kelpiecuddles

The dog, link was deleted which is a good call but now the original post doesn't say where she is :)

Where is she?

John certainly won't be punished. He's a much loved croc and it's generally accepted that if you hope in an enclosure with a dangerous animal you stand a chance of getting hurt. I always said I was happy to assist in those shows and I'd be OK doing a show with venomous snakes but I drew the line at presented the croc show. Information from the inside word is that he has gone for surgery but it's still just a stitches job, it's surgery to put things together nicely as I understand it, functionality is still good. :) (Plus clean things out I imagine, croc have some nasty germs in their mouths)

Thanks everyone. It sounds like chis might be a little tougher than I gave them credit for! We'll have two separate fenced yards by then anyway so I think we might just go with the first plan being a long haired chi and the dogs can be yarded separately/inside/outside when not supervised. :)

Crocs don't think the same way dogs do. They won't snap at something unless they think it is actually food and it's within grabbing distance. We could demonstrate this by moving a stick around near their face or throwing food around above their heads and they won't even attempt to grab it but if you bounce that bit of food in the direction of their mouth, snap, it's gone. If they try for something once and fail chances are they won't try again for a long while as they will deem it to be a waste of precious energy for no gain, as such they will always go for the easy prey item that they can grab with the least expenditure of energy. In that moment Trent was easy meat(which is what they call it in the show there) and the croc took his opportunity. I've had the smaller female have a shot at me and even she was pretty scary and there was a fence between us(although if I hadn't moved from my position she would have grabbed my arm), Johns got around a meter of length on her. I really feel for Trent, it would have been a terrifying experience. The worrying thing about this is that croc learn from experiences like this and it makes it more likely to try again next time so they'll have to tread carefully the next few weeks. ETA: I have spoken to a family friend of his who tells me it's looking like no serious damage, just some stitches, all fingers good and working by the looks.

Yeah, knowing him personally he's pretty cocky so I'm not entirely surprised it happened eventually LOL

Honestly I think he's feeling just a little bit silly about it. You interpreted correctly. I think what you said about getting just a little too comfortable is spot on. He's always been pretty brazen about the way he did those shows, it's part of the theatrics that makes him such a good presenter but it comes with risks of course.

http://www.southcoastregister.com.au/story/2400381/croc-attacks-man-at-shoalhaven-zoo-video/?cs=203 This is an ex workmate of mine, I used to assist in this croc show. So very glad it didn't happen on my shift, would have been so scary!

LOL, yep I think she might be a little bit defective. But in an awesome, totally gorgeous and insanely sweet kind of way. :D

What about a beagle.

Another name for a rough collie

Goldie's are notorious shedders, does his fur look healthy or dry?

Cavs sorry... Autocorrect...

In the summary posted above it does mention cabs

Thanks :) We travel to Melbourne a few times a year to see our family down there so one time when i have my husband with me to make things easier with the kids I'll give you a yell. We have plenty of time up our sleeve but having spent over 5 years researching and waiting for our next basset hound I know how long the process can take to find something that suits just right. :)

Thanks Trisven. More for a companion and a bit of fun in show handlers to start with once the dog is old enough, conformation showing if things went well(which I'd do to start with for training and in NSW you have to put them in conformation for the dog to be used in handlers anyway). He's not particularly competitive but likes to do things with me on his own so I thought that maybe the boys could alternate coming to shows with me for some mum time.(He's a bit of a mummys cuddly boy even at nearly 8 and I suspect he'll always be one of those ones that will give his mum a hug even as a teen ) The kids have been doing show practice with our current basset hound to get used to how things work once we get our next dog and he does quite well with her, firm but gentle and encouraging which is how I like a handler. :)

Fauves might suit. We'll look in to them a little mre. They'd certainly fit the theme in our house :)

Given he is under a patio your other option would be to add a heated bed pad on to the top f his hammock bed. They had some quite large ones for sale at the reject shop a few weeks ago.

My basset is pretty much at face level with my friends jack russel t give you an idea of her height, they are heavy set but a small dog certainly wouldn't be under her feet if you know what I mean. Today she spent the whole morning sitting with my friends 7 month old baby. :)

Have you got an outdoor table on your patio? Put his bed under it and throw a nice thick blanket or an old doona over the table to make it in to a cosy cave for him :)

Mine have to wait at the door and have their paws wiped. It's a hard life really LOL

Thanks heaps for all the ideas guys! Our oldest has just turned 10 and the next dog we get hopefully this year some times will be 'his' dog so i think it will work well making it a rule of ten years before they can have their own personal doggie. He's about to turn 8 so we'll think carefully about what might suit over the next 6 - 12 months and I'll try to get him to a show or two to meet some other breeds and see what takes his fancy for around the time he turns 10. :)

To be honest I'd say he'll always be a small dog kinda guy. He's a cute, funny kid but very quiet and introverted. He's always been that way and actually has a diagnosed anxiety disorder. He likes our dogs but only because they are very kid friendly and he's grown up with them, most other dogs if they are taller than knee high on him he won't go near them even if he's told they are friendly. It's nice to see him interacting with a small dog because he's often pretty shy around people and doesn't have a lot of friends at school because he's so quiet so i think it would be nice for him to have a little dog who is his special little friend he can always rely on for a hug.

Wash and wear with a good brush is fine :) Not a fan of having to clip though, it's a job that would be hard to get the little guy to do so I'd end up stuck with prepping his show dog as well as mine LOL I don't mind shedding(obviously my current dogs shed) just prefer to go for a breed that isn't known for excessive tumbleweed type shedding like goldens are. Corgis are probably heading towards bigger than what he would like. Something small enough to cuddle up under th covers sort of size :)

How much grooming do they need Mita? If he wants to show the dog I'd like it to be primarily his responsibility to prep for shows and I'm not sure if a long haired breed might be a hard place to start for him? Along the same lines I thought a Pap might be nice but same concern re. grooming...