My wife and I lost or dog to cancer about a month ago and miss him terribly. We’ve been looking on the rescue sites and visiting adoption events within 50 miles searching for a successor. We’ve also had friends on the look out.
Well today I went to the local thrift shop to take photos of kids with Santa Claus and the fellow who plays Santa said “You need to call Mrs. XXXX because she has to give up her dog because of her husbands illness”.
So we’re said about her situation, but now have a new canine companion. He’s a black and white Aussie Shepard who’s 14 months old. We kind of wanted a slightly older dog, but I guess we’ll all have to adjust.
His name is Tuxedo, which we’re shortening to Tux. He has papers from the breeder, which we’ve not received yet, but I don’t see any Aussies that are black/white.
I had an AKC registered Aussie who was black and white, her name was Shayneh and she was smart and hilarious and just about the most athletic dog I’ve ever known. That’s a very handsome Tux indeed, 'grats! He has a kind eye–I love a herding dog’s gaze. Are you familiar with herding breeds?
The boy we just lost was supposed to have been a Border mix of some kind. When we first got him, another rescue, he’d park himself in front of you and try to get you do move where he wanted. Kind of lunge at your shoes and bare his teeth a little. Never bite, but kind of let you know you weren’t going where he thought you should be going.
He hops up on the bed at night and cuddles for about 20 minutes or so then leaves to sleep. We’re fine with that.
I’ve never understood folks who demand that dogs stay outside. I want my dogs where I can interact with them. An animal guard dog like a Great Pyrenees, sure, that their job. Or a pack of 15 hunting dogs.
That IS a handsome animal. And while his eyes have the typical look of total attentiviness, they lack the common hint of derangement. It’s a very appealing thing.
“No lick!” and removing the body part that’s being assaulted while shaking a “no-no” finger. Repeat about 80 million times. He’s young yet, he’ll probably get over most of that. Using a “tssst!” sound to draw attention away from what he’s doing at the moment is also good, then deflect into a different behavior like fetching you a toy. That’s what I do with my heeler mix, who’s also young and sometimes gets too busy with her mouth–she play nibbles, grabs feet and licks a bit too. Herding dogs tend to be mouthy, not as bad as retrievers but right up there.
