kelpiecuddles

Oh it sounds like a perfect ending for a situation that had the potential to go very badly!

Plenty of dogs all over the world live in small houses and apartments. I don't think it's a completely unworkable situation but it does need a common sense approach to what breed and what you can offer and also to being realistic about what is going to be required of you to raise a well adjusted dog in that lifestyle.

I actually agree with Rebanne. If there is someone out there who has been considering bringing this breed to Aus and he is assessed as suitable for use as a stud then it would be a great head start to not have to import a male. It would be good I think if he could somehow be assessed for conformation to get an idea of what the options may be for his future, wonder if there is a visiting or expat judge that may know the breed somewhere.

I grew up in Monash council area, I can only imagine rates have increased a fair bit in recent years too.

If you haven't already you could try asking on this facebook page. It's a worldwide beauceron community page. Probably very few people in Aus but a breeder who knows of someone here that's after one might read it and get the word out that way. https://www.facebook.com/BeauceronVN

This lady can't take him but she has offered to come and give you a hand to catch him if your sister can maybe take him to Canberra or something, she's already full up with fosters so can't fit any more. She has a puppy pen and things that she can use to help catch, maybe send her a message. :) https://www.facebook.com/clare.blakemore.75?fref=ufi

Just messaged a cat rescue lady in the blue mountains who suggested trying 'butterfly wings rescue'. https://www.facebook.com/butterflywingsanimalrescue?fref=ts Looks like mostly cats on their page but might be worth a try if they have someone locally who can help.

I don't see it as unreasonable to keep a small 'admin' fee. Taking the dog back may complicate foster carer space, may require the animal to be transported to a further away carer and will take time to sort out paperwork and readvertise the animal, plus of course feeding them for longer when back in your care. That said in the real world I probably would 'waive' that fee in a case of an animal genuinely not working out. Maybe something like a full refund within a certain amount of time(or via private arrangement where the rescue is working through some issues with the adopter for example) and then an admin fee after that to deter those who would consider the whole just give it back when we are bored with it scenario.

It didn't look like breeder bashing to me. A simple question as to where responsibility for one person ends and another begins. Breeders have had discussions on this site as to where their responsibilities lie, I don't see why purchasers aren't allowed to ask the same questions.

My family went through a situation when I was young of buying two kittens from a very well regarded breeder, sadly it became apparent only a few months later that one had a moderate heart murmur. The breeder did offer to take her back and give us a refund or another kitten but lets face it by then we loved her. In my mind the breeder went above and beyond. She bred many very healthy kittens over a couple of decade at that point and we just got unlucky. In the end we decided to keep Belle despite her issues. She was never quite as healthy as her sister but lived a great life until about 14 years(her sister lived til nearly 21!). None of this colours my opinion of the breeder at all, she's still breeding and I fully intend to go back to her for another kitten at some stage. :)

I'm not a breeder(although i do hope to be down the track) but there is no way I would see my girl's breeder as being responsible for something that far down the track. Buying from a breeder only increases your chances of a healthy pup, it doesn't guarantee one for their whole life.

They are supposed to go to the pound. Only once has the ranger allowed me to hold a dog at my place. The pound was chockers and also closed for the weekend so the ranger came and took some photos and full details of the dog and let me care for her for a couple of days and took her to the pound after 72hours had gone by and she hadn't been contacted by anyone looking for the dog. It actually worked well as the ranger knew the dog was here and what it looked like if she got a call and we were able to put the word out as well. Sadly no one ever came looking for that dog but I'm told she got a great new home :)

I agree that I would be doing everything by email now so that you have a written record of what has been said.

OT but I've always meant to ask DiscoDobe, what is Elsie?

Oh you just reminded me Terri! When we take Josie out in public on a warm day she randomly shakes her head and strings of spit go flying, I always step back but sometimes forget to warn the people standing around me.

Sascha's a dominance humper with her sister doggie . Thankfully she doesn't do it out in public but she does at home so if we have house guests it can be pretty embarrassing. She got out of a brand new collar a bought her a while ago when we were at the local market. Ran gleefully in a massive circle around the market, straight back and sat in front of me LOL. I couldn't work out whether it was more embarrassing that she got off in the first place or all the people that stared as she skidded in for a perfect sit in front of me :laugh:

There's pretty much dogs of every type and fur type, etc, etc you could imagine that can make good cat home dogs. Maybe go in to details about the type of dog you are interested in and that might make it easier for people to suggest things. Energy levels, fur type, biddability, do you want to run offlead, etc, etc. I'd gladly plug basset hounds, they pretty much get along with everything(ours runs free with 2 day old chickens having been raised around small animals) but they'd be no good to someone wanting a biddable dog that they could do well in agility with for example.

That's a lovely idea maeby. When my last very loved kitty died we buried her under a lime tree on our property, we have put her collar and tags hanging on the lime tree.

Yep, agree with what the others have said. For 4 years until he died of old age(got as a rescue of unknown age) my New Zealand white rabbit's best friends were a kelpie and a basset hound! He used to eat out of their bowls, lie in the sun with them and even played chasey in the yard! The rabbit was 100% free range and used to get in the kennel with the dogs to sleep a night or come and lie inside with them in the family room. I probably wouldn't rate my chances of succeeding with that with a high prey drive breed although i think it's a pretty good effort still with a herding breed and a scenthound but it all came down to being raised from day one on the understanding that the rabbit was part of the pack. If you can get a dog of any breed that has been raised well with cats and your cats are quite confident then you should be fine. :)

Greyhounds are gorgeous companion dogs but I agree on making sure that any one you get has been well tested and socialised with cats. We took on a GAP greyhound many years ago and a couple of weeks later she tried to eat our cat(as in actually put holes in her) We were devastated and were forced to take her back to the foster carer. Wouldn't stop me from having another one down the track but I think I'd be more careful about asking lots of questions about how the carer had tested the dog.

I agree on the behaviourist front. In the meantime in the interests of keeping the peace with neighbours could you try having the dog in the garage while you are away from home. A neighbour where we used to live had a dog that did this, i notified them of the issue and the put the dog in the garage during the day where he just slept the whole time. Turns out there was nothing to bark at in there so he didn't bother and just snoozed the day away in his comfy bed. :laugh: I wouldn't use locking him inside as a long term solution but might help temporarily to keep the peace and as part of the process of retraining the behaviour.

It's not my favourite of the 'premium' foods but I hope the quality doesn't drop, they've already got a few people off side after changing their country of manufacture which seemed to result in some ingredient changes that turned some pets off food they once liked...

The ruffwear doubleback would be even harder to get out of, it has loops around the rear legs too

http://gear.tripawds.com/shop/#harnesses