Postings by holly

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holly THROW THAT- BALL!!!!     Barked: Sat Dec 22, '12 6:00pm PST  Some people hang a bell by the door and ring it on the way out with praise. Most dogs figure out a way to signal their need in some way, one of mine just gets relentlessly up in our face and we know then she is asking the other 2 scratch at the door. I am an advocate of paying for good behavior with treats and so when the dog goes potty outside I praise and treat immediately when they are tiny or starting potty training. The result is that even now the treats have been discontinued they all pee on command and quickly in times of need of rush like on the road or cold mornings. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

holly THROW THAT- BALL!!!!     Barked: Sat Dec 22, '12 5:43pm PST  Don't you hate it when you type a long drawn out response and the computer eats it? So to condense, I got Holly at a year old, ACD/Aussie, she is an excellent off leash example while still being a complete anomally of her breeds, she is calm, loves all people and most other dogs, has an amazing off switch and needs very little excercise compared to the rest of the pack. Overall though I have complete confidence that if a tragedy were to happen and our dogs all had to go to new homes they would all be excellent off leash dogs for anyone they bonded with. They are all herder mixes, even Paislee that acts almost entirely like her Catahoula contribution is absolutely trustworthy off leash with the exception of intolerance of men approaching on the trail, she throws quite a fit to tell them they cannot approach us but since I worked with her recall from the day I brought her home she is even easy to pull off when she starts to chase prey or any other surprises. Admittedly I got the other 2 when they were 6/7 weeks old but no matter who else gained their trust and love in the future they would be able to trust them off leash. When I say trust off leash, 7 mile hikes that are in very wooded very high wild life areas and my girls have never had an issue. Even Holly the most secure least protective of my pack gets well out of my site but one word or whistle brings her running back at full bore. My other 2 are more protective and so consequently hardly ever get far enough away that they cannot see me in case they need to "protect' me from other hikers or dogs or imaginary predators but if they do venture out of eyesight they are very intune with my every move and trail change. I have had people comment often on my trust in my dogs and responsiveness but it is just bred into them really. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Choosing the Right Dog > Thoughts on the Akbash and Kengal dogs

holly THROW THAT- BALL!!!!     Barked: Sat Dec 22, '12 5:08pm PST  I see a few Akbash in my area here in Utah at the dog park here and almost always the people have no clue what they have and I tell them to go home and google the breed to learn more. The reason we have more than you would expect is that there are quite a few pairs in Wyoming and surrounding states where farmers leave them out on the range with the sheep. When it is time to move the sheep they take the parents and many times the pups are left to fend for themselves. If they are lucky enough to find thier way to town then people rescue them and they get distributed to area states. They are almost always puppies when they come to the dog park but are getting to be difficult to handle and the people are clueless as to what they have. I have toyed with the idea of eventually getting one but only once we have increased our land. It is hard enough to keep 3 herders worked enough on just 1/2 acre of land to try to add a LGB that needs his own area to roam and guard. My opinion is that this is not a breed that you can "compensate" for a lack of a herd. My girls are a range of really well adjusted to reasonably well adjusted dogs because we create work and training and jobs on a regular basis that replace the brain work a herd takes but you cannot really replace the roaming and guarding instinct a dog of Akbash heritage has. I can easily make hiding games and training excercies to keep the mind of a smart herder busy but I cannot provide the large boundaries and herd to protect that is central to an Akbash's needs and the replacement for that would end up being a family and small lot to protect, I think that would drive one to insanity. I am not against someone owning a working dog that is able to really accomodate those dogs needs, Dalmations can work out their needs if they have a running companion, my ACD/other herding mixes get mind games and training games and off leash runs and fetching and searching games, a shepherd can be a family dog and protect a relatively smaller area and be content but I think that the ancient Turkish breeds and other breeds that are similar are still too close to that need for very large areas and a herd to protect. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Australian Cattle Dog > Does my dog Lucky look like a mixed breed to you?

holly THROW THAT- BALL!!!!     Barked: Wed Jun 20, '12 12:19pm PST  Hm, your main profile pic does look a lot like a G.S. mixed in there but your other pics look like an ACD with not so defined markings as breeders like to see. Honestly unless you are planning to show or breed those papers are just paper. ; ) my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Puppy Place > Off leash trails for the first time

holly THROW THAT- BALL!!!!     Barked: Mon Feb 27, '12 4:53pm PST  I am of the long lead to teach recall camp. I have to say, my 3 girls all have really wonderful, really reliable recall. I do agree that comparing saints to herders in the obedtheirience department is a bit of apples to oranges but none of mine came to rely on it an i can reliably call them off a deer chase, i recently had to call Holly off a charge at a horse in the neighb orhood (silly me for not being prepared for a horse on the sidewalk outside our house). All of mine started with the long lead. We off leash hike A LOT and I never have a problem with any of them, i made coming to me a fun treat laden thing with the l?ead and capitalized on their natural desire to be with us also. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

holly THROW THAT- BALL!!!!     Barked: Mon Feb 13, '12 8:45am PST  Oh yeah definately have to put the favorite toys up and out of sight. Make sure they have plenty of other toys to occupy themselves with. For our Holly balls are her favorite so it is either all up or plenty out for her to have kicked and chased but the chuckit must be hid or she will fixate on it. For kai, she loves the frisbee but that has to be hid and then she will utilize the ropes around the house. it is just the nature of the breed, make sure you are tgetting in lots of excercise and brainwork that will also help. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Puppy Place > Need info !!

holly THROW THAT- BALL!!!!     Barked: Thu Jan 12, '12 5:05am PST  Honestly she looks a bit like an Aussie/Rottweiler I had once from that one face shot. Not an easy dog, think 80 lb. Herder with a fiercly protective streak. She is a cutie though. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Puppy Place > Prepping for Puppy

holly THROW THAT- BALL!!!!     Barked: Fri Jan 6, '12 4:30pm PST  enzyme cleaner for accidents. Used toys with milage still to use are great cause it is a cheap way to see what he is drawn to. 100% pumpkin in case of tummy problems with stress or change of food (it worked wonders for Paislee since we started her cold turkey on decent food.) Harness. It sounds like your schedule is flexible, that is great so even if he is distressed at your leaving it is not too long before you come back and start building his trust so just relax and enjoy him. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Australian Shepherd > Fetch-Obsessed Aussie

holly THROW THAT- BALL!!!!     Barked: Thu Jan 5, '12 5:48am PST  None of my herder mixes are terribly social especially the 2 Aussie mixes. They will tolerate other dogs joining in their fetching but usually those dogs are Shepherds or Herders that seem to 'get' each other well. We do a lot of off leash hiking to effectively excercise all of ours with the least conflicts. We also do a weekly hike up to Dog Lake in the good weather since 2 of ours love to swim (the other one just stands at the shore and barks). I have considered taking up biking with my most energetic dog to mix things up a bit. You may want to look into dog agility classes, they may be a little bit of a push for your energy level but you may find you love the excersise and it will probably be something your dog loves for the mental and physical expenditure. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

holly THROW THAT- BALL!!!!     Barked: Thu Jan 5, '12 5:33am PST  My reasonable list never seems to vary much. Any combination of my current mixes, purebred is fine too but I love mixes. 1. ACD 2. Border Collie 3. Australian Shepherd I would also love to have a ... Rottie(I think it may be the next dog years from now) , Irish Wolfhound (really an unreasonably romantic choice) Akbash,...and on and on. Now if I had unlimited funds, land, time...I would love all the breeds that are ridiculous to want. Wolf dogs, Dingos, etc. I love them for all the same reasons that everyone does, that natural wild primitive wonderous factor. But at the same time I love appreciating all those traits tamed down in domesticated dogs too. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

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