myzchev

I have owned a Kelpie and I can tell you my Kelpie NEVER got 60 km of running a day. Nor does any dog need that on a daily basis. A good hour of exercise a day for an adult Kelpie would be enough in most cases. Though smaller walks twice a day would work just as well also. If they are ball mad then you can use a ball chucker and throw a tennis ball for them, this means they can get more exercise in a shorter space of time. I would also look at doing something like Agility with a Kelpie as they thrive on this sort of activity. I have Belgian Shepherds now as I am older and sadly do not have the time for a Kelpie anymore. Belgians are high energy breeds but not the same level as a Kelpie. Both breeds do need maintenance grooming of their coats. However my Belgians can survive quite happily with not being walked every day. However, a word of warning, they LOVE to be a part of the family and do not do well if left in the backyard with little human interaction. They want to be with you as much as possible. They are also excellent guard dogs. I can recommend some Kelpie breeders to you if you decide you want to continue down that path. Have a good day Cheers Cindy Didsman

I am sorry, but I would never toletate a dog biting members of my family or anyone else. I would be putting the dog down. I am not a believer in pack leader mentality. i have a background in dog training of over 35 years. Problem is people get dogs and do no training or proper socialising with them until they have a serious problem with tne dog. The poor dog pays in the end.

I just wanted to let everyone know that Angel is recovering nicely and while very sore and sorry for herself, is doing quite well all things considered I will be at training on Thursday with cake for Kizzy's and to celebrate her win last weekend Thanks everyone who has sent get will wishes to Angel

Why don't you discuss the sterilization issue with the breeder??? I would assume that THEY would be the best ones to ask and as to price, ring around and check what prices different vets charge and ask you breeder if she has a vet that she recommends! Just make crate training fun for your new pup and NEVER use it as a punishment. But you can use it as a time out, but give them a pigs ear or something similiar to chew on Good luck, but truly the best person to ask your questions of should be your breeder!!!!

Bonnie is made by the same makers as Pro Plan ie Purina. I personally feed Pro Plan as my personal choice and my dogs thrive on it , but have met people who have used Bonnie with no complaints. Please don't get me started on vets - I have a bad experience with a vet [not my own] thankfully I saw red and picked up my dog and insisted on taking her to my own vet, much happier experience and my dog is still alive, which she may not have been if I had left her at the other vet :D Use what you can afford that is best for your dogs and suites them

[We attended the first obedience class (no dogs for the first session) and despite having been sceptical of clickers, were very impressed with the clicker demonstration we saw and so will start clicker training Elbie when we get our clickers. It looks like the sort of thing he might enjoy. We kind of 'breach' the training rules of the club though because we do tell Elbie "no!" in a stern voice sometimes. I know that many people are against saying 'no' but we've found that it has stopped him chewing on electric wires and that sort of thing. He does seem to understand the word. I use the word "no" on my puppies when needed, but then I am not really a clicker trainer and prefer to use a bridging word. I do believe that puppies need to know discipline and saying "no" and meaning it is a far better punishment then others I can think of[color="#0000FF" The Ugly 1. Car travel. As mentioned here, we are still unable to settle Elbie for car trips. He gets very excited and leaps into the car - but once inside it, he's clawing, screaming, crying, barking and just being a complete maelstrom of madness. We've tried two harnesses and he's managed to get out of both because he's a squirmy, sleek little thing. We think that it might be related to the Leash Thing (discussed below). Have you thought of crate training him both in and out of the car?

YES, there will be cake tomorrow night!!!! See you tomorrow

Gees a pat on the back to you too then - you did well fronting up at Northern Suburbs this morning Thanks, I stayed at mum's last night, as she lives in Scarborough, I think that helped as I got to stay in bed a whole lot longer [mum in SA with sister at the moment ]

Thank you for the congrats - yes I am HUGELY proud of Kizzy, it is not often an inexperienced dog like Kizzy can be trained by one person [me] and run so successfully by someone else [Nic], especially a Belgian Shepherd. But Kizzy takes it all in her stride and just does the very best she can do In fact I will even admit, that when I found out she had won the class I got a bit how sad is that? ROFL Kizzy has only been trialling since the week before the Nationals, and then missed a month of trials with Nic being away. I am so lucky with Kizzy as she is a great dog to train, she is very eager to please and she learns really quickly!!! But I must admit that I am even I am a bit surprised that she only needs 1 more pass for excellent, and if we can get her to nail those pesky weavers then she will be starting in Agility soon too Again thanks for the congrats guys:) I appreciate them and there was a bit of drunk last night to celebrate with!!!

Thanks guys:) I gotta admit, I was so happy, I had tears in my eyes after watching her run - I was just thrilled to bits and as she was the last 600 dog to run I knew she had won 1st place in the 600, but to find out later that Kizzy had won 1st place overall was just fantastic!!! I just happened to have some sparkling wine in the fridge last night so celebrated in style and the dogs all got freshly roasted chicken and warm ham off the bone thanks to Kizzy's effort I got left over lasagne ROFL!!!

I have a little brag, my Belgian Shepherd Kizzy took first place qualifying in novice jumping in the afternoon. This is her second leg YAAAAAAAAAA Kizzy and Nic Ford [who handled Kizzy]

I have big black hairy Belgian Shepherds, some of them are high prey drive and others not. When I am out in public with one or more of my dogs it is MY responsilbity to control my dogs behaviour AT ALL TIMES. Why should people who own SWF's be penalised by not being able to walk or exercise their dogs anywhere because of moronic owners? How is that fair? Do they pay less in council fees as owners of SWF's? No of course not! I love the idea that some American cities have adopted and that is the OWNER is licensed and NOT the dog!!! BTW if those of you who own Kelpies and BC's and your dog comes stalking one of mine - it will have more than a poo bag thrown at it. Oh yes, I also owned a very high drive working Kelpie before I got into Belgians and she was NOT EVER allowed to stalk SWF's either! You may think it is playing, but SWF owners often don't know this and it can be very frightening to the owners [especially the elderly who feel very vulnarable]. You must remember it is how other people perceive your dogs actions that are important, not how they are actually behaving.

I bred my Belgian Shepherd bitch for the last time last year and she was 8 years and 8.5 months old when she whelped. She did need a c section but she had needed that for her last litter [of 9] 3 years previous. This was her last litter and she had only had 2 previous litters, 1 litter of 4 pups at 1 year [accidental] then 2nd litter at 5 years and 8.5 months [9 puppies] and then this last litter last year of 5 puppies. Angel is fit as a fiddle and at 8.5 years old could and did jump a 900 mm barrier. Angel does occassionaly train in agility and is one of my most active dogs. It is not unusual for Belgian Shepherd bitches who are 8 and even 9 to be bred from. I must admit that this last litter produced some incredible puppies in both conformation and temperment and it was tempting to repeat the litter. But since I got 3 gorgeous bitches who depending on health checks I can get a puppy from later. I decided not to repeat the litter and Angel will not be mated again. For me it would depend on the health of my bitch, how many times previously they had whelped and how easy it was for them to whelp their puppies as to how old I would decide to mate my bitches. But I am only a small time breeder and breed for myself, if I had gotten what I wanted from the 2nd litter then I would not have bothered mating Angel last year. Thankfully [health checks pending] I got what I wanted [and how ] from Angel's last litter. Hope this helps:)