RiverStar-Aura

I think a better way to approach this question is to first find YOUR breed. The one(s) you love over all the others and that you couldn't imagine life without. I've been lucky in that my true heart breed has just happened to be the same breed I grew up with as a child. Even though I haven't had much experience with other breeds, the Aussie Terrier is one I won't live without. I'd love to eventually get into showing and breeding, however I'm enjoying my start in agility for now. I also know I'll have other breeds in my life too (Salukis and Norwich Terriers) but my heart truly belongs to Aussies. Until you feel this strongly towards a breed and protective of it to a certain extent, I wouldn't even begin to contemplate showing.

Definitely keep an eye on him. A friend's 5 year old Staffy X had cruciate surgery earlier this year after partially tearing it and she's quite active during games of fetch too. She wouldn't weigh bear for a few days though then would be all go go go until she just kept limping. If Zig is always playing fetch I agree with HW; ease up on the fetching just in case this is the start of an ACL injury. My friend's dog is also already showing signs of arthritis which is not good for such a young dog. Personally I'd just be resting him for a few days. Hope he gets better soon the poor bub!

:laugh: Oh Stan you funny dude!! My two are nothing like that. If Zeus is in a spot Kirah wants, she'll jump on him and start biting/nibbling on his legs/ears/soft spots. If it's the other way around, Zeus will sit on Kirah and eventually start trying to kick her off -- or he'll pull the blanket out from under her. I have two toddlers sometimes! :/

Yup. nods head. :D Unless the distance is about 2 or 3 km. ;-) But yes, agree otherwise. A non-sighthound outpacing a grey or a whippet at any distance is unlikely unless the grey or whippet has some kind of significant problem. I actually agree with all comments regarding the speed of Greys and Whippets because they are such fast runners. I would love to really race Zeus in a Whippet or Grey race because he is such a bloody fast runner -- it's hard to describe because he has amazing stamina and can really hoon vast distances without getting puffed. That's why I'd never say Zeus is faster than a Grey or Whippet purely because it's highly doubtful and in a dog park situation, the ones we've met more than likely weren't running at full speed -- there's just not enough room! Being a mutt too makes it hard because he does have personality traits of sighthounds too; he's built lean, lanky and long-limbed like sighthounds and he's also a very keen observer despite having an obvious beagle nose! I've also had trouble teaching him to leave out cat alone; he's fine provided she's not moving but as soon as she does move, all bets are off. I keep them separate because of this. He's one interesting dude who just loves to keep me guessing! Edit: I just love all your photos of your gorgeous, gentle giants Grumpette! Just beautiful!

What breed is Zeus? Zeus is a Beagle x Jack Russell but he's built like a Kelpie and if I didn't know better I'd say he has Kelpie in him. Keep in mind that I've only ever seen Zeus race 2 whippets and 1 greyhound and they were quite amazing 'races ' to watch. I don't bother bragging because 3 dogs out of the vast number of Greys and Whippets is nothing spectacular.

Bragging about a dog's weight is something I've never been able to understand. When people ask how much my two weigh, they get told the exact weight right down to grams. Zeus: 13.6 kilos Kirah: 6.4 kilos I weigh them every month or so and I take pride in knowing things like this about my dogs without the need to brag. I can even tell you their neck circumferences! :laugh: Zeus can run faster than a few greyhounds and whippets because I've witnessed it at the dog park, however, whippets are a bit more agile. I guess dogs are the same as everything else: cars, prams, babies, houses etc Mine are ALWAYS going to far superior than all the others!

My dogs sleep outside all year round and I know they're toasty warm during winter. They sleep in the garage in a wooden box I had my dad make. It has nice high sides, a Snooza D1000 (small) as a mattress and about 4 fleecy/fluffy blankets in it. Both build circle nests in separate corners of the box and nestle down deep within the blankets and when I give them their breakfast, their coats are radiating such heat, I swear I'll get burnt!! On extra cold nights I'll give them their Snuggle Safe heat pad and coats, but most nights they just wear their coats and snuggle into the blankets. Edit: Our cat sleeps in the laundry in a round bed with a fluffy blanket and she loves it there too. Nice and warm!!

What breed is Azure? I've been trying to work out the ASD acronym and I'm leaning towards Anatolian? And because I'm curious about his size, just how much does your gorgeous man weigh? CAS are a gorgeous breed and he looks like he'd be an awesome fluffy bear to hug!!

If you like KC, you and your kids are welcome to come visit my Aussie Terrier -- they are a fantastic kid's dog. Even though they're small, they're big in personality and provided you're happy letting them know that you're in charge, they are wonderful, happy, little dogs. Terriers do need a firm hand but they do love learning, playing and are a lot tougher than their small size indicates. Coat wise, they're very easy to maintain and weekly brushing is fine. There is the option of hand stripping the coat, but again, not completely necessary. They have very few health issues and I know a local breeder whose own grandson shows some of her neuter champions.

I've finally had the chance to book in for a further consult with K9 Pro to work through some more issues my dogs and I are having. I decided to make a semi-vacation out of the trip so now I'm looking for ideas of things to do with my dogs whilst I'm there. Understandably, I can't leave the dogs behind at the accommodation so I'm mostly looking for things, places to eat etc that will be dog friendly. I also don't mind driving -- actually quite enjoy road trips!!

Agreed! My monsters are all about the dirtier the water the better tasting it is. I've even caught Zeus standing in his paddling pool drinking whilst his leg is cocked and he's peeing into it. Mmm... Tasty, pee water :/

Jay Are (JR) would be harder to yell out/call during training plus seeing it written down people would prob assume Junior (Jr). I like Mason -- also like Perry Mason! :)

How about just throwing the food around the grass on your yard? That way the dog has to seek it out.

This is such an interesting topic -- I'm loving that there's such difference in how you've all named your pets past and future! I mostly chop and change when it comes to naming and I guess that's dependant on my situation. With Zeus, he was an on-the-spot, impulse purchase so I didn't have time to really think of a name, but I've always had my sources. My names are heavily influenced from mythology and with him, I'd quickly narrowed down Zeus and Loki as my two picks. I loved the idea of a Loki, but my brothers wanted Zeus and eventually, my bubba became my Zeusling. With Kirah I spent a year choosing a suitable name -- I had lists everywhere. I put a huge amount of effort in choosing my breeder and she is my first ANKC registered dog so I wanted a special name with meaning. She's a return to my favourite breed so I ended up with an Aboriginal name although I changed the spelling. Kirra is said to mean either 'leaf' or 'boomerang' in a language local to Kirra Beach on the Gold Coast. Alternatively, in the Murri language of Southern Queensland, Kirra also means 'to live' and after losing Poochie, Kirah became my reason for living. Knowing that Kirra also means 'boomerang' has me laughing at the image of Kirah's recall. She ALWAYS comes back and it's never in a neat turn and return; she has a wide arc in which to turn and come back, much like a boomerang!!

RIP young Charlie. Your life may have been much too short but you were blessed with a loving family and loved them back in return. You will be greatly missed but may you run free of pain now darling boy.

Oh DDD You did everything you could for your precious, little girl. She was so very much loved and is now pain free. Fly free sweet Myrtie and keep watch over your momma as she misses you terribly right now.

I'm so glad you've got a diagnosis for Myrtie DDD. Even though the pulmonary hypertension isn't great news, at least you know so you can start appropriate treatment. I really hope she gets better!!! Have you had a chance to visit your sweet girl and give her huggles?

I'm so sorry to hear about Myrtie. I have my fingers crossed for both of you DDD!

What jerks!! He was obviously taunting the dog to come attack him almost as if to give him cause to have the dog PTS because it attacked a human.

Just regarding this bit. I've heard Belgians can carry recessive black. So if a Terv x Terv mating resulted in a black pup would it still be a Tervuren just miss marked or could it be registered as a Groenendael? A Belgian breeder would be best to answer this but I would think it would be the same as the opposite Groen X Goen produces a Terv it is registered as a Terv http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/profile.asp?dog=80374 In this senario the Belgian will be registered as a Groenendael. :) (ie; if Terv x Terv produces black) Just popped in here and saw this post. Haven't been on DOL for quite some time. So would I be right then, in saying that the ANKC really treats the four varieties as just that; four varieties of the SAME breed? Almost as though it's more like a different name per coat colour/type rather than different names for different breeds? Wow this does my head in but I'm glad I asked the question as it's so very interesting.

There's a lady at the agility club I go to with 2 gorgeous Belgian Groenendals and she's an obvious Trekkie. Her first girl is called Seven of Nine (she's actually the 7th born in a litter of nine too!!) and her other is B'Elanna, which I think is cute! :D

Thanks Megan; that's what I was trying to get at with my 'rage' comment. Not that people were getting angry but the fact that Mister Angry Face was used and that so many people felt the need to comment. I mean the polite way would've been 'it's Belgian but hey, you got the 4 varieties correct though'. It's definitely an interesting topic and one I find confusing. :laugh: So is the BSD judged as separate breeds in ANKC shows and by registering the puppies based on coat mean that a Malinois bitch who (let's say happens to have Tervueren in her lines somewhere) births a long coated puppy that it would be registered as a Tervueren? And as a side question, does anyone know why the Laekenois variety isn't as popular/common? Are the varieties different in terms of temperament, which could possibly explain the lack of popularity of this particular variety? A part of me thinks it's also because people don't think they're as 'pretty' as the other 3 varieties.

Wow what a whole lot of rage over one typo. One polite comment would've sufficed but I forgot this if DOL where the need to harp on exists. I won't even bother explaining I was tired when making the post and am fully aware they're BELGIAN ShepHERDS. But thanks for making me feel inferior!!

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Her name almost sounds like her owners thought she'd be fragile and delicate!