B-Q

I havn't tried one and I DON'T support the ban. The right tool, on the right dog with the right trainer.

I do agree that it depends on the person a lot aswell. Quinn is the first dog I got to choose once I was more educated on dogs, I new I wanted a BC. I thought I was prepared for the intensity and the drive and the extreme intelligence but I still don't think I was fully aware of just how full on she was going to be. That said, I wouldn't have another breed atm. They are perfect despite the extra work I have to put in to make sure we're both sane at the end of the day. But me with a spitz breed? It would never work, that independant streak is just something I couldn't take on. Or a terriers tenacity? No way. But a high energy herding breed or gundog is perfect for me.

Buster has never howled, I've never heard Quinn howl either till I got home from my run the other morning and my mum said after I left Quinn had sat in the front yard and howled till Mum bought her in. If your a girly sook, I'm an evil bitch for being just a bit happy that she missed me. She doesn't carry on when I leave for work or with friends but seeing as I put on all my "dog walking" clothes and left without her she wasn't happy.

Thats not a bad idea Persephone, my Quinn can be a bit timid and easily startled. One thing I use when meeting new people is to get hem to ask for a nose touch. She was taught from early on that an open palm is a cue for her to touch her nose to it. Its a simple task that she knows and understands well and has a very high reinforcment background, I've used it with a few people that she's decided she is a bit wary of and it usually helps her gain confidence quickly once she relises they are another treat despenser. If the problem is serious though I'd lean towards getting a professional behaviourst in, especially if you feel its getting worse.

I read that article aswell and that quote made me smile. I've been asking every trainer thats met her since she was 7 months old and its been really hard to get advice. We have agility tonight aswell so we'll see how we go.

Quinn is alsovery motion reactive, I just finished reading control unleashed and seriously could hug Leslie McDevitt if I ever met her. So many times when I feel like Quinn is just getting nowhere and I'm failing her its so nice to read that is a common problem in performance dogs, especially BC's and that is fixable. 6 months ago Quinn couldn't be in the vicinity of another dog tugging without loosing her shit. Lunging, barking and no chance of concentration, and distance didnt't seem to matter. Now she's at the point where she can have a dog tugging madly only a few metres away and glance at it and look back to me. Her other issues are dogs running flat out (like after a toy), taking a tunnel or occasionally a contact obstacle. Last week at agility she did great, dogs in the class next to us doing tunnels didn't even bother her, I was ready for an hour of fighting with her seeing as we had 12 dogs in our class but she did really well, only reacted a few times and when she did she recovered very quickly. The other things I took from the book was to teach her to relax, she not very cuddly so I had to do quite a few sessions to get her to learn that lying still on her side was a trick she could offer, now she often pulls it in agility class to get a treat. Which means we take regular breaks, move away a bit, relax her on her side and stroke her gently for 30seconds - 1 minute before going back to class. Reading control unleashed helped me understand the game better, like when to put a cue on it. its hard as we don't have a class designed around reactive dogs so I am more or less throwing Quinn in the deep end by expecting to play with dogs running flat out from the beginning, instead of a dog heeling, then trotting, then running slowly, then sprinting.

Hmm, Buster was the first dog that was really all mine. He had a crappy upbringing and was left with issues that I didn't know how to fix untill they were full blown issues. (very DA and general anxiety) Hes not an easy dog in many respects, but he's taught me so much and I love him more than I could imagine.

I'd always loved kelpies but never liked BC's till about 5 years ago when I started learning more about them. I love their intensity and drive, their athletiscm, willingness to learn and extreme intelligence. I knew I wanted a working line dog and Quinn embodies every quality I love about BC's. Her intensity takes my breather away, I love when she drops her shoulders, flattens her ears and stares right at me (usually waiting for me to throw the ball) and eventhough she's not even 15kg and she's my little girl its almost intimidating, if I was a sheep... I would do as I was told.

I'm very lucky my immediate family are all animal people. I still live at home and I would trust my mother, brother or sister to take Buster. If something happened to me I wouldn't mind if they rehomed Quinn to an active/sport home if they found her too much, I'd rahter that than she develop issues. My mother is crazy about Quinn though, she often says she shouldn't bother getting her own dog and just steal Quinn instead so they'd probably both stay with Mum.

If something happened to me my family would take my dogs. I have told them I would expect them to keep Buster for life but Quinn could be rehomed with an active/sport family if they find that easier.

If all goes to plan we might have a koolie puppy in the house within a couple of months and I'll be able to compare it to Quinnie. :D

In BC's I love black and white, black tri and choc and white. My coat preference is smooth or medium rough. My ear preference is pricked. I've always loved the look of BC's with lots of white on their face and Quinn certainly has that! Its weird, for my first BC I had this perfect dog in my head, I had huge preferances towards markings, colour, coat type, ears etc. I got lucky with Quinn, she's like my dream BC. I fell for her white face but didn't know she'd be bi eyed and wasn't sure I liked smooths, plus her father had drop ears and I was so hoping hers would stand up. But for my next BC I care so much less about what its colour/markings are, I've seen so many dogs I love the look of that arn't typically what I thought I liked. In Kelpies I prefer fawn and tan or red and tan. Black and tan doesn't appeal to me at all but I have run into quite a few that I would run away with given the chance.

Quinn has the perfect system, she puts her ears back, wags her tail and approaches people all smiley untill the moment they bend down to pat her and then she just drops her gaze and wanders away, leaving some poor person looking so awkwrd and rejected. Buster just looks straight through people, even if they pat him he rarely acknowledges them.

She's gorgeous. I saw you mention somewhere the other day about a new pup (facebook maybe?) and was waiting to see it pop up here. Can't wait to see her grow up! Are there any pics of her parents I can sticky beak at? (PM me if you want)

Quinn is the first puppy we've crate trained and I will never raise another puppy without crate training. We've raised all our pups before without a crate and with no major issues but I decided it would be a handy skill for quinn to have from day one and it is. It helps with toilet training because its a clearer way to make them take the initiative to "hold it", it teaches them to quiet down and rest and its a handy way to confine them when you can't watch them. If done right, its a safe place for them to go when they feel unsure. Quinn prefers to sleep in hers, she also eats in it because she can be bitchy with the other dogs around food, she rests in it at night, we put her in it to settle if she's bouncing off walls and won't calm down, she's in it when we're out of the house and this means we are yet to come home to any puppy destruction. (There is nearly always someone home, its maybe 3-5hours a fortnight that the dogs are alone) I also wanted to do a lot of formal training with Quinn so I wanted her crate trained to be able to take her to agility and what ever else we take on. She doesn't spend much time locked in it, usually only at training or the occasional evening where she won't settle and is annoying all the other animals in the house. Its not necessary to crate train your puppy but I wouldn't raise another dog without doing it, its such a blessing.

Buster is quite kelpie-like in temperament and he's worlds apart from my BC. Buster is on the lazy side but has that "whats in it for me?" kelpie streak. He's goofy and silly though. This time around I wanted a BC, I knew a kelpie or koolie would suit me aswell but I think a BC is the best fit for me. I like that Quinn is more likely to work just because she wants to work, she's so intune with me, wants to learn all the time and is more than happy to push herself. She is insanely smart, first time we ever practiced shaping weaves in class the instructor told us to be looking to click any interest in them and hopefully getting them to stick they're head through... Quinn just walked up and looked at it for a second then walked in and out of the first two like "... done, what now?" I was also seriously considering a koolie and if one had come up before Quinn I probably would have got one but I find the biggest difference between koolies and other breeds are that they are social, where kelpies and BC's tend to be reserved with people and not overly interested in dogs, koolies are social butterflies. This is a big reason i wanted a BC instead, I like being my dogs whole world and I take it personally if everyone is there favourite person. lol My mums next dog is going to be a koolie, we looked at everything from greyhounds to danes to bedlingtons to poodles to wolfhounds to whippets to GSP's to Vizsla's. I pushed koolies at her for quite a while before she started looking seriously at them and now we're waiting on a pup, they tick all the boxes and are such an awesome breed.

Quinn has two. (One was Busters but he isn't keen on it and she loves them) One is at the end of my bed because she prefers to sleep in it but it doubles as a table to keep my stereo and other stuff on. The other is blocks an unused door to outside in the loungeroom, this is where she is crated on hot days, when being fed and where she rests during the day. Its also the one I pack up and take to training seeing as she went throught he back of her soft crate. I think crates look quite nice as part of a room when they have a tidy bed in them, Mums new pup will be crate trained so we will soon have a second crate beside Quinn's.

I hate missing training for weeks on end! Can't wait to see Daisy flying through a course one day, does she love it? Quinn is still having some issues with reacting at other dogs playing, she can handle watching dogs tug now but not chasing toys or running through tunnels or just sprinting flat out in general. I'm nervous because we go into beginners in 2 weeks and she'll be expected to be offleash a lot more, she's fine while she's concentrating on me but if I loose her I loose her. I'm unsure of weather or not I should have held her back again but I know she's probably not learning anymore while we're just repeating Pre-Ag and the border she is the more likley she is to get distracted and find something else to look at...

Lucked out today at class, have been away for 3 weeks because I was sick/working/away and had such an awesome lesson today. It was meant to rain so I was the only one that turned up (its more of a fun training group but the instructor also instructs at my "real" club so its an extra handy practice for us) SO i scored a private lesson with great weather and minimal distractions, Quinn was offleash the entire time and only flipped me off twice, both times I'd probably pushed her too far and she got bored, decided the interesting smell on the ground was more worth her time. I'm so proud of my little girl, she works so hard and reads me more than I could imagine, I have so many body language issues to be aware of, like twisting too far back towards her to release her which seems to make her skip the first jump and not crouching down when turning her.

I'll add a couple. Buster doing the biggest smile evar! BusterSmiling by Buster-Quinn, on Flickr Quinn watching her horses through the gate. Quinn@thegate by Buster-Quinn, on Flickr and being pretty. Q by Buster-Quinn, on Flickr

That is so cute:) How do you make a dog cake? I used the top recipe here. http://www.dog-treat-recipe-exchange.com/dog-birthday-cake-recipes but forgotthe baking soda which I think is why mine was flat, it smelt awesome though.

this was Quinn's 12 months. And she got a new tug. Its the only dog cake I've ever made and they loved it but its more effort than I usually put in. I wanted a photo of them all together with the cake but this is the closest I have. Its cute but I think we were about 3 seconds away from Quinn cracking it with the other dogs over "her" cake so we chopped it up and gave it to them individually.

How scary. My boy Buster is DA from being bullied and bossed around by loose dogs as a puppy, he's come a long way but he's never going to be dog friendly outside the yard. For this reason I always have him contained or oneleash when out of the yard. I just couldnt' face either him starting a fight with a bigger dog or hurting/mentally scarring someone elses dog. When I used to run with him I would often have to pass a house with 2-3 kelpies that would come out and circle us, thankfully they never took it any further and soon leanred to keep a good distance after a few loud roars from me, water squirted to the face and rocks thrown at them. Now with Quinn I am extremely careful, even with extensive socialisation she is an incredibly timid dog with other dogs.My area is pretty good for loose dogs, I've only ever run into 3, one was an overly friendly amstaff that freaked her out a bit and followed us home so I ran Quinn in, took him down to the vet, he had a chip and they got him home, havn't seen him since. The other 2 belonged to a council worker working down near my road, 2 over friendly, no manners staffy mixes tore across the road, didn't back off when I yelled at them and I ended up with one them pinned to the ground by their neck. Finally the owner noticed, roared at them for 2 minutes and they eventually went back to him, my sister was with me so while I took Quinn home she went over the road and gave him a serve, told him if she saw them again she was calling the council. I'm just so glad I had Quinn not Buster or we would have been breaking up a 3 dog brawl. I think the best things I learnt with Buster is how to be scary, most dogs do back off to a "NO!" or "GET HOME!" but its terrifying when they don't and I'm thankful everyday that Quinn is light enough to be picked up easily.

You do have a good attitude Melstar, too many people when first faced with DOL decide they DO know it all thankyou very much and will take their business elsewhere. You sound like you have good intentions but also keep in mind that the dogs you have now might not work out as suitable to breed and in the grand scheme of things, 1 year of research is a drop in the bucket. I come from a family of dog lovers, my auntie was a registered ACD breeder in her early twenties, then went on to breed cockers and british shorthair cats (although I wouldn't say she was ever as ethical as I would like to see, she loved and still loves her animals a great deal and is very kind to them) I have lived with dogs my entire life and at 15 years old I got online and started reading, stumbled onto a forum, read more, joined DOL at 17, kept reading and now after 6.5 years of research the main thing I've learnt is that I have SO much to learn. I'd love to breed one day but am a long way off feeling confident to take on that responsibility. Be a sponge, be open minded, take advice and know your dogs. ETA: Don't feel attacked by people wondering why you are asking questions like you are, but I think one of the most important things you can have as a responsible breeder is an incredible amount of breed knowledge. You should know your breed (and your lines) inside out and back to front, health issues, odd behaviour traits, life expectancy, normal time for first heats, etc etc etc.

lol, I grew up imitating the dogs and I turned out okay. (which is why I'm on DOL at 7:30am)