Gayle.

They bark, some of them bark a lot, some don't. I have one who barks at everything......he's a big happy boy who likes a chat and his bark is friendly, curious, informative etc. However, he's loud and it's ear splitting and when he barked he set the other dogs off. I solved the problem with an electronic collar which worked like a charm. These days he's pretty quiet and if he starts up again he gets the collar on for a day. My girl and my puppy aren't barkers at all. She will give a warning bark at strangers coming onto our property or anyone coming near our car if she's in it, but overall she's fairly quiet to live with. The puppy doesn't bark at much of anything so far (he's 9 months old).

If a judge is putting through a dog with a clearly visible health problem, they shouldn't be judging.

The hereditary conditions tested for in my breed wouldn't be able to be seen by a veterinary examination. I'd think the same goes for lots of breeds, which makes it a pointless exercise really. In fact, it just ensures the judges have got good eyesight and know what a dog is.

If you are looking for a pup of the breed you already have also (BC?), are you involved in and participating in breed activities already? When I got my first Aussie (limit register), I joined a breed specific email list and also the state breed club. Once I'd kind of "hung around" them for a while, I could pretty much take my pick of who to get my next pup from. ETA: My girl is not co-owned, she is my dog outright. My third dog IS co-owned with the same breeder, but this is an entirely different arrangement and it's not because I wanted a dog on the main register.

You guys are funny, you don't need mountain bikes or lycra to take part in an ET. You don't even need to be particularly fit. I did it on a hybrid bike.....trained in summer in normal baggy shorts, and in winter in fleecy trackies. God, the neighborhood would never recover if I got out there in lycra! The ET course at Sale is smooth and easy. It's not "off-road", and you could easily do it on a road bike and in fact some did. They make is as easy as possible on the dogs paws, so the three surfaces are hard packed dirt, concrete (footpath) and short, smooth grass. I think there was a bit of bitumen in there too. I did not need to change gears at all. I am way overweight, not fit at all and yet I did it with ease. And I expect I'll do it again easily this year (although I do hope to lose at least a bit of weight). I took Isaak out with the bike last week....he is 9 months old and I thought we may as well make an early start on training for next years ET and at least get him used to the bike. He is a natural.....I didn't even need to show him what to do or give him any commands...he just ran smoothly and loosely beside me. But this year is Dusty's year.

Mine get turfed outside if it's a hot night. Actually the puppy gets turfed outside every night at the moment due to his penchant for eating my shoes when I'm asleep. He's not crated because I hate crates inside, he sleeps in the pergola. Do you have a verandah or pergola where you could move the crates to on warmer nights?

I didn't find it difficult at all, my girl came to me on main register and the breeder told me I could show her if I liked. Which I did, and still do occasionally, but that was not my reason for buying her.

Gayle, I have been lamenting to anyone who would listen about why Bitty loves OH best when I spent so much time raising her as a baby. Everyone told me that my problem is that she is a girl and I should get a boy next time (Bubby does love me best!). But with what you say about Benson, perhaps it is just a dog thing? Well, my girl loves me with absolute and utter devotion. So it's definitely not a gender thing. Benson started out being my dog. I bought him when my old Maltese girl died, and he was as different from her as you could ever get. I took him to obedience from 4 months of age, I was always the one who trained him, fed him, walked him, groomed him, did the ET with him..........but he loves Rick. Just adores him. Rick must do more cool things than me or something. But if Rick is working in his shed, you can guarantee Benson will be within a metre of him. Dusty was supposed to be my daughters dog but she took one look at me and my daughter didn't stand a chance. Isaak........well, he seems to prefer to be near me for now, and he's certainly a big cuddle bug, but he tends to spread the love around. So I think it is just a dog thing. My old Maltese girl was my dog through and through even though she was a family pet. Wherever I was, she'd be right there ...and very similar in temperament to Dusty....soft, quiet, submissive and not overly motivated by much......kind of happy just to hang out with mum. Our old girl Kassy, who grew up with and was very bonded to the Maltese, is nobodies dog. She follows me around these days but I think that's cos she can't see very well. But she's always just been her own little personality and not really bonded to anyone. We all look after her and care for her, but she's more likely to be in her own bed than lying at someone feet watching every move they make. And she's always been like that.

My husband has Benson. He didn't deliberatly set out to have Benson but Benson decided it for both of them. Wherever my husband is, you can be sue Bensons close by. He waits on my husbands side of the bed for him to get out of the shower each morning. If husband sleeps on the couch, Benson sleeps on the other couch. Husband chooses bickies to buy for himself according to what Benson likes. He loves all the dogs to the point where he was very agreeable to moving out of town to give the dogs a better lifestyle, but Benson loves him best.

What constitutes a registered breeder is no different to what it always was. Being a member of MDBA makes you a registered breeder no more than being a member of the Labour Party makes you a politician. As always, education is the key. People need to know how to tell a registered breeder apart from other breeders. They need to know the right questions to ask.

It's not that simple. In Australia, if you want to compete in dog shows, obedience trials, endurance, herding, agility trials, and various other dog sports, you must be a member of your state canine council. If you want to breed and register puppies on the national registry, same thing....you must be a member of your states canine council. You can be a member of other organisations such as MDBA, but you can't do any of the above unless you are also a member of the canine council in your state.

Does MDBA sanction any dog events such as shows, sports or other activities that dog owners can participate in (regularly, not once a year) with their pets?

Not all potential dog owners have a particular breed in mind, a lot just have a "type" of dog they can see themselves with, which is why pet shops do so well because they often have that "type" available.....even though the pup might grow up to be completely different to what the buyers thought they were getting.

Can you get something like a Backseat Buddy and use the straps that's on it to attach it to the backseat of the car to hold it in place on your sofa? The Reject Shop have cheap ones, and I got one from Autobarn....not the Backseat Buddy brand, but the same type of thing.

But if after a few months of trying to contact breeders and get some idea of availability, and not getting anywhere, then yes it's reasonable to look at it from a different angle. That's not clicking your fingers then changing your mind because it isn't there immediately. Sometimes it's a matter of not understanding the availablity of that particular breed......just last week my son said he'd love to get XXX breed (can't remember what it was), and I said "Good luck, there aren't any in Australia, so dunno where you're gonna get one from". He thought cos he'd read about it on the internet, seen it in breed books, that he could get one here. He now needs to set his sights in a different direction if he really wants a dog.

If we're speaking as a potential pet owner, I would wait maybe 6-8 months, maybe more depending on the breed I wanted but I think if I hadn't made any headway after a few months......been able to at least talk to a few breeders ad get some idea about when pups might be available, then I'd choose another breed. It seems to be some sort of badge of honour on here to say "Well, I had to wait umpteen years to get the dog I wanted, so everyone else should have to as well!" When I started looking for a pet I gave it a couple of months pursuing a couple of breeds, did not make what I consider to be satisfactory headway so went in a different direction and had a pup a week later. And that is the breed I've stuck with. I wanted a dog, I wanted it as soon as possible and I knew I could give it a fabulous home and if there were breeders looking to sell their pups, I was willing to consider that breed.

Neither of the breeders I bought from are members of breed clubs. One was once and isn't anymore for reasons of her own, the other is in a state that doesn't have a breed club for our breed. And there is no national breed club.

I prefer that they *have* a website, and one that's up to date (pet peeve of mine with breeders websites), but it doesn't have to be flashy. More info, more pics, less flash would be my preference. No trailing twinkies or music though, that would turn me right off.

I was looking for a breeder a couple of years ago and rang Dogs NSW. The person who took my call asked me what group the kerry blue terrier was in. I said, after a fairly longish pause, 'The terrier group.' They probably employ people for their admin skills, not their dog knowledge. But that' s not such a stupid question when the Tibetan Terrier is in the non-sporting group, not the terrier group. And the Australian Silky terrier and Yorkshire terriers are in the toy group, not the terrier group. And the Cavalier King Charles spaniel is in the toy group also, and not in the gundog group with the other spaniels.

Maybe he's on holidays? I contacted him in about October and got a reply straight away.

Just a quick promo for NFS crates, they are excellent quality, with good sturdy canvas fabric, and blinds to cover all the openings. I've had mine since Dusty was a puppy and it's been well used and abused and it still looks fabulous. My husband broke one of the plastic sliders that holds the top metal rod in place....he pushed on the rod rather than slide the holder back and it snapped. I emailed NFS and Peter, the guy who owns the business, replied the same day letting me know the spare part would be $2 and I could pick it up if I was close by or he'd mail it to me for the cost of the postage. I wasn't close by so he mailed it to me, but he sent me 4 of them when I only requested one. Now that's service!

Mine is a different brand (NFS) and is a medium. It fits any one of my Aussies in it. In comparison, an XXXL should fit an elephant comfortably.

Wow, they even have an Australian Shepherd. Gorgeous items.

If you read his background you'll find out he learned a lot from his grandfather, but also by quietly observing dogs and other animals as he grew up. He isn't an instant expert, he didn't suddenly have all this knowledge as a middle-aged adult, he just became well known because of his dealings with TV and movie people (and their dogs) in Hollywood, and his resultant TV show.

I would be devestated if dogs killed my chooks. One of them was attacked by a neighbors cat and that made me absolutely furious although the chook recovered and I haven't seen the cat since. My own dogs are not allowed anywhere near the chooks and we've got secure fencing in place to prevent them.