Monah

Huski, I still think an ACD is what you are describing in all your posts.

Although I'm sure you'd regard my dogs as clingy, this does annoy me also, and I do know the type of dog you mean. My needy gundogs are not like this but a few Goldies I know spring to mind acutally Glad to know I am sort of making sense My grandma has two small fluffies and they are both super clingy, I am sure a lot of it is how you raise them, but I find I can only spend so much time around them before my head explodes They constantly want to be on top of you, next to you, near you, as close to you as possible ALL THE TIME. It is probably worsened by the fact they are poorly behaved and annoying in general I've had lap dogs, my gundogs are nothiing like this at all. Yes they do love to be with you, but they are not like yoou describe. It's also upbringing I'm sure as my mum has an aussie terrier, not known for being a clingy breed, she is completely neurotic if mum even moves. drives me nuts too... GHTs are very, well, 'hunty' Patterdales are wonderful, grew up with these. From what I've seen in aust, the lines are a little odd? Not really like what we had in UK, so they don't interest me. Go to a few shows Huski (yep, same old advice ;) ) I only say this because it seems there are several breeds you haven't 'met'. Wire vizs and PWDs etc. sometimes this can help immensely even if you just cross them off. There are several ESS doing agility atc in darwin. I dont think they are working ones, lovely though. I'll never go past a viz, the perfect package, but they are not for everyone. we have heaps of lappies and aussies here, both nice, but not for me at all. Some VERY high drive Tollers too.. cute, but babysitting them is enough for me Hope you can find what you want soon!! Bearded collie? super duper FAST, clever, not common, right size, but will need a brush.

Posted in general. forgot to say what a beautiful boy he is!!xxxxx

Very sad news.xxx I've lost a dog due to stroke, he was 15 and I took him out for the toilet at bedtime and when I turned around he was laying on the grass, I knew straight away what it was as he was paralysed but looking at me etc. Took him to the vet at 11pm and we kept himm overnight to see how he went, but no good... the dog I lost to a brain tumour was 12, he showed symptoms for quite a while, walking crookedly, eating from only one side of his mouth, trouble all down his left side. At first I thought it was age, got him checked and it was a tumour. I kept him going for another couple of weeks, and took the time off work to spend every second with him, still miss him terribly,and then he could not do things so had to be PTS. Luckily I had both done at home in very 'loving and familiar' surroundings with all the family. It seems either way you will have to prepare for the worse. So sad, very young dog. I would not get MRIs etc. done either, no point in putting him through anything else. See how the week goes, I do know with strokes some dogs can recover a little. A tumour will take it's course and there really is nothing that can be done ATM, there is work being done on certain treatments but it's pretty experimental ad not available in most places. It also sounds like he is already going downhll. xxxxx

An absolutely beatiful breed but too big for huski... they commonly weigh over 30kilos and are much taller then any sibe I have seen. are there any small musterlanders in oz? about 20kg and 22 inches. spanish water dog? about the same size, I think there is a breeder in NZ.!!!

Musterlander?? Quickasyoucan. completely agree with your whole post, said it perfectly!! HWV are in Qld, two excellent breeders, fantastic dogs. Penny belongs to the breeder of my viz. she is a gem. I adore her and the others. all incredible temperaments. truly lovely breed. Unique. :D

Spins are too big, have coat, and are plodders, built for stamina not speed, but very capable of doing and enjoying all doggy sports, and a wonderful breed I think belgians are too big for huski's needs. :D

I know a boxer who needs 'calming' and massage before agility comps :D very high drive. great dog. I think wheatens, poodles etc may have too much coat? I'd say a portugese, except for the coat, or even an airedale. Flatcoats are terrific and lovely looking too. I see Manchesters are out, shame, great dogs and 3 around the comps who are incredible, I'd love one... ESS are great, lots of grooming though.. Welshies lovely, some can be a bit suspicious.. but you know what you are doing so I'm sure there'd be no probs. I'd say an ACD would be the perfect match and has all the requirements you are after. there are some terrific workig line ones in QLD. my cousin in law has a stunning and clever girl who also has the best ever temperament, I'd take her tomorrow if I could. she's a champ in agility, endurance, tracking. Foxhound? you have great experience with hounds ;) ;) lovely ones around, QLD has great breeders here, gorgeous, friendly, pretty, dogs. dont know how challenging they'd be to train, but the ones at the shows are very well behaved. Irish Water Spaniel? we had these, lovely, may be too much coat, although they are meant to be 'left' to be natural. whippet? wonderful :p vizsla would be perfect, no coat, super intelligent, fast, focussed, eager to please etc. but,,, clingy. ;) what about a wire viz? bit more laid back. I've also seen wonderful ridgies and giant schnauzers in sports,, both lovely and I've had giants and they are terrific dogs, very drivey, may be too large though.. ay dog you have will be soooo lucky :D

This was great again last night, on late because of the flood footage. he replaced a 'tumour eaten joint' in a lab's leg and it worked fantastically. the dog has cancer, so will eventually die from it, but now has a great couple of years left, he's only 1 year old.. ;) also fixed a broken 'arm' on a chinchilla, so tiny it was repaired with a needle from a syringe! and then a very rare knee replacement, although is seems that next week the dog has more and serious issues.. He thinks human and animal medicine should be on par with sharing info and research. Great idea. for example, many ops for humans are tried on animals first, many times, but are then not available for animals, (case in point, knee replacement), and later are 'researched and tried on animals' all over again to be avail. for them, when really it has all been done in human studies, so it's doubling up on costs and time etc. another very interesting and informative program, and he is still wonderful. He had stayed in the surgery for a few nights, with his gorgeous border terrier (in his bed of course! )

our sheep came inside too!! luvsdogs, I'm not sure if it is a 'back in the day thing'. it's not for me. I'd never heard of a dog being outside until I was an adult and worked on a few farms. everyone I knew had their dogs indoors, that was in the 60s. just going for a car ride!!

i had a dog with a collar embedded too he ended up being with us for 15 years! neither he or the female acd we got aged 7, had ever been indoors. they got used to it pretty fast! and so did the bc we have most of the time. I"m sure many dogs are OK outside if they are part of life ie. herding, going to work etc. I worked on a lot of farms. The dogs did do a lot with the farmers, but there were also often extended times when they did not. I know out west here, many are chained most of the time and have even seen just a shrub for shelter. Mine are indoors, I dont know any different. I think they do get a lot of enrichment and training indoors too. Mine know 'stuff; :D they know what is in every cupboard, which phone makes what ring, where everyhting is ie, I can ask them to find something or a person and they do. There is a lot to learn indoors. they also know a large variety of language and pick words out of sentences, I guess that's not from beiing indoors, but it is from being with us all the time. My boychild is in the navy, if I say something like, I wonder if shane is ok? the girls go rushing to his room, look outside when the room is empty etc... have to be very careful! I can also ask them to find each of the 4 cats by name, no problem. No separation issues either. they sleep in crates at night together but if I go out during the day one is in one room and one another, so they are not dependent on one another. they do outdoor stuff too of course, agility, flyball, heaps of activities. I find an indoor dog is incredibly tuned in to the family. I guess I have not experienced anything else so dont know. Our additions who were outdoors only before we go them, took a fair while to 'know' stuff, but took full use of the furniture!! ;) ours are just where we are, if we are in the patio, car, pool, boat, beach, cafe,, sofa, floor, table, shower, loo! , mowing, visiting the neighbours.....they are there. ;)

rallyvalley, I love gundogs too , but not just dual ones , triple ones, HPRs, hunting pointing retrieving both mine are HPRs.(as are GSPs)

YES

Nobody told nearly 13 year old Flynn that!!! He is still the most demanding dog I have!! If he thinks he needs an outing he runs up and down the hall barking Like corvus, one of the firt breeds that came to mind was Italian Spinone. They are not smooth coated but their wire coat doesn't require a lot of grooming. You'd have to be prepared for a wait for a pup though. Flynn and Moo make a good pair spins are fantastic, wonderful dogs :D I'll never be without a spin and vizss., 'quietly' though shhh. they can be naughty..

my girlchild was vacc years ago for Q fever as she works with big animals. you usually have 'tests' before the vacc. as it has been known to affect the heart. great post stonebridge.

one of my fav breeds had blues but adore them all

Not that there's anything wrong with that... I've become very fond of foxhounds too... I like most dogs, i can meet an individual of a breed I dont normally enjoy, and really bond with it. as for actually owning one for 15 years, I have narrowed them down very much over the years. I do like portugese too. and POODLES are a big yes.. OH has banned more dogs for life but you never know what is around the corner, s I refuse to get into a squabble about it................yet.. :D I have several Coren books too, I have tremendous respect for his writing etc. he's excellent.

PF... :D and this..

I do like Brett.. I like a lot of bully breeds and the big smooshers. I like the larrikins, the gentle giants and 'steady' dogs. I like Rotties and Dogues. I love the utility gundogs. But knowing me, I'm not sure I'm the right owner for any of them. So I like that my friends have lots of different dogs that I get to enjoy - but send home with them. Mind you, FHRP reckons I can turn any dog into a sooky la la so maybe I could get a Rottie. Although I'd really love a Bracco or a Spinone before I shuffle off. Um, I think FHRPs may already be sooky lala... ;) but you've got the blame! Bracco's here too, and more spins and vizss. :D I've had all different 'groups' and seem to adapt to all and love them all.. However I''ve never had or been attracted to any spitz breeds. I like them as individuals, and the look, but would never be a stuitable owner. I like working breeds (had cattle dogs) and bcs) but not if they are 'obsessive' and have found many I have associated with to be that way. ie' they are more focussed on the 'ball' or tuggy etc. than the owner. I think the wolfhound is the most human focussed sight hound (and greys and whippets) bbut have not had a lot to do with others. wolfies are extremely focussed on their family and very snobby with outsiders (embarrassinggly so!!) I adore terriers. My absolute love though is mostly gundogs. I have found them to be intelligent, super focussed and easy to train, very loving, very human orientated, and very 'needy' I love their demands and needs and wants and the nose in EVERYTHING you do, always a face stuck in mine, always interested in all I am doing etc. an independent, amuse itself, etc. dog is no good for me at all. I like a lapdog, no matter what size, a dog who wants to be a huge part of my life. a happy, out there, involved dog. one who is time consuming and I KNOW is around! I like this with my cats too, hence devons, tonks, siamese, burmese etc. screamers who dont let you do anything without them

thanks for all the links. heartbreaking stuff. I have space here too to help, if anyone can get through. we are cut off. so frustrating. . my mum also has space.

that's true whisked, but, the area covered by water is massive, and anything up a tree would very soon starve. in these floods there is often nowhere to go at all. ;) steve has posted a link to some photos that show something of it.

Unbelievable where are they meant to go? Most of the state is under water, and the parts that are not, are not open to any traffic. I could take animals, but no one can get in here or out. :D It's the same upand down the coast and out west. I would not leave mine either. If poss. I'd find a patch of safe ground and camp in my car. I've planned and thought about it a lot as we have had cyclones and floods. LM, Id do the same, remember you can come here too. I dont understand the wildlife comments, what about wombats, echidnas, frogs, roos etc. how have they done quite well in the floods? ;)

My dogs are crated at night and love it. with the heat, I'm afraid I have the aircon on and I turn it off at bed time but their room is very cool by then. I think coolmats are a great idea.. One of mine feels the heat badly and the other the cold. I have to cover the viz with a blankie when we have the aircon on snakes are a problem outside, there is no escape in a crate or run. We've had a few in our pool this summer.

Hope you are OK.xxx I agree with tricks. I was out of action for a fair while when I had a hysterectomy last year and OH works away for several weeks at a time. We (the girls doggies) played fetch a lot as I had to be careful, I went into the DOL dog tricks special topic and found lots of great ideas there We did a lot of 'find' etc. another thing I did was give them the massive marrow bones you can get at the butchers and they spent a few hours on them (they have these anyway around once a week, but I had tot give them about 3 times a week when I was laid up). The chewing tired them out and it also releases the 'feel good' enzymes when they chew so they were happy little chappies. Good luck with it. Sounds painful. Get better soon. xxxxRaining here too!