Gayle.

We got our second Australian Shepherd supposedly for my daughter when she was 14. She had the puppy in her room at night, snuggled in her bed, she took her to obedience training, played with her, loved her to bits. The puppy took one look at me and decided that I was the best thing she'd ever laid eyes on and totally bonded to me in a way I've never had a dog attach before. She completely adores me. No matter that my daughter wants her to be her dog....the dog had other ideas! Our first Aussie was supposed to be my dog. I feed him, train him, walk him, play with him, groom him....I've even competed in trials with him and titled him in endurance last year. But wherever my husband is, so is the dog. He would walk slowly over hot coals if it meant being by my husbands side. So be aware, sometimes the dog chooses it's person, not the other way around.

Maybe check with the dogs breeder and see if they can help rehome him.

I love pug puppies, they remind me of sausage rolls with their little squashy faces at one end and their little curly tails at the other. And whenever I see one, I'm always suprised by how tiny they are at 8-12 weeks!

But you aren't everyone, and I would dare say you are not the average pet buyer. As someone else said, not everyone is a DOL member clone. ???? I paid $500 and $600 for my Australian Shepherds. Average price would be $600-$1000. Checking through the puppy listings on DOL a while back, I found Maltese puppies for $950, Tibetan Terriers for $800, Labradors for $800 and a few others for $600-1000. The vast majority of pet buyers wouldn't even dream that a dog could cost $2000, let alone more. As I already said, you aren't everyone and if you are going to breed and sell pet puppies, you might want to get a handle on the fact that some people (a lot of people) WILL want to know the price before they invest any more time in the breed. I invested a lot of time and energy into a breed only to find the price of a pup was way beyond what I was prepared to pay, and so I changed my strategy.

This is similar to what a friend of mine was advised with selling pedigree kittens. She sold one as show quality and the kitten developed a minor fault (which didn't prevent it from winning some major awards) and the owners sued the breeder for not selling them a "show quality" kitten. Mind you, they'd showed it every weekend they'd owned it. The general consensus, and the outcome of the court case, was that my friend should charge a higher price for show prospects and if they turned out to not be show quality, she could refund the difference between show and pet price. So she now charges a few hundred extra if the kitten is to be shown, so that there is a definite difference (and the perception of better quality is there even if it's just a perception.)

Not entirely. Dusty was bought as a pet, but I show her and many other people are in the same position as me. They have no intention of breeding, but the family pooch is a goodie and so becomes the introduction to the world of dog shows. She was not bought as a show dog, she was bought as a pet however the breeder mentioned she was good enough for the show ring and so I gave it a go.

Benson was fairly boisterous as a pup....or I thought he was (I'd had two little dogs prior to him), but calmed down considerably once he got past adolescence. Dusty has always been quiet and calm, she was a sweet puppy and she's grown into a lovely young lady. Definitely never boisterous or over-active. She's always been much calmer than Benson. Then I was at a show one day and met someone with a newly acquired Aussie bitch puppy they had out and about socialising. Ohmigod, she was like a little kangaroo! She didn't walk on the leash, she hopped, leapt, bounced along and her owners said she was like that all the time. That would drive me nuts. Benson was NOTHING like that as a puppy, he was very calm in comparison. And Dusty was practically comatose!

Whenever I'm out and about with Benson, I get lots of young guys stopping me to admire him and tell me what a cool looking dog he is. He's an Australian Shepherd, but he's unusually dark for the breed and those dark brooding looks seem to really appeal to men. He is however, the biggest smooch in the world. I have two Aussies and about to add a third in a few weeks. I find them an easy, easy breed to live with. They don't require massive amounts of anything....exercise, grooming, training etc. and as long as they get a bit of everything and are part of the family, they are great dogs to have around. Mine are not destructive at all. Benson went through the puppy chewing stage and we lost a few socks, slippers and the odd iPod cable. Dusty skipped that stage altogether, she has never chewed anything aside from her food. They aren't diggers, although they've always had a sandpit and bury stuff in there, but we've recently moved to a property with beautiful gardens and I have no probems leaving them unattended around the garden beds. Temperament-wise, mine are both friendly but Dusty is cautious and wary at first.....and this IS a breed trait. Benson will bark because he's excited to see you, Dusty will bark because she's warning you that you're on her turf. She is fine once she knows someone though. They are both VERY smart, and figure things out quickly. They are also very dextrous with their paws and often use them as thumbless hands. You'd be surprised at what they can do/open/get into with their paws. They are relatively easy to come by, and all the breeders I've met are lovely, and love to chat about their dogs and the breed in general. They also don't cost thousands of dollars to buy., And they are very pretty! Oh, they think they are lap dogs.

Something is way off there, otherwise can you please tell me where I can get the average weekly wage of $1200-$1500 Same here. I thought I was on an above average income but it's definitely way below those figures. I'm being ripped off! Not sure how saving anything gets you an average income like $1500 a week.

actually, you seem to be the one not getting the point. Why would anyone go to the trouble of researching a breed and investing a whole lot of time and emotional energy into it when they don't even know if they can afford a puppy? Knowing what I know now, the very first thing I would ask when looking for a new dog us the price. And nothing else. Because if I am can't afford the price or am not prepared to pay thatmuch thenwhy on earth would I bother to learn about health testing or anything else specific to the breed. And strange as it may sound, lots of people choose a purebred dog on looks. That, at least is something they can make a decision on quite quickly.

Like many others, I can't find the right words. I am shocked beyond belief. Jed is one of my favourite DOLers, she has written posts I go back again and again to read. Thinking of you all the time, Jed.

It seems to be a gap in vets knowledge because I've never had a vet even know about ivermectin sensitivity. And it's in collie types as well as collies (Aussie Shepherds are from the collie family).

My boy is on the limited register, he has no disqualifying faults and I have had breeders gnash their teeth over the fact that he's desexed. So why is he on the limited register? Because we knew very little about the breed when we bought him, he was our introduction, and we had no intentions of showing or breeding and the breeder did not want him used indiscriminately. And so she registered him accordingly and we had him desexed as we'd agreed. It does not make him a lesser quality dog....he is still highly intelligent, moves like a dream, is wonderful to live with and is the best boy in the world. The breeder owns the dam, sire and Bensons sister. They still have all the rights to the genetic material. Of course it can. Use dogs with the same lines.

Sell them the pups that you breed then. I can't see any ethical, ANKC registered breeder who takes pride in their work voluntarily handing over entire stock to a BYB so they can breed better quality pups. It's a seperate class, but there's also been talk that there will be neuter titles sometime in the future. I am not up on the dog show gossip lately so maybe someone esle can fill in the gaps. Most speciality champ shows have a neuter class and if that's not top shelf, then I dunno what is!

Both breeders I bought my dogs from mentioned Ivermectin sensitivity in the breed, to ensure I was aware of it. And each time I go to the vet, I mention it to them. And no vet has ever known about it in my breed.....in fact no vet I've ever been to has ever known what my breed is, let alone know they are a member of the collie family.

Not necessarily. If a breeder is using imported stock....stock that they paid a premium to import, I can definitely see why they would want pet pups to be desexed.....because they would not want their imported lines used indiscriminately. They would want to be the ones to engineer the use of the genetic material being used as they obviously imported with a view to the future. And I suppose the same can be said of any breeder who puts a lot of time, effort and forethought into their program and maps out the future carefully. They would not want just anyone using their lines, and who can blame them?

Only one of my dogs had a condition placed on him and that was Benson.....that he be desexed as soon as possible. He was sold on limited register so that was fair enough and we had him desexed by 4 1/2 months of age. That is fairly common, I expect. But the rest.......damn, no wonder people go elsewhere for puppies!

We had a 2 1/2 hour drive home from the airport when Dusty arrived. She was 8 weeks old and had flown from Adelaide to Melbourne. We just stopped on the way in case she needed a wee, and had a small bottle of water and a bowl with us in case she was thirsty. I didn't feed her until after we'd got home as I wasn't sure if she'd be sick in the car and I preferred to leave her meal until the time she would normally have it anyway. Somewhere safe and secure for puppy to travel.....either in a crate secured to your car, or a harness attached to a seat belt. She needs room to turn and lie down, she doesn't need room to climb and crawl over anyone else.

I did actually join a car forum when I bought my X-trail because I wanted to know two things specific to the model I'd bought and couldn't find the answers anywhere else. It amused me to see the passion for a car that owners displayed on that forum. Not unlike DOL, they had forum get togethers, trip reports, photo galleries, general chat about the X-trail......mind boggling really. And at the time I thought....hmmm, I wonder if this is how general pet owners feel when they stumble across DOL while trying to find the answer to a question they have about their pet dog.

If a breeder can't be bothered to take the time to chat to prospective puppy buyers, get to know them a bit and educate the ones who are seriously interested in their breed, then honestly, they should shut their traps when those people go to pet shops, puppy farms, backyard breeders etc. and buy a pet. And expecting casual enquirers to know what health tests should be done on the particular breed is just plain ridiculous and excluding those that don't know from being considered for a pup is extremely short sighted. The breeder needs to know what health tests have to be done, the buyers shouldn't have to. But thank goodness not all breeders are like that. When I enquired about my first Australian Shepherd pup, I emailed a breeder who lived near me and she replied with her phone number. The conversation went like this: Hi, I'm interested in buying a puppy, I believe you have a litter at the moment. Yes, I do, what so you know about Australian Shepherds? Ummmm.....not much, I really like the way they look and a friend of mine has one and she raves about it. I've been doing some reading about them though, and they sound like they might be the right breed for us. Well, why don't you come over and meet the pups and our other dogs and we'll see how you like them and they like you? And so we did. And spent a few hours with the pups, adults dogs and breeder and then she asked me which puppy I thought I might like. When I couldn't decide, she pointed out a little black boy she thought might suit us due to his calm temperament. We took him home the following weekend. He got the best home a puppy could ever have. The breeder mentioned health testing, I didn't. She gave me a puppy pack with all the relevant info in it, including hip, elbow and eye tests and further information on MDR1, as well as a detailed guide to socialisation, feeding, training etc. Now, had she hung up the phone when I didn't ask questions other than express an interest in her current litter, I would have gone elsewhere for a pup and it may not have been to a registered breeder.

That kind of attitude is why pet shops do such a roaring trade.

Why? For the average pet owner....in fact, not even average, I'd hazard a guess to say most of them....health problems with a puppy are the last thing on their mind. And the vast majority of those who do seek a pup from a breeder rather than a pet shop or an ad in the paper, assume (rightly or wrongly) that they are getting a quality product that is much less likely to have problems. I'm sure most people wouldn't mind being educated about potential health problems in the breed, but honestly, it's a bit much to expect a novice potential puppy buyer to even touch on health tests the breeder should be doing.

How on earth would someone who is looking for a pet puppy even know what health tests are supposed to be performed, and how would they even interpret the results? When I bought my first Aussie, I was presented with some copies of paperwork which were the hip and elbow scores of the parent dogs. I might as well have been handed the Dead Sea Scrolls to read, because I had NO idea what they were or why they were important. Yes, I knew about hip dysplasia, but the results of the tests were meaningless to me. And I wouldn't be alone there. The first email is polite, to the point and asks a valid question.

My husband keeps looking at that photo and saying the same thing! LOL! Chances are, he won't be at the top end of the size for the breed as neither of his parents are. In fact, his mum is quite little. But "good bone" is a desirable trait in an Aussie and by the size of those legs and feet, he is going to have very good bone. I hope not. And I doubt it. He will most likely have dark brown eyes. They are probably still the puppy blue he was born with but they'll be brown by around 8 weeks.

Why not? I spent ages researching a particular breed, thinking it was the one I wanted, imagining one being part of my life, finding out all I needed to know to give a pup a fantastic life. No mention of prices anywhere but the first conversation I had with a breeder knocked that idea right out of the ballpark for me. Had I known what price range I was looking at up front, I wouldn't have wasted so much time and emotional energy. If the first thing I find out is the price, at least it puts it in the Yay or Nay category for me.