BlaznHotAussies

I love the crate - perfect for just after I've cleaned the house (eeek the dog hair!!!) for just a couple of hours of not having hair anywhere/everywhere

I hope they teach it manners while she's only got little teeth! I'd be jolly-well putting it on wet grass and letting her deal with it

I have this one for my Avalon (2004 model with velour seats) http://www.kurgostore.com/dog-hammocks/wander-hammock/ It's great! I got the khaki one because it matches the car interior better than black and hopefully isn't as hot as the black would be Looks after the seats and the hammock design is great for encouraging the dog to just stay at the back it also has gaps for the seatbelts if you want to put a harness on your dog. The only problem I have with it is it doesn't quite go all the way across the seat, I think my car might be a bit wider than some cars, though. I get around that by popping a towel on either side just to protect the sides of the car seats.

My 'puppy' (Robo, Aussie shepherd, 8ish months) always wants to play with the foal (~4 months) while we're cleaning out the stables/feeding horses. He'll run up to the fence and she'll look and nicker at him. Then he'll play bow and jump away. Then she just kind of gets a look on her face. If she actually runs after him he'll get scared He also follows/plays with me/us while I'm riding my horse... My horse is a really good sport about it but I don't let him do it to any other horse (he only comes out to the arena if I'm there so I just call him off if he starts going up to the wrong horse).

I would have been in trouble for kicking the dog and the owner if that happened to me. I never walk the dogs in the street because of that kind of thing. Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk Yeah, it's totally overrated. The most annoying thing though is where we were, it was at least 40 minutes to a nature reserve kind of thing. And back then when it was winter, it would've been dark if I drove off anywhere after work (got home at 5pm usually) for a decent walk. Plus as an early twenties female, not really keen on heading off alone in the dark I'm so not made for city/suburb living. Neither was my dog really.

Does it count when you're innocently walking down the street and a dog rushes out of it's un-fenced front yard barking furiously at your dog? It went straight for my dog's neck, teeth bared, I managed to kind of get between them and luckily my dog is fairly fast (he was on leash, obviously). Even with me stomping in front of the dog and more or less yelling at it, it was still trying to get past me to my dog, we tried walking away quickly but this thing just kept coming and following us even to the next yard. So I started kicking it away with my foot (it was more like a shove with my foot, not a full-blown swinging kick) and it'd just keep coming. Eventually the owner catches up (he was in the front yard this entire time.) and yells at me to stop kicking his dog. I tell him to get his dog to stop attacking mine and we start walking away. For some stupid reason his dog gets away from him and comes at us again. This time I kick it for real and I can't remember what happened but I think I kicked it fairly hard and we managed to just get away. Afterwards I just felt like I'd fallen off a horse, the feeling of shock and fear just kind of taking over and I bawled my eyes out the whole walk home. My husband was with me, he helped calm me down afterwards. He doesn't like confrontation and didn't want to make the guy punch someone I guess. I'm so glad we live back on the farm now. In our 6 months living in the city I was so stressed about getting the dog out for walks and trying to let him get a decent bit of running in without having him run at by feral dogs. I don't know how you suburb dwellers do it

Oh my goodness... There I was feeling bad about flicking my Aussie in the face with the end of my horse's lead rope (cotton) this morning. He didn't even blink! So I didn't feel too bad but still. Gee they're tough. Oh and last night he ran in front of me on our walk and I accidentally trod on his big boofa foot, he didn't even break stride.

Aw that is adorable!! My Aussie is smart too, he's very good at giving the finger if he doesn't agree with me. Things such as getting in the ute. "Oh, I don't feel like it, I'll just sit here under the ute for as long as I like and you can't do anything about it or go anywhere!" he is lovely though. I wish I could find the bag of treats, it's disappeared! Haven't been able to find it since we got back from holidays!

Hey it's easy to mix up a German Shepherd with a Border Collie. Totally. /s

Hmm... Low maintenance, if there's nothing happening I'm happy to veg. If something's happening I'll be most put out if I miss out. I love road trips. And cafes. And the beach. I'm long haired but don't usually need too much more than a brush once a day. I like showers. I like food. I need a pretty strict diet - I'm a rather good doer... More happy by myself, don't like loud noises or barking dogs or rowdy kids Bark's worse than my bite.

My puppy's a dope because he thinks the horse is playing with him when I'm riding. He'll stand there play bowing waiting for us to chase him and dashes around looking back at us waiting for us to join in

Thanks Cali :) yup I get ya. I'm really not a horrible person. But it's a huuuuge commitment and I don't want to be stuck with a dog I don't get along with. Again so yeah my motivation is mostly to just minimise the risk of that happening. I can totally imagine having a totally awesome rescue dog, but it would have to have a personality similar to my Aussie pup which I love so I'm happy there haha. On top of all that, I want to be able to show, so having a nice dog is part of that. The breeder is on board and she's been helping me out greatly with answering all my questions and giving me training tips and everything. Just wanted to add. I actually look on Petrescue every now and then, just in case there's a little dog (like my oldie, Poco, who's a Silky Terrier X Maltese we got as a puppy and is now 15 and has the most amazing, tough little temperament and I got her when I was 7, did most of the training, trotted around with her on a lead everywhere we were allowed to go, she's my absolute pride and joy. Sadly she's deaf now and at my parents' on the other side of the country. I'm visiting now and I'm really sad because she's actually starting to feel her age. So I don't hate dogs that aren't purebred. Just rather have a purebred.) that I can offer a home to one day in the very far away future.

That's a good point :) thanks for the perspective.

Whoops, shouldn't have posted and left this... Thanks Simply Grand and Trisven and tdierikx for being more understanding Ok, in my post I was frustrated with him because I'm at the end of my rope, even the guy who bred him admits the dog is difficult and that I've done a good job with him despite this. There has been progress, such as me actually socialising him as a 3yo by taking him to football in town and going places in the car with me and things like that. He was super timid when I first got him, wouldn't even come up to visitors. Now he'll go up to people and is pretty affectionate and goes up to most people. I've had help from experienced people, not actual certified professional behaviourists, but one has worked in rescue and has owned many different breeds of dogs and has been helping me and I've also had help from the actual 'breeder' of the dog (well he was bred on the farm. Another thing, the rest of his litter was put down because they had terrible temperaments too.). Basically I've told my husband that he's his dog now, because he doesn't want to rehome or pts and I think we might look into a boundary collar so he doesn't have to be tied up a fair bit of the time. I think the biggest thing I've done wrong is get a dog that has a temperament that doesn't suit me. I think when I get frustrated it makes him retreat a lot, but even though I try not to show it most of the time he can tell, or guess. I don't know. He's either really dumb or waaaayyy too smart and either way, it's not a fun personality mix. Cali I just saw your comment. I think what my version of blank slate is, is basically a dog that's had the early stuff done and is ready for the owner to get it used to new house rules. I don't really know any more. I just call it that because if it hasn't had crappy socialisation and crappy breeding it's usually already on the right track. Anyway. I think I've gotten off on the wrong foot here and probably shouldn't even post this because it's probably just more ammo. Oh well. Oh. Again. I wasn't trying to say that all rescues are broken, it's just I'd rather go with a puppy so that I have more input/knowledge of it's parents, upbringing, breeding, etc. I know there are purebreds in rescue but even then I prefer having a dog from a puppy. I don't know why that opinion is so completely unpopular. Maybe I'd get a rescue dog with no issues. But I'd want to make absolutely sure it has no issues. Also I think people have funny ideas about farms. The livestock are really what comes first, that's where the money comes from and there are not many places money comes from. The dogs also are very important because they look after the livestock, so as you can imagine, if a dog is going and chasing livestock it's not exactly going to be very popular or desired, and that's where I'm coming from a fair bit also. Dogmad, I'm a bit sad that you think nothing constructive has been done to help the dog. I've spent a lot of time on this dog just taking him places and going on walks when we were in the city and training and taking him around the farm with me when I can because I want the company and enjoy taking the dog around. I've done my absolute best. It's a bit of a kick in the guts when you've done so much for a dog and taken it everywhere you possibly can and trained it and it ditches you as soon as you take your eyes off it and there's a distraction. He'll even run away and if I call him (or whistle for him), he'll look back at me and run away faster. It's just a wtf moment because you don't know where it's come from.

He's the only one, but it's put me off getting any more. I'm not saying they're all broken, just that I personally wouldn't want to deal with it again. Just because I don't want to have another dog with escapist tendencies and timidness and other things. If it's not fun, there's no point. I *might* go through somewhere that screens them carefully, but I prefer purebreds anyway that you can get as a puppy then you know it's parents are tested, make sure they have nice temperaments that you can get along with (i.e. before I even knew about my puppy I was playing around on the grass one afternoon with his mum and may have fallen in love with the breed), all the stuff that you can do to make sure you're going to love your dog. It's just my opinion, I'm a bit of a breed snob perhaps, but really I love any well-behaved dog that's fun to play with and/or cuddly.

If you were having so much trouble with the first dog (who sounds like he needed some expertise), I'm not sure why you'd then get a puppy? It is bound to lead to double trouble. As for looking on pound or rescue dogs as other people's "seconds", I hope you don't ever get divorced. :) Well the puppy didn't come with issues. I'm keeping them separated as much as possible so the older dog can't teach him bad things. I have help from the breeder too (we live on the same farm). Puppy has his own pen, dog has a chain (because he gnawed/jumped out of the pen the puppy is in because he's just ridiculous). Yes there is a lot of resentment! Tis frustrating when you try do everything right and ask for help and nothing works. Since having a dud for a 'rescue' dog well I really do consider him someone's seconds. Nobody else wanted him, and now I know why!! I'd probably rescue a small dog one day because I have a soft spot for the little ones.

I've had a "rescue" dog (not really a rescue, he was cared for but just part of a pack with not a lot of human one-on-one, farm dogs) for about 4 years now and I'm over it. He's timid, pack-bound (my horses are kept where I got him from so when I deal with them he would rather be with his 'pack' than with me ), scared of freaking everything, took ages to warm up to new people, is scared of non-border collies/kelpies - even scared of the Aussie shepherds he doesn't know! Luckily he's not aggressive and is good with little children (even when they fall on him!). He's a bit of a pain to look after though. He barely eats enough even when I try to feed him twice a day and I'm not a sardine factory (he eats them no worries) so he's skinny (people love pointing that out). He will not be kept in a pen. He'll chew his way out. He'll jump huge fences or keep trying. He's even slipped a collar while tied up IN a yard then squeezed through a fence, the collar was stuck on the fence. So on holidays basically the only place we can leave him is where his pack is. *sigh* Also a few weeks ago he ran off and eventually (after looking for him most of the morning) found him chasing sheep. Stupid dog actually managed to get the poor sheep down (puppy was following, but because it looked fun, definitely not the perpetrator, super pissed off that they ended up out of pens/off chains at the same time, but I hadn't emphasised it to the husband enough). Basically I'm at the stage where I'm over dealing with a dog that you have to be SO on top of it with management and everything. I've put so much time into this dog and he's still a total pain. The sheep thing was really the last straw for me. TL;DR - not getting a 'rescue' or adult or 'rehomed' dog again because they have too many issues. But I voted that I'd get a dog from a breed rescue (that's what I read rescue group as?) but as young as possible. Or I'd just wait. And dream. And probably get rich I don't want someone else's seconds. The puppy is absolutely awesome. Hopefully he doesn't still think that chasing sheep is fun, I think I scared him heaps when I was going bonkers at them but other than that he's perfect. Great to handle, awesome tough temperament, looks gorgeous, socialised with other dogs, great with kids (brought up with little kids so LOVES them)....just a nice easy blank slate! Definitely going there again.

Oh wow that's surprising! What a pain Ah yeah, that's probably a better idea.

Ahh damn I can't stand the people that run these scams. Also a bit of a pain that people still fall for it - but I guess knowing what to do on the internet isn't as easy for the older generation than it is for us. I mean who's going to get a call then look up snopes or "microsoft scam" or anything to find out if it's real. I think it'd be handy if someone like the government or something would just run ads on TV with warnings about how to see if it's a scam or not. (Although that might also warn scammers where they need to make their plan more foolproof). Ahh... And the number of people on my friends list who still fall for the "Thanks Bunnings" thing where you're supposed to win a $200, $500, $1000 gift card (changes every time) if you share and like the page and post "thanks Bunnings" - ugh! I think FIL did well yesterday though, he rang my husband asking about this 'survey' he was doing where they get you to fill out a bunch of details and answer some questions to win an iPod or something - no idea what website it was on - and my OH talked him out of it saying those things are usually scams. So it's good when the older generation have someone they can call to warn them about this kind of thing!

Excellent article! thanks for posting. Not so sure about the chaining and tethering comment, I've had to start tying my BC up because he tends to wander (and sadly our house here on the farm doesn't have an enclosed backyard, I've been looking into it though...would help if he didn't jump out of anything smaller than 8ft) and there are sheep in the paddock our house is in at the moment. I think to a point, just making sure the dog has a run a few times a day and toilet breaks would avoid the frustration there. BUT I think the article may be meaning dogs that are tied up all the time and not taken for walks or toilet breaks and have no interaction with anyone. That would send one batty. The other points are excellent though. #4 is interesting because I think less people understand dog body language to be able to recognise when a dog is reaching a limit and usually it's not until they actually snarl or snap that they take away the pressure the dog is feeling (such as a child). Like that video that was posted on here a while ago of that Rottweiller with a kid bouncing up and down on it while they dog was showing warning signs and the parents were laughing and cheering the kid on... And I did not know about #3. But it makes sense! Sorry for the waffle... I just thought it was interesting.

Border Collies and dogs similar to their size tend to be my "normal"! In saying that for most of my life I had a little crossbreed (silky terrier X maltese) and she always seemed small (but she kept up with my horses!). In saying that, I don't really think that Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds are that big. (Are they big breeds? I always thought they were too big to be medium...)

I've had my desexed male (he was actually not desexed until he was about 4) for a while now and recently got a 6~ month old puppy. Sort of similar breeds, the border collie is just very timid and submissive and the Aussie Shepherd pup is bouncy, playful and not particularly annoying (he'll back off once the other dog doesn't engage). So they get along quite well! I think my BC likes the company rather than us boring humans Probably helps that the BC is quite passive and I have literally never seen him start a fight with another dog. He'll usually run away or lay on the ground before snapping.

I have friends with two bitches and they get on like a house on fire :) one is a BC x ACD (apparently...it's a farm mix) and the other is a GSD. They have their play times then GSD has had enough and if the other one keeps trying to play she gets growled at :p I think they might be both spayed. I have two boys, one is 6.5~ BC, desexed & the other is a 6 month Aussie (not desexed) and they get on really well, surprisingly! I think the BC is too boring to play with the pup but he's very tolerant and pup leaves him alone if BC walks away. Very relaxed personalities. My BC boy lived with a friends' female dog (farm mix above) for a few months when I was living with them and they got along really well. Would gallop around the yard for ages together! Admittedly my BC could be the common denominator in these - because he's so used to having/needing a pack, he'll basically get along with any sheep-dog looking dog (he's not scared of Kelpies, BCs & Aussies - usually) no matter how it treats him. oh dear.

Ooh excellent picture showing the different lines!!! Gosh that American one is a bit unfortunate I definitely like the German Working line & the Czech line. beautiful dogs!

Any medium-long-haired breed: Grass-seed proof!!!!