Simply Grand

Yeah, and the eyes, all the merles in Quinn's litter have marbly eyes, I think Quinn has the most distinct clear blue and that's only one eye and it still has a spot of brown. I've seen others with 2 full brown eyes but don't know about blue.

That's interesting, these reserved Aussies, could they have a word with Quinn? Hehe. Actually I think I've just forgotten because Quinn is SO full on, so is her sister Cleo and Jessie, the other Aussie we see regularly at the park. I don't remember wuffles' Ava being so enthusiastic about people, Quinn's mum Ivy either, and actually her brother Donkers (haha), who we did puppy school with) wasn't either... I just got lucky I guess *rolly eye man* (I adore Quinn's personality but jeez I need to watch her). I guess I sort if think if you want a small, collie breed dog with a fluffy coat, loyal, reserved, alert temp, then get a Sheltie... On the other hand my Sheltie and my Aussie have different temps and I wanted more what I got in Quinn in an Aussie. Disclaimer - as with everything I say this is based on my limited experience :)

Google also tells me there are people breeding "toy" Aussies - 10-14". Seems like the "point" of breeding them smaller is just to allow/encourage people to have them in smaller homes. People who know more than me - is it unusual to have so many dogs with 2 clear blue eyes? (the dogs shown on the linked breeder website all seem to have this, and they specifically mention 'blue eyes' as well as their coat colouring). Might they be breeding for blue eyes?

Anyone know how small they actually are? There's such size variation in Aussies anyway and (I think) the standard says that size shouldn't be penalized over other aspects anyway, although I guess if the minis are Sheltie sized that's quite a big difference. Tlc, reading that website you linked, my Aussie must be broken They say that Aussies are reserved with people, loyal to their owner and protective of their property. Quinn loves absolutely everybody, throws herself at strangers for kisses and pats, would happily go off with anyone if they gave her food or had little kids, and welcomes strangers on the property as new friends... Sigh.

Hahahaha!! That's so funny sm! Poor Stan :)

He's so cute :)

I have 3 and at the moment I think that's all I can realistically manage. If I was better off financially and had a bigger yard I would happily have 1 more (so 4) but I wouldn't do it until this lot are older (they're currently 3 yrs, 16 mths and nearly 10 mths). Possibly the next dog will be one of Quinny's babies in a few years :)

But if, in this specific case, Donatella was to take this puppy for reduced price with the condition of a certain number of stud duties, wouldn't that mean she is committing to showing this pup (either herself or the breeder doing it)? Which she may or may not want to do. Also what happens if he doesn't turn out show quality? ETA - genuine questions, I'm new to this and trying to understand.

Hmm, interesting. I personally wouldn't take a dog on breeders terms, as others have said. Whilst I would never breed a dog (boy or girl) without working with their breeder I want the final decision about breeding to be mine. Not about the money but about the welfare of my dog and its puppies. However much I trust my dogs' breeders my dogs are now MY family. Also agree with Rebanne, if the pup turns out breeding quality you can still stud him and still work with his breeder if you both want.

Teddy is a little cutie :) I sometimes call my little poodle x malt my living teddy because he looks like a teddy bear Saxon is 3 now, I'm trying to remember what he was like as a baby... He's never made a huge fuss but he did have regular baths and grooming at the breeders. I put him on a towel on top of the clothes dryer for blow drying, trimming and clipping and I used to shove treats into his mouth heaps as long as he was behaving, and being very food motivated, he would put up with it because he got lots of yummy treats! He got treats less often as he got older and more used it to it and I don't use them any more, except right at the end. With the daily brushing (I hope this doesnt sound too mean) I used to put him on top of the cat's scratching post when he was little. Because there wasn't much room and it was too high for him to jump off he would either stand or sit still and let me me brush him because he didn't really have a choice, and he quickly learnt that the quicker we got through the brushing the quicker he could get down. Now he's too big for one scratching post so I usually just brush him on the floor but sometimes I put him with front feet on one scratching post and back feet on another (sort of stacked) to give his legs a brush. Oh, and don't forget to get Teddy comfortable with scissors around the bottom of his feet (around his foot pads) as the hair will grow and need to be trimmed away from the pads and many a dog hates it!!!

Good post Im clearly not the one to talk you out of it after going from no dogs to 3 dogs in 2.5 years :laugh: I found going from one to two pretty easy, I don't think it's twice the work, at least with small dogs. I was lucky at mine got along fine but if Lucy tends to get along with other dogs and wasn't bothered having your little Chi visitor then hopefully she would welcome a puppy too. I wouldn't expect her not to be protective of her food just because he's a puppy though, she probably still would be so you'd have to watch that. You've been thinking about it for a while and are clearly not acting on impulse so if I were you I'd go with your gut and not stress out about the problems if you decide to go ahead - expect it to work well then manage any issues that arise. I do think that after getting the second one I went from a "person with a dog" to a "(crazy) dog person". My life is very centered on the dogs now and all the things people said about not being able to go away and the costs involved are very true but for me it's worth it for the benefits they bring me.

Suspect I may be one of those to whom minimax is referring, I mentioned the definition of a breed and used the Labradoodle as an example. As far as I'm aware the Labradoodle (or Australian Cobba Dog, not just any Lab x Poodle) is the only one of the poodle crosses where certain breeders are in fact registering pedigrees, health testing and possibly working towards ANKC registration. I was by no means saying that any muttly who has two parents of allegedly the same cross should be considered as a pure breed.

Edited coz I quoted myself instead of just editing - see below :)

I have one that I use on Riley because he barks all the time, including at nothing really, just because he's excited. Agree with all the points everyone has raised, it does leave the smell in his fur, it does go off sometimes when one of the other dogs barks (poor Riley ) and it only stops him barking when he's wearing it, as soon as it's off or if he realizes it's empty he's back to barking. When he's wearing it if wants to bark at something he does little noises and test barks so he must have figured out that if he can make a certain amount of noise and it doesn't spray then it's empty!! I still think it's worth a shot as long as it doesn't freak your dog out, I know Riley's barking would drive the neighbours crazy and as I have quite a few neighbours and they change regularly (rental dual occupancies and townhouses) I don't want to risk some stranger getting angry and trying cause harm to the dogs.

Yep, my poodle x has always been licker, it drives me nuts. He's 3 now and still tries I hold him off and don't look at him or acknowledge him until he stops. When he was a puppy I had the advice to catch his tongue and hold it when he tried to lick, he was too quick and his tongue too small to catch but I did manage it with my bigger dog and you may be able to with your Kelpie pup, just be gentle, the idea isnt to hurt them, just to make them uncomfortable.

Oh dani, huge hugs... He is at peace now.

So sweet :) She has moved around a bit but it does sound like she has always been well cared for. I'm glad she's come back to you.

I think it's a type thing, although no doubt they would encourage anyone with a pedigreed purebred to go through them if they couldn't return a dog to the breeder. Plenty of breed-specific rescues will also take crosses who appear to be and have characteristics of the breed.

Yep, mixeduppup, like many things in the world of dogs people have differing opinions and different terms of reference on what certain terms mean. It's part of why legislation and education around animals is so difficult to make effective.

I'll give an example: Miniature schnauzers were 'created' by crossing standard schnauzers with smaller dogs such as affenpinschers and poodles. A pedigreed miniature schnauzer will have pedigreed miniature schnauzer parents but their ancestors will include standard schnauzers and the other breeds. EFS Also, pedigree doesn't have to mean ANKC pedigree (although that's usually what is meant on DOL). So you could technically have a dog with a pedigree (written record of its ancestry) with no two dogs of the same breed in it. When it comes to purebred, I think it's widely accepted that it means both parents are the same breed - it then comes down to what is considered a "breed". The Aus Labradoodle (or Cobba Dog) people do consider it a breed and do have records of ancestry for their dogs so they would refer to their dogs as pedigree purebred Labradoodles. The ANKC would not recognise them as such.

Dexter us super cute, and I love his name :) It sounds like you're doing a good job with him, keep reading and puppy school should be fun and helpful. Just a quick comment about taking him out the front to toilet - if the front yard isn't fenced it'll be a good idea to take him out in a lead (if you aren't already). While he's so young he probably wants to stick close to you anyway but they quickly get to an age where they get confident and want to explore and if he's not fenced in or on lead he could be off very quickly! I'll never forget my Aussie Shepherd puppy, who had very reliably followed me straight from the car to the front door every time, suddenly deciding she wanted to go for a quick run up the busy road out the front. My heart stopped as I desperately called her to come back, luckily after a quick lap she did come back with no harm done but now she stays on the lead

Let's hope the Attorney-General can get the sentence toughened significantly. What the hell was the sentencing judge thinking, it's not like a 28 year old couldn't be expected to foresee that in a gunfight someone was quite likely to be killed. Ridiculous. And I would have thought there could have been charges for gun possession at least as well, for which this might be an appropriate sentence. This sends a message that it's ok to go around with guns and plan fights

Oh dani, you are in such a tough situation, where there still seems to be a chance of survival, but sadly it's unlikely long term. Reading everyone's posts about how they change, lose the light in their eyes or the essence of themselves definitely rings true with my Choppy, I just knew it was time for her. Also dani, she was always a prickly girl (well since I acquired her at age 7) and not very affectionate but in her last two days the only time she relaxed was when I was holding her - I think when it came down to it I was the one she loved and was the one who gave her comfort - it makes me cry now but also feel happy that she had that. Embrace it with your boy xx

Tonight was the first ep I've seen, it was so sad such a complicated issue. Funnily enough willow, one of my first thoughts with the lady with 260 cats was "how could she possibly know who they all were?" Sensible daughter you have.