Fatsofatsoman

Boonie ignores all TV except for Tennis - he watches the rallies so intensely - but turns away as soon as the point is lost. Bang serve goes down and he's watching again. Lost point, back to chewing toy, oops serve again. It's amazing.

I know they do rescue and re home for this breed as it states on the club website. the breeder or the breed club? either way maybe an email to the seller/rehomer stating that he may find help on the breed club website?

Cool - on that note I'm gonna start calling the Leek Bull Terriers (another town in Staffordshire) (my tongue is obviously firmly in cheek also) ;)

For all you know he's tried the breeder and they have declined???

I used to with Bull Terriers because of an incident ending in my sister getting bitten on the face - time has taught me that was more down to bad manners by my sister and a badly trained dog (wasn't only incident it was involved in) so really could have been any dog. I do think some dogs tend to attract bad owners - which result in bad dogs, and this doesn't help the breeds at all. Boonie's best mates at our local dog park are a Staffy and a BT - these experiences help break down any prejudices. I'd have to say though that I do steer clear of small maltese x type of dogs - but that's because I own a young Lab and they don't appreciate his energy. I have noticed and did quite recently (K9 Capers Sunnybank) that those type of dogs are always quite aggressive but because of their size seem to have escaped any training - owners being able to contain a smaller dog probably let it get away with more posturing/barking/aggressive behaviour than larger breeds. Again this is all based on my experiences and where I frequent so is not a true reflection of any breed as a whole. All dogs when trained and handled correctly are great - it's just a shame certain dogs have idiots as owners. I suppose I do also avoid the Staffy owner who comes to our park sits down and cracks a beer and never looks at his dog. Stereotypes - horrible arent they.

not to be pedantic - but if one of your peeves is people naming them wrong - shouldn't you then also be calling them Staffordshire and not just Stafford?

Hi kathq, I am in Brissie - Northside (Wooloowin). I'd be very interested in a playdate/meet. If you don't mind an excitable Lab also coming along? Cheers, Fatso

i will have a browse later on this evening - we have 3 near us and love to use them. you'll find there's not much dog park love on here though.

Really that's what I'm getting at or asking for - our household suits a Lab down to a tee - but geez I love the look of a GSP and my thinking was that they are gundogs (although Pointers and not Flushers) and would be quite similar to owning a Lab. I'm all for being told differently and will obviously only get a GSP if we can offer what it needs. Inactivitey will never be a problem in our household - we are pretty active people so I'm pretty sure we can handle 'energetic' dogs. I really just want a list of pitfalls that I may not think of - I'd like to fully aware of everything and given that we're at least a year away before getting one I can start to judge whether what we do in our life suits a GSP or whether there's stuff we can start doing (I'm all for starting new routines/activities). Plus we have an existing Lab - I hope with all my might he is with us for a very long time to come - I'm also hoping that GSPs and Labs are/were known to like each others company.

I made a facebook page for Boonie as a joke - he's got nearly as many friends as me. instead of ridicule (that I expected) he got friend requests. I think it goes to show just how truly bored we all are.

Thanks for the reply - they sound very similar to a lab puppy then - though we have spoken to one owner and she thinks they may be just a little more work. As for being part of the family - that goes without question. Boonie is only an outside in the backyard dog when we are at work otherwise he's lording it around the house -see attached pic as an example of him lording it up on 'his' lounge.

Hey there GSP owners/lovers. I will be looking to purchase another pup in a year or so - I know still a while yet but I want to be prepared. Please give me the pros and cons on owning/training a GSP - it will be a pet / not interested in showing. And will have by the time I get him a 2 - 2.5yr old Lab to learn (hopefully good) habits from. I really love the look of the breed - have experience with a gun dog (although only 1 years worth) and I'm really thinking I'd like to own a GSP or another Lab. We live in an active household where exercise twice a day is the norm and we have a large backyard. Cheers, Fatso.

you might want to edit your post then as you've mentioned the breed.

I may be an idiot (well plenty would say there's no maybe about it) but I'm really staggered that out of litters of 6 to 8 pups only 1 or 2 are considered bettering the breed. Therefore nature is pretty poor at this natural selection business - considering these pups are coming from prime parents. Or are the human decided standards put on breeds too harsh. I'm quite new to reading up on breeds and the show side of it but I would have thought a dog that is able to do the job that the breed was bred for should be looked upon highly rather than one that looks like a set of stats produced by us and that might not be able to retrieve for toffee. just my two cents - I'll take a healthy happy Lab that can retrive and do all he's breed is meant to do whether his tail is otter like enough or not all day long.

Anyone go on Sunday to Sunnybank? I was there with Boonie - man there were a lot of dogs - organised chaos i reckon.

hahaha - I'm a Lab. What is it they say about dogs and there owners.

Both - or a mix of 1 walk and 1 Dog Park session. Always two lots of exercise/socialisation a day though.

Ummmmmmm......the OP's post is precisely why reputable breeders SHOULD be advertising on Gumtree!! I do and I certainly don't class myself as disreputable. How are people going to find GOOD breeders if the good breeders don't advertise EVERYWHERE?? I've always said that the BYBers and shonks will win if the good breeders don't get out there and rub shoulders with them and give the puppy buyers a CHOICE! Obviously if the only breeders a prospective purchaser can find when they go looking are the less than reputable ones, then that is where they will purchase their puppies. It's all about education and getting the word out there and that means going where Joe Q will be looking! This post makes an awful lot of sense - I know most joe bloggs will just hit up those sites and will probably not have looked on sites like DOL. I know people should be better educated if they are planning on buying a pup but wouldn't it be better that what they do buy is a healthy pup.

I think Boonie would be upset if we left him inside - he too is soaking wet when we get home, but he loves it. We just make sure there are towels at the front door waiting for us on rainy days.

We were advised by our vet not to even take Boonie on long walks until over a year old because of his joints (he's a lab) but that interaction at the dog park was ok - something about the repetitive stride used when walking or running in a straight line. A rule of thumb we heard was 5 minutes walk per month of age. So I'd suggest 5 months is quite a bit too young to be doing any large amount - although Aussie may differ to Labs in what they are able/allowed to do. Probably just do shortish walks with the bike and have him/her walking beside the bike and just getting used to being around it. I'm sure there'll be much better advice given later.

I was wrong - it'll be Boonie's 1st birthday on the 5th. Will definitely be down there to celebrate with him.

In addition to play dates, the Brisbane Council have doggie afternoons out at various dog parks, called K9 Capers. If you're at Wooloowin, the ones at Boondall & The Gap wouldn't be all that far away. More K-9 Caper Events in Brisbane off-leash dog parks, from April to June. Activities, games, competitions, stalls. Games start from 1.30 p.m. Boondall Sunday 29 May Sunnybank Hills Sunday 5 June The Gap Sunday 26 June. Full details, including location of these dog parks: http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/facilities-...apers/index.htm excellent - will try and get there for this weekend's at Boondall.

I'm in Wooloowin - so not far from Nudgee Beach or Kedron Brook and any number of dog parks. I will definitely be there for the meet at Nudgee on the 5th - Boonie turns 1 on the 8th.

Any of you Brissie residents think a playdate is a good idea? I'd be keen to meet up and I'm absolutely certain Boonie is in ;)

Opps I just reread and you were specific - I'm just typing through the hangover from last nights Origin game.