bk_blue

:lol: I even cave in sometimes and watch it... more exciting and *slightly* better acting than Home and Away (and Neighbours is filmed in Melbourne which makes it MUCH better than H&A, eeeek Sydneysiders 8) )

Egg, Spike Milligan was an amazingly funny and talented comedian/author (he died last year I think, he was about 90 or so). I have some of his books too. He also used to be part of the Goon Show (way before our time, Dad has the records though). I am 99% sure the poem is a parody, a take on irresponsible pet ownership. :) I would read that to my future children as a way NOT to look after animals, also teaches them about satirical humour :wink:

Today Dad came and picked up BK form my house to go back to his "home"ie. dad's place. It was very sad and I cried after he left, and just thinking about it makes me teary. However I do believe it was for the best. I will not have him inside all the time because he needs to be outside lots, and I am way too paranoid about him escaping and getting run over if I leave him out. In addition to the damage he did to the house, he has significantly widened what was previously a tiny gap into next door's fence, so he can stickybeak (they love him and think he's an angel). Curry powder didn't work on this, I tried it! So I can still see him and take him out whenever I want, and I also know this is the best thing for him, to be back where he is familiar with things and can't escape, plus he also has Rinny for company. I know I did the right thing, and some of you might think I didn't try hard enough, but apart from building new fences everywhere and taking the plastic weatherboards off the whole house so he can't chew them, which I have no say in as it's not my house, there's nothing else I can think of that would contain him. :cry:

None at the moment (see post under "bk goes home"). At Dad's there are 2, and that is way enough. If I had the time, the money, the wisdom/idealism :wink: and the energy, I would have my own little no-kill shelter.

Poppy sounds like Rinny, who's also had a stroke and has severe arthritis, is deaf and going blind. My favourite thing about him is that no matter what kind of day he's having (as a very senior citizen-16 in Feb- he has days that are worse than others), he'll still hobble over to say hi, sometimes he'll even do what he used to do and put his paws up on your shoulders and wrap his head around your neck for a hug. :) With Blitz- I love seeing him run at full stretch, it's amazing how fast he can go when he's in the mood. I love how he plays "chicken" ie. runs as fast as he can straight at you, say from 100m away, and then swerves at the last minute- but if you swerve and he swerves too, you end up being knocked over onto the grass!

Egg, Chook= chicken This is your first lesson on how to speak Strine (Australian) :wink:

thanks :) just wanted to get that straight. Definitely talking raw Carol, wouldn't feed cooked bones, especially chicken, to the hund. :wink:

I was wondering because so many people feed their dogs chicken necks, is that the only part of a chicken carcass a dog can digest safely?

LOL you sound like the people at the dog park, who only know your dog's name and talk to your dogs!! :lol: I thought I would rotate my pics, since I do talk about the "sausages" a little bit and even though none of them have ever come close to being as smart, loving, gentle and cute as BK, they're not TOO bad! Next I might put the Basset there. Now SHE was beautiful. The best dog we had before BK IMO (though Mum would disagree, she just loved her Cocker to bits).

ah no :oops: :oops: :oops: he has vacated the building for a while. :wink: My avatar is now of Oscar and Fritz, my grandpa's old dachshunds (the fat twins). Oscar is the beautiful chocolate coloured one on the left. It's got crappy resolution though, if I enlarge it it's all blurry. It really is a good photo though, but I might have to rescan it or something.

[quote name='Bensam'] Hint here, girls - besides yourself, who else takes up most of the bed? :lol:[/quote] OK well seeing as my bed is only a double (it's an antique, I swear if I ever find someone I like enough to live with, we are getting a kingsize bed), I take up about half-3/4 of it if I stretch out (best thing about being single- you get to sleep on the diagonal!). BK also likes to take up half to 3/4 of the bed. It is a constant battle as to who sleeps where, he likes to sleep where I sleep, I don't like sleeping where he sleeps because there's too much dog hair! As for anyone else... my best friend sleeps where bk sleeps if she stays over (I change the sheets as nobody wants to sleep in dog hair do they?!), and most of my other girlfriends do too, they all love my bed because the mattress is really comfy. I find it really hard to sleep with anyone else, I like having my bed to myself!!! It's ok if you have a boy to cuddle but even that's annoying... my ex used to like to sleep pretty much draped over me like a carpet. Now I like cuddling but I like sleeping too and I can't do that with a hairy triathlete squashing me! :roll:

here I am!!! Bk the dog is- well, where is usually is- on my bed, asleep, or looking out the window!!! :)

BK sleeps next to me with his head on the pillow, it's very cute but when he's asleep he sprawls out and takes up most of the bed and is hell to move because he's a dead weight when he's asleep. Then he might stretch out his legs and scratch me accidentally, OUCH on bare skin... he burps and farts as well, it's not unlike sharing a bed with some boys I know. :wink: but his cuddles make up for it!

[quote name='sashagirl']I never said I didn't have loving and supportive parents... My parents helped me a lot when I first moved out. I did it, because I went to school full time, and I had a full time job from 16 on. I have worked everyday since. I got a job on my 16th birthday. (Which is when you are allowed to start working in the US) I moved out, because I wanted my freedom. I was ready to grow up and take on the world. I guess it comes down to the individual. [/quote] Sash, I wasn't saying your parents were horrible or anything. I was merely pointing out the cultural differences between our two countries. Even though most of the time (especially when you look at international politics) I think we are just trying to be the US's dopey little sidekick, we are actually quite different. This is not meant to be a slant on you or your family at all. :wink: That's pretty amazing working and studying full time! I know a fully qualified chef who's 18 and he did his apprenticeship and his HSC (NSW equvalent of final yr high school) in the same year... with not much sleep in between... now not many people would do that here, but he is an example. With regards to Aroura, ok, well you know a bit about her home life. Some of us can just push it aside and get on with things, others can get a little depressed over it and that makes us want to just wallow for a while. I don't think there's anything wrong with that so long as you can sort yourself out eventually. At least she is working now and maybe that will help her move out, get some cash together, help her look after her dogs better. Just quietly I wouldn't put up with it either, but everyone's different, as you pointed out. So let's hope it all gets sorted before someone gets hurt. 8)

[quote name='Bensam']I have had dogs, particularly the Afghans, which would look at you blankly when trying to get through the basic obedience, sit, etc. but could work out things for their own benefit.[/quote] Oh yeah it is SO frustrating. BK has been in class 1 (the lowest class) of obedience since August, when we joined. Now there is no problem with the exercises. He could do them all standing on his head if he wanted to. It's getting him to do them all the time [i]when I tell him to[/i]. The instructors have all said it's because he's just too smart and gets bored, and plays up. He's outsmarted all of us at some stage, cheeky little boy needs a partial lobotomy :wink: When I was young Tessy the cocker would frequently outsmart Nobby the Basset (not hard :wink: ). If Nobby was hogging the heater, Tessy would run outside and bark to distract Nobby, Nobby would get up and go outside, Tessy would run in and steal her spot.

[quote name='Marble'] Also, does anyone here know if there is a certain age where ACDs all of a sudden start to act semi sane and start responding to corrections ?[/quote] They don't. LOL!! Well, they will never be semi sane. BK is 7, almost 71/2, he is crazy and full of energy, I too waited for him to "settle down" and I'm still waiting. :roll: If you were a member I could PM you... :wink: Ok this is not an ad!! Have you thought about joining an ACD internet group? ACD-L (from cattledog.com) have some great advice. There are people there who have ACDs aged 9-13 who are still hyperactive.

thanks! Marble- come and join for heaven's sake!!!! :angel:

True Koolie. I guess it's a case of "grass is greener", I think bears are beautiful creatures but then someone not from Aussie might think koalas are very cute too, of course I think koalas ARE cute but I take them for granted probably, there are lots of them here and of course if you live here you grow up with them. I too have heard horror stories about sharks, snakes, white tails etc. have been lucky enough not to be attacked by any of them and hope it stays that way, I like having all my limbs :wink: There are types of shark that aren't dangerous to humans aren't there? (this is SO off topic!)

Ok, I am just going to say in Aroura's defence-this is pretty off topic, sorry- that A LOT of Aussies do not leave home until they are in their late 20s. There are kids from the country who leave at 17-18 to study in the unis in the big cities, but a lot of us will stay as long as we can. There was actually an article in The Age (newspaper) about the growing trend of typical Anglo 20somethings (I differentiate, mainly because I know and there are a lot of young people of "ethnic" ie. Italian, Greek etc background who stay at home until they're married or until their parents die and they get the house. This is NOT uncommon, I know a 42yo Greek male who lives at home! I also know many of our patients, 90% of whom come from a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern background, who are still at home in their 20s and 30s) staying at home until they want to go, and parents are happy to have them around. We simply don't feel the need to move out if we are fortunate enough to have supportive, understanding parents who we get on with, or parents who tolerate us :wink: . Most of my friends in their late teens-mid-20s still live at home (except those from the country), most of them work part time and study full time, there are some that don't work though, they're very lucky because their parents support them while they study. A ridiculous percentage of students who live away from home to study full time and also work because they have to, something like 60%, live below the poverty line. It's unacceptable but of course the govt doesn't see the need to increase student benefits, even though we work 30 hours a week and are supposed to study 5 days a week too, and employers will fire you or threaten you with sacking if you have to miss work because of exams. This is not strictly relevant, but it does go to some lengths to explain why so many of us stay at home- it's too expensive and too stressful to move out, in many cases.

wow- would love to see a bear in real life and not behind a cage, but not, obviously, having it chase me :wink:

:lol:

Blitz was "on point" (tail out, one paw up etc) for a LONG time tonight, maybe a minute or two. The neighbours' cat has been in the yard a few times and after having chased it over the fence a few days ago, he has been all around the boundaries sniffing, peeing ON MY PLANTS :x and so on (except where the curry powder is :lol: ). He has done the point thing before but not held it for that long. I'm quite sure he doesn't have gundog in him or only a tiny amount because he's caught maybe 5 birds in his whole life (but has a strong prey drive for cats and flies LOL). So... does anyone else's dog do this? Or only gundogs? :-? Maybe he is more than just ACD/BC...?

People are so sick. Fair enough a dog that barks all night would be annoying but you keep Koda inside 99% of the time. I don't what they're complaining about. I would keep a written record of everything just in case you ever need legal representation (would it help?) and you could go to the cops, don't know if they would care too much though, cops can be so helpful with some things and useless with others. Sounds like you have the neighbours from hell!!! I wouldn't put anything past people like that. And yours Bensam. Yuck. I would use that stockwhip on him a few times and see how he likes it. :evil:

I thought only moderators could check ISPs?

Welcome Erin :D I am sure you will like it here. Mary Jane is gorgeous! Jacks are a whole lot of dog in a tiny package from what I've heard :wink: