aussielover

Is he definitely purebred siberian husky? ie from a registered breeder? Sounds a little heavy for a pure sibe pup, although my labrador puppy was 8 kg at 8 weeks, so was probably around 6 kg at 6 weeks. Sibes are generally lighter than labs though. I suppose if he has some malamute or other breed in him then he could well be a normal weight.

Gosh my dog would never do anything that naughty

Well I wouldn't purposely feed it to my dog, but she does eat rotting carcasses and faeces of all kinds of animals so I'm sure she'd be fine

Yes I let my dog play with other friendly dogs. She only has a few dogs she's really interested in playing with. The rest she just ignores or greets politely if I allow it. I don't encourage interaction on lead and I wouldn't let her run up to a dog on lead, although plenty of people let their dogs run up to her on lead, lucky she is friendly. Not keen on her playing with small dogs as being quite heavy she could inadvertently hurt them. But she loves playing with a JRT and mini poodle, both of which seem quite hardy dogs and get the better of her anyway. I've not found her to be overly distracted by other dogs during training and she has never run off during training to play with a another dog. If I had another dog and was raising it for competition or work, I would probably do things differently (neutralisation, under supervision of a trainer) but I guess I got lucky with Mindy and despite heavy socialisation with other dogs, she has remained people focussed and not overly interested in other dogs, but still able to have a good play with them every now and then.

How do you satisfy her high drive? Nekhbets suggestion was good, dogs high in prey drive need to satisfy this, K9Pro does a very good training in drive distance package, or you could ask your GSD club about training in drive. Most of these programs will involve training the dog to use a tug with the handler to satisfy the drive. They are also heaps of fun. Exercise doesn't sound like the answer, although your dog needs more than 3 days a week. In my opinion any active young dog needs at least once a day.

what training and exercise do you do with her? Perhaps she is a little bored and understimulated? Maybe she would enjoy an active sport such as agility, tracking, herding etc or even some formal obedience classes? Even just doing 10-15 mins of training twice daily can improve their behaviour a lot. There are plenty of fun and more useful things you can teach her If its really bothering you, get a professional to assess her and your situation. I would recommend K9Pro (www.k9pro.com.au) in NSW.

what is it exactly about the bones she is sensitive to? Odd that she has diarhhoea as bones usually cause hard poos. Can she handle any raw meat at all? Does she have some type of IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) or IBS (irritable bowel) Has the vet investigated her sensitive stomach? I also have problems with bones- my dog is a guts and occaisonally breaks off a chunk without chewing enough which she then vomits back up (usually in the middle of the night- not a nice sound to be woken up by ) I have found lamb necks and shanks very good for her and she doesn't have this problem with them. Have you tried lamb flaps? They are very good. It may just be a matter of finding a suitable type of bone hopefully? I also want to try roo tails for my dog but am yet to find a butcher that will supply this.

12 is not exactly ancient and blood tests are hardly stressful. If he is dragging his hindlegs he may need a neuro exam (not very stressful and can be modified to suit). If you think its arthritis, then cartrophen may be an option.

Not anything specific about koolies, but praise and advantages of other breeds as well. I also based my decision on koolies based on their pretty looks and only having met 2 or 3 at agility (all excellent dogs) which is not entirely representative of the breed. Koolies are still at the top of the list but I am now considering other breeds as well. Also strongly considering a rescue with the potential to do dog sports. I really like Tollers but I think the coat care would be too much (as in they actually require fairly regular grooming).

Smartypaws he is gorgeous! Belgian Malinois are on my One Day Wishlist :D

aussie terrier?

I saw a litter of mals on youtube that were fawn/black and also brindle??? Maybe crossed with a dutch shepherd (is this permtted?) although they called them malinois puppies?

Just to be clear, I am not currently looking for another dog One monster is enough for the time being :D Aesthetics is surely a consideration- for example I would not get a long coated breed like an aussie or show BC at the moment as I just don't have the time for that much grooming and I live in a tick area. I am sure that many people have chosen their breed/dog on looks alone (not saying its the right thing to do- just wondering what drives peoples decisions). One in our agility class did exactly that and has a very nice dog. I am definitely considering another dog in the future (a few years) and would obviously do more in depth research closer to the time. I did have my heart set on a koolie, but recent comments in other threads have changed my mind a bit.

I do admire the short/medium coated border collies (so presumably working lines?) at agility, but wonder if I could handle such dogs... The koolies i've met seem to be less intense but also more nervy. Kelpies also seem very focussed and some are really noisy! Aussies are gorgeous I think wuffles described them well as clowns lol Oh well it will be a while before I'm ready for another dog anyway, was just interested in what made people choose certain herding breeds when clearly all 4 of these have the potential to do well at dog sports. My dog currently gets on best with koolies and kelpies interstingly. These dogs are great for her as they think she is a sheep and chase her. She loves being the chasee but only likes to chase certian dogs for some reason.

I swear the dog did it

Does anyone have a colour preference within their breed or prospective breed? What do breeders think about this? If I ever get another aussie I would like a red tri as I love the tricolour dogs. Colour is not really important to me in labs, though of course I am biased towards black as my current lab is black. If i were to get another lab, I would not be fussed about colour though and perhaps would even prefer a colour other than black (so I don't get the two dogs mixed up ) In general I think in most breeds I would have a colour preference (if colour variation exists in the breed!), but when speaking to the breeder I would just say I like xxxx colour but obviously the puppy fitting in with my lifestyle and my current dog would be the most important. It would be great to get both though :D Would any breeders have a problem with someone not wanting a specific colour eg. any colour other than say, black or only want a solid coloured and not merle dog? I would find it difficult to get a black tri aussie as my last aussie was black tri and even looking at other black tri aussies at training reminds me of her. I will probably have the same issue with black labs when Mindy is gone. I know at the end of the day it comes down to personality, which is the most important.

Actually I found it rather funny. Especially as this is a dog that has jumped into freezing water before and loved it. It reminded me of when we had our aussie girl, we had a dog walker for her who refused to walk her in bad weather without a doggie drizabone. This was a long coated (and double coated) Australian Shepherd!

:rofl:

I think only insane people were outside in sydney this morning I also quite like this sort of weather- at least we get the whole park to ourselves

Everyone in sydney will know what lovely weather we have had this morning... not. Unfortunately (for me) my dog stills needs to get out and about, so she was taken for a walk to the dog park this morning- poor thing right, imagine forcing a Labrador Retriever to go out in the rain, splash around in massive puddles, run through wet grass and bushes etc On the way home (after having an awesome time in the park!) we are stopped by a lady who tells me I am cruel for dragging my dog out in this weather, and if I insist on taking her out, at least get her a raincoat! I replied something about her being a labrador- bred for cold conditions- she is perfectly happy, she cut me off and asked if I was cold? therefore my dog would be cold? I had the benefit of wearing a raincoat so shouldn't my dog have this as well What a nutter! I said that next time I would get my dog a raincoat jst to get rid of her, she then said I should blow-dry my dog when I got home so she didn't stay cold and get ill. Right-O. Poor dog only got towelled down and was then given a nice juicy bone for breakfast. Report me to the RSPCA... The victim: Hope everyone is enjoying this lovely weather (I know my dog is) :D I am hoping it will clear by Saturday as we have a very special event this sat...

why are all these lovely doggies being dumped

You don't need to crate train if you don't want to It makes life a bit easier if you intend on competing though. Crates are very useful but plenty of people do fine without them. You can crate train any age dog, in some cases it is actually easier to crate train an older, calmer dog. Depending on how you use the crate, the dog may or may not become dependent on it. If you're worried about that then you could also train them to lie on their bed or on a mat. My dog has both a dog bed and a crate. We use the crate for travelling, training, competitions etc She also goes into the crate if we need her out of the way or if we have guests over. She sleeps and rests on her dog bed.

At least they dont shed as much!!!

No. The point of the exercise is to use the pup's natural dislike of toileting in it's own bed to help with the house training. If you leave the pup in there for longer than it can physically "hold on" it WILL toilet in the crate. Not only is this just plain cruel, it's also breaking down the pup's natural instincts to be clean and counter productive to the purpose of it all. I would set up a play pen inside for a smaller pup or a larger area such as a kennel and run outside for a larger pup and/or in nice weather, fenced off from the whole garden (assuming it's more than a courtyard!) so you can confine the pup somewhere you know it will be safe and not chewing something it shouldn't be and perhaps getting into something poisonous. The playpen/fenced off area has a bed and toys in it but gives the pup room to move away from it's bed to toilet as it's instincts want it to. Actually I have heard it is common in the USA to leave dogs in crates all day (not that I agree with this).

Fly is so cute and fluffy!!! Did she come from a farm? I swear Border Collies nd kelpies think my black lab is a strange black sheep- they are forever trying to herd her! She absolutely loves being chased so it works out well!