McMiffy

That is very kind, but I already booked and paid because I felt I didn't really have a choice. But I'll send a PM just in case.

I know! I've done all this research about the dog I think will work best for us, spent ages refining my list of shortlisted breeds and then I've gone and got something else, and an ex puppy farm cross breed at that! :laugh: Having said that, this dog still is going to be great for us, but it just makes me laugh. It's a case of right place right time for this particular dog, she needs a loving home and I happen to have one here for her. It didn't hurt that the barrier to a small fluffy dog was my husband - he felt a small fluffy dog was not masculine enough - but he bought himself an expensive jacket today so when I showed him the picture and said "could you cope with this?" he said "yes" because he'd bought the jacket, so I did it! It has cost more to get the dog here than it did to adopt, my goodness there is a HUGE mark up, I know the airfare is $135 (got a quote myself earlier), but they are billing $400 in total. We are only renting the crate and the RSPCA is dropping off. So $265 on crate hire and a bit of admin at the airport.

Well I finally got through to RSPCA Coffs Harbour and they are far more helpful than RSPCA ACT. Interview done over the phone, happy to send dog to me if I am happy to pay for the flight. Of course this approach might not work in every instance, at least they were willing to work with me. You are quite right Malti, they don't all work the same way.

I have noticed a listing for a dog in Coffs Harbour that I am interested in. But Coffs Harbour is an eight hour drive from here. I couldn't get through on the phone, so called my local RSPCA and asked if they transfer dogs from one facility to another and I was told they don't. So I am just wondering, if someone wants to adopt a dog, why would they not do something like have the local RSPCA interview the adopting family and do a yard check and then recommend the dog be transferred to them if the family would be suitable thus enabling the dog to be adopted rather than kept in a shelter? I would be happy to pay the transport costs. Is this just because they don't want to risk that the dog doesn't like you and they end up with another dog in their shelter to care for?

There are agility trials at CDC in Symonston on Saturday & Sunday but as Bjelkier said, the All Breeds shows are on at Epic Sat, Sun & Mon. I can't find out any info for the All Breeds show, just the Collies and Shelties show and the Agility. Do you have the times that it starts? Or a link with info?

Actually, I had considered Havanese, but then the coat seemed troublesome. But I hadn't thought about clipping it; that makes a lot of sense. It seems there are two shows; Saturday is the Collie and Sheltie show at EPIC and I had forgotten about the all breeds show at Symonson. Who says nothing happens in Canberra? LOL Are you going to the shows?

You are all awesome! Lots of suggestions for dogs I hadn't even remotely considered but who would be great. I think I have a bit of a short list now: Shetland Sheepdog Japanese Spitz Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Schnauzer On my maybe list, (because of apparent hair shedding as opposed to grooming) Tibetan Spaniel Bichon Frise So I guess what I have discovered through this process is that we are after a small/medium dog that is hairy! A Sheltie was just walked past my house as I pulled in earlier but they were too far past for me to say hello by the time I got out of my car. What a gorgeous little dog, so pleased that I am considering one. Any breeders that are recommended for the breeds on my list? Or for that matter breeders to avoid? There is a Collie and Sheltie show this weekend, if I pop down to have a look is it appropriate to say hello to breeders there (as long as I don't get in the way?) and chat about suitability or better to not bother them at a show? Thanks again for your help, you have all had some excellent ideas and even though some of the dogs suggested didn't make it onto my shortlist, I really enjoyed considering them.

Hi everyone, I am looking for a bit of guidance with dog breeds. I've read some other similar posts with some great ideas and am hoping for similar guidance. We are on the hunt for a pet dog and whilst I have some ideas, I am wondering what you would all suggest would work as I am sure I have overlooked some lovely breeds. We have four kids aged 11 through to 3. We have a medium/small garden with fences that are 1.6m at the lowest point. I work from home. We are prepared to walk once a day. We have access to an off leash area - although it is not fully fenced. We plan to take whatever dog we get to obedience training and, assuming the dog likes it, agility. We don't mind grooming, but I draw the line at drool - I don't want a drooler! We have cats, so a breed that doesn't like to chase/eat small furry creatures is important. My husband has stipulated that the dog must be pretty (and still tries to maintain he isn't superficial about appearances :laugh: ) So, what would you recommend and why.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to comment, I really appreciate it. You have all been very helpful and have helped me understand the process much better. Still looking for that special furry someone to join our family, but feeling confident that the right dog is out there somewhere.

Ahhh! Right, yes, different states different laws. Thanks. So possibly being a little bit full on then? LOL I have been researching the breeders as much as I can. I've looked up their show results, read their websites, checked their Facebook pages, etc but whilst with some breeders you can get a very good feel for their breeding program and type of breeder they are, others have very little information available at all. I don't think that lack of information means they aren't good breeders, but it does mean that questions can't be answered any way but by asking directly. In regards to health testing when it is just a pet purchase; if a breed is prone to issues such as hips, would the puppies have all been tested and scored, or not? I would assume that any responsible breeder would be testing and breeding only with dogs that don't score poorly, but if a breed is still prone to a particular health issue, is testing still done on the resulting litter or not? Obviously you can't completely avoid health problems, but by starting out with at least knowing what the test results show would, in my mind, be sensible. So if testing is stated as done, should the buyer assume the tests were good if the results aren't provided or is it polite to ask what the result actually were? Thanks for your replies, I am feeling a bit uncertain as I've never done this before.

Hi everyone I don't have a dog - yet - but we are at the 'seriously planning' stage. I am wondering if anyone can give me some insight. Our youngest child is 3. We also have cats. We think that it might be folly to get a puppy, so we are thinking about a mature dog. Based on information I have read, I have sent a couple of emails to breeders advertising dogs we are interested in with information about us and our intentions for the dog and have asked in turn about the dog (health screening and the results, if it is desexed, if it is cat/kid friendly, if it has had any training, if it has lived as a member of the family or in a kennel etc) so I know what sort of previous life the dog has had so I can decide if it will be the right dog for us. I am curious as to why my questions aren't actually answered. As in health checks are stated as done, but no indication if they were good or bad, hip scores not provided even thought they state the dogs have hip scores or they say they 'think' the dog will be OK with cats but they don't know, or will be OK with kids if they don't make sudden movements/shout/act like kids. I am left wondering if I am oversharing about our doggy plans, or asking too many questions - except I really don't think I am. Am I expecting too much information from the breeders? Except, again, I don't think I am. If I am looking to buy a dog that is not a puppy, am I correct to think that the seller would want to answer my questions about its health and life to date? I think that given I expect the dog to be with us until my kids are grown, it isn't too much to ask about health and individual temperament so as to make sure we are all a good match. But then I second guess myself and think "well if I get a rescue dog I won't necessarily have all this information" but to be honest, I feel that the rescue dogs often seem to have far more information offered about them and their temperament than the mature dogs offered by the breeders. So, my questions is - to those of you who sell your mature dogs - how do you like people to ask about your dog? Am I doing the right thing and just got a couple of odd replies? Is it OK to ask about health and temperament of a dog in the first email? Is it appropriate to discuss the dogs potential new life, or should I wait for you to ask me? If I ask about health tests, when should I expect to be told the results? Is that a follow on correspondence type question? Also, is it OK to ask why the dog is being sold? Or is that considered a bit rude? Oh, and one more, if a dog has been used for stud and the breeder says he is still intact, does that mean the dog will be sold without being desexed? I thought dogs had to be desexed if not being sold to a breeder with a licence? Who is responsible for desexing the dog? Thanks, I thought I had better check with you all because I feel like I might be doing this wrong!