Gayle.

I really like Old English Sheepdogs with tails, they have a whimsical, almost fantasy-like look about them and their lovely tail curling up adds to that magical look.

Sometimes though, the perceived "value" is in the eyes of the buyer, not the seller.....as in my cat breeder story. The buyer of the kitten perceived this kitten to be of a higher value because it was sold as "show quality" which it clearly was as it did a hell of a lot of winning. The fault found did not stop it winning, and they kept entering it in shows, but they deemed it now to be of a lesser value as due to the fault. And in that instance, the court agreed with the buyer and ordered the breeder to refund the difference in the value between a show and pet quality kitten. It wasn't the breeder who perceived the value to be higher, to her they were all equal, they had cost her exactly the same amount of money to breed and she'd sold each kitten for the same price, regardless of the intended future. And in that instance, maybe the pet price should remain the same but the price of a show quality animal to be higher?

Three of my four Aussies are tail-less, two of them NBT's and one docked. I like one of the NBT's and not the other because she has a short stub with a kink in it which sticks up. The other NBT has a short straight stub that he carries down and it's a much nicer profile. My little docked girl came from WA and was docked before the ban was in place there, she has nothing at all. I actually prefer the nice NBT than nothing. My tailed boy has a long partial tail, he has no white tip so I'm assuming it's a partial tail. I don't mind the way it looks, it suits him and he carries it nicely, but he hates it being touched so grooming it is a drama. I kind of prefer Aussies without tails, but some of them have stunning tails and some have really awful natural bobs. I would love to see more tailed Aussies in the ring, the judges need to see them and learn to disregard the tail, no matter what the carriage.

Natalie (tess32) is not far from you. She is a terrific photographer.

If a breeder is breeding for something in particular, whether it be show, work or whatever, and only SOME of the pups are of the quality required to meet the standard for whatever it is they are breeding for, then not all the pups have an equal value to the breeder. The pups that don't meet that standard are of a lower value for that reason. They might not represent a lower monetary value, but if a breeder had bred a litter for a show pup and none of the pups are show quality, then none of them have met that breeders standard. That does not make them duds or rejects, and it does not make them unfit for other functions......ie pets. but it does give them a lower " value" than if they were all show quality. Just as if a working dog breeder places a lower value on pups that won't work.

Most people don't expect to make a profit from a hobby. Where is the profit in horse riding, scrapbooking, netball, bushwalking, chess?

I got all my dogs from registered breeders, even my rescue girl. My first two were $600 (2007) and $500 (2008), at a time when the going rate for the breed was around $800. These breeders just charged less, the dogs are no lesser quality and in fact one came on the main register and I have shown her. My next one was free (2010), he is co-owned with his breeder but he will live out his life with me, just go back to her for little holidays now and then. He is also on the main register and destined to be a stud dog. I show him occasionally. My latest one was also free (2011), although I paid to have her flown from WA to Vic ($310). She is 5 years old, desexed and on the main register. I prefer to think of them as priceless rather than free. I have a limit to what I'll pay for a pet, but the ones I paid for were a long way short of the limit.

I am not agreeing or disagreeing with anyone....as usual Short Step has provided some very good reasoning. Here's what happened to someone I know, she is a cat breeder though, not a dog breeder, but the scenario could be the same. She breeds cats primarily to show, and like a dog breeder, the rest get sold to pet homes. She sold a "show quality" kitten to some "friends" of hers. The kitten went on to win many awards, gained many titles including Kitten of the Year and continued it's winning ways into adulthood. At some stage into the kittens show career, it was found to have a tiny fault........an almost indiscernable fault, so tiny that none of the judges had ever found it. But the owners decided the kitten wasn't "show quality" and sued the breeder. The breeder was gobsmacked to be served with legal papers and it ended up going to court. The outcome was that the magistrate deemed the breeder should refund the difference in price between a show quality and pet quality kitten. At that time, the breeder didn't have a different price as they all cost the same for her to produce. It was decided by the magistrate the amount would be $100 (I think). He also advised her that in future, she should charge more for show quality kittens in case they turned out not to be show quality and she could then refund the difference and avoid ending up in court again. This is a really rare occurence, but this happened within the last 5 years and if it's happened to one breeder, no doubt it could happen to others.

My first 3 Aussies grew up with my elderly Lhasa Apso, she ran with them every day and as she got older, she got increasingly fragile. The Aussies were boisterous with each other but very gentle and protective of her. She dies of natural causes aged 17. My newest Aussie, a 5yo rescue, is fascinated by the cats and more likely to chase them than the other three. They are a novelty to her, but I must admit the Burmese cat definitely encourages it. If you like the suqashy face look, what about a boxer? They seem like nice dogs, very smart looking.

Silver Shot

I think that any dog who can train their vet is pretty damn smart. I took Isaak to the vet on Saturday morning and he walked into her office, marched over to her desk, sat beautifully and said a polite "Eeeeer-ruff" at which the vet dutifully reached for her jar of treats, gave him two then started the examination. He knew exactly why he was there and made her aware of it too.

Where are the Australian Shepherds, Jack russells, Finnish lapphunds, Tibetan Terriers and many many other breeds who are highly intelligent and very trainable? That list should be the top 10 breeds who can learn stuff easily and are owned by lots of people. For that matter, where are the Kelpies?

I don't think "lilac" is as attractive a colour as it sounds, More a muddy light brownish grey than anything remotely related to purple.

Black Hawk. Australian made, very reasonably priced, first class product. See thread on this forum.

This is how Dusty is. She is the most reserved of my dogs and the difference between her and Benson is evident from the moment a stranger arrives. They both bark but his bark is a happy, joyful "Oh look who's here, someone to play with, hi there, how are ya?" Dusty is more like "Who goes there and what are you doing on MY property? Don't come any closer or I'll bark REALLY loud!" But once she knows you, she's your best buddy. It might take a while and it needs to be on her terms, but once it's happened she never forgets. When she was a little puppy she met DOLer Dee_al, who goes to the same obedience club as me and who has become my very good friend. Dusty doesn't see Dee_al very often these days, but I can always tell when she's arrived at the club because Dusty spots her in the car park and her bum starts to wiggle and by the time Dee_al gets to us, her whole body is wagging from side to side in absolute joy that her friend is here. Although I think Benson has got a fabulous temperament, I prefer the slightly wary, stand-offish behaviour that is more correct in a lot of herding breeds. It is part of their heritage......protect the herd and allow the newcomer to prove their worth. Once the newcomer is accepted, all is right in their world.

Ask your fellow competitors if they mind if you use it. Then you'll know one way or the other if it will annoy them.

Interesting question. Out of my dogs, I'd say Benson has the best temperament....he takers everything in his stride, he's friendly, outgoing and approaches life with a curious, joyful attitude. However, his temperament isn't what I'd call correct for the breed. The other three are probably more typical of the breed in that they can be stand-offish and wary and take a while to warm up to strangers. The girls more so than Isaak.

What's the reason you have a trainer coming in?

Pedigree dogs and the clubs that represent them. People who own, breed and love those dogs there to talk about them.....unhurried, unstressed (as they often are at shows) with an agenda to promote their beautiful dogs to the public. Rescue organisations with some of their success stories.

I have a measuring scoop that holds 1/3 cup. Three dogs get 2 of those, one dog gets 5 of them. Isaak is the only one I have trouble keeping weight on, the others would be porkers if I fed more. I am monitoing Benson though as he's been losing weight and he's about right so might up his intake a bit to maintain it.

Mine all get 2/3 cup of kibble for dinner except Isaak who gets 1 2/3 cup because he is very ribby. My husband thinks they should get more because "they can eat more than that" which I don't think is a very good reason for overfeeding them.

Cats are different. They can have kittens as young as 4-5 months and their whole being is geared towards mating. If a female cat doesn't mate by about her 3rd call, she has a very high chance of developing pyometra.

Mine get raw bones (usually chicken pieces) for breakfast, BH for dinner and a small handful at bedtime, and a raw bone (pork or lamb) on Saturdays as a treat. I also use BH as training treats. They've been on this regime for a few months now and I'm really happy with their condition, not to mention my budget! Other premium kibbles might have different qualities but two things none of the others have is value for money, and locally made. I fed EP Holistic for years but I got to the point where I couldn't justify (let alone afford) $130 per bag. Not to mention that it's imported and god only knows how long since it was baked.

Have you noticed any difference in her growth say compared to your others that were desexed later? There are a growing number of Pug breeders desexing 8-12 weeks. she is very small compared to the others. The other three are all roughly the same size taking into account their gender and ages. My little desexed girl is considerably smaller than them to the point that she's often mistaken for a puppy. That could be her parentage though. There is a large variety is sizes in Aussies although she is by far the smallest adult I've ever seen. It's like having a perpetual puppy, she is extremely cute.

One of my dogs was desexed as a baby puppy. She came to me as a rescue albeit with a pedigree and via her breeder. He desexed all puppies that aren't going to be shown or bred from before they go to new homes. He is not the only breeder who does this, the lady who bred my first Aussie also does although our pup came to us entire on the proviso he was neutered as soon as possible.