Gayle.

Unfortunately, I can testify to 6 ft fences not keeping in a serial escape artist. Where there's a will there's a way and our escape artist will scale the 6 ft gate as easy as stepping over a log. Solution for us is to keep him in the house when we're not home (he generally doesn't escape while we're here) with another dog for company. That would not work for a lot of people though. I have been blessed with some beautifully behaved, non-destructive dogs and they have the run of the house. We've never come home to anything other than a bit of rubbish scattered on the floor when we forgot to empty the bin. Some large dogs don't need much exercise.....some working breeds (one of my Aussies as an example) don't need a lot, but conversely, some small breeds (Paps, JRT's etc) need LOTS of energy-sapping play and room to zoom. Some breeds need more "mind exercise" than others and a lot need a bit of both. This is where buying from a good breeder can help....firstly they are quite careful to place the pup in the correct home, and secondly, they have the experience to match the puppy to the new owner, so the end result is a happy one, not one where the dog is in completely the wrong home for it's needs.

Will any of the Vic distributors be at KCC Park on Sunday (Jan 1) for the twilight show? I'll be there and would like to pick up a bag if possible, otherwise I'll email Sherel and get some our usual way.

Depends on the dog. I have one who just throws up a whole meal of raw chicken but can easily manage a drumstick per day so that's what they all get, plus a lamb based kibble. They used to get mostly raw chicken plus some raw lamb til Dusty started her hurl-girl career so I switched them to kibble and we're all a lot happier. But I like them to at least have one raw meaty bone per day for their oral health.

Oh, he's adorable! And nothing that cute could possibly be a terror!

It's Newborough. I'll be there with two Aussies.

How are your dogs starting to smell only two days after a bath? Mine got a bath 2 weeks ago and still smell like the coconut conditioner I used on them. All 4 of them sleep in our room, on their beds or the carpet and the room doesn't smell. The carpet gets vacuumed every day and steam cleaned once a year.

No, they most certainly did not. Most dog breeds started out as a "type" or what is also referred to as a "landrace" and through selective breeding of certain traits for the jobs the original breeders wanted them to perform, the breeds we have today were created. Some breeds were created by introducing other breeds, but not many.

True. Though, given that Greytmate said "Cross breed dogs will never be better than pet quality" I only needed one example of a crossbreed dog which had become more than just a pet to disprove that blanket statement The dogs you've listed, while exceptionally talented or trained, are still only "pet quality". No one doubts that a lot of pets are highly intelligent and very capable of carrying out complex tasks, but with a mixed breed dog, there is no documented ancestry, so no way of telling where that intelligence came from and no way of using it to produce offspring of equal or better intelligence than the parent. On the other hand, if one of them had a pedigree, it would be relatively easy for a breeder with knowledge of those particular genes, to be able to match the dog to a suitable pedigree bitch and bring about litters of puppies that can then carry on the sires work. And that is how the dog gets to be better than pet quality.

Wikipedia isn't really "evidence to the contrary" just as Google isn't research.

Ridgeback x GSD?

That would be quite true if one of the parents was an unknown, but for those deliberately breeding a toy poodle and a maltese for example, they could generally be quite sure the resulting pups will be small, reasonably intelligent, and as healthy and pleasant as the parents were (with human intervention helping). You know they're not going to be as big as or look like a greyhound for example. Definitely there's predictability with looks and size with purebreds but even within one litter there can be different temperaments, size and health results. If every puppy was exactly the same you wouldn't need to go through a puppy selection process. I don't thinks its fair to infer every crossbred litter is going to end up so far from the parents the pups will look and be nothing like them! For those who want a pet only they might be quite happy with a pet which changes in looks as it grows. For those who want a pet who definitely looks a certain way, and hopefully behaves a certain way then pedigree all the way! I didn't infer that at all, but in your example, a poodle and a maltese.....the resulting pups might look like a poodle, or might look like a maltese. Might have a poodle conformation and a maltese coat, or vice versa. Might be at the taller end of the toy poodle spectrum, might be tiny like a small maltese. Might shed, might not shed. Might have a straight coat, might have a curly coat. Any idea of the colour? Nope, me either. Poodle colour genetics are a science unto themselves, mix them with a maltese and anything could happen. Might be intelligent, but who can say? Mixing two intelligent breeds doesn't guarantee intelligent offspring. Take a toy poodle and mate it with another toy poodle and you'll get a small dog of high intelligence, with a curly non-shedding coat, of a predictable colour if you know what colours the parents carry (and a good breeder would know this), who will grow up to look like it's parents, grandparents and every other well bred toy poodle ever born.

That reminds me of a day I was sitting at a dog show, waiting for group 5 to finish. I was watching the people around me get their dogs ready and a lady with a whippet set up right across from me. I thought how awesome that would be.....starts with W and hardly needs any grooming so you could get there near the end of the show (no getting up at 4am like I do), pop a pretty lead on the dog, and go in the ring without any bother. Hahaha....wasn't I wrong! She took a full two hours and a HUGE grooming arsenal to prepare this dog....it was brushed, combed, polished, rubbed, smoothed down, wiped over, powdered, sprayed, greased, polished some more, whiskers trimmed, toenails clipped, ears wiped out....and at the end of it, the dog looked exactly the same as when she'd started. But I was quite thoroughly entertained the whole time! LOL!

I buy the Australian Shepherd Club of Victoria annual calendar, this year it features Dusty as Miss September and Ripley as Mr January (along with two other blue merle Aussies). It has mostly pet dogs, not in show poses and the calendar is wonderful. The pics are submitted by members and the standard is getting higher each year. I got an Aussie Shepherd one from the local newsagents, for my wall at work, and was disappointed to find that at least half the photos are boring show stacks. I hate pics of show stacked dogs and I have no idea why they'd end up in an expensive calendar.

The only safe cats in Australia are indoor cats. But she had a clear idea of what she wanted to achieve and she set out and did it. They now breed true, and she's introduced new patterns (marbling as well as spotting) and it's a very interesting exercise in genetics. But she did it by applying for a licence, outlining what she wanted to create, then used her knowledge to bring it about. She didn't start by crossbreeding indiscriminately then deciding she had some cute cats she wanted to make into a breed. The "Australian" part of the name refers to the fact that they were developed here, I don't think it's got anything to do with it being a more suitable breed for this country. I mentioned that because one of the breeder websites I read was marketing them as lower prey drive, and happy to be permanently indoors so therefore more suitable for Australia and to coexist with our wildlife. The indoors part is cool, but I'm struggling to picture a cat breed with low prey drive... My Maine Coon does. She'd let a mouse run over her paw without batting an eyelid. We can leave all the doors open and she might, if she can be bothered, venture as far as the threshold and as soon as the wind blows a leaf in to distance she bolts back inside and hides under a bed. The chooks have more prey drive than she does.

The only safe cats in Australia are indoor cats. But she had a clear idea of what she wanted to achieve and she set out and did it. They now breed true, and she's introduced new patterns (marbling as well as spotting) and it's a very interesting exercise in genetics. But she did it by applying for a licence, outlining what she wanted to create, then used her knowledge to bring it about. She didn't start by crossbreeding indiscriminately then deciding she had some cute cats she wanted to make into a breed. The "Australian" part of the name refers to the fact that they were developed here, I don't think it's got anything to do with it being a more suitable breed for this country.

I have a shed for dog stuff, as well as a wall in the laundry for their collars and leads, of which there are dozens, then there's part of the linen cupboard and a space in the spare bedroom for their blankets, and a cupboard in the bathroom for their towels and a spot in the rumpus room for their indoor toys................I'm not game enough to start itemising, I'll be here for weeks!

I paid nothiing for two of my pedigree dogs, and not in the high hundreds for the others. The free ones get the same excellent level of care that the paid for ones get.

In the bedroom but not on the bed. They come into bed for a cuddle though.

For anyone interested in exactly this sort of process, some reading on the formation of the "Silken Windhound" breed might answer some questions. Here we have a modern, newly formed breed still working towards widespread recognition (recognised in Slovenia and Czech Rep. I think, and possibly provisionally with AKC?). It has been DNA mapped since the very beginnings, with foundation and any external stock used tested clear of genetic issues. Yes, scrutiny and selection is tough and many produced pups don't become part of the ongoing breeding program. But as they are bred with care and regard, are a healthy and lovely breed they have no problem being desexed and homed as pets. The breed is promoted through their own society shows, coursing days and owner get-togethers. It can be done ethically, but not for the reasons of making a buck or mass producing fluffy pups for the instant gratification of consumers - basically the historic reasons for the creation of so many modern breeds hold true. The development of the Australian Mist cat makes interesting reading too. Dr Truda Straede developed the cat from Burmese, Abyssinian and tabby pound cats. She wanted traits from each and she eventually got there but it was a long road and thousands of kittens were born before the breed was officially recognised. The story used to be online, not sure if it is anymore but I'm sure a google search would uncover it.

I got a sketch of my beautiful Benson, which looks just like him and makes me cry every time I look at it. He was so beautiful and I miss him so much. And I got Karen Hedbergs book "The Dog Owners Manual" which is just fabulous. Oh, and a dog charm for the Pandora bracelet my husband gave me. I think it's a bull terrier, it has a patch over it's eye.

I love Ripley because somehow he knew his role in our family was to help heal a heart. He came to us in August from another DOLer who selflessly offered him to us after Benson died, as she thought he would have a better life here than she could offer him. We have more space and he has a burning desire to run and run. He was to be my husbands companion, as he was missing having a boy by his side since Benson left us. And Ripley knew......he took one look at my husband and has barely left his side since. He adores my husband with every single bit of himself, he sits up on his seat in the work van to go places, he knows when the bike comes out he's off for a run, he stretches his head towards the collar and lead when it's time to go for a walk, and he plants himself on the couch next to my husband every evening.

What I love about Isaak is that he doesn't have a brain but he thinks he does. LOL! Naaah, that's a bit mean, we were just this morning discussing that Isaak is possibly showing some signs of basic intelligence at long last. What I really love about him is his complete and utter devotion to me. No matter what goes on around him, he only has eyes for me. And I love that I can take him anywhere and know that he is going to be perfectly behaved and if he happens to slip his lead, it won't matter because he never leaves my side. And I love the way he looks.....he is so beautiful he makes my heart sing.

My little man is now in intermediate and has only been shown intermittently, so he's still a bit of a wriggle poop on the stack, and does a bit of leaping and hopping instead of gaiting. But he loves being in the ring with me, I'm not a good handler by any stretch but he adores doing stuff with me so he tries really hard for me. And he's managed a few class wins, a puppy in group, a few reserve dog challenges, a challenge and a runner up of breed. I show him for the sheer pleasure of a day out with my beautiful dog, so whatever happens along the way is all good.

What I love about Shae.....she has blossomed from an uncertain, shy and awkward dog into a truly lovely dog to live with. She's still a bit feisty with other dogs when she's on lead but she's learned to make friends when she's off lead, she adores he adopted brothers and sister and showers them with affection. I love that she's now so confident in her ability to herd sheep that she'll argue with me about which way to take them. And I love that when she's scared of thunder, she comes straight to me because when she's standing next to me, she's no longer afraid. She's a little tiny flyweight of a dog but to me she's the flyweight champion of the world.

She sounds lovely and she sounds just like my Dusty. The dog who everyone likes to criticise for various things, but they are most of what you list about Kenzie, and all of what I love about my gorgeous girl. And I love that she loves me unconditionally and she lets everyone know it.