Mary's Mama

I found this online at: [url]http://hometown.aol.com/miniaussie/Frames1.htm[/url] "Are the Miniature Australian Shepherd and Australian Shepherd separate breeds? Responsible mini Aussie breeders continue to selectively cross to ASCA, AKC and NSDR registered Australian Shepherds and the dogs which are the product of such crosses breed true to breed type and temperament. If Aussies and mini Aussies were truly separate breeds, this level of consistency would not be immediately achievable. In my opinion, the genetic pools of these two types are not differentiated enough to earn the status of separate breeds and in fact, it would greatly benefit the mini Aussie if no distinction is made. " So it seems to be to be a lot like Parson and Puddin Jacks. They have just been selectively breed for a specific characteristic within the breed. Please know that we are not trying to insult you it is just that many people try to pass dogs off as something they are not.

[quote name='Hobbit'][color=darkred][b]Just because a certain sire is listed, doesn't mean that HE is the correct sire! :-? . There is a man in Kentucky that breeds Aussies. I know for a fact that he crosses his Aussie bitches with Border Collies to put the herdability BACK into the Aussie. He uses the papers from an Aussie male (living and deceased) and registers all his pups as fullblood Aussies. Complaints have been filed and proof provided, even by his own family --- nothing has ever been done about it. [/b][/color][/quote] See that is why registering with the AKC is a load of crap! I am sure there are a lot of good, respectable, honest breeder out there that register with AKC however it only takes one bad apple to ruin the reputation of the whole. It is too bad the Club allows this to happen. I am with you. JRTCA tried for years to keep the Jack out of the AKC so they could retain their working history. That is one of the reasons I love the breed. Mine dont work, they are hunting rejects LOL!!

Hobbit - I agree with you that I am skeptical of the "mini" aussie. Remember thought that the AKC is not the last word in breeds and is often more motivated by politics than anything else. Why did they decide to recognize the "Parson" Russell Terrier but not the Jack Russell Terrier? The only difference is the height of the leg. Sorta like 13 and 15 inch beagles. Same dog all in all. It all comes down to politics. The JRTAA got in their pocket and now the AKC goes along with whatever they want. The JRTCA on the other hand just seperates them into two seperate classes for earth dog competitions as one may have an advantage over the other, but all are accepted equally. With all the "designer" breeds it is difficult to destinguish which is real and which is not. Someone has been crossing min pins with jacks to get "mini" jacks. We all know that they are really mixes. I guess what would convince me would be pedigrees. If you can prove that there have been multiple generations of this dog breed without mixing in another breed, then I would say okay. All in all AKC acceptance doesn' t mean it is or is not a breed.

What is medium sized?? height at wither and weight please! At first glance I see NO airedale, the coloring is all wrong, terrier yes! I see Jack Russell or Westie. She looks like a friend of mines dog Luna who is Cocker and Jack Russell.

No real good stories. With Mary we were on our way home from picking her up and throwing out names at each other. The song Mary Jane started playing, and dh said I like Mary Jane. So it was agreed. I love that song and yes I know what it is about, I just dont care. Stewart (James/Michael/Anthony) is being named after a few different things. First and foremost after Nascar driver Tony Stewart. He is our driver and he is fast and furious, just like a Jack. Also (and this is obsure), there was a show on Fox called the Family Guy. There was a baby that talked and was a genius. His goal was to take over the world. It is one of our favorite shows, and Stewie our fav character. Silly I know! :roll:

Alright, we have narrowed it down to three: 1. Stewart James 2. Stewart Anthony (Which we might go with since he is actually named after Tony Stewart) 3. Stewart Michael vote away!!

Kiger - I used to free feed. That is how she spent the first 10 months of her life. I changed to meals because we soon will have 3 dogs in 3 different life stages. I prefer that they each get the correct food for their life stage. At some point I am considering an "all life stage" food but right now I really like the wellness and they have only been on it for a few months, just not ready to change yet. She would prefer that I leave it out all day. I think that is why she buries it under her blanket, she is saving it for later and keeping it away from the Bo LOL. But if I did the fat dog would be extra fat. He is 45 lbs now, he has lot about 15 lbs about 5 when I changed food and 10 after changing to meals. Carol - Thanks for your thoughts. I am inclined to do this as well, just wanted a little reassurance. I think I am gonna up her to 1/3 cup at night and maybe a late snack for now. Also with the new pup coming I will be going home at lunch every day so we could start the lunch idea. That just commits me to going home everyday and I kinda like being able to go out if I want. But what Mary needs she will get. She is far more important than lunch. Thanks for both of your thoughts.

Some of you may remember Bo the big fat sheltie. Well after years of having his thyroid tested, this year (with a new vet) the test came back low, showing an underactive thyroid. He has been on meds for a little over a week now. Is it normal that his appetite would decrease? Vet said it would help him loose weight and become more active but didn't say anything about appetite. Also, Mary (15 lb JRT) has been refusing her morning meals for quite some time now. She actually buries it in her crate under her blanket. She eats her evening meal fine. I have not been giving her more at dinner in hopes she would get hungry by morning. I only feed her 1/4 cup Wellness morning and night. Her weight is stable between 15 & 16lbs. I had always been told to feed twice a day but she doesn't want to get out of bed in the morning to eat before we leave. Would it be a problem to feed her once a day at night? I just dont know what to do about it. We have stopped with extras like bones, but I have a hard time giving up all treats because I use them for training (not enough to make up for a meal tho). Any suggestions?

I pick snuffy!! It is quite original. I named my boy without seeing him and Mary was named 5 minutes after we picked her up. To each his own!

Do your dogs have middle name? I am speaking of call names rather then show names Mary's full name is Mary Jane King. Now we are getting Stewart (to be called Stewie) but we can't come up with a middle name. So do you all have any suggestions?? What goes good with Stewart? I prefer old English human names. My mother always used my middle name when I was in trouble, sure some of you had similar experiences. I caught myself doing it with Mary and that is how she got her middle name. We use it at other times as well, but it does help with right tone of voice to use the middle name, she knows she's in trouble. :lol:

If your dog shows no signs of allergies, limiting the number of ingredients and proteins can actually cause allergies. I think that if you dont have a reason to feed other than chicken, you should feed chicken, jmho. It is important to provide as much variety in a dogs diet as they can handle. Switching gradually usually applies to brands. I changed by senior dog from chicken wellness to senior wellness cold turkey with no adverse effects. Please remember though that switching foods should be done yearly or bi-yearly not monthly or everytime you use food.

This is something I have been researching for a little while now. I want to neuter my new boy as soon as possible, so I wanted to research the positives and negatives of early spay/neuter. In my research I found two things (already mentioned) 1. Dogs neutered before 5 months will on average be taller, the decrease in hormones causes their growth plates to close slower. I seriously doubt leaving a dog intact will allow it to develop a larger head (JMO). 2. In males there is a possibility of urinary tract problems, while this mostly occurs in cats, there have been instances in dogs too. The odds are really quite small, smaller than the odds of complications during surgery. I have decided to have my boy done at 4 months. I am doing this to avoid marking and humping issues. Also, I can get a great deal at our local spay/neuter clinic. I would highly recommend that everyone consider early spay/neuter an option. Shelters all across the country have been practicing early spay/neuters for a long while with very little negative effects. Hamrhedd - I would ask your vet to show you research proving that leaving him intact will increase his head growth. There is nothing wrong with asking for factual information rather than taking someones word. My guess is he wont have anything he can put in your hands, it is simply his belief.

Hey all, I was reading this post with much interest as I only have 3 weeks left till the baby comes home. We are going to PA to get him and taking Mary so they will meet on neutral ground. My only question after all your comments is....some of you spoke in terms of adult to adult introductions, do you feel an adult to puppy introduction is any different. I would think the pup is much more vulnerable in the "sort it out" situation. So would you take different precautions for a puppy than an adult?

Found something very cool. No price on the website makes me nervous but is this the next big thing? [url]www.gpstracks.com[/url]

Well I am finally starting to prepare for the new little one. Just wandering what everyones opinion was on metal vs plastic crates and if you had any specific brands you could recommend. Some things to keep in mind: He will most likely be no taller than 12" at the withers when full grown. I cant decide if he should have a 16.5" tall crate or 21" tall. He will be kept in the kitchen with gates and the crate open so size should not be too much of a problem when he is small. When he can go the whole day without an accident then we will put him in the crate with the door shut. Mary currently has a plastic crate and I would lean that way again but I dont know the advantages to the wire. The wire makes me nervous though, too many sharp edges. So what would you do?

Oh yeah. I have become a big fan of the nylabone. Mary (jrt) loves to chew. They dont lay around and do nothing like bigger dogs, so to get her to settle down and keep her occupied she will keep herself busy chewing, she will literally chew for hours. And many people are surprised at the teeth and jaws on a jrt. They have much larger teeth and stronger jaws than some dogs much larger than them. She may only be 16 lbs but she is a heavily destructive chewer. I know other jacks that have destroyed kongs which are supposedly indestructible. Anyway, nylabone has done a good job of coming out with new products, bones that are larger and less destructible for aggressive chewers. By far the biggest concern is that yes the dog does actually ingest a small amount of the bone which is nylon. However, you just need to weigh the risks. Mary could easily eat 6-8 rawhide flips in the time it takes her to get tired of her nylabone. She may have ingested a few shavings of plastic which will pass right through, compared to an insane amount of rawhide that could easily cause a blockage. So yes they both have risks but for me the nylabone is less risky. I encourage those of you who have not tried them to pick one up.

Sorry to hear of your troubles. When Mary was little she did not like the crate at all. She would get so upset that she would poo out of stress. Could it be stress? As soon as we stopped putting her in the crate and put her in the kitchen, gated, she stopped having accidents altogether. Stress can cause the diarrhea too. Just a thought. If he goes in the crate willingly and doesn't seem to mind, then I am probably wrong. Good luck, I have a hard time crate training. Haven't been successful yet. Hoping that changes with Stewart.

If you have appropriately established yourself as alpha non of this should matter. In my house there is no consistency as to who enters or exits first, who goes up or down stairs first. It doesn't and shouldn't matter, because I am already established as alpha and they know that if I stay Stop or Go, no matter where they are they will listen.

Sorry I made you upset. I just want you to understand that it maybe possible for you to put anything you want on the web but that doesn't make it right. I read a quote somewhere that said something to the effect of "Better to be silent and thought of as the fool, than to speak and remove all doubt."

I'm sorry but I am just really confused. Why should you be giving anyone advice if you can't even decide what advice you want to give? While I can see you have spent time around dogs and other trainers, you by no means have experience. Before I use a trainer or read an article I try to find out what the credentials are to make sure I am listening to someone who KNOWS what they are talking about. Those people work real hard to get where they are and have years of hands on experience. When someone who knows very little, tries to put up information it almost undoes or at least invalidates the work those people have done. I think we should have more respect for the trainers that worked hard to become respected and leave all training tips and information to them. JMHO

Nylabones, make sure the get the durable kind, not the flexible ones (they break apart too easy). Also I saw at our posh pet store they have these things called Chill 'Ems (I think) Anyway it is the whole baby teething ring principal, you freeze it and then let them chew on it and it helps numb the gums.

Hi Hazel. I have to admit that I respectfully disagree with most of the information you provided. I have some questions for you. Why are you putting this on a website? What experience do you have other than Hazel? Aren't you a fairly young person? Why do you feel you know enough about training to instruct someone else? I do not intend those questions to be offensive just something for you to think about. I have trained 4 of my own dogs, each was different and their specific training required modification to their specific needs. I have never trained another persons dog. I have read countless articles, but I have never studied to be trainer or received any kind of certificate or degree for being one. I do not claim to know how to train a dog. I know what my dogs required but that simply isn't enough. So I would suggest that maybe you take a step back and think about whether the information you have to provide is valuable. Maybe if you work with other dogs, say volunteer at a shelter to train dogs, you will see that there is a reason why there are so many methods for training. Sorry if I hurt your feelings or offended you, not my intention, just wanted to help you think it through.

Since he is a smaller breed you may be able to get away with not trimming them at all. Instead take him for a walk every day on pavement. Pavement is the key work. The more he walks on the concrete, it will help file his nails and the less he will need his nails trimmed. During the summer when I walk my jrt everyday on the side walk she rarely needs a trim (probably doesn't need it at all, I am OCD). However, in the mean time you need to work on the desensitizing him. I've heard that if you put him on the table in a stand, put PB on a paper plate, you can hold the plate in front of his face with one hand and then touch his feet with the other. The PB should take his mind off of you playing with his feet. But you need to start slowly, just touch first, dont pick up the foot. The more comfortable he gets the farther you can progress. Do this multiple times a day for a few weeks. Slowly add the clippers too. First just put them on the table, then put them in your hand as you touch, then pretend to clip. Constantly praise and have lots of PB. Good luck!

:lol: K - I know what you are saying, with the *right* dogs it *can* work but the odds are not in their favor. If the staffy has any issues with others dogs and pesky JRT is just gonna piss it off. Even my girl who is the opposite of the average JRT would piss off a staffy with issues. I think it would be hard to have two pups together, get attached, and then find out they simply can NOT live together. IF you insist on a JRT and feel there will be no issues, please take this advice. Get opposite sexes. You dont say the sex of the staffy but the jrt should be the opposite sex. JRT's are notorious for same sex aggression even with different breeds. It can become quite serious. I know many that have had to be rehomed due to same sex aggression. Female JRT's are worse than males about this aggression. So a female staffy, male JRT *might* work if each is extemely docile. JMHO. :niewiem:

:o :o :o Eeks. Oh my good lord. Are you crazy? Both breeds have tendencies to be dog aggressive. If you put a staffy and a jrt together you are asking for catastrophe. Please please consider a different breed or even if you should have one at all.