silentchild

Tay, those pics are GORGEOUS!

I also don't allow my dog to approach people off leash without permission, with or without dogs. For that you need a reliable recall. I am also of the opinion that all dogs should have a reliable recall even in off leash areas (although I know this is sometimes difficult!) However this woman's reaction definitely sounds way over the top. Her use of the C word and threatening to punch you is completely unacceptable in my books. I'm sorry you had to experience that. Try not to stew too much on it. Perhaps find a nicer beach to go to.

Ha, how gorgeous! Love how cheeky they are running around covered in suds and rolling in the dirt! Mine hasn't been bathed for months and months, she would probably do the same!

Rosetta, does your dog bark even if you leave him with a chew or treat toy? I am also lucky that my dogs have never barked upon leaving / return. Lots of happy whines and crying when I return, but never barking. I tend to leave my girl with a chew or puzzle toy before I leave the house for work, although it is more to keep her occupied when alone rather than to stop non-existent barking. She doesn't bark even if I leave her with nothing, thank goodness. I discourage barking altogether though my Aussie will give warning barks if people get too close to the property. She stops once I go to check it out and thank her. Funnily enough she doesn't bark when people knock on the door, she only barks if they are skulking around outside. And before she barks, she will tell me that she is about to bark by coming to me and giving off little 'whisper barks'... like little under her breath huffy 'woofs'... it is quite cute, and I can check out what is going on outside before she starts actually barking. Otherwise her bark is really ear-piercing and has made me jump about two feet in the air so I am very thankful she warns me in advance that a bark is on the way!

I would be interested if my dog needed her teeth cleaned in the future but I would like to watch a procedure being done first before I got it done on my dog.

Catholic here too and I've never heard of animals not being allowed into Heaven - otherwise I wouldn't go!

This is so what my dog would do. I was watching the lure coursing today and there was a whippet that, halfway through running after the lure, realized he was getting a bit too far from the handler and turned to run back for guidance. I thought out loud to myself I could completely picture my girl doing that as she never likes to stray far from me. Penny, we might be going along to a few of the lure coursing sessions at KCC next year to try Breeze out on it, you should come along. :)

Oh, I missed Stan and Maddie! I did however get some awesome awesome Zephyr The Elf cuddles and of course a special hug from the lovely grumpette.

Oh no, I just saw this - I am so sorry for your loss, Scootaloo. I can't even imagine how you must be feeling, it is one of my worst nightmares to have a dog react to the MDR1 sensitive drugs. Just tragic, I really feel for you. Run free gorgeous Robo, and watch over your family from the Rainbow Bridge.

TSD, just gorgeous!!!!!

OMG piper I love that last group shot of them!!! Just wonderful!! And the Evil Beagle, priceless. To everyone that said my Santa was creepy... I AGREE!!!! I really wish he hadn't sat with his legs open so wide... lol!

Gorgeous pics everybody! Took Breeze to meet Santa this year. The cat slipped in by way of photoshop. :D

Got it, thanks grumpette! Would love to have Zephy cuddles again! I'm still on the fence about bringing Breeze. Already it is looking to be very crowded. I guess I will just decide on the day, LOL.

My girl is also ribby like yours, feeding chicken frames and lamb flaps have always helped me get weight on her. There are also a few recipes for satin balls in the pinned topic at the top of the health forum here.

I think the dog-savvy crowd here is just a bit more particular about what products they like. If that box had maybe one or two more items in it, I wouldn't mind giving it a go as my dog is not a destroyer and the puppy ring thing would probably be fine for her - I can understand the OP's frustration given that she registered her dog as a medium-sized breed but got an item for a puppy instead. That being said, the customer service shown by the company here seems to be exceptional and that is very encouraging to see.

Oh that is a shame, I've been thinking about trying one of those box things too and Olly's box sounded like they might be good. How disappointing. Certainly not $45 worth in there!

Wow that is terrific!!! Congratulations!!!!!!

Yeah I find most dog videos on Youtube disturbing rather than funny too. I remember there was one posted a long time ago about a fearful rescue dog terrified in its new environment and the people were forcing themselves onto him... it was supposed to be 'cute' but I found it utterly horrifying.

I agree with you - I don't think show line dogs are absolutely the correct type either, especially those bred just purely for looks in the show ring. Which is why I think meshing some stock with working lines would be beneficial - but what I was discussing here is moreso to preserve the working instinct more than anything. Although - just with Aussies cause I only have experience with them - that the show Aussie coat can be quite deceiving! :laugh: They are all fluffed up and look super heavy in the show ring, but underneath they are about as lean and light as a border. My girl is definitely like that - I would never be able to tell if she is starving to the bone just from looking at her, damn poofy coats! I've seen ridiculously heavy looking dogs go into the water and when they emerge it's a completely different creature. I do agree that some show line dogs are appearing very heavy set, especially some stud dogs nowadays - this is where I think blending it with the lighter working lines would help. I know I have looked at a few show Aussies and gone, "Hmmm......... not sure I like that too much." But again, I don't have any experience in showing so please just shoot me if I'm wrong!

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't the benefit of breeding working line dogs to show dogs is to ensure the structure and look remain inside the breed standard? To make sure the working dog still looks like a kelpie rather than losing that aesthetic aspect and looking like something else altogether. I am guessing if someone is breeding selectively for working ability and ignoring the coat, colour, size etc then some very different looking dogs may result. (Though I am guessing farmers really wouldn't care what it looks like as long as it does the job) I like to look at a dog and be able to tell straightaway "That is a kelpie, that is a border collie, that is a Rottweiler" rather than looking at a dog and thinking..."Um.. is that a kelpie? Maybe it's a mix?" If you know what I mean. Working line Kelpies still look like Kelpies :) They don't need to be a show dog to have breed type. This is Kaos's breeder. Her dogs are obviously Kelpies :) http://www.avenpart-avenel.com/ Gorgeous dogs!! Wow there are some great shots on that website! Yes you are right of course, but I was also thinking of other breeds. Again taking border collies purely as an example, I've looked at a working line border before and didn't realize it was a purebred border until the owner told me!

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't the benefit of breeding working line dogs to show dogs is to ensure the structure and look remain inside the breed standard? To make sure the working dog still looks like a kelpie rather than losing that aesthetic aspect and looking like something else altogether. I am guessing if someone is breeding selectively for working ability and ignoring the coat, colour, size etc then some very different looking dogs may result. (Though I am guessing farmers really wouldn't care what it looks like as long as it does the job) I like to look at a dog and be able to tell straightaway "That is a kelpie, that is a border collie, that is a Rottweiler" rather than looking at a dog and thinking..."Um.. is that a kelpie? Maybe it's a mix?" If you know what I mean.

That makes sense DeltaCharlie, thank you very much. I wonder if we should be striving to achieve that ideal world - getting the Australian shows to accept the different coat types and also breeding our working line border collies to try to ensure they still look like a border collie? Could we not breed a dog focusing on both aspects without having to choose one or is that difficult genetic-wise? As for people having access to a more laid-back border collie from show lines I can't help but think, if someone doesn't want the work ethic of a border collie, perhaps they shouldn't get a border collie..... but working dogs should also come with an off switch so they are not hyper bouncing off the walls all the time? I don't know what the middle ground is. I completely agree with you that temperament should be priority. However I think form is also important as without good structure a working dog would not be able to work all day anyway and that's where the show ring assessment could help. Sorry I don't know much about the whole thing, I don't show neither do I work stock so I am perhaps being too naive. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom, it's all very interesting!

At the risk of opening a can of worms...... I'm always a bit confused about working lines vs show lines - wouldn't a breed be a breed be a breed and shouldn't they all fall under the same breed standard? For example shouldn't a border collie be a border collie - there is one breed standard so there should be just one type, one border collie, and that's it? Why should there be such a big difference between show and working lines? Shouldn't there just be one type that everyone sticks too - the one true breed type? Show borders should be able to work stock, and working borders should be able to show. Why should there be such a big difference in temperament? (and not talking about the border collie specifically but all breeds that have working vs show lines, just using it as an example). I'm not wording this well enough.. but I hope somebody understands what I mean LOL. Not trying to start a debate - I honestly just want to learn more about it. Have always wondered why there needs to be such a difference.

Very likely another Aussie, but before I got my current breed I was tossing up between an Aussie or a Finnish Lapphund, so... maybe a Lappie. :p If I won the lottery and could buy a house with huge acreage, then it would be my dream breed a Dalmatian.

Thanks StephM, will have to seriously consider bringing Breeze along now. :) I'm a Dogs Vic member. Do you know where it is usually held? Is it in the off-leash areas? I couldn't find them last year when I was there.