Anyone familiar with KEELAMBARA Aus Sheps?

[rainfallis]

Hi guys. First time posting.

 

I'm just wondering if anyone if familiar with KEELAMBARA Australian Shepherd breeders. I'm sure they're perfectly fine and reputable breeders, but this is my first time buying a pup interstate and hence I'm just trying to ask around and see how reputable they are. I just have a feeling of something missing because I haven't had the chance to directly interact with the pups. Not too worried but, genuinely curious how other people's experience has been with them, and how the dogs you have purchased from them are like in terms of health and temperament.

 

I did a brief search but all I could find were topics on agility and shows. Would love to hear your opinions and previous experience with them.

Thank you in advance!

[The Spotted Devil]

Message @leopuppy04 or post in the Aussie Shep Breed Sub-forum. Someone will be able to help I'm sure  

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Is there some reason that nobody local to you is able to supply you with a puppy. You might have to wait but it can often save a lot of worry and trouble...
 

The local people might have their favourites interstate and that might help too if you ask them.

I got one hit for puppies soon (like this month) for NSW

https://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/puppies/australian-shepherd.asp?state=NSW

 

and there might be more if I searched for puppies planned...
https://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/breeders/australian-shepherd.asp?state=NSW&litterdue=on  

 

And note - some breeders do not always update their pages here - so might be planning or expecting a litter or have placed all the puppies and not updated their page yet.   In which case the breed club or association might be the best place to ask
http://www.australianshepherds.org.au/

Edited April 6, 2017 by Mrs Rusty Bucket

[Tassie]

I'd endorse what TSD suggested.   But don't let the fact that you haven't had the chance to interact with the pup, or that pup will be flying interstate, put you off.   If you're happy with your contacts with the breeder, and you like what you've seen about the litter and the parents and family, that's encouraging.    I met one of my current dogs for the first time when I went interstate to pick her up, and my boy I met for the first time at the airport when he arrived as a 10 week old on an overnight flight with one 2 hour stopover.  Haven't regretted either for a moment, and I have wonderful support from their breeders.

 

ETA .. when my boy arrived, the first sound I heard was his tail happily wagging in his crate.     It's hardly stopped wagging since.

Edited April 6, 2017 by Tassie

[ness]

Different people have different experiences with a breeder. Asking other breeders for recommendations is a good way to go. I have bought 2 puppies from interstate - one I had met the breeder and some of her dogs and one I had never met the breeder personally or her dogs but friends had. Very different experiences with both of them.

Edited April 6, 2017 by ness

[Scrappi&Monty]

I can't help you with that specific breeder/breed sorry.  

but we did adopt Scrappi, a rescue puppy from WA and he was flown to Sydney when he was 12 weeks old in 2009. It seemed like the flight was fine.  

That's very different though to when it is from a breeder as it is nice to interact with the breeder and their dogs in person first. And it is a good idea to do that if possible to ensure the pups are in a good place. Although at the same time if you are pretty sure the breeder is really good and you are interstate, don't let that stop you from getting one of their pups, the flight is usually fine.  

Perhaps you could FaceTime/Skype the breeder and they could show you their pups and dogs and where they live via video call? 

[rainfallis]

Hey guys, thanks for chiming in. I can see merit on both sides. On one hand, you'd ideally want to meet the breeder and the dog in person (I've done it with my lab in the past and of course the sensible thing to do is to have a look yourself), on the other hand that shouldn't deter you from meeting your next companion/family. I've talked in some length with the breeder at KEELAMBARA and I have decided to go ahead with bringing the pup to Sydney from Cairns. She was lovely to talk with, I've asked a lot of question and she's answered most of them. One thing I am missing though, is the pictures of the parents. The reason why I am on semi-haste is my lab recently had a seizure, a local vet and a family friend vet recommended that we get a friend for our labrador. We recently moved to a bigger house and we've been meaning to get a buddy for our lab and after brief research I decided on an aussie shepherd (but none were available at NSW - the ROWENGLEN breeders in NSW were not responding). Reason for picking the aus shep was I've heard how they have great temperament, they have a decent amount of energy but isn't overly energetic. Plus always wanted an aus shep growing up so that's a +point. Other dogs in mind were Border Collies, Cocker Spaniel, Beagle, Dobermann, and Golden ret. When I showed my family the pictures of the Aus Shep pup, they were immediately swoon whereas they felt a bit reserved about other dogs that we've been scouting around.

[Dogsfevr]

Personally the advice to rush & buy a dog for your Lab is not how it should be done.I would be wanting to make sure the Lab is ready for a friend given its change of circumstances

The Aussie Shep show is on in NSW soon ,it would be well worth the effort to attend so all family members can meet the breed .
There are plenty of well known Aussie breeders around & making sure all health testing is done is very important .Yes i would expect to see picturees of the parents if buying out of state & all health testing done for each dog .

I would be making sure what the return policy is if the dog arrives & isn't what you where expecting ,who pays for the return flights & crate hire,.

 

I would be taken a step back & making sure the right pup is brought into your home not the first one you find

[Rebanne]

Why would a vet recommend to get another dog for your dog to have a friend? Are you aware that sometimes a sick dog is attacked by others from it's own pack? Friend of mine had a dog who had a couple of seizures and her other dogs attacked him. For the rest of his life she always kept them seperate if she couldn't directly supervise them.

[Dogsfevr]

Rebanne that situation is very common,we have also experienced it 

[rainfallis]

Hmm not sure. The vet guessed that the main trigger behind the seizure would have been stress. I explained to her that our house was very small, the dog was limited to a small backyard and everyone was busy (we lived there for a year and now we are back at our old/new house which has much much bigger rooms and backyard). She suggested getting a companion in case there are times where our lab might be left alone for the day and our other vet friend agreed when we told him about it. Our family decided to take the advice. I've got much more leisurely time now and with the bigger house our lab should have much more freedom and get more frequent walks/play time. As I said, we still decided to take the advice since we believed having a friend wouldn't be bad for our lab. But as you guys mentioned, I don't think I thought of the possibility of the pack mentality of culling kicking in. I'm no expert in vet science, so I'm sticking with what the professional has suggested me but yeah.. any further thoughts guys?

[Rebanne]

Yes I have further thoughts. Why have you not been able to see pictures of the parents? Specially the Mum. Even if it was a frozen semen mating there should be a pic of the sire as well. And what health tests do Aussie's need? Have you sighted any paperwork re health tests on the parents? The dog needs to be properly identified on the paperwork. Pedigree name, number and microchip number.

Edited April 7, 2017 by Rebanne

[Dogsfevr]

Personally you need to allow your dog to settle into its new routine,you need to see how often it may seizure & any triggers  & work on restabilizing the dog into a stress free home .

Also getting a second dog does not equate to "company" as the vet is implying .If the vet is suggesting stress as the issue then a new puppy may be all to much .

You need to work out the pros/cons & there are alot of cons that need to be considered .& it isn't far to get a puppy & then find out it wasn't the best option .

If you phoned us we as a breeder would tell you all the above before considering selling you a pup as we have to be sure its the right scenario for both dogs .
Also keep in mind vets aren't experts in everything ,in fact if they where they should have explained that company may be good but also should be fully aware that other dogs in the house can attack your dog whilst having a seizure .In fact i would expect the vet to have said letting your dog settle into its new routine & monitoring its health for awhile is far more important especially as you have said you where all too busy for the dog so the dog suffered but now have the time to give the Lab a new quality off life & plenty of time.

 

Also given your dogs history i would be inclined to buy local so if things don't work out you have them close by

 

Edited April 7, 2017 by showdog

[Rebanne]

found this on an Aussie breeders website.

 

Make sure the Breeder you buy from:
1. Offers a Health Guarantee

2. DNA tests the Sire and Dam for:

* Collie Eye Anomoly  *Hereditary Cataracts and  *MDR1

3. Eye Tests the Litter at 6-8 weeks of age with a Registered Opthamologist

4. Eye tests the Sire & Dam within 12 months of the pups birth
4. Hip Scores both Sire and Dam 

5. Supplies a copyof all Health details
6. Verifies the NBT status on the pups Pedigree Paper

[Papillon Kisses]

There's good stress and bad stress. Even if your dog enjoys the puppy, the "good stress" is physiologically similar. So still worked up just in a different way.

 

If your dog is having trouble with stress, it would be far better to treat that in its own right by doing such things as providing environment enrichment, teaching calm on cue and other biofeedback exercises, rewarding relaxed behaviours and changing the dog's emotional response to triggers such as being left alone (since you mention that). You could also see whether an Adaptil collar or diffuser helps your dog, though in moderate to severe cases anxiety medication may be warranted.

 

I see you're in NSW. If you let me know the rough area, I may be able to suggest a suitably qualified positive reinforcement based behavioural trainer to help you do the above. They would also be able to assess whether you should be referred on to a veterinary behaviourist. It is very important to get the right person in as people using old-fashioned punishment based techniques and alpha/dominance rubbish cause real harm to dogs, especially if they are stressed or anxious to begin with. I know a dog who seizes when he's worked up either in a positive or negative way and a bad trainer made his condition a million times worse. The owner also has to make sure the dog doesn't get too excited as that brings on a seizure too. 

 

It concerns me when vets suggest getting another dog because the existing dog is stressed when left alone. Sometimes it might help, other times the dog is just as stressed or even more so. Let's focus on helping your dog be calmer in himself/herself before giving the slightest thought to bringing another dog in.

Edited April 7, 2017 by Papillon Kisses

[rainfallis]

Hey thanks for more input guys. The reason why I havn't been able to see the parents was 1. they were not on the picture set on the advertisement and 2. the breeder was busy so actually took some time for me to receive the pictures. I have received the pictures of the parents. I have the names but I don't really know how to go about cross referencing (what sites do i use or who do i call?), also how does a pedigree name look like?

 

I understand that the vets aren't complete experts. But I guess I had no other input other than from them. We've had some time settling in to our new house (couple of weeks), on the first day our lab had trouble getting up (weak hind legs) which preceded the seizure last time it happened (Our lab had only 1 episode. The vet did recommend us to monitor the lab and to bring her to the vet straight away if a seizure happened again) but after the first day she has been much more lively. She's running and jumping around excitedly. Sleeps and eats normally too so I think our family agreed that getting another dog was okay. I honestly didn't think to call a breeder but thinking about it that would have been the logical thing to do as they essentially deal with dogs all the time - hence should have knowledge and experience that vets won't.

[Simply Grand]

Aussie Shepherds are pretty full on dogs...they may not be as physically active as Border Collies (although people always think my 5 year old is a puppy due to how bouncy she is) but they are highly intelligent and need A LOT of mental stimulation and training, otherwise they will find their own entertainment in the form of destruction and exploration. Mine was 5 months old when she figured out how to open the fridge, she can now open cupboards, doors both sliding and with lever handles, baby gates and if she can't figure out how to open things she'll try to go over or under. As a puppy every day i came home to find she'd found something new in the house or yard to pull down and destroy.

 

She's actually fine to live with because i have child locks on thr fridge and cupboards, she spends lots of time with me, gets daily walks and training sessions and all her food from puzzle toys but they are not a dog that will be happy without a lot of human company and work. She is also the youngest of my three dogs so she this is all with her also having constant canine company.

 

Aussie Shepherd play is also very physical and a lot of dogs don't like it. They generally tackle in a chase game and do a lot of grabbing and barking so consider whether that kind of play is something your lab would enjoy. And lastly they can ve strong willed and can have behaviour issues - they are a Shepherd, which requires not only herding but guarding so they can be both pushy and protective, especially. The older mine gets the more selective she ia about other dogs and she has never been one to tolerate rude or pushy behaviour from other dogs.

 

Just wanted to warn you as Aussie Shepherds are certainly not an "easy" or lower energy breed. They are lots of fun and great to train but they do need a lot of training and mental stimulation throughout their lives.

[rainfallis]

14 minutes ago, Simply Grand said:

Aussie Shepherds are pretty full on dogs...they may not be as physically active as Border Collies (although people always think my 5 year old is a puppy due to how bouncy she is) but they are highly intelligent and need A LOT of mental stimulation and training, otherwise they will find their own entertainment in the form of destruction and exploration. Mine was 5 months old when she figured out how to open the fridge, she can now open cupboards, doors both sliding and with lever handles, baby gates and if she can't figure out how to open things she'll try to go over or under. As a puppy every day i came home to find she'd found something new in the house or yard to pull down and destroy.

 

She's actually fine to live with because i have child locks on thr fridge and cupboards, she spends lots of time with me, gets daily walks and training sessions and all her food from puzzle toys but they are not a dog that will be happy without a lot of human company and work. She is also the youngest of my three dogs so she this is all with her also having constant canine company.

 

Aussie Shepherd play is also very physical and a lot of dogs don't like it. They generally tackle in a chase game and do a lot of grabbing and barking so consider whether that kind of play is something your lab would enjoy. And lastly they can ve strong willed and can have behaviour issues - they are a Shepherd, which requires not only herding but guarding so they can be both pushy and protective, especially. The older mine gets the more selective she ia about other dogs and she has never been one to tolerate rude or pushy behaviour from other dogs.

 

Just wanted to warn you as Aussie Shepherds are certainly not an "easy" or lower energy breed. They are lots of fun and great to train but they do need a lot of training and mental stimulation throughout their lives.

Very informative post, appreciate it. Good thing that our pool gate lock is high reach. Our lab usually plays rough as well, not sure if that's going to be a good thing. Not sure about being pushy but I think our family would appreciate a dog that is more communicative(?)/vocal(?) as well as protective. Our lab, even though she is toilet trained outside, never signs or barks or does anything if she needs to go so I've learned to take our lab out every couple of hours or so if she stays indoors. I think our family knew that the shepherds were not going to be an easy breed, but perhaps I'll feel the full force once I actually have it as a part of the family.

[rainfallis]

Also, could anybody suggest me a good mentally challenging dog toy? or something that I could create?

[Dogsfevr]

So how old is the Lab & when you say a weak rear end what are your expectations of company or is it more a case of the family wants a dog that can do more than the Lab ??

If the Lab has issues then you need to consider your plans for time out & a safe area for that dog ,you cant expect a dog to be able to play if it has trouble just standing