wings

I've been Wings for ages in real life and I tend to use it on any of the forums I visit as well. Half my family has taken to calling me Wings as in public it tends to get a quicker reaction then my real name does

Agree with most of the other posters, not sure if the comparison is a good one. Also the average person is much more likely to encounter a dog then a horse, especially a loose one. Thus the chances of a negative encounter are much higher with a dog.

Loving the descriptive term I think I'll be using that one from now on. Our first one for the season got spotted yesterday, large-ish RBB living up in the old woodpile. The one I've been tyring to get cleaned up for over a year. Reckon I can say I told you so now? ;) I don't live "in fear" of them, I live in "awareness" of them. The family reports in what we've seen, where we saw it, the size and how it was behaving so we know to be more careful in those areas.

I live on 40 acres so you can imagine I've accepted snakes as part of life. We have a stunning large red belly that lives in our bottom paddocks, I've only seen glimpses of him but others have seen him sunning himself. I refuse to kill him and have told anyone who tries to go for him that they will not be forgiven. I've been grazing those paddocks on and off since I moved here and he doesn't seem to have any murderous intent on my horses ;) . As others have said while he lives there I'm unlikely to have problems with other snakes!

That's brilliant!

Congrats! I've always liked the idea of replacing the nursery bedroom door with a mesh/security door like a lot of front doors have. It's a nice secure barrier between baby and dog that won't block sound. Had friends do it and they really liked it!

Very mutch with snake catcher on this one. I find the netting horrid and won't use it anywhere here.

Fantastic shots! She's so photogenic.

Congrats! What a great 'end' to CJ's story

Deshonko I'm looking for somthing I can tie to my horse show grooming kit to prevent people from sharing my tools. Must be small enough to not drag the kit but big enough to scare people off. Will pay extra for somthing that matches the palomino horse. Do you have anything in your range?

I've met most whippets out at horse shows I'll be working to teach the whole "don't go in the paddock" thing a few others have worked on. I trust most of my horses but of course all it takes is a stallion in a bad mood to decide not to tolerate them and it's the recipe for an unwanted vet visit!

And of course they come in enough colours so they can match the lounge as well ;) I've been a whippet fan for a long time, looks like they may finally suit!

Your pup has such a sweet face Those ears are adorable!

On the whippet topic, how much of a chase drive do they have? Would the chooks be at particular risk? They are a breed I really like the look of and I have really liked the ones I have met in person.

I can't answer on the whippet angle but I know the average sized horse can deliver a pretty nasty kick regardless of dog size. Have had friends with injured collies and retrievers due to horse run ins. Most of those scuffles were started by the dog and finished by the horse.

Hey murve, its a breed I'll be looking at but Im stuck on my current 'no dog' time frame at the moment. Distracting myself with research while I wait!

That is the exact pic Huga! Adorable little dogs I just don't think I'm up for the shedding.

I have a picture in the back of my mind of a pug sitting next to a pile of it's own hair. And the pile is bigger then the dog I think the pugs are sweet but from what I've been told I think they'll be a shedding overload!

I think everyone is guilty of plugging their own breeds

Well I'm still a year or two off getting another dog but I want to put the time into picking a breed that will suit. So basically I'm looking for suggestions that I can continue to research. As some might know I had to give up my kelpie after a knee injury prevented me from giving her all the work she needed. I'm on the path to recovery but it looks like it will always be somthing I have to consider. I'm hoping to find somthing toy to small sized with a low excercise requirment. Happy to do training work but would prefer to limit my walking. I'd like to find somthing that tends towards an amicable nature as there are a lot of other animals to put up with, predominantly horses, cats and chickens, and I would like to have my future dog offlead when we are outside as much as possible. Would prefer low to no shedding, happy to do daily grooming and regular clipping. I'm pretty much just after a companion animal, I miss having a dog around!

Now if only the non dog savvy could grasp it I've written to everyone I can but still struggle to convince my family that BSL doesn't work.

With a job in mind, not just to make money And that is why I like purebreds. A history of a purpose reflected in the look they share with each and every member of the breed. Combine that with predictable traits and I just don't see the need for a crossbreed of dubious origins who may or may not turn out as you hope. Until these crossbreeders aim for a predictable result that includes health testing they won't get a word of support from me.

I can't believe you are so willing to do a number on this breeder because you no longer feel like honouring the terms of the contract! I have an animal here who is under contract and I can only say I'm thankful his breeders weren't burnt by someone as without their trust and this contract I wouldn't have him. If people keep abusing the trust of breeders then these opportunities will no longer exist for those who truly appreciate them.

Have shared this as much as I can, fingers crossed for a good result

Very nicely done. So nice to see a well put forward voice of reason! I really can't stand that "looks like a duck" line that keeps being trotted out.