koalathebear Posted October 2, 2010 Author Share Posted October 2, 2010 And yes.. even though wuffles has said it already I'm going to say it again.. our pups are angels! I am very intrigued now. Were the other dogs really badly behaved or just very excitable? Were they mostly herding dogs - any funny out of placers ... like a maltese or something Have fun tomorrow! You guys are truly dedicated! Elbie's herding stint was only 2 hours and the next one will probably only be 1-2 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niques Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 I'm very eager to see these videos - it sounds like so much fun! Yep, James has a Bono Fido bed as well. We've had his about 5 months now and it's really only lost part of a corner, a tear down the inner front and the straps that held the mattress in. Remarkably durable. To the point where he's actually lost interest in chewing on it now - apparently if it doesn't fall apart after the first couple of attempts it's just not fun enough for him. So I'm happy with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted October 3, 2010 Author Share Posted October 3, 2010 (edited) We took Elbie to the dog park out at Forde today. We went quite early in the morning and it was overcast, so we were the only ones there - which was what we wanted. At first, Elbie just wanted to sniff But then he took an interest in the equipment. Speedy dog Elbie look as though he's performing a karate chop - or being a DJ. Spin that wheel! Leaping dog He looks like he's dive-bombing here Wheeeee!!!!! So fast, his head disappeared Edited October 3, 2010 by koalathebear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted October 3, 2010 Author Share Posted October 3, 2010 (edited) Racing around like a porkchop He enjoyed racing around - thank goodness he's kicked his tanbark habit otherwise he would have gone into tanbark thrall Elbie pretending to be a greyhound He ran through the tunnels quite happily He also got the hang of the balance beam very quickly He also seemed to enjoy the hoops Is this right? Edited October 3, 2010 by koalathebear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted October 3, 2010 Author Share Posted October 3, 2010 Pensive doggy And of course, Elbie's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KumaAkita Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 Awesome Pics KTB - looks like Elbie had a blast. Glad you had the park to yourselves! Kuma isn't sure of the tunnels, doesn't jump anything and is too big for the balance beam, so Forde's pretty boring for him unless he has a dog to chase! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilli_star Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 (edited) Wow! What a cool place to take your doglet! I've only ever been to one dogpark- that was in Sydney with my sister's dogs (a Jack Russell and gasp! A 'Puggle'! ). It was really like a huge football field type item with a cafe and a ZILLION dogs all seemingly behaving themselves with some doing obedience classes and others racing around. The one you went to looks like way more fun! Loved the pics and the video. Aaaand KTB- you seem to have forgotten to mention to us, your devoted followers in the cosiest corner of DOL, that you and your OH are thinking of expanding your fur family! Last we heard, Mr KTB wouldn't have a bar of it- you must have been very persuasive I have spent the last couple of hours NOT writing an essay (sigh. I am the biggest procrastinator in the world.) and instead playing around with Photobucket making a sig- it's not too big is it? Don't want the mob, err mod, to come after me :D All the cool kids are doing it... PS We had a Kelpie- his name was Bert. He wasn't much chop at working sheep, which is probably why my brother gave him to my dad so he could live the life of Riley and be spoilt rotten by my mum! He was red and tan too (except I didn't know until just a minute ago that 'red' is what I called 'brown' lol). He was a dopey dog, but loveable. Would chase a tennis ball, but then rip it up into pieces! Edited October 3, 2010 by lilli_star Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niques Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 This is a really great photo! Elbie looks like he's going to be brilliant at agility! We did the dog park thing this morning as well. Thought it was just terrific timing that it was empty. Until I realised that I'd forgotten it's in a bit of a ditch. Ridiculously muddy and wet, but James had a ball. ...scary ears! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted October 3, 2010 Author Share Posted October 3, 2010 (edited) Kuma isn't sure of the tunnels, doesn't jump anything and is too big for the balance beam, so Forde's pretty boring for him unless he has a dog to chase! OK, now Evil Koala (closely related to me, but not the same person ;) is dying to see poor Kuma on the balance beam. :D We should try for a get-together with wuffles, clastic et al at some point whether at Forde or at BDOC grounds. Elbie does not like being chased, unfortunately, but in a group - he'll kind of sniff his way around and gradually get used to other dogs. The photos would be gorgeous. Wow! What a cool place to take your doglet! I've only ever been to one dogpark- that was in Sydney with my sister's dogs (a Jack Russell and gasp! A 'Puggle'! ). It was really like a huge football field type item with a cafe and a ZILLION dogs all seemingly behaving themselves with some doing obedience classes and others racing around. The one you went to looks like way more fun! Loved the pics and the video. Thanks! We looked at a dog park that was much closer but it seemed to be just ... dirt ... which presumably is very exciting for dogs but not so much for us. Also, it wasn't until after we left the park today that we saw the sign that said no toys and no food. We wouldn't have pulled those out if there were any other dogs there but we had no idea they were prohibited substances in dog parks. Oops. Aaaand KTB- you seem to have forgotten to mention to us, your devoted followers in the cosiest corner of DOL, that you and your OH are thinking of expanding your fur family! ;) :D Last we heard, Mr KTB wouldn't have a bar of it- you must have been very persuasive ;) oh dear. There was much discussion in the household over the last few days ... reminders of how nightmarish puppyhood was for us but in the end, we agreed that it would be nice to have a second dog in the house. One day, I shall tell you Elbie's Origin Story and how He Came To Be Here given that my OH is actually a cat person ... I have spent the last couple of hours NOT writing an essay (sigh. I am the biggest procrastinator in the world.) and instead playing around with Photobucket making a sig- it's not too big is it? Don't want the mob, err mod, to come after me Awwww ... that signature is beautiful ... and Ruby is just like a squishy, cuddly, beautiful little (?) teddy bear ... Also, while I cannot speak for the DOL Mob err mod ... I can confirm that given that your signature is 550px × 145px (yes I measured it) and DOL guidelines say that a signature can be no more than 150 pixels high by 550 pixels wide - you are definitely in compliance and may use it! ;) We had a Kelpie- his name was Bert. He wasn't much chop at working sheep, which is probably why my brother gave him to my dad so he could live the life of Riley and be spoilt rotten by my mum! He was red and tan too (except I didn't know until just a minute ago that 'red' is what I called 'brown' lol). He was a dopey dog, but loveable. Would chase a tennis ball, but then rip it up into pieces! :D Heh heh. Lovely story about Bert. We are hoping that we get a working lines dud ... a kelpie useless at the sheep herding but happy to be a household doggy. I love the lean, leggy looks of the working lines and the red and tan colour is gorgeous. The bench kelpies are also beautiful but they are generally more solid in colour and almost more solid in build. I didn't know that brown was red either until recently when I was doing my kelpie research. Then again, whenever anyone talks about 'blue', I think: "Looks more like a black or a grey to me ..." I'm just a dog colour dope ;) Then when people start talking about merles, I get all confuzzed and nod knowledgeably and pretend I know what they're talking about and pray that they don't give me a link to one of those complicated dog colour web sites that makes my brain implode. Actually, worse is when they link to those genetic websites ... what does it mean when a dog has 16 infusions of the blah blah strain? Sounds like arcane tea-making jargon! Niques: So glad that James had fun at the park - did he make you feel any guilt about wagging obedience today? The scary ears photo is hilarious. I love flopsy dog ears so much and James looks so happy and shiny as he gallops across the field. You're not feeding him Demonic Hills Science Diet are you? I also love this photo: "OK - phew ... just gotta catch my breath ..." PS: I'm so embarrassed. DOL didn't let me post this the first time around because I had exceeded the number of emoticons permitted in a post!!! Wow and gadzooks, that's gotta be even worse than owning a crossbreed on a purebred forum ... Edited October 3, 2010 by koalathebear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niques Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 Your sig is adorable, of course, LS ;) I'm thinking we need some more photos of the lovely Ruby... oh dear. There was much discussion in the household over the last few days ... reminders of how nightmarish puppyhood was for us but in the end, we agreed that it would be nice to have a second dog in the house. ;) One day, I shall tell you Elbie's Origin Story and how He Came To Be Here given that my OH is actually a cat person ... Oh, we have to hear more! Both of Elbie's Origin Story and these future dog discussions....any timeframe for puppy #2 yet? You're not feeding him Demonic Hills Science Diet are you? Haha, no, we had how Scary Dog Food decision made for us - we've just fed him according to his breeder's specifications. Saves on the "Oh my god, everyone says my dog's food is really that bad?! " moments - very relaxing PS: I'm so embarrassed. DOL didn't let me post this the first time around because I had exceeded the number of emoticons permitted in a post!!! Wow and gadzooks, that's gotta be even worse than owning a crossbreed on a purebred forum ... Nicely done! did he make you feel any guilt about wagging obedience today? He was so excited to hop in the car this morning - he knows the obedience routine! But there was just as much excitement hopping out at the park, so all was good. I lost my dog this afternoon I put him out for his dinner. Half an hour later went to bring him in and found the side gate was left open. Master Puppy = nowhere in sight. I panicked...BIG TIME!! Started walking down the road hoping he'd gone in the direction of our local park when suddenly a black ball comes crashing towards me...and kept going! It would seem he just spent 20 minutes running up and down the cul-de-sac chasing birds. Was (thankfully!) happy enough to chase me back into the house. I think my hands have only just stopped shaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max#1 Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 Wow Elbie's kelpie roots are really showing in those photos! His stance, his ears, the look on his face, and that pointy nose!, and those long long legs.... what a charmer! Does he 'stalk' much? Like a cat... when he's playing? I love James's scary ears too! They're great! A second puppy.... ah would be so nice. Not necessarily a puppy - but another dog so that they can play together and be best friends! We've also discussed it (when our dog park friends mentioned there was a nine-year-old red (another unique dog colour - who came up with these things?) bc needing rehoming)..... probably not quite ready yet. Sigh.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted October 3, 2010 Author Share Posted October 3, 2010 (edited) Your sig is adorable, of course, LS I'm thinking we need some more photos of the lovely Ruby... Yes! One day it would be nice to have James and Ruby in the same photo. The camera might implode from an excess of The Cute. Oh, we have to hear more! Both of Elbie's Origin Story and these future dog discussions....any timeframe for puppy #2 yet? ;) Heh, origin stories are due all 'round from everybody - including the lurkders! ;) wuffles once mentioned to me that they hadn't intended to end up with an Australian Shepherd but did. There is clearly a story to be told there! I will compile my Elbie Origin Story - it is a convoluted little tale. As to puppy #2 ... it's going to be a lot trickier than I thought and will depend on if any of the breeders get back to me It really isn't as 'easy' to get a good puppy from a reputable breeder as some of the DOLers would have you think. ;) Haha, no, we had how Scary Dog Food decision made for us - we've just fed him according to his breeder's specifications. Saves on the "Oh my god, everyone says my dog's food is really that bad?! " moments - very relaxing ;) *is envious* Started walking down the road hoping he'd gone in the direction of our local park when suddenly a black ball comes crashing towards me...and kept going! Oh my goodness. That's so scary - but the bit about the black ball coming crashing towards you is very funny. I can imagine it now - with theme music, too and in slow motion with a slow mo: "Jaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeesssss!!!!" as you lunge towards him. Does he 'stalk' much? Like a cat... when he's playing? Yes, he is very cat-like with his pouncing and pawing of objects. We've been teaching him 'touch' (uses nose) and 'paw' (uses paw) to touch objects and he is very cute at it. A second puppy.... ah would be so nice. Not necessarily a puppy - but another dog so that they can play together and be best friends! We've also discussed it (when our dog park friends mentioned there was a nine-year-old red (another unique dog colour - who came up with these things?) bc needing rehoming)..... probably not quite ready yet. Sigh.... Go on ... you know you want to ... :p And don't forget you will need to recount your Max Origin Story. I've seen 23 photos on wuffles' facebook of the herding - just Mars, though, not Ava. Mars looks very, very professional. One of the other dogs seems to have grabbed a mouthful of wool!!! Edited October 3, 2010 by koalathebear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilli_star Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 Ack. Feeling...blah. Mostly because I'm annoyed with myself for wasting another day instead of just getting this stupid essay done, and partly because Ruby seems to be going through a delightful "selective hearing"/being a little toad stage today. This afternoon after playing fetch and practising "give it" (a very slow and not always successful process) and sit stays, Ruby went into full on crazy dog zoomie mode where she would race around and then jump up and try and bite me! Saying NO! didn't work, standing still didn't work, ignoring and putting my back to her didn't work (just made her more determined), and I was out of treats. Finally managed to shuffle over to a toy to redirect her, but it was not fun. :p After dinner and a nap for Ruby, I spent some time working on her training and puppy school homework- sit stays, loose lead walking etc and that went fine for awhile, but then she would just lose interest and walk away! Attention span of an ant I tell you! Oh, and she's also taught herself a new "trick" where she just flops down and refuses to budge! Can't wait to ask the magical dog trainer lady about that one and the crazy dog zoomies on Tuesday night. Then I read a post about how Labradors shouldn't be left alone all day etc etc and felt bad all over again. Blah blah blah feelingsorryformyselfcakes. Aaanyway, with Miss Roo now snoring in her crate, I came on here to cheer myself up. Here are some pics from today. These two were taken from the window that looks out over Roo's kingdom (Queendom?). I wasn't quick enough getting the camera to get pics/video of her playing with the clamshell like a seesaw, but here's how she ended up. This is how the loungeroom looks before I put Ruby to bed (actually it usually looks worse- anyone would think I had children!) The picture of innocence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted October 3, 2010 Author Share Posted October 3, 2010 (edited) Ack. Feeling...blah. Mostly because I'm annoyed with myself for wasting another day instead of just getting this stupid essay done, and partly because Ruby seems to be going through a delightful "selective hearing"/being a little toad stage today. Poor you... Good luck with the essay... What's the topic? Addictive Qualities of dogzonline? I hate it when there's something that MUST be done but I just can't seem to get around to doing it. Also ... sympathy about the recalcitrant Ruby. Elbie has moments when he becomes total brat dog and lives up to his original name. OH will come in the room muttering: "He's being a Little Bastard this morning" - usually when he's gnawing on OH's toes. I think all of our dogs go through phases of behaving like angels and then behaving like little demons. Ruby went into full on crazy dog zoomie mode where she would race around and then jump up and try and bite me! Saying NO! didn't work, standing still didn't work, ignoring and putting my back to her didn't work (just made her more determined), and I was out of treats. Finally managed to shuffle over to a toy to redirect her, but it was not fun. That can be very annoying - when they're in zoomie mode it's like they're possessed or something. When Elbie was like that before, nothing would snap him out of it except a spray bottle of water to the face. I know using an adversive is not nice, but sometimes, it's the only thing that let Elbie know that: "this is not acceptable behaviour". He'd look a bit startled and then back off and behave. It was the only way we were able to make him stop biting/nipping. He's totally stopped now and he is very gentle with his teeth. He has developed the funniest behaviour of late when if he's very excited, he knows he's not allowed to jump up and so he'll plant his bum on the ground but his front paws will march impatiently on the ground - he totally looks like he's marching or keeping some sort of drum beat. Absolutely hilarious. Then I read a post about how Labradors shouldn't be left alone all day etc etc and felt bad all over again. Oh dear. Don't worry .... read this post. It doesn't matter WHAT you do, someone will think it's not right. Some of the Americans on the forum I used to frequent would never leave their dogs alone - check out the woman who said she only left her dogs alone when she went to the loo and the dogs were 2 and 3 years old. Then if you never left your dog alone, people would say you were just encouraging it to be a sook and over-dependent! Elbie doesn't like being left outside alone at night, even for an hour and my family have basically said that this is my fault for not making him be tough from the beginning. The reality is that many of us have to work and so the dog must be outside in the yard. Even if we didn't work, we still have to run errands, study, have non-dog time so the dog must be alone from time to time. All you can do is make sure you do spend time together during the day so that the dog isn't alone ALL the time. That photo of Roo is hilarious ... I love how she has a few photos of her on her clamshell like a queen on a throne. This is my take on her Thought Bubbles in those photos: And then in that final photo, she's all regal and magnanimous: "All right - you are forgiven. We give you permission to approach for a cuddle and a kiss." In other news, my morning alarm is "Guns 'n Roses Sweet Child o'Mine". Sometimes we let Elbie sleep in our room in his dog bed and not in the crate. When he hears the alarm, he knows it's time to get up and leaps out of his dog bed like a torpedo - so as soon as we hear the Gunners, we see Elbie. It's going to be Pavlovian now, every time I hear that song ... I'll look around for a hyperactive black dog Edited October 4, 2010 by koalathebear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted October 4, 2010 Author Share Posted October 4, 2010 (edited) Elbie - the origin story Preamble Apologies for how long and boring this is - but there are photos The Beginning On 31 March 2010, my brother was walking to work and a kelpie cross kept following him. He couldn't get rid of it and it followed him all the way into Civic (Canberra's CBD) where he works. The poor dog was terrified by traffic but just kept following my brother. My brother had to go to work but the dog just wouldn't leave and when some other people tried to come along and help him, the dog flattened its ears and lowered its tail and looked very miserable. In the end, some friendly dog-lovers let my brother tie up the dog at the courtyard of their workplace and looked after him while they tried to call the RSPCA to find the owner. The RSPCA weren't interested and alas, later my brother found out that the kelpie had been taken to the Canberra pound. This was the dog. Doesn't he have the most beautiful eyes??? He was listed on the pound's website: His details were listed as follows: In the photograph of him taken by the pound he looked soooooooooooooooo sad. Look at his little paw and the sad expression on his face. I'm sure that being at the pound was very traumatising for him. The Middle We were calling him "Mort" because my brother encountered him on Mort Street. Unfortunately, Mort was found just before the Easter long weekend and I felt really badly that he would be trapped in the pound over the long weekend. I agonised about it for a while and my OH was basically saying: "I think I know where this is heading ..." So I decided that I wanted to try and see if there was any way we could at least 'foster' Mort over the Easter long weekend or even better, until the owner finally showed up. I tried to phone Domestic Animal Services but we were just put through to Canberra Connect who contacted DAS while I waited on the line. They told her nope, basically if you find a dog, you can choose to hang onto it until the owner's found and just notify DAS, but once you hand it in, they have it impound it for seven days. She sounded very sympathetic and was clearly a dog-lover because she said: "Maybe you can try another day and get someone else?" "But the poor dog will still be there over the long weekend ..." "I know," she said and sounded very sad. "Maybe you could try going there and asking in person? Maybe that would make a difference?" It was a bit crazy but we did even though the pound is on the other side of town - almost an hour's drive away. We drove over there and they were pretty firm. There was no way to 'foster' the dogs once they were impounded. They had to keep them there for seven days until the owner claimed them after which they could be sold or destroyed. They said no offence to us but if the dog got lost or hit by a car, they'd be responsible. I asked if we couldn't pay a deposit and sign an undertaking accepting full responsibility and promising to surrender the dog to the owner once found - they said nope They did let us visit the dog in the cages section, though. It was pretty sad, once we stepped out into the yard, the dogs went crazy and started barking wildly. OH said that he was trying to avoid eye contact with the dogs so that he didn't give them false hope because the two that he did look at had huge, sad eyes that seemed to say: "Pick me! Pick me!" We went to "yard 10" which was badly named because it's actually "cage 10" and unlike all the other dogs, Mort the little kelpie cross wasn't barking. He wasn't even standing up. He was lying down with his head on his paws, facing the front of the cage looking quite small, forlorn and resigned to his fate. At one point he got up and came over to the door to sniff at our hands but he didn't bark and he didn't jump about like the others. The DAS people said that after four days you could leave a deposit for the dog and collect it after 7 days. You got a refund if the owner collected the dog in the interim. DAS was closed over the Easter long weekend but by the Tuesday, it would have been 6-7 days so it would be possible to leave a deposit. We talked about it for a while. At that time, we were renting and we hadn't ever considered getting a dog before we had our own place. We had moved back to Australia because of my father's ill-health, we were still renting and until recently, I hadn't wanted another dog because ever since our family dog died, I didn't want another dog because it hurts too much when they die. My OH has always been a cat person but I'm allergic to cats so as a compromise, we had discussed that one day we might get a dog when we owned our own place - notwithstanding my trauma about how gutted you feel when your pet dies. Anyway, we decided to adopt Mort and read up lots about kelpies - given that neither of us knew much about them. OH was very impressed by the fact that some kelpies walk on the backs of sheep. He liked that they were described as intelligent and independent. While part of me should have been wishing that the owner came to claim his/her dog, the other part of me hoped that he/she wouldn't so that we could give the dog a new home. I didn't actually think that the previous owner deserved Mort: 1. He/she hadn't contacted the pound when the RSPCA and the pound are the first places you contact when you lose your dog. 2. Mort was unregistered, did not have a microchip and was not desexed. Still, I knew that it wasn't my place for for me to say ... the dog already had an owner and presumably it missed his owner. The End Over the weekend, my brother's friend contacted him and said that she had seen a "missing dog" poster at some local shops that were a couple of suburbs away, so my brother scooted over to those shops and examined the poster. The poster said that the dog was a miniature fox terrier rather than a kelpie but you'll see that they look extremely similar so seemed to be the same dog ... My brother had been very anxious about the Mort's fate from the start so he immediately phoned the woman to tell he that the dog was probably at the pound. The woman was extremely rude with him and said: "I'm not going to pay you the reward because I got it from the pound!" My brother said: "I don't want the reward, I just want to make sure the dog's ok. I was the one who was responsible for him being at the pound." Then the woman was even ruder and said: "Well it would have been a lot better if you'd called me earlier." Given that my brother had found the dog wandering around on Wednesday with no ID or microchip and he only found out about the "missing" poster on Friday and he had called the woman immediately, I'm not sure how he could have phoned her sooner Then she said again: "And I'm not paying you the reward." So my brother had to say again that he didn't want the reward. We think that the woman was cranky because she had been told that she as going to be fined for: 1. not microchipping her dog 2. not desexing her dog 3. not registering her dog Thus, she was probably just taking out her irritation on my brother. The pound probably told her that if she wanted her dog back she'd probably have to comply with the law etc It’s a little odd that the dog looked so kelpie-ish rather than mini fox but anyway. There was a happy ending of sorts with the dog being reunited with his owner - which was a nice thing even though she wasn’t very pleasant. Epilogue The thing is, both the OH and I had got ourselves so excited about the thought of owning a dog that we decided we’d get a kelpie/kelpie x anyway even though we were still renting We decided we'd get a dog and rapidly accelerate our plans to buy our own house - we had been looking at houses, just in a fairly leisurely manner and at house with tiny yards because we are both lazy slugs. This changed to more focussed search efforts plus houses with dog-suitable yards. Because we hadn't clicked with any of the other kelpie/kelpie crosses at the pound and I scoured the pet rescue web sites and didn’t find anything suitable. I emailed a bunch of places that had puppies that were already vaccinated and microchipped, none of them replied. At that time, I wasn't on DOL yet and knew zero about backyard breeders/registered breeders or anything like that. In the end, we found some kelpie crosses being given away for free ... Me: What if the dogs are from a puppy farm and we are contributing to the problem? OH: Err, the dogs are being given away ... it would be the worst puppy farm ever if it was trying to make a profit .. Poor thing was pretty ringwormy and wormy when we got him but he healed up very quickly and has become the rambunctious monster with the wonky ears. So that's our origin tale .. what's yours? Edited October 4, 2010 by koalathebear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilli_star Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 Awww KTB, I'm so glad that Mort's story had a happy (ish) ending. I admit I was feeling a bit close to tears halfway through Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 Great story KTB. Mine aren't that exciting but I will post anyway to add even more pics to this thread We went looking for a dog a few weeks after we moved into our house, we both grew up with dogs and missed them heaps while we were renting. We wanted something medium to large, moderately active, friendly, and most importantly, would be happy to be by itself while we were at work. Satchmo was the first dog we met and we knew he belonged here from that first meeting. He was originally from DAS in Canberra and was listed on this site in the rescue section, but I wasn't a member back then! He was in foster care for about 4 weeks before coming to us and had already met a few families -- but they all thought he was too big! "Wouldn't fit in the car", "Too big for the kids", etc! When I was signing his adoption paperwork he came up to me, put his head on my lap and let out a huge burp. He had chosen his new home. His pound mugshot. He'd been handed into the pound because he was "escaping". Thankfully for some lovely volunteers who begged for him to be held over (he was there for 3 weeks, very lucky) and also took the initiative to call the old owners to clarify that he was escaping through LOOSE FENCE PALINGS, he is still with us today. It actually makes me kind of sick to the stomach when I think about how close a lovely dog like him was to being PTS. Pound shots taken by volunteers. When we decided we wanted another dog, we were originally going to go through rescue again, but after some deliberation decided to go with a registered breeder. We like more unique breeds in general, so there were a few we were looking at. I wanted to do obedience and agility so we were looking at a lot of the herding breeds. We came close to getting a puli (I think we will still have one one day, OH loves them) but I was following Ava's litter on DOL and fell in love with her pictures And that is that, really My little blob! With her brothers, Here are my happy dogs now They are both just gorgeous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niques Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 I love the shot of Ruby lounging on her clamshell. "Just admiring my destruction while I take quick breather" James still does the obnoxious biting and jumping during zoomies sometimes. I've found that throwing something to distract him works a treat as he'll run off to chase it. And then just always keeping something on hand if he goes for you again. OH said that he was trying to avoid eye contact with the dogs so that he didn't give them false hope because the two that he did look at had huge, sad eyes that seemed to say: "Pick me! Pick me!" I "awww"ed out loud at at that. Too sweet and very sad How horrible of Mort's owner to be angry with your brother At least he made it back to his familiar home, I guess... Now there's a face you can't help but fall in love with! How lucky that Satchmo was held over, Wuffles! And that he found a home with you He looks particularly dashing in that second shot! Allow me to introduce Oscar. Oscar's been around for a couple of years now and was never meant to be a dog toy. He also had two eyes, once upon a time (AKA before yesterday). This is two seconds later. The blur on the left hand side would be a certain dog snatching Oscar off the table. James has become very taken with Oscar and carries him around everywhere. Very chummy, the two of them are. You know, until one of the them starts trying to rip the other's head off. "This is real serious business, dontcha know?" All's fun and games until someone gets hurt. And needs his eye stitched closed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted October 5, 2010 Author Share Posted October 5, 2010 (edited) wuffles - great story! I love the Blob. Who knew she'd grow so big? Did you pick 'Ava' because of Mists of Avalon? or were you a fan of Ava Gardner? Also, I look forward to seeing photos of your puli pup one day. Niques: I'm a little traumatised by Oscar's one eye - that blue green cross-stitching is very ... poignant. Alas, I am in possession of my own little Destructor. Following Elbie's latest stoush with badger, badger was grievously injured and badger had to seek urgent medical attention. There wasn't a lot that could be done and a difficult decision had to be made. Badger is now sans head. Poor badger. Edited October 5, 2010 by koalathebear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KumaAkita Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 (edited) The Kuma Story The OH and I had wanted a dog for AGES. We were only renting, first in Sydney and then we moved down here. I think we'd started planning for a dog about 7 years ago, but every landlord said no. The rental agreement for our first place in Canberra even prevented us having fish (really?? coz they're going to do heaps of damage!) Our first breed of choice was a staffy, and remained that way until we saw an Akita on TV. Albeit on The Dog Whisperer where the Akita was going off it's trolley! That made me a bit wary of the breed and after we did some reading I got even warier. All the books say "bad dog, aggressive...". Oh and then I worked out how big they are! Anyway, we were driving past a puppy class at Gungahlin vet and saw an Akita - OH pulled over the car and we stopped and said hello. They had a backyard bread Akita, which was placid and gentle. I decided that I would be ok with an Akita, but it would have to come from a registered breeder who bred for temperament, no shonky backyard jobby. So, I emailed a few breeders, and the only one who responded was Tabatha at Daykeyne. I met her and her dogs at a local show and fell in love. First I met Treason He is a big gentle giant and was just wonderful. Tabatha mentioned that she had a litter available and only had one boy left. We went to meet the puppies and our boy was just so perfect for us. He was independent - which was a characteristic we found appealing as he would have to cope being outside alone all day. He waddled over to say Hi and then went back to his business. The other puppies were jumping all over us! Turns our that Kuma is a redneck inbred - Treason is his grandfather on 3 out of 4 sides! This is Sniper - Kuma's Dad This is Code - Kuma's mum and the entire litter And this is my little boy at about 6 weeks... you can see that he's just had his dinner! Kuma came to us at 8 weeks He's one year old in a month... Edited October 5, 2010 by KumaAkita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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