TigerJack

Wally2020 So far I have just been doing general obedience training with her. She is very quick to pick up something but then only does it if she feels like it. OK at home but ignores me if there are other interesting dogs around. We are getting better though. Her recall is great when she's paying attention but hopeless with distractions. So far she has gone to watch flyball training, too young to do it yet. Our team had all our dogs in one off leash yard at a comp recently. We also had Kobe and her half brother Cobber there as well. All the flyball dogs were watching us, waiting for the ball to be thrown. The two litttle kelpies were facing the other way, in a crouch, herding their own dogs around the paddock. Very funny. The ears have come up and look like staying up. She might grow into them eventually. Jo and here is Kobe at 16 weeks, photo taken tonight.

Hi Wally2020 Kobe is now 16 weeks old. Here she is at 12 weeks

Sparty Noonbarra's website is www.noonbarra.com Kobe II has a page there as well with more pics. Bob II may be a brother to my friends Noonbarra pup, Cobber. He is about 6 months old now and he is Kobe's half brother. Cobber and Kobe will both end up doing flyball together. Jo

Hello I am fairly new to the kelpie world. My newest addition is now 16 weeks old. She is Noonbarra Kobe II. I am aiming to introduce her to flyball down the track and I am starting herding soon. Haven't done that before but friends are enjoying it so I thought I'd give it a go. She is a smart little thing, but stubborn. In the pic she is 8 weeks old and just investigating her new home. Jo

I'm so sorry for your loss. I understand what you mean by the "I just want him back" stage, I just lost my little one two and a half weeks ago and I can relate completely. The tears still happen on and off, over silly little things. You are fortunate to have so many pictures. They aren't the same as having him with you, but will remind you of all the good times. I only wish I had done the same with pictures, you always think there'll be plenty of time later.. in sympathy Jo

thankyou all for your kind thoughts. Midniara I hope I will one day get another mini foxie but it is too soon yet. Maybe I'll wait until there's another rescue mf, I don't think I want to get a pup. I thought I was doing pretty well. Today I was at Penrith Panther's for the flyball at the pet expo. As I was crossing the carpark area, the Pet's at Peace van pulled out in front of me. The same guy was driving the van that came and brought her ashes back to me this week. I found myself on the verge of tears (again). writing about her on this forum has certainly helped. thankyou Jo

Irial keeping warm

Irial wanting to play

irial wanting her tummy rubbed

Irial - my tiniest little girl is gone – killed by one of my other little ones. I am shattered, I feel like a part of me has been amputated. My beautiful little one has been mauled and she did not survive. I did not realise how much time she spent tucked underneath my shirt or perched in the crook of my elbow and now, even with all my remaining dogs sitting close, I feel like my arms are empty. It is only now that she is gone that I fully realise how important she had become to me. Of all my dogs, she was the one that needed me the most and I couldn’t stop her from dying. A week ago on Wednesday night I returned home to find her lying on the cold bathroom floor. Irial was only 2kg so she would have become cold very quickly. Her wounds were not deep, but they were many and her tail had been broken badly and all her legs were bitten. Her belly was badly bruised. She had bled a bit but she was still alive when I found her. She was still gasping and trying to move but I couldn’t get her warm. I rushed her to the 24 hour emergency vet at Strathfield but she didn’t make it. Irial died and I miss her so much. It was a horrible way to go. I brought her home again and bathed her and dried her. I wrapped her up in a little blanket and I eventually went to sleep with her laid on the bed next to me. Polly would not come near her but the others all seemed to know she was gone and wanted to see her and smell her. The next day the pet cremation people came and took her away. Handing her over was one of the hardest things I have ever done. One week earlier she had had a bit of a run in with the same little dog (my 4kg maltese x chi, Polly) but she had recovered fairly well. They had never had any sort of problems in the past and Irial never challenged Polly in the pecking order. I kept them apart for a while but I thought all was well again. I was sadly mistaken and now Irial has paid the price. I have been lucky enough to have Irial in my life for a bit less than two years. She was a 1.6kg, one-eyed little scrap of terrified mini-foxie when I first met her. She was far tinier than any other mini-foxie I have ever seen and she was so fine boned that you could see the sun shine through her legs and ears. I fell for her when I saw her on Cordelia’s website and I didn’t know if I would be up to her special needs as she had apparently been on her own for some time and then found with her eye badly infected. This had to be removed but she recovered well. She initially wouldn’t make eye contact with me or my other dogs and she preferred to stay in her bed, hidden under a blanket. She would often disappear when things got too rowdy for her and I would eventually find her hidden away somewhere after having crawled inside the laundry hamper or into a pillowslip on the bed. She often hid inside clothes lying on the bed and I would find her wedged inside a sleeve or the leg of a pair of jeans as she was so tiny. She was scared of attention from anyone but at the same time she wouldn’t sleep anywhere at night except in my bed, under the covers, tucked up as close as she could get. She would go through a whole little ritual of licking her paws for ages and then licking my elbow or my knee, whatever was next to her, and then she would turn a circle and settle in to sleep. She would sit for hours grooming herself, she was quite obsessive/compulsive about it. It’s a bit like people who chew their fingernails I suppose. Irial became a confident little attention seeker. It took almost a year but she eventually joined the others at the feed bowls and played with toys and even got the zoomies sometimes. Her constant efforts to get her tummy rubbed were just precious. As soon as I sat down anywhere, she would settle in next to me and seconds later would be under my arm and rolling over for a tickle. Irial would only have been around 5 years old so she should have had many more years ahead of her. I can’t change what has happen but I would give anything to have her back. I now can’t work out what to do with Polly as I don’t trust her anymore. Maybe one day I can take on another tiny rescue. I think maybe one day I’ll be ready for another little mini-foxie but I won’t ever be able to replace Irial. I have cried so much this last few days and tomorrow I will cry again. The cremation urn is being brought home to me and I will no doubt go to pieces again. I am sorry for the long post but I wanted to say something for her. Jo

you can also get leather boots from RM Williams that are designed for this. They come in 2 sizes. They are one piece of leather with a lace that you thread through holes (comes with instructions) and it has a couple of notches cut out for the claws to fit through. They are still open at the sides but protect the pad from rough ground. I found them when I had a dog who had a toe removed and I was searching for dog boots. These didn't work for my dog but I keep them in my first aid kit for in case of cut pads. They are about $20 for a set of four and they arrived in 2 days. Order them online via the RM Williams site. Jo

I have tried a few but always go back to Eukanuba Puppy food. Pups like it and poo is well-formed and doesn't stink too much!! Tried adult supercoat on my adult dogs but it had the same bowel effect others have mentioned with the puppy version. All are on Eukanuba now.

Get fake grass! I did and it is the best thing. (Not the old astroturf either - Protech lawns) Can't dig it up, don't have to water it and it won't ever go brown! Give it a sweep or a vacuum avery few weeks. Dogs love to roll on it too.

Hi, I'm interested. Hard part will be deciding which dog to bring. Jo

Hello My tiniest dog Irial has only got one eye. She is a mini foxie (and probably has some chihuahua in her as she is only 2kg). She was a rescue and was found with an ulcerated eye that must have been injured by her getting kicked or something similar. Her eye was removed and being without it hasn't ever seemed to bother her. She had a lot of initial problems adjusting to her new home but that was all due to being scared of everything after living on the streets for ages, not her lack of vision. She is now a complete fool who races around just as much as my other dogs and she has no problems leaping from sofa to sofa and up and down stairs. She doesn't like it if someone suddenly appears on her blind side but otherwise she has adapted very well. (She was estimated to be about 3 when the eye was removed.) Good Luck Jo