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Hi Shannon, I have to say I really like your signature dog! Sooo cute!!!! :D [size=2]Oh, and the link is good too [/size] :wink:

I got a reply from my state govt re: the email I wrote to them about the loophole that prevents the prosecution of people for eating dog and cat meat. It's essentially a b/s reply but I was surprised to even get one. I reprint it for your reading pleasure: "You recently wrote regarding a media story about the alleged intention of an individual to consume dog meat. "The Bracks Government obviously does not support the consumption of cats and dogs. And there is no evidence to date the eating of cats and dogs is common in Victoria. The relevant authorities...have had no reports of this practice occurring. "However given the strong community feeling on this issue, the Government will ensure the law prevents the consumption of dogs and cats. "There are already very strict laws regarding the slaughter and sale of meat for human consumption in Victoria under the Meat Industry Act. This Act does not allow the slaughter for sale of cats and dogs. "However the law does allow an individual to slaughter an animal for his or her own consumption providing that they do not sell or give away the meat. While you may not personally support this, it does allow farmers to use one of their own sheep or cattle to provide for the family table, or fishermen or hunters to use their catch. "This is not intended however to allow the killing and consumption of dogs or cats. [b] "To make this very clear, the Bracks Government will amend the law to specifically ban the consumption of dogs and cats under any circumstances.[/b] "I would also note that the law allows us to prosecute anyone who is cruel to cats and dogs under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. "Yours sincerely Keith Hamilton, Minister for Agriculture." What I don't get is why the amendment they are going to make to the Act wasn't LIKE that in the first place. :x The other thing is that this govt is up for re-election probably before the end of the year...anything to win votes eh. At least they are going to amend it. [/b]

Marble, a larger dog such as yours will probably be fully grown at 1-2 yrs (I think this is right). I am glad the knee thing is working, keep it up and you will have a saint for a pet instead of a Hell's Angel :wink: I believe that your new incarnation as the obedience Nazi may have helped her settle down and think, "oh hang on, I'm not boss anymore, hmmm well that's ok I guess." Maybe? And the concentration she had to use in order to obey you is probably part of the reason she was stuffed when she got back! ACDs TYPICALLY like frisbee, tennis balls, those little Kong things on ropes you throw at the park, and will want to play fetch with you all day if they could. Unfortunately for me BK DOESN'T like such things, preferring to play with other dogs than stupid old toys :roll: I throw the ball and he looks at me as if to say: "You threw it, you go and bloody well fetch it!" :D

[quote name='Hobbit']Kelpies come in a blue & tan --- come on....come to our side (you know you want to).[/quote] Oh they ARE purdy. :D But I'd have to get some cattle to amuse a Kelpie with, don't think they would all fit in the backyard somehow :wink:

[quote name='Hobbit']ANOTHER thing, on the Dobie website, the lady with the blue/rust Dobie in the first picture.....got that visual? Don't you think, she looked an awful lot like her dog?? OUCH![/quote] *miaow* LOL... well you know what they say about pets and their owners... Princess Anne, or was is Princess Margaret, whichever one it was that was into horses looked an awful lot like her equine friends. Guess it doesn't matter, the royals are all inbred anyway :wink:

Thanks guys, those stories were funny :) No, I wouldn't leave them alone with a bowl of cereal and the TV, may as well leave them alone with a sub machine gun :wink: [b]IF [/b]I got a duck I would get two, they like having a partner so they don't get too lonely. But I've read the males can be quite dominant and will peck you for food, and also can get jealous. BK gets jealous too if I pay attention to another dog, so maybe not such a good idea. He doesn't do anything to the other dog, he comes and bullies his way into me! Doesn't surprise me about geese, they're really nasty sometimes. Ducks are too, I hope I never come back as a female duck :o He's good with other birds from what I've seen, he ignored the chickens we used to have and he ignores the canary, I think he's caught about 2 doves in his whole life, too much effort required to catch them :D So his prey drive is not as active as most heelers but having seen him terrorise cats and possums I would be definitely on my guard. Anyway it's going to be a while if ever I get ducks so we'll see how things go. :)

Oh come on out of the closet all you Irish Setters, I'm feeling lonely :P "you're a devil-may-care Irish Setter. Fun-loving and light-hearted, life is an adventure for you — an attitude your nearest and dearest find refreshing and inspiring. "

Pleased to see the dachshund got a mention in watchdog barking. They never bloody shut up!!!! :D Bassets bark quite a bit; their bark is very mournful (more like a howl/bay)but annoying when it's right outside your window :-? GSDs are also very good watchdogs, Rinny used to watch EVERYTHING (before he went blind) and he would bark and jump so his head would pop over the fence and scare the crap out of anyone who was walking past. Also had a GSD living opposite in our old old house, he and BK could see each other from their yards and would have barking competitions at 6am every morning :o In the end I think that most dogs who are treated well with love and care and attention will defend your property and your family to the death.

Does anyone know if ducks are compatible with dogs? I think BK would be ok with a duck, we've had chooks and roosters before and he just ignores them (it's cats he doesn't like, mmm dinner :roll: ). But if anyone has any duck/dog stories to share and if they get along or not I would like to hear them. :) Please note I'm not about to get a duck or another pet right now, BK is enough to handle! :wink: Maybe in a few years or so, but the thought crossed my mind today which is why I'm posting it today. Thanks :)

Ohhhh they are so gorgeous, kind of like a Weimaraner. I want one!!! :D

ROFL!! :D :D :D :D That's the funniest pic I've seen in a while!!! Ya big sooks! 8)

[quote name='anne3149']There is a politician in Australia who has a puppy farm. There was a great fuss about this a couple of years ago but he's still in operation!!!!!! [/quote] Which politician was that? Doesn't surprise me though, in a country where the PM can get re-elected on a blatantly racist platform that another example of how NOT to behave towards animals is still in power :x OK, I'll shut up now :wink:

[quote name='Majik']BLUE HEELER mix puppies, 8wks old, tails docked, $25ea. [/quote] This makes me especiallly mad. Any fool knows that the heeler needs its tail while working to act as a rudder, why do some people insist on docking it???? :mad: There is a completely different breed of dog- the Stumpy-Tailed Cattle Dog- which has no tail by nature.

Absolutely Koolie, I'm not arguing with you, the kelpie looks like a bargain in comparison and doesn't stop to take smokos either :D

Thanks Nikki :D What does the blue/rust colouring look like?

Good idea Bensam I will see if I can find out anything :)

Oh I do feel for you, I know how annoying a hyper dog can be and it will probably carry on until she is 2 or 3 (being an ACD X they are notoriously smart and energetic and easily bored and will always push the boundaries if they can! Having said that they are GREAT dogs whose intelligence works as well for them as it does against them :)). Blitz gets taken out for a 1-2 hour run most days which completely tires him out (that is the BEST!!!), has a good sized yard to amuse himself with, and does obedience. He is still hyper at 7 though! When he WANTS to be good he is excellent, this is when he is doing the right thing- when I am boss. He was not really a big biter, but when he did I told him NO BITING in my angry voice. Sometimes he was just too excited to notice and the only way I could get through to him was to get really scary and growl very loudly at him and basically do everything I could with my voice (I'm not a fan of hitting a dog) to convey that what he was doing was bad. Then I would put him in a sit or a down position and go over the top with praise when he did that, he would go all sooky and roll over on his belly and thump his tail after that. With the jumping- have you tried the kneeing trick with her? Maybe she is too big for it but what you do *every time* she jumps up is put your knee up so her chest hits your knee. It's not cruel but uncomfortable and she'll come to associate jumping up with that vaguely unpleasant experience and hopefully stop it. :) I wish I could help you more but that's all I can think of for now... I really think obedience will help heaps when you start. Good luck!

Marble, good luck with Dresden, like everyone has said you have to be alpha NOW or else she will just get worse. It doesn't mean being nasty about it, just firm... there are some good sites to look at if you are interested, one in particular Nothing In Life Is Free (NILIF) is reported to work wonders with pesky, persistent alpha dogs (and shy dogs too, to swing right the other way): [url]http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm[/url] Hope it helps. :)

Great looking dog and site... welcome :D

Wouldn't the sheriff get more votes if he was more against animal cruelty, maybe it depends on the redneck vote...? :-? The poor dogs. :( :(

Sorry to enter this debate at such a dead end stage- didn't really know what to say, it's all been said really- but you've got to do what's best for your dog... Having never been to Taiwan I don't know what the best thing is, from what I have *read* it's a pretty shocking place for them. I feel for Duck, because ultimately she is the one who is going to suffer. I do know a crate is no place for [i]any[/i] sort of dog to spend its life. I do know that Taiwan has an entrenched culture of dog "neglect", which most Taiwanese people seem to think is fine and some, like yourself, want to change. I do know the best place you will get advice is on this board, so by leaving you're only hurting your precious Duck, not us, and it won't help to start sooking (even though your situation is very difficult and you're young compared to us oldies). We can help you if you want us to help you. But if you act like a child you'll get treated like one (Mum's favourite line) :wink:

Y'know, I never even thought of that... :oops: Once in the gutter, always in the gutter :D

Now that I think about it, an elephant's trunk would be a politician's LARGE INTESTINE. [size=2]Well you didn't expect me to think they'd be entitled to a big pizzle? :wink: [/size]

Hobbit I think there is a seperate thread for that called PIZZLE :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Hmmm, gee thanks I guess :roll: :wink: I couldn't help myself!!!! This is what Dogo does to the average law abiding citizen :D