rainfallis

uh.. wow, just went and read this. This completely describes my labrador. She was always fine, but I have noticed that she becomes weak after an exercise. Again, I didn't think much of it, didn't even stop to think that it might actually be a disorder/genetic syndrome. The vet didn't mention this at all. Thanks for the information. No worries. I can see the logic behind how females+females might cause troubles. The breeder I've been in talks with have been extremely great and communicative. She has explained that the pup is reserved at first (like a typical ausshep) but has a very positive temperament. I will make sure to train it well too obviously.

My lab is 5 years old. So in total there were 3 instances where I've seen weak legs. Once at a dog park - recovered very quick (assumed it was just because of playing around a lot), second was at the doggy park too (assumed it was cause of play too but then seizure happened about 5minute after), then third time at home (assumed she was going to have a seizure but seems to have slept it off and is back to normal and has stayed that way for weeks).

Also, could anybody suggest me a good mentally challenging dog toy? or something that I could create?

Very informative post, appreciate it. Good thing that our pool gate lock is high reach. Our lab usually plays rough as well, not sure if that's going to be a good thing. Not sure about being pushy but I think our family would appreciate a dog that is more communicative(?)/vocal(?) as well as protective. Our lab, even though she is toilet trained outside, never signs or barks or does anything if she needs to go so I've learned to take our lab out every couple of hours or so if she stays indoors. I think our family knew that the shepherds were not going to be an easy breed, but perhaps I'll feel the full force once I actually have it as a part of the family.

Hey thanks for more input guys. The reason why I havn't been able to see the parents was 1. they were not on the picture set on the advertisement and 2. the breeder was busy so actually took some time for me to receive the pictures. I have received the pictures of the parents. I have the names but I don't really know how to go about cross referencing (what sites do i use or who do i call?), also how does a pedigree name look like? I understand that the vets aren't complete experts. But I guess I had no other input other than from them. We've had some time settling in to our new house (couple of weeks), on the first day our lab had trouble getting up (weak hind legs) which preceded the seizure last time it happened (Our lab had only 1 episode. The vet did recommend us to monitor the lab and to bring her to the vet straight away if a seizure happened again) but after the first day she has been much more lively. She's running and jumping around excitedly. Sleeps and eats normally too so I think our family agreed that getting another dog was okay. I honestly didn't think to call a breeder but thinking about it that would have been the logical thing to do as they essentially deal with dogs all the time - hence should have knowledge and experience that vets won't.

Hmm not sure. The vet guessed that the main trigger behind the seizure would have been stress. I explained to her that our house was very small, the dog was limited to a small backyard and everyone was busy (we lived there for a year and now we are back at our old/new house which has much much bigger rooms and backyard). She suggested getting a companion in case there are times where our lab might be left alone for the day and our other vet friend agreed when we told him about it. Our family decided to take the advice. I've got much more leisurely time now and with the bigger house our lab should have much more freedom and get more frequent walks/play time. As I said, we still decided to take the advice since we believed having a friend wouldn't be bad for our lab. But as you guys mentioned, I don't think I thought of the possibility of the pack mentality of culling kicking in. I'm no expert in vet science, so I'm sticking with what the professional has suggested me but yeah.. any further thoughts guys?

Hey guys, thanks for chiming in. I can see merit on both sides. On one hand, you'd ideally want to meet the breeder and the dog in person (I've done it with my lab in the past and of course the sensible thing to do is to have a look yourself), on the other hand that shouldn't deter you from meeting your next companion/family. I've talked in some length with the breeder at KEELAMBARA and I have decided to go ahead with bringing the pup to Sydney from Cairns. She was lovely to talk with, I've asked a lot of question and she's answered most of them. One thing I am missing though, is the pictures of the parents. The reason why I am on semi-haste is my lab recently had a seizure, a local vet and a family friend vet recommended that we get a friend for our labrador. We recently moved to a bigger house and we've been meaning to get a buddy for our lab and after brief research I decided on an aussie shepherd (but none were available at NSW - the ROWENGLEN breeders in NSW were not responding). Reason for picking the aus shep was I've heard how they have great temperament, they have a decent amount of energy but isn't overly energetic. Plus always wanted an aus shep growing up so that's a +point. Other dogs in mind were Border Collies, Cocker Spaniel, Beagle, Dobermann, and Golden ret. When I showed my family the pictures of the Aus Shep pup, they were immediately swoon whereas they felt a bit reserved about other dogs that we've been scouting around.

Hi guys. First time posting. I'm just wondering if anyone if familiar with KEELAMBARA Australian Shepherd breeders. I'm sure they're perfectly fine and reputable breeders, but this is my first time buying a pup interstate and hence I'm just trying to ask around and see how reputable they are. I just have a feeling of something missing because I haven't had the chance to directly interact with the pups. Not too worried but, genuinely curious how other people's experience has been with them, and how the dogs you have purchased from them are like in terms of health and temperament. I did a brief search but all I could find were topics on agility and shows. Would love to hear your opinions and previous experience with them. Thank you in advance!