Mooper

Thanks for all the nice comments Hope to see you there next time, TigerJack. And Hedds, I still hope to get him to Tullamarine some time. I don't think anyone else got any pics of us Walking Jack after this weekend is like walking a different dog ... he used to pull excitedly at the start of every walk, then settle down. Yesterday and this morning, it was loose leash all the way, baby. Woo hoo! I don't really know anything about herding, either, BMP! I get the impression that different instructors have very different methods. The folks at Binalong on the weekend were not at all prescriptive in what the dogs needed to do. They assessed each newbie as an individual, looking for instinct, body language, watching their eyes etc. But, yes, Jack seemed to know straight away that a sheep that strayed had to come back, and he went and told them off! The instructors talked to me a lot about the energy we radiate from our chest, and applying 'heat' based on my body language and presence. It really is quite powerful. They were so good that they could control a dog like possum through voice and body language alone. Perrys Mum will know more about what it expected of the dogs in the more advanced group. But for Jack as a beginner, it was more about teaching him that it was OK to show an interest in the sheep, it was OK to round them up, and that going along the fenceline and burrowing down was a good thing. Setting the boundaries, I guess, without being formal about it. It's verrrry different to obedience training. None of that high-pitched GOOD BOY! stuff. The sheep are exciting enough as it is, and they are a very powerful reward for good behaviour. So everything was calm and low-key. I found Jack worked much better when he'd had some quiet time beforehand. Jem's dad got into trouble for roughing Jem up before going into the yard. He didn't even realise he did it. Just before taking the lead off, he'd quickly rough up Jem's fur and say 'let's go!' or whatever. That dog was hyped!! Ahh, so much to learn ... but so much fun!

Yep, Peri, it was Jem and Possum I loved Jem. Such a character! Very naughty at times, but he knows his dad is boss. Would Jem be the red heeler I'd seen when X-factor were competing at the Canberra Show? Thanks, Sparty. The ninety minute drive was enough for me ... I don't think I could manage a three-hour one! I'm thinking of staying at Binalong overnight next time as I'm told it's only $70 for a room and dogs are allowed to stay in the car. Apparently there is herding at Camden, too, but I don't suppose that helps you much in Ballarat!!

Maybe you'll have to come along, Sidoney! This crew seemed far more relaxed than Bernard was that time when I was a fence-sitter. There was even a bulldog (show dog) working the sheep, well, trying to mount them ... and the instructors did a fantastic job keeping his prey drive in check. He's going to be a big, strong boy when he gets out of the gangly puppy stage. There was one purebred red heeler who was a bundle of energy, and also very vocal as Jack had been at the start. There were also several border collies, a coolie in our group, a couple of Belgian shepherds, a Bernese Mountain Dog, a maremma and a couple of black kelpies. Oh, and a lovely choc girl That was all in the beginner's yard. The more advanced folks (where Perrys Mum was) were mostly coolies and kelpies. Maybe one or two border collies, too. They were all fantastic dogs and the people were very friendly.

After talking about it for months, I finally took Jack out to Binalong (between Yass and Harden, NSW) this weekend for sheepdog school. Perrys Mum was there with Perry the coolie ... I'm not sure if there were any other DOLers? Anyway, I wasn't sure how Jack would react to the sheep. At 6 years of age, he'd never been with sheep to my knowledge. Although he had licked a ram through the fence at our local high school! I was hopeful that wasn't a taste test. On his first run on Saturday with Robert instructing, he was already showing promise and we had a blast. He barked constantly at this stage. By the second run, he'd worked out that he could barge his way through along the fenceline and get the sheep (seven of them) out of any corner. And by the third run, his barking had pretty much stopped, he was crouching a bit, and he was really steady. I was so proud! Of course, my OH had the camera at work that day On Sunday we had Jenny working with us. Like Robert, she liked Jack but insisted he show me more respect. So we worked a lot on getting him to walk calmly just behind me for several laps of the yard, while ignoring the sheep. She then had me put him in sit/stay in the opposite corner to the sheep while I walked over to them. When I turned around, it felt like ages before she told me I could release the boofer, but he sat like a statue! Then he came to me when called. I was thrilled -- so many other dogs (we were all pretty much beginners) had completely ignored their handler and hooned straight up to the sheep. For the second run on Sunday, I had to handle Jack myself and damnit, that was so much harder than having Robert or Jenny do it! But I was pleased that I could read most of Jack's intentions and stop him from crossing between me and the sheep etc. I had the camera this time, but forgot about it on the first two runs, then lined someone up for the third run and we ran out of time to do it! D'oh. So the only pics I have are of Jack watching other dogs with the sheep. All in all, it was great to see some instinct awakened in Jack and I hope we get the chance to work him again soon. Jenny said he would make a great worker based on drive and instinct, but that he needed to still show more respect and to shed some kilos Exciting as all of that was, the best part for me was seeing Jack's improvement over the weekend. When we arrived on Saturday, he was a barking loony and he set off all the other dogs. The excitement of another dog working the sheep was too much for him. But at 'Binalong Boot Camp' they didn't tolerate that, and he got to know that the plastic bag on the end of the stick means business! He responded really well to a swoosh of the bag, and as you'll see in the pics in a sec, he calmed right down. He had a great time watching his new mate, Spotty (CDC-goers may recognise him). I've known Spotty's owner for 12 years but we only caught up again recently and found out that our dogs had similar 'issues'. He showed an interest in the sheep pretty much straight away... Every so often, he got interested enough to sit up. He found a gap in the fence and kept trying to stick his head through but we three front-rowers at Boot Camp let him know that wasn't on, for his own safety! Here's evidence of the 'eureka' moment. Here's Jack calmly snoozing while Possum the coolie is working the sheep, and being quite vocal about it. For those who don't know Jack's background, two years ago when we sprung him from DAS he would bark at every dog we passed even if they were behind a fence on the other side of the street. This progress is a HUGE leap for him! If he started to whine, I softly and calmly told him 'leave it' and when he stopped I told him 'lie down'. And he did it every time. So then he got an equally quiet and calming 'good boy'. Amazing! Who was this dog, and where had my barking boy gone?! One last pic because it sums up Jack's calm demeanour after a long weekend of great fun. Thanks for reading

Aww, sh!t, Jodie. This was supposed to be a great, bouncy weekend for you both. It's not fair!! I'm going to throw a tanty here and now. Ollie deserves to be pain-free and healthy, dammit. Deep breaths. It is all about quality of life, so go and have that cuddle together. Here's one over the information superhighway for you both

Glad I'm not the only one with that in my head every time I read of Ollie's ups and downs!! Fingers crossed for a successful chemo session today.

Hey, BMP, Jack and I don't do agility at all. They don't run classes for that in Qbn, and I haven't had time to get him to obedience there this year, let alone join another club! But I've been using a line-up of our Hills hoist and a few citronella garden torches in the backyard of a morning to work on some off-lead heel work. It works a treat! Although for agility, with the poles all of the same diameter, maybe a simple mock-up like this would make things worse ... I don't know. Just food for thought! Jack loves it, so I'm happy

We've got everything crossed here, in the hopes that Ollie the Miracle Dog has bounced back to his happy self this morning. Your friends here will never say he's 'just a dog' Stay strong, both of you.

Rest in peace, sweet Bronte boy.

Hooray for more good news! I can picture the proud boy strutting along I imagine while ever he's loving his exercise, you can be sure he'll get so hungry that he'll eat whatever is put in front of him! I know I'm always starving after the morning walk with Jack :D It sounds like you're in for a good weekend with the little bloke. :D

Woo hoo! That's great news, Jodie!! I had to laugh at the thought of a gourmet doggy. Jack got leftover salmon the other night when we had a dinner party and the guest's three-year-old refused to touch the dinner despite the parents assuring me that she loved salmon. My husband has already spent the last two years telling everyone that Jack eats better than him, so you can imagine he's had a field day with the salmon episode! If we have any more leftover salmon any time soon, I'll send it Ollie's way

Sending Ollie dog strong, infection-fighting vibes. He's fought off every other bump , in the road (as dogbesotted put it) and will get over this one as well. It sounds like you had a dreadful night. Here's hoping things are looking up as the day progresses. Hugs to you all! Keep wagging that tail, Ollie

We try to take Jack away with us, but when that's not possible he usually stays at Canberra Pet Care on Wickerslack Lane out past Queanbeyan. For the one or two nights we've boarded him there, we've just gone with the food they provide, which has been fine. But they do advertise that they cater for special diets, so food can be provided by the owner. This weekend when we're away, Jack will have his first Don't Fret Pet! in-home stay, for which the owner provides food. He has a bit of Science Diet kibble in his Buster Cube in the morning, and a takeaway-style container of BARF for dinner. Easy peasy.

While you're rolling in that grass, Max, don't forget to roll in something stinky. There's no need for baths in doggy heaven. Rest easy, Max.

Rest in peace, beautiful boy

15 1/2 years old is a mighty fine innings, Mack. Run free and be happy. So sorry for your family's loss, MM :D

I've tried to get DJs to match a Peter's price before, and they said they wouldn't do it. Peter's as a rule only gets items in quantity at a substantial discount, which David Jones and Myer consider to be an unfair advantage. I'll be hunting for one of these brushes now

Ooh, Ollie you just surprise us again and again! You're both such an inspiration, Jodie. You and Ollie can do anything!

Oh, no, not the beautiful Turbo! You've worked so hard, sas But sometimes the demons are just too great for love and tlc to overcome. It was definitely a case of third time lucky for the gorgeous man. Hugs to you, Mr Sas and Leila.

Silva sounds like a much-loved family member who has been given her wings at the right time. She has gone with dignity and left her memories behind. Our thoughts are with your friend at this difficult time. If she needs to let it all out with dog-people who understand, I hope she'll come here and I know she'll be among friends. :D

I hope you have a special evening planned in memory of the lovely Lassie. Remember the happy times.

That's exactly what was playing on my iTunes when I was typing my original post. Every time I hear that song now, I'm guaranteed to think of my old grey foot-warmer.

Thank you all Jack and my parents' dogs have been getting extra-big cuddles lately. Treasure your fur-kids

Thanks, folks. I can't believe our fluffy monster is gone Vehs, Scamp wasn't himself for several days. But last night, Mum thought that having me there calmed him down and somehow made things more normal. The younger dog, Chloe, barely even sniffed Misty's body. But Scamp had a good, long sniff and walked away with his tail down, apparently, and was very 'sombre' thereafter. He hid under the couch for much of the evening. Like I said, Misty was a surrogate mother to him. So the poor little fella was a bit lost. But I'm glad he seems to have picked up now And, on the bright side, since Mum and Dad don't plan to get another cat any time soon, we'll have some items to donate to cat rescue so hopefully some other cats can be happy with the toys and such that kept Misty going for so long.

Gosh, it's so hard to post in here without being reduced to a blubbering mess. On Friday night my parents let our 15-year-old family cat, Misty, run free. We adopted Misty in September 1990 as a young kitten from the old Elermore Vale RSPCA shelter in Newcastle. Her mother, whom we were told was a Himalayan Persian, was dumped with her litter. It was a total surprise to me. I had wanted my own pet for years and years, but being an Air Force family who moved overseas every couple of years, we just couldn't do it. One day I came home from school and there she was. This little ball of fluff, snoozing in my mum's slipper. Misty was a feisty girl from the word go. She loved to play with anything that moved, and many things that didn't. She refused to walk on a lead despite my many attempts, much to the amusement of our neighbours! Her scratch pole got a workout several times a day. She was incredibly agile. Her favourite sleeping spot was in the eaves of our pergola, curled up in the shadecloth. As she got bigger (and fatter!) the shadecloth started to look more like a hammock, it was so stretched. But for seeral years she happily clawed her way up the shadecloth every day for her afternoon snooze. When Misty was four, we moved to Canberra. She travelled really well and settled in quickly, but her nose was a little out-of-joint when Scamp the six-week-old silky terrier x maltese pup came home soon thereafter. Scamp was born on a working farm. His mother had been killed by the farm tractor when the puppies were five weeks old. Misty became Scamp's surrogate mother, sleeping with him, cleaning him, and teaching him that cleaning behind the ears is very important! To this day, Scamp licks his paws and cleans his face for *ages* after every meal ... Over the past few years, Misty got increasingly cranky. I have the scars to prove it, from when I brought an ARF foster dog around to play with my parents' dogs. Misty was very territorial and went to have a go at the foster dog. I put myself in the way to protect him, and ended up with a slashed left leg and left wrist, plus several tooth punctures. My dad actually threatened to have Misty put to sleep then, a year ago, because she had been aggressive to him several times that week. After Christmas, Misty's aggression disappeared and she became "old" all of a sudden. Her movements were very slow and deliberate. She could no longer jump up on the washing machine, where she slept in her basket each night. She couldn't walk up or down the deck stairs. It took her almost half an hour just to lie down. Her limbs and brain were no longer communicating. She began walking in circles. Her steps were heavy and her appetite was gone. The pupil of one eye was constantly dilated while the other was a pinpoint. For the first time ever, she was very clingy, never letting my mum out of her sight. We suspect she had had at least one stroke, and was most likely affected by a brain tumour as well. The vet gave her steroids, which helped her briefly. She started 'talking' again in the mornings and at dinner time, as she had always done. But the relief was short-lived and she soon slipped into her pained state once more. On Friday morning, my parents went back to the vet and, after much heartache and tears, made the difficult decision to let Misty go. We all knew it was coming, but I am particularly upset because she had already been given her wings, sniffed by the dogs, and buried in the backyard before I found out about any of it. I spent yesterday evening with my parents and their dogs, talking about Misty and sharing photographs. It's all part of the grieving process. I didn't get to say goodbye to you, sweet girl, but know that you're in my heart forever. Rest in peace, Misty-moo. Until we meet again ...