ravenau1

I have no problems with what I paid for my girl Not to answer for her but I believe that Nightgrace's pup was actually born in NZ, where tail docking is legal.

I recently saw some black and white BC pups for sale in a pet shop here in Perth, and they were asking $1000 per pup. No papers. I though that was more than the going rate for a pup with papers/health testing etc.

I've never understood why some people seem to have a problem with the idea that a breeder might make some money from puppies. I have a hobby (well several lol) and occasionally I sell things that I make. Not a huge amount, but realistically I enjoy what I do and there is only so much I can keep for myself. I don't have the hobby just so I can sell things, I would do it anyway. One Christmas I even made enough to buy myself a laptop! I was overjoyed. When people make a bit of money out of other hobbies it's usually considered a good thing, a happy bonus, I don't understand why breeding dogs is any different in that regard.

Kyliegirl, while I can't speak for Dobes in general, I can tell you about mine. Astrid could run all day (if I let her) and still not be tired. At this point I can't actually fathom the amount of exercise it would take to wear her out, to be honest I don't think I could wear her out physically. We play lots of games during the day, training etc as for her I feel that it's the mental stimulation that fulfills her, rather than trying to wear her out physically. I do walk her as much as I feel is safe for her growing body every day, and play/run etc at our local oval but really, it's not even a drop in the bucket as far as her energy levels go. With the amount of attention/work she requires she really is a full time job for me, but that's exactly what I was after, and what I expected. She is definitely challenging, and sometimes completely exhausting. It certainly hasn't been problem free though, that's for sure. She does dig holes, though I don't discourage that, but she isn't at all destructive and her manners at home are impeccable (her manners outside are another thing! but we are working on that ). But I have no doubt left to her own devices she probably would be a destructo dog. Even as I sit here at the computer she is jogging laps of the house! So in my experience I don't think Echo is abnormal, as to whether they will calm down and be more relaxed/less energetic? Well perhaps we can both keep our fingers crossed for luck!

I go on Astrid's condition, rather than following a feeding type guide. I like to keep her showing at least one rib, preferably two so I just adjust her food accordingly.

Black Hawk makes up about a half to two thirds of what I feed Astrid, I also give her my own concoction of lamb, rice and veggies. She gets about 3 cups of the Black Hawk as she's still growing, and that's actual measuring cup cups, same as you're using for flour during baking or whatever.

Hi all! Just curious if anyone has any feedback on this lady? Thanks!

My Mal was fine with my cats, pretty much no other critter was safe though.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/UrbanPuppy?ref=seller_info http://www.etsy.com/shop/FetchAPassionTags?ref=seller_info http://www.etsy.com/shop/IslandTopGems?ref=seller_info I've always thought that styles like those would suit

I think I would like one of each of the puppies in this thread

Pic of my girl taken by Alex at Houndstooth Studio Dobes of course! I think ACD puppies are almost unbearably cute too!

I'm using the cat one too, and haven't really noticed any difference with my cat's poos, they certainly haven't gotten worse. The cats love the food though!

A doggie with a mother that was a staffy x kelpie and a father that was a shih tzu x bichon. But he looked like kind of like a corgi. Nice little guy.

Gorgeous I've never actually met a Visla but they look like awesome dogs!!

True. I have Kelpies/Kelpie-ish dogs so leglessness would not play out well for them :p I guess I was just trying to ascertain the reason for the above posters' feelings of affront. Perhaps they were under the misapprehension that 'many' was being used as the noun for 'majority'. For clarification 'many' only means 'the majority' when you say: "the many" e.g. music for the many As used above, many just means "a large number of people". Nowhere near a majority or all and hardly offensive really unless you're determined to be snotty in which case, go nuts ... I also found The Ark's comment offensive. If I had a legless puppy or one suffering from cerebral palsy I would also opt for euthanasia, but for humane reasons not because it was unsuitable for showing or breeding. There are usually only a few puppies in a litter that are suitable for showing or breeding anyway and I certainly don't pts those that don't make the grade. However I wouldn't hesitate to pts any puppy that was born deformed or carrying a genetic disorder that prevented it from leading a normal life. So you're suggesting that The Ark is being inhumane by not euthing her (much loved and cared for) puppy, and YOU'RE offended?

When I was staying with my OH in the USA when I first met him, I would be sitting around the house at night while he was at work and hear this eerie sound, like slightly discordant notes from a rusty orchestra. I couldn't figure out what on earth it was as we were in the middle of nowhere surrounded by woods. Turns out the people in the next property raise gray wolves and what I could hear was about 30 of them all howling together. If it had been one or two I would have been able to identify it, but so many sounded so different!

Happy dog lilli_star: The first time I used the Furminator on the cats I could have made a whole extra cat out of all the fur!

Hello fellow Cosy Corner people! A busy weekend here. Obedience on Saturday morning went ok, apart from getting told again that Astrid is hyperactive and perhaps we should change her food :D. We went to the beach in the afternoon and we had a moment of panic! There looked to have been a storm or something recently as there was a fair bit of seaweed and debris washed up on the beach, and Astrid was wandering along and found a puffed up pufferfish! Thank goodness her 'leave it!' is really good and she didn't pick it up though she pawed at it before we figured out what it was. No Fugu for Astrid! Minxy: Kyojin is gorgeous, and humongous!! I like his bandanna! lilli_star: was she sitting on her bedding in the rain? That would be funny to see! Thankfully Astrid had never destroyed toys or bedding. How did you go with the Furminator? I got one for the cats and it was insane the amount of fur I got off them! I love it! kyliegirl: Echo sure looks like he is enjoying his icy treat! :D Particularly love the shots on his bed too, they grow so quickly! I try to get good shots of Astrid, but the fact that she is a wriggly worm combined with me being possibly the world's worst photographer mean that 95% of the pics I take of her look like these: or even worse, like this! very flattering. I did manage to snap this one yesterday though, Astrid having a snuggle with OH A bit of a contrast to this one, when we first brought her home. KTB: Elbie and Hoover look very stylish in their collar covers kind of like they are wearing scarves and rugged up for winter! They look very happy and relaxed, though that said Hoover always looks extremely relaxed! Glad to hear things are going so well with them! I'm having trouble contacting K9Pro, however :D my emails are either bouncing back (being marked as junk mail) or not getting answered (which I suspect may be because they're marked as spam on the other end perhaps). I will call tomorrow I think if I still haven't heard anything. wizzle: looking forward to seeing pics of your outing with G! Max#1: Did you survive Max's sugar high? I love snoozy puppy pics! The Fenstar: He is SO cute!! I want to reach through the screen and squoosh him

Half and half here OH is 'Daddy' and I am 'The Boss'. Because we don't (and won't) have kids, people do presume that our pets are child substitutes, which I find a bit annoying.

Awww! He's gorgeous!

Hello everyone Not much has been happening around here as I have been resting.I felt a bit better but today I have quite a temperature which is annoying. My teaching Astrid to bring me things from her crate and to put them back again led to another rash of Household Retrieving spools of thread, clothes from the laundry, shoes, catalogs (well I might have wanted to read them!), a ping pong ball (nicely sized to lodge right in her throat if she breathed in :D ) and several rocks that she brought in from outside. I got a new treat bag in the mail yesterday this kind:- http://www.doggonegood.com/index.cfm?fusea...mp;ParentCat=14 as I was having trouble with my Black Dog bag because of the hinge it narrows at the sides and I have trouble getting my humungo-hands in there I am 5'11" so not 'pocket sized' and have big hands and feet . I used it yesterday and I am quite pleased! What kind does everyone else use? Funny though, the package also had a pig ear in it and Astrid could smell it as soon as I got it off the postie I couldn't figure out what the excitement was all about until I opened it. The Fenstar: Regarding cats and puppies. We have had some success. I currently have two cats (will also have my folks cats next month until November) and one of them really likes Astrid (Jinx) and one hates her (Tosca). For the most part Astrid just ignores them but Tosca teases her! Lures her in nice and close then bops her on the nose! On the odd occasion Astrid will poke Jinx with her nose one too many times and Jinx will complain and give her a swipe but it usually takes more than four or so pokes. We started off really slowly, it took us about a week before we had a 'face to face' introduction. Lots of letting them smell each others smells etc first. And when Astrid was asleep in her crate in the loungeroom I would let the cats in to look at her and sniff around etc. We just make sure that the cats have a safe area where Astrid can't get to. Usually of an evening we have the cats on the couch and Astrid on her bed and everyone is ignoring everyone else. I don't expect that they will ever be best friends though, but that's ok, my cats don't really like each other either, but they tolerate each other. Astrid is a plant destroyer! I fenced off what little garden I have with the wire compost bins from Bunnings. When we stayed at my folks a while ago Astrid would pluck flowers off the plants in my Mum's beautiful garden ;) just pick them off and spit them out. She thought it was great fun. KTB: RE the immigration stuff, I have an idea that they may have thought we were a bit 'dodgy' We met while I was on holiday and got engaged 5 weeks later, I suspect they don't like 'whirlwind romances'! wuffles: Thanks for that post on heeling, it makes a lot of sense! lilli_star: Poor Ruby! A cat will always find the comfiest spot, no matter who it belongs to! Loving the pics from everyone! Here's a couple from me.

We picked up some food from Wendy on Saturday. I know she was getting ready for the big shows on the weekend but she didn't mention going away or anything

Ugh, what a weekend! We went out to a concert on Saturday night and left Astrid outside for the first time (at night). We were gone for about 7 hours and when we got home I noticed there was stuff all over her outside bed but didn't pay too much attention because we had left her with a taped up box full of yummy stuff to destroy (she loves boxes) and I thought it was bits of cardboard. Well, at 2am she starts crying in her crate, she never makes a peep until the morning usually so I knew something was up. Wobbly tummy so I take her outside. VERY wobby tummy . I check the poop (the things we do! ;) ) no blood or anything so I'm not overly concerned as she does have a bit of a delicate tummy. Back to bed. 45mins later we're up again, and every hour after that. Once it's light I have a good look around and what's she's actually thrown up is mostly like a sawdust mush mixed with flecks of paint! I check on her bed and yup! Crumbled wood stuff and bigger bits with a white paint. It looks like part of a stirring stick used for painting or something. NO idea where she got it! The last time we painted was in October, and that was bright blue, not white. Maybe someone put it over the fence, but it seems like an odd thing to do. By yesterday arvo she's feeling better and is back to her bouncy self. However the missed sleep was the last straw for me apparently. Things have been really busy/stressful in the last few weeks and I haven't been taking proper care of myself (I have had warning signs, I have just chosen to ignore them ) so now I am on complete bed rest for the next few days until my system rights itself. Frustrating because it hasn't happened for a long time! I am now working on things I can teach Astrid from the bed because she still needs her mental stimulation. I am working on getting her to bring me things from her crate and put them back again, the bringing them to me is the easy part as she does this anyway but we will see how she goes. OH is having a half day today so will take her out for a walk and some training when he gets home, which will be shortly I think. I'm actually pretty upset as I was supposed to be going to the Western Classic doggie show last night and tonight, to look at Aussies and Great Danes CleoJ: Thanks for the info. The bit about the sense of humour does make sense! I will do some more reading about them in the next few days. I love this place, I am always learning something new wizzle: Love those pics! Particularly the third one down "Let me in, I am ridiculously cute!" I try not to bath Astrid too often. She doesn't have a doggie smell at all but we do have black dirt outside that she loves to dig and roll in so when she starts leaving black prints on the carpet she gets a bath. Sometimes I will just give her a good rinse though, with just plain water to get the dirt off. lilli_star: Jasper and Ruby Jasper is saying "Oh, I'm sorry, were you under the mistaken impression that this is your crate? The rules are if I am sleeping in it, it's mine" Love the smiling pic too, she's so lovely looking! KTB: Yes, we've been there too and it's a pain! I met my OH while I was on holiday in the USA and we got engaged there. Then spent 2 years getting a fiancee visa, then the temporary residency when we got married here then in 2009 he got his permanent residency. I found the whole process quite intrusive at times, and absurd! Some of the things they asked were so personal I wouldn't have been comfortable discussing them with my friends, let alone a stranger! That's a good idea, the speeding up and slowing down while walking. I will start doing that I think. Great to hear you are having success with the new training methods with Elbie ;) Clastic: that pic! Just standing there, patiently waiting. Just like Astrid :D (unless she decided to roll on the ground) The Fenstar: Only a week to go! Exciting!!! You must be feeling really impatient by now!

Astrid does the exact same thing, I wonder if it's a Dobe trait. She only does it when she wakes up from a sleep though, but it's like she wants to let us know she's awake without whining eta: It's hard to describe but it's like of like "aaaahhhh-RI-oooooowwwww"

Well I managed to find a combination of food that Astrid at least pays some attention to! Yay! A nice mix of ham and chicken devon stuff, vintage cheddar, salami and tinned tuna, all mixed and squooshed together. I'm pretty sure that people can smell me about 1km away! The cats have started to pay me more attention too We will see how we go tomorrow at obedience, but at least in the last couple of days I've been able to practice some sit stays and drop stays at the park with some distractions. My OH used to let Astrid lick his cheeks and ears :D it just grosses me out so much! I told him that if Astrid kisses him, I won't :D She tries to lick me when I get out of the shower too, I have to make sure she can't get to the bathroom. There must be chicken bone vibes in the air! We got back from our walk tonight and the cats had been in the bin (grumble grumble) and there was a cooked chicken bone laying right in the middle of the kitchen floor! Astrid snaffled it before I realised what was going on. I got such a fright I yelled "leave it!" and she got so scared she spat it out and ran to bed I don't think she's ever heard me raise my voice before. She's ok now though. We also got some good news that a good friend of OH's here is finally getting his Fiance's immigration stuff sorted out and she will be moving here from Thailand in July I am SOOO happy! He used to live there and they met when he went to her salon for a haircut. I think it's been very difficult for her to leave her family . OH and I are trying to learn some Thai before she gets here. KumaAkita: Hope you're feeling better!! Vietnam! How exciting! I'm sure you will have a great time. We know a few people who have been and loved it . KTB: Your neighbours sound a little odd! He holds chickens up over the fence? :D I think he needs a hobby! I've actually lived here since 2006, and owned the place since 2004 and I don't know any of my neighbours In fact, I recently discovered that the place right next to me was empty for about 6 months and I had no idea! :D The neighbours that I did know moved and I didn't know Delta is lovely! I have a real soft spot for bull breeds. I hope she finds a good home, pity she'd be in danger anywhere but the ACT I think. wuffles: Awwww! Lovely pics! Of the doggies and of you Did it all go well? I hope you had a really magical day!! I will have heaps more questions soon I am going to the Western Classic dog show here on Sunday and Monday nights, and am going to look at some Aussies in the ring and doing agility, can't wait! betsy: I have exactly the same problem!! If I run while she's on lead she jumps up at me and goes mental, perhaps she and Ziggy are related! Not that I can run much lilli_star: Yay for working fridges!! And you totally should enter Ruby! Cleo_J: Thanks for the link, that's really interesting! I had no idea they came in so many colours! I've known a couple of Pembroke Corgis but never any Cardigan (as far as I'm aware) what kind of differences are there in temperament etc?