet my new pup! Much to Greg's disgust I am thinking of changing his name from Dragon - I just haven't come up with anything else that fits our theme yet....

There is 1 entered. Cool, thanks.... 1 is better than none arghh, I just thought of something.... I'm getting a breed that will be LAST in the ring! Oh well, atleast I have an excuse to hang around for group if we don't get anywhere. yep and yopu can sleep in and come late but if your anything like me you'll be there early early, I'm always there early! :p Hmmm, you might get a cuddle of an Aussie pup if you're at Morisset early enough! ;)

There is 1 entered. Cool, thanks.... 1 is better than none ;) arghh, I just thought of something.... I'm getting a breed that will be LAST in the ring! Oh well, atleast I have an excuse to hang around for group if we don't get anywhere. yep and yopu can sleep in and come late but if your anything like me you'll be there early early, I'm always there early! :p Hehehe, I don't have a gazebo or anything yet so I probably will arrive late... might have to start out with my little two man tent!!! Oh, and I joined dogsnsw on Friday, online, I decided to pay the extra $$ to have it done quickly... my card and gazette arrived today!!! I couldn't believe it. Well done, Goldiegirl. Sometimes it pays to give DogsNSW the extra bit to make it all happen quickly. Bec (Angelsophie) started out with a 2 man tent, so that is a good way to start!

Yay, Sammy!! Good girl, Kite! ;)

Yay Morgan!! Now come on that birthday!! Hi Dotty - I'm not sure I'll be able to get to much show training from here on (although I'd love to, and need it) as it's a bit busy once the kids are back at school because it is a bit of a drive for us. :D I can probably only do a bit here and there within school hours.

Hi Erin, She is beautiful!! And stacks so well! Sammy is right - sometimes show training is good for socialisation and practice in a ring, even if you are getting plenty of help from your breeder (lucky you!). Good luck with her! Deb ;)

I love Cesar! Would definitely recommend his DVDs - they are very watchable, and you will pick up so many tips about why dogs do the things they do.

Our 7 week old Aussie pups were runny for a couple of days. I just gave them one dose of Scourban for two days and they are right again! They didn't seem to have any other symptoms, otherwise I would have taken them to the vet - they were happy and eating and drinking and playing, just doing runny poos!

The OP DID talk to the neighbours, but they have done nothing! No-one is saying string the cat up by its hind legs and leave it swinging on their front door or anything! It can be humanely (and legally) caught and taken to the pound. That is certainly what I would be doing if, having spoken with my neighbours, they decided to let their cats continue to roam at night. And that would be if my Maremma didn't find it first.

I would go with the kidnapping idea and take it to a pound. Something worse is likely to happen to it if it is roaming all the time anyway.

I couldn't even get them to send me an application form! Our pups are ready to go in 2 weeks and it looks like I may have to organise something else.

Oh dear - sorry, Aziah, we probably made him cranky yesterday and if he hadn't had to put up with us he probably would have let you set up! Thanks for the spot, Bec & Rich - hopefully no-one will be too upset when I get there tomorrow to set up ..... I'm not sure if I'm going to show tomorrow or not - it's my MIL's birthday tomorrow, and I should call in there with the kids, and it's hard to do that with dogs because she doesn't have a yard for them to run in while we're there. I will be there to set up and I do want to have a look around and watch some obedience as well though.

Yep - officially warned by the groundskeeper. :p Apparently you need to contact him first, and he was most worried that we actually had someone "instructing" us because that is a no-no unless it is a club-organised training session. Anyone watching us for half a minute would have seen that we, um, weren't being instructed in any way.... I explained that we were all new and didn't know any better. But we had fun!!!!!

Hey Jess, You can have mine if you like - just remind me by PM or post tomorrow and I can bring it to "training" tomorrow afternoon. I can access the web so I'm happy with that. Which month do you need? I also had to ring Dogs NSW to get web access - it was easily fixed with one quick phonecall, which I must say surprised me! Deb

Yep, planning to be there at 4pm - I guess we'll be there an hour or so? Should be fun!

According to Cesar Millan it is a primal need that can't be fulfilled through just running around a backyard. Wild dogs travel daily, following a pack leader. It is a good time to establish your leadership, to exercise the dog and burn off excess energy and frustration, and just have fun together!!

Thanks Jigsaw. I'm going to ring our vet this morning. I assumed it must be something that you need a specialist for, but I'll check with them. Thanks for your reply! Deb

Anyone????