mita

Tibetan Spaniel: "You don't need a light bulb. I already light up your life!'" (And the little wretch would be right. :) )

Our experience was the other way round. We had tibetan spaniels.... little slightly pug-faced creatures with lovely coats. Then our neighbour, who's in the greyhound racing world, told us he was going to have his greyhounds at home. After years of now having well-bred greyhounds living next door, I just love the breed. So do our tibbies and the tibbie next door. I wish you could've seen our little Annie waiting patiently at the back fence yesterday afternoon....a couple of greys get taken for a walk at that time. Her friend, Lily, the tiny tibbie next door was waiting with her. As usual, the greys' owners brought them over to meet the tibbie girls. I wish you could've seen a gorgeous big grey....who ran a record -breaking race last week....bend down & gently rub noses with little Lily thro' the fence. Lily's hardly the size of his head. Then the other big boy did the same. Aaaah! Beautifully bred, socialised & much loved greyhounds! :) A tibbie's best friend. :) :)

Hi, back, Esky. 8 yrs old is not old for a Peke (or a Tibbie). And they're usually such lovely dogs. I wonder if the RSPCA at Orange can give you any information about her....what her general health/condition appears to be & her nature (but she's likely feeling very stressed in a kennel situation). I hope you're able to get some help from a rescue. It's win/win for them, they save the Peke but she's likely got a perfect peke home already waiting when her quarantine is up. And their foster-carer will get a Tricky Woo experience! :)

Esky, it does sound best not to take the 8 yr old straight into your home because of the medical issues of your 'oldies'. I've got a cheek to suggest other rescues.....but if you get the Peke down from Orange, would one of the good small dog rescues in Sydney take her? That would also give you the opportunity of later testing her out for fitting in with your Peke family or not.

I'm with you that shedding's not just a matter of long hair (bad) versus short hair (good). Speaking only for myself, we've had visiting short-haired dogs that leave circles of spiky short hair on mats & cushions that's darn hard to get off. Whereas the 'drifts' of hair from the longer-haired dogs can be easier to sweep up. We also owned 2 Shelties....one shed more than the other. There was a difference in the texture of their coats. Also had 2 Australian- bred Tibbies that had different coat textures from our Tibbie from Sweden. The two Australian ones shed less.

I second Clyde's suggestion of looking at PAWS website....if your parents are in Sydney. But not just for a particular breed. The foster-carers for such a Rescue get to know the little dogs well, which helps matching to lifestyle. Personally, I find Tibetan Spaniels great little all-round housedogs to live with....but they do have moderately long hair so there's the issue of shedding. I know it's not politically correct, but tibbies have nicely shaped bodies underneath and look very nice, clipped. But, having said that, I wouldn't be pushing that as a way to go. Just a suggestion. Maybe consider, too, a slightly bigger dog.....like a Corgi. I've had experience with a Cardigan Corgi....a lovely laid-back breed who made a great all-round family dog.

Maybe it goes with loving tibetan spaniels, but my list is remarkably like yours. Only addition to the favourites is a well-bred, well-raised Rottie. I have problems with how 'busy/buzzy' the terriers can be. But having said that, every time I've thought 'I don't like that breed'.....I've later met one that has totally changed my mind. To the opposite, in many cases!!!! I have the feeling that there'd be one of those for every breed.... :) And I bet it'd apply to those terriers!

Yes, I've tended to own female dogs, tibbies, in recent times. And I think you've put your finger on it.....it's nothing to do with thinking one gender is better than the other....just strong memories of growing up with female dogs who left a big impression. I must say the rescue Sheltie, Danny, that we owned was the dearest 'heart dog'. Such a lovely boy, he was nicknamed Saint Danny! :) And, as much as I love our female tibbies, I've seen the most amazing 'honey bear' tibbie boys. PAWS Rescue in Sydney has rescued/rehomed two such wonderful boys who have glorious natures. So, rationally, it comes down to individual dogs.....whatever their gender.

Rather surprised me, too. There's a difference between just reading a post or topic....& making a decision to reply. People can read posts or topics to their hearts content. That doesn't place some obligation on them to respond. There is a level of obligation to respond if a person is asked a question, asked to back up a claim, or to reply to a message. If that person is seen hanging around the forums, people might wonder why they are avoiding the question. Being anonymous is a non-offensive way of prioritising responses in your own time without any pressure. The level of obligation is dependant on how credible or polite a person wants to be online. Some people feel no obligation, some feel it very strongly. Trolling and online bullying are often about manipulating people's feelings of obligation to respond to posts. I agree with your last sentence very much. But I have reservations about the rest. Given no laws or regulations or common courtesies are being broken, people have the right to speak their mind. They also have a right to decide when not to speak. Frankly, if someone wants to avoid any question, they are free to do so, whether I like it or not. Even the law allows the right to remain silent. The reverse is the Gestapo approach of 'we have ways of making you talk'. The fact that someone is 'hanging around the forums' is a case of someone deciding where they want to be. There appears to be a need to control, beyond reasonable boundaries.

Rather surprised me, too. There's a difference between just reading a post or topic....& making a decision to reply. People can read posts or topics to their hearts content. That doesn't place some obligation on them to respond.

We're going O/T, Clover, but go the greys! Our neighbour socialises his greyhound puppies with children & our tibbies. At 4-6 months of age, the greys go out (to people he approves of) to begin their racing career. The amazing thing is that when any of them come back after a few years.....they come racing to the fence, tails wagging, to rub noses with their little tibbie mates. They still remember them....& us, too.

No, you're not OT Aloysha. You've made a fair comment about variability in all breeds, including greyhounds. And, given that background is not known for most rescue dogs, there's no idea on how a dog (of whatever breed or mix) has been socialised....with other dogs big & small, cats, children & people. So it's very sensible to post a caution & a reminder of this. I should have emphasised that the home-bred greyhounds living next to us, are deliberately socialised by their owner, from puppyhood, to have dogs, cats and children around them. It's an exceptionally good situation.....which not all greys would have had. Or any other dogs, for that matter.

You may have checked Border Collie Rescue entries already. But, just in case. Some are posted in recent months, weeks. May be older, too, than what's wanted. But maybe they'd consider an already established & trained younger adult. I happened to click on Scuppers. http://www.bcra.org.au/dogs_avail.html#Scuppers

I'm so pleased to see so many people mentioning greyhounds. That's another dream already true for me. We live next door to much loved racing (& ex-racing) greyhounds. They are perfect neighbours....so affectionate, gentle and cause not a scrap of trouble in the many years they've been there. My tibbies adore them.

I bought the DVD only a couple of weeks ago. Much enjoyed by all....but loads of tears at the end.

Same as some others. My dream's already true. My Tibetan Spaniels are Buddhists in residence. Such lovely, intelligent, easy little dogs to live with.

YES! And pardon my shouting. But this should be shouted from the rooftops.

You're wasting your time. We're already on to you. (Signed) The Gubmint.

We've lived next to racing greyhounds with a doting owner, for years. He raised an enormous big fellow who became the Q'ld sprint champion. This big fellow had the reputation of macho aggressiveness on the track. But when our little tibbies come up to the fence, he hides behind his 'dad'! He's frightened of them. :) He'd probably faint at the sight of the one-eyed foxie. :) Recently, this man discovered a little stray kitten was moving into his place. He found her lapping away on the other side of the dinner dish belonging to the big grey's litter sister.....who just stood there looking totally confused & overwhelmed by the whole thing.

TMDL, i just noticed you said you detect 'elitist' values about dogs in the replies to you. The registered breeder we first applied to for a p/b dog was influenced by the fact we owned a little rescued mixed breed dog who'd been thrown from a car as a puppy. She was our loved housedog for 22 yrs....eventually called 'Grandma'. After that breeder brought us a lovely 3 yr old p/b girl, she showed us her prizes, which included winning Best Puppy in entire Royal Show. She'd decided the little p/b had done her bit for her breed & now deserved a good pet home for the rest of her life. It was the fact that Grandma, a mixed breed dog, had been so well cared for, that made up her mind that we were fine for her prize-winning p/b. Her view was that it was love & care of dogs in a home that counted....whatever they were, mixed or purebred. Obviously, it's mine, too. BTW, the price this registered breeder asked? Her words, 'Whatever you can afford. It's the good home I want.' Not surprisingly.....she got more than she expected. The quality of her breeding, raising & care for her dog's welfare was what counted, for me.

I'm probably getting too old and tired, Sheridan, to remember that. :)

I pointed out to you that you were indeed talking from the position of your own decision-making re the purebred dogs that you'd bought. I also pointed out that my decision-making on acquiring our purebred companion dogs resulted in our owning dogs noteworthy for their health and temperament. (And having gained noteworthiness in the show-ring by becoming Australian Champions). Which means that the dependent variable is the nature of the buyer's decision-making, not the fact that both sets of dogs have been purebred. You then extended your case to purebred dogs.....as a group....saying, hypothetically , that you would not buy a purebred dog, when you're older & more tired.....because of invariable high costs and health temperament problems. I pointed out to you that I have adopted purebred companion dogs who shaped up extremely well re health and temperament. As for cost....I had to make the registered breeder actually take money. And these dogs came from top breeders.....have you owned one whose close relative won at Cruft's.....the world's most prestigious dog show? BTW, I also happen to be older (retired) & a bit more tired than I used to be! I'd strongly suggest you move away from making generalisations about purebred companion dogs.....as a group. And move to analyzing what you understand and look for, when making your decisions about acquiring one.

I don't mean to be rude, but your dog-owning story, tells more about your particular decisions about buying dogs, than it tells about purebred dogs as a group.. What's this about crossing off buying a purebred dog as a companion because of the cost of $1.5k? And what's this about invariable worst health & temperament issues? I researched very carefully when getting our purebred dogs as companions. I elected to adopt adult dogs from registered breeders (starting with a 3 yr old). I applied to adopt, giving our history as pet owners, providing references and showing the lifestyle the dog would have. In every case, I've got a beautiful purebred companion dog...an Aus Champion (then desexed). In most cases, I've had to insist on paying the breeder.....who only wanted the very best homes for her dogs. She didn't want any money. By golly, she was sent the fair amount of money she deserves! Temperaments? Outstanding. Ask all who meet these dogs. Health? One got to age 14 yrs and never, ever had an illness in her life. Another got to 15 yrs with same 'clean' health history. My present 11 yr old girl, is shaping up the same. My other one is younger & was imported from Sweden by an Australian breeder. At the last Cruft's Dog Show in London, my dog's relative won Best of Breed. That Swedish breeder has a statement on her website about what showing/breeding means to her. And she starts off with health & temperament....then conformation....&, most importantly, raising her puppies so they'll have every chance of having a good life in a good home. Well, I've got the proof, in her dog that I now own. How's that for coming from a top breeder! And I had to insist the Australian breeder take money for her.

That's a delightful pic! I love how everyone is so polite about taking up least space possible on a crowded bed. All of them, including your daughter, have earned a bigger bed. :)

Aren't his head photos gorgeous. He should be in movies! So good he won himself a great new home when he was only supposed to be passing thro'!!! :)