BlaznHotAussies

Me too, far easier to keep happy! According to that study, my breed came in at a whopping no.48 out of 69. Bah, intelligence is over-rated! :laugh: I think the study is bollocks. Even if it's not bollocks, I wouldn't use it as the basis for choosing a family dog. Intelligence being only one aspect of a dog breed. In fact, not denigrating any of the breeds higher on the list, but some of the loveliest family dogs aren't near the top of that intelligence list (CKCS to name but one). The amenable nature of a "less intelligent" breed should rate highly when choosing a family pet. I think Allerziet only posted it to answer an earlier question in the thread re. the most intelligent breed anyway. :) I agree - Golden Retrievers aren't exactly renowned for their intelligence...but they are great family pets!! They're so biddable and friendly (in my fairly limited experience unfortunately!! I LOVE them)... Just as an example :)

Gosh I don't feel sorry for you guys!! I think I'm lucky having a border collie :p plus he's brown and his name is Toby - Yup just like the one off Harry's Practice (but less fluffy and cute and smart!).

Wow she's beautiful!!! I've always admired Springer Spaniels :D What a stunner!

Poor girl! Crazy that they like this kinda trait in Quarter horses and I think some cows..? Looks even worse on a dog that's supposed to be sleek!!

I realised today - my dog can't possibly be a child because when I asked him to help me bring in the shopping he didn't do anything. He didn't even whinge. Or grunt. 'nuff said ;)

I say my dog is our "child" just to get people off my back when they ask the question "So when are you guys having kids?" Pfft. He's not much of a child though...I'm not a fan of having a dog inside (can't exactly blame me - dogs roll in poop and dead sheep on a farm and I'd rather not have that stinking out the house! ;) ) so he can sleep on the ute/couch on the verandah/under the house/on the verandah and he goes on the ute with OH when he goes to work (he works on the family farm) :)

Not a nice situation to be in Sorry I can't really add any advice, but

Poco is gorgeous and looks very bright - you never know she may have longer in her than you think, lets hope so. :) Thankyou :) I really hope so too :) Apparently my little brother (6yo) has decided that he wants his next dog to be a Kelpie and he's gonna call him Wok :p

It doesn't hurt an animal to be put down...rather that than, like Greytmate said, potentially live a life of misery. If I were unable to keep one of my horses (unsound, so his only "use" is sitting in the paddock...), I'd put him down before I let any old idiot take him on. Unless I knew them very well and knew that every horse in their care was looked after and cared for. Same with white puppies with potential for health issues - why would you want to breed an animal with an uncertain future? OR rather, set an animal up for failure. A healthy animal is more likely to be looked after than an unhealthy one. Especially in this economic climate. JMO. I suppose there are people out there who have the money to spend zillions on their animals just to keep it alive...

I'm impressed at the number of dog washes in WA!! :D Awesome! :)

I don't know...for me it'll depend on the dog. My little dog Poco that we got when I was 7 is now 14..or 15? And she's on her last little legs (mum doesn't think she'll make it through winter - even with a heated bed and a jacket in the garage/music/games room!) and I'm starting to prepare myself mentally for that She's in Wagga Wagga and I live in WA so the last time I saw her was Christmas just gone....it was probably the last time! Said the longest goodbye...I think I'm in a little bit of denial - thinking that we'll see her again but probably won't... Put it this way - my nanna described Poco as my pride and joy. :) Poco at Christmas

Beautiful!!! :)

Not only a gardener! He calls his stud "Australia's leading Quarter horse and Paint stud" riiiiiiiiiiight. I wish I could watch the vid

Wow seriously?? That's nearly my favourite ad!! Dunno how they got to "bestiality" out of it though. I thought it was a good way of illustrating that the dog is getting back at the lady for buying the Jeep?

Right, I'm taking my dog to Rockingham beach :D

Ahh yeah - Haha I suppose it's like figuring out which button unlocks your car...in a hurry... But yeah this lady didn't really seem to fussed - more like Awww Jack is making a new friend! I like the under 2m rule!! I think I would've crossed the road but there were a few cars at the time although, the little dog probably would've followed.

I was walking my (timid) border collie Toby when I was living in Perth temporarily and this woman was walking her little Jack Russel. I thought, Eh, it'll be fine it's on a lead and Toby is bigger so he shouldn't be too scared. But no. It was one of those stupid leads that just get longer and longer so the dog came right up to poor Toby and harrassed the crap out of him! Barking and growling and yeah... Owner didn't even stop the thing Plus the lead got tangled a bit around me because Toby was trying to hide behind me and the little dog could still reach him! Lucky Toby's not timid-aggressive! (Reason he's timid around other dogs is because he was on the farm with the same "pack" of dogs for his whole life and never met anything that wasn't kelpie/border collie/Aussie shepherd.) I could've sworn those long leads had a stop button so the dog can't go any further..??

I'm considering getting it for my horse, but not for my dog - if something horrific happens, we'll see if we can afford it, otherwise I'd prefer to put him down. Especially if he won't have good quality of life - would much prefer him to be happy and healthy rather than on meds and the like. I guess I was bought up by my dad for whom pets weren't worth the money (he was concerned when I said I was gonna study equine massage :p "Nobody wants to pay money for that!" ) and if it got too sick you put it down. I kinda agree - to a point. Financially, if I bought a dog off a breeder, I'm putting quite a bit of money into the animal, so I'd get it insured for sure. As much as I love my animals, I won't go into a heap of debt if they get really sick. That's just me :)

I waffle to my dog all the time...FIL (classic working dog farmer haha) reckons I talk to the dogs too much and pat them too much :p says that Cesar Milan has control over his dogs by standing there and being the leader. Which is great, but I've talked to my dogs all my life! I used to have trouble sleeping when I was a little kid sometimes (went through a phase of not being able to sleep until mum and dad were in bed!! So 2 hours or more after bedtime!) and went out into the garage (where my dog slept) and talked to her and cuddled her for a while. Then became sleepy and could go to sleep! So they're like my little friends :p when we visited people, their houses were boring unless they had a dog.... I always talk to Toby, telling him what I'm going to do, ask if he wants to go for a run this afternoon, telling him to stay on the verandah so that I can get his food and feed him, telling him I can't find my riding boots, asking him if he had a good sleep or whether the ute was comfortable enough (because Mr. Princess doesn't think a comfy couch on the verandah is good enough ;) ) and all sorts of things!! I think he's even starting to know what "food" means. I think talking to dogs is a great way of teaching them things...they learn what you're talking about!!

My Aussie is similar, she loves raw which is what they get mostly but she just isnt interested in dry. I'm always trying to keep weight on her too the nutcase lol Glad I'm not the only one!! And when I put it in the bowl he's standing there as though he's starving. Then he looks at it, might have a mouthful then nicks off! Silly boy... (Although sometimes I give him an egg with his food and he luurrrves it!)

My BC takes about two days to eat a couple of handfuls of dog pellets....of any kind! So I've given up on that and waiting for him to starve before he eats..... He eats tin food - or at least half of it!!! So I'll just have to give him that... I give him bones and chicken frames and he LOVES them - takes them off somewhere and gnaws at it :D He's fairly picky...and he can't really afford to be - such a naturally light on dog...definitely improved from when I got him though. Anyway. Enough waffling. I'm so envious of all you people who's dogs eat their food!!!

Ahhh after seeing more dogs (I always forget about some breeds :p ) I wana change mine!! I love Brittany spaniels :D and think Whippets and Cavs are adorable...have heard great things about their temperaments too... Ooh in my medium section - Basenji!!!

Toy: Yorkshire terrier Small: Chinese Crested. Medium: Border Collie, maybe. But I've already got one :p Large: Golden Retriever. Or German Shepherd. Or Greyhound. Giant: Great Dane. I think they're just so galumpy :D

I think by reading all this that perhaps I'm not giving her enough exercise. Shes not allowed off lead belts because she has crap recall and I don't like dog parks because shes so little (although I could find a small dog park I guess). The dogs at mums have a doggy door so can get in and out 24/7 and have each other but aren't besties, the 2 boys have never really liked each other and the oldest tenty is now 16 so spends most her time downstairs as she can't climb the stairs. But I guess it's still company. Mum works 7-1pm 4 days a week other then that they're home alone. Oh I thought it was a Maltese terrier (see told ya im stoopid) In regards to walking as well, Lucy has no manners, she barks at dogs behind fences, dogs walking past, leaves that look like dogs, she sends the entire neighbourhood off barking. You're not stupid! They are not be terriers but I remember them being called Maltese Terriers when I was a kid and if you google the name it looks like they still are in some places. Yeah I'm the same - I've seen them written down as Maltese terriers so often! Good to know they're not haha :D

I felt like that too when we had another one of the farm dogs for the afternoon... I even gave him special frozen bones (like Toby likes) But he's such a sweetie!! He was my first favourite dog on the farm :p (Toby doesn't know......)