bk_blue

That's GREAT Aroura!! I'm jealous! :D On subject of famous people... the local Mafia don frequents the same wine bar/restaurant as we do, and BK is very well-known there, he's like this little celebrity dog, everyone asks about him all the time, he is more popular than any of us! The don really likes BK and whenever he sees him, fusses over him and takes him for a walk around the block- and how are you supposed to say no to that?!

That's very true guest. Absolutely not the dog's fault either, he's just going on instinct. I agree, there needs to be some sort of dog-education programme going, that would help eradicate most of the dog-bite hysteria which of course the [b]dog[/b] has to pay the ultimate price and not the ignorant parents/children. :x

Thanks Deep ;) The most damage he'd do to someone would be to lick them to death! Unfortunately some people have had bad experiences with dogs, so I guess you can't really blame them, they might even cross the road to avoid a Cocker. Some people get over it and some don't. I do feel sorry for people who can't, for whatever reason, enjoy the company of dogs. They're missing out! Sounds like you're doing good work Abusser. With the whole false-confidence thing, do you think most kids have an instinct for what dog is a good dog and what's a bad one? And of course if kids are brought up with dogs they're more intuitive. Then I suppose even if they do know dogs, they can play with a dog and not realise he's had enough... Your shepherd sounds like a pretty solid boy, what's he crossed with? oh BTW now I am ADDICTED... help.... :wink:

Wow, looks AND brains :wink: Are they bred anywhere outside the US?

:cry: How sad and how true. I don't know Mei-Mei, it's a tough decision. What will happen to the pets from the shelter that burned down if they aren't adopted? I'm assuming they are still operating on a no-kill basis? If the shelter was still a no-kill one, I would definitely go and adopt a pet from a shelter that does put the animals down, then you will be saving a life and gaining a beautiful pet as a reward... Hope my 2c helped. For those who volunteer at shelters, do you find it difficult to emotionally detach from the pets that may only have days to live? I'm asking because I just can't volunteer without being a total sobbing wreck- I donate food and bedding instead.

Hopefully one day the wave of misinformation directed unfairly at so-called 'dangerous dogs' will pass. That is a heartening step in the right direction. I have seen people cross the road to avoid Blitz (on lead) and me, then cross back after we've passed- I don't get it, he doesn't look dangerous does he??!!?

"Bastard" can be used as a term of endearment as well as in the pejorative. My family and I use it affectionately with BK and I am sure others do too... It is not a word we ever use to scold him with, and as dogs don't understand English (well not that we know of?) but the tone you use, what does it matter what one calls the dog? Bruiser is a cool name for a dog! Almost as good as Blitzkrieg (and no, I am not a neo-Nazi skinhead)! :D (almost at 3 paws now, hurrah)

This sounds a bit dumb Koolie, but by "solid" do you mean solid black or red or something? I've seen kind of solid red heelers (or heeler crosses), is that right or do you mean something else? :oops: I sometimes feel bad that Bk doesn't have a whole farm and a herd of cattle to keep him amused! I do agree that they are born to work, that is what they enjoy and are bred to do, and like any dog, you shouldn't get a heeler if you're not prepared to meet its needs. That's why I am taking him to obedience, so he can get his bits of paper and do competitive agility! :D

Yay, I am almost three-legged then :D

do you get 3 paws when you reach 100 posts?

I do remember reading somewhere on an ACD site that US and Aussie ACDs had slight physical differences, but I don't know how true that is. It's also said that it's hard to tell if you have a purebred ACD?(also on the cattledog.com site) I have no idea how much heeler Blitz has in him, he's a typical mutt. He's a lot bigger than an ACD with no undercoat, but has the Bentley mark, the blue merle on his underside, and the herding and ankle biting. How could anyone think a heeler looked like a Pit? Whoever thought that needs to get glasses methinks. Maybe they saw a heeler-pit X?

Thanks Bensam, I didn't know that :oops: So the Parson is a different breed to a Jack in Australia, but the same in the US? Is that correct? It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world out there K, and that site is a pretty good indicator :wink:

I've always been told chocolate is toxic to dogs and can kill them, it's not actually the chocolate itself but a chemical in the chocolate called theobromine. Theobromine is toxic to a dog when it ingests between 100 and 150 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. Different types of chocolate contain different amounts of theobromine, so it would take 20 ounces of milk chocolate to kill a 20 pound dog, but only two ounces of cooking chocolate or 6 ounces of semisweet chocolate. (taken from ://www.howstuffworks.com/question348.htm) Also check out this link: [url]http://www.k9haven.org/poison_plant.html[/url] More info about chocolate and about a million plants and household products that are poisonous to dogs. :wink:

The blue merles are pretty crazy too! :lol: [url]http://www.cattledog.com/misc/history.html[/url] A fantastic ACD site which offers a good history of the dog. I have a book titled "The Complete History of Australian Dogs" by Angela Sanderson (avail. at Amazon!) which is also good. The info this book has reports that the ACD, both red and blue, were derived from the same crossing, although breeders bred deliberately for the different colours and so a difference in coat type is entirely feasible, if you're only mating blue with blue and red with red etc. In the Australian standard of 1963 it does not have a different description of coat type for either colour. But that could be outdated, and the dogs in Australia are slightly different from the US ACDs.

[url]http://www.german-longhaired-pointer.org.uk/[/url] Has some info on the breed but no pics :( [url]http://pages.yahoo.com/nhrp?o=idathyssen&p=index.html&pos=12&f=all&h=/science/biology/animals/mammals/dogs/breeds/pointer[/url] This has photos, if you read Norwegian tell us what it says! :lol: They are very cute, kind of like Irish Setter/Springer Spaniel cross.

Thanks for clearing that up Mei-Mei! :) The article said the "rare" dog was "similar in appearance" to a JRT, which is why I thought it was a different breed. It also said the dog was a champion from Sth Africa and valued at up to AUD $5000!? Here's the link: [url]http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,5014712%255E13762,00.html[/url]

Anyone heard of this breed? It is apparently similar in appearance to a Jack Russell, and worth a s*itload of money (approx US$2500-3000). I ask because there was an article in the paper about one escaping, and still at large, from its box at the airport. Apart from that the article was not very informative.

Oh, I didn't mean the dog to be an appetiser! More the information... :oops: A poor choice of words!

An appetiser: German Shorthaired Pointers are very versatile, intelligent gundogs that can be used to flush out several different types of game including quail, ducks, pigs, foxes, kangaroos (in oz) and rabbits. Their coat is very short, practically waterproof, and needs little grooming. They seem to have 2 varieties of colour: solid liver, and liver patches and white flecks. They need lots of exercise, otherwise can go a little crazy (like most big dogs). Ideal Height: Dogs 62-66cm Bitches 58- 63cm Weight: approx 20- 32kg There is bound to be a breed standard somewhere which will give more info about its background (assuming it has some German connection?!) and physical characteristics. Hope to find some longhaired info too ;) Does anyone know off the top of their head how different they are to English Pointers? (I know a very hyper, dominant pointer who's the only dog ever to be dominant over Bk, and another one who's just plain hyper)

I'm so sorry to hear that. Goober has gone where all dogs will go and very few humans... He was very lucky to have you in his life, as you were in his, for that time- and there aren't too many people who would take on an old, ailing dog to make his last years a luxury. :)

Well said guys. :) After adopting a dog from a shelter, I don't think I could ever go back to a breeder... not because I dislike breeders (in fact I think *responsible* breeders make the world go round!), but because it is so, so difficult (for me) to even think about getting a dog from a breeder without thinking that I could, instead, save an equally brilliant, beautiful (and often purebred) dog from the needle. I'm not anti-breeding, just anti-breeding for the wrong reasons, especially after visiting the shelter. If there was some sort of school (and adult!) education program about pets to ensure all pets not bought for breeding be neutered? A pet is for life not for Christmas type-thing? Take kids to shelters to show them what happens when that cute ball of fluff you got for your birthday grew up and got too hyper/hairy/big for you to handle, or the mass litters of mixed pups whose life ends here because irresponsible owners thought one litter would get it out of their systems, etc etc etc... Like the moratorium, it ain't gonna happen. :x To answer the original question: no idea, maybe ask your vet? other responsible breeders you know? and don't believe everything you read :wink:

Can't say I care too much about the NRL Aroura! More like AFL, being a Vic and all... :wink: I'm not sure if the mating was intentional. You can imagine that if the lions and tigers are caged together than that sort of thing is going to happen. :evil: I didn't know the hybid can't breed though that is probably a good thing, to discourage the whole lion-tiger-whatever animal mixing business from happening. I agree, the ANIMALS at the zoo should come first, not the visitors or the profits, but when does animal welfare in places like zoos ever take priority? Only when it suits humans. :x

LOL Corgi, the mysteries of canine behaviour! For obedience, we'll be learning next week on how to get the dog to "take" something (eg. a stick) and then "give" it back. Blitz has no interest in objects like sticks and balls, very unusual for a heeler cross. The trainer suggested impregnating the stick with rabbit, bacon or smearing it with Vegemite (for aussies!) to make it more attractive, but this hasn't worked either. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make it work?

ahhhh come on, I won't tell anyone! :lol:

yeah, almost spot on. 16"=40cm how do you estimate max height/weight? From the Eternally Curious :wink: