The Hobbit Hole III - Journey to the Cross-roads!

[HairOfTheDog]

Welcome to The Hobbit Hole!

Journey to the Cross-roads
The Two Towers Edition

Come on! Come in! -if you would like to have some seedcakes and a pint and relax a while. (If it is a special occasion, we still have a few bottles of the old wineyards left!)

Our first thread ( New Zealander builds Hobbit hole ) reached 4,100 posts, and we thought that was big. Our second thread (The New Hobbit Hole ) held us for over 48,000 posts, and we loved it dearly. We talked about moving to a new thread for the last 38,000 posts, but we are really slow to muster! Finally, the time has come. Tomorrow (at 12:01 am, to be precise!) The Two Towers comes out, and we start a new chapter.

[Overtaxed]

Well fine! After I sent my check in and everything!

[Wneighbor]

Definite: 2JedisMom HairOfTheDog ksen ecurbh Corin Stormhands Rosie Cotton SuziQ RMDupree Possible: rightwingreligiousfanatic htur

New category: Probable and I sent money: wneighbor

[ksen]

And I also thing My Back Yard is a definite maybe....

[carton253]

carton253 is definite.

[Wneighbor]

Dalmatians are difficult because of their high energy and athleticism...

I had one of those. *snif* she loved me. *snif* :-) I still miss her. I don't run so I got in my jeep and drove with her on the leash while she pretended to pull me. She liked going 13 MPH. She hated water though and would refuse to move if we came to a stream or big puddle.

Boy, we could really go down into a crater with the dog breeding discussion i used to breed wolf hybrids. i loved them too. i miss them too. *snif snif*

[RosieCotton]

Longview is the home of Mount St. Helen's.... our own local Mount Doom, and it is clear and crisp today, the volcano will be out!

I remember it being in the air for days...people out walking and jogging with masks or handkerchiefs over their faces. It spread pretty far, didn't it? I knew a couple from Montana that met because they were told to stay indoors at the college they were both attending...everyone gathered together to hang out and played board games and such and they were introduced. ;-) Kinda cool.

[RosieCotton]

Failure to cut and paste properly...meant to quote THIS line...

And the ash was around for years.... and still is down there. It doesn't go away.

[RMDupree]

Here in Miami, the shelters always have at least a half dozen Dalmatians because of that very same reason.

Folks run out and see 101 Dalmatians, buy a Dalmatian puppy and 6 months later, they can't wait to be rid of it. It disgusts me!

How hard is it to research a breed before buying? Doesn't everyone research a car before buying one? How much more picky should you be when it comes to picking a member of the family? GEESH!

I get really upset on the topic of bad pet owners (as you can see). And I dispise seeing a perfectly good breed be maligned because of the irresponsiblity of some owners.

[ksen]

Well fine! After I sent my check in and everything!

Still waiting......

[Lil'freeper]

Well, the Australian shepherds and Australian cattle dogs are often confused. ACDs are also called Queensland heelers or Blue heelers (they come in red, too).

Australian cattle dog:

I am personally very partial to the reds:

Can you see the dingo in them?

[RMDupree]

ACDs are cute but need A LOT of exercise. You'll love 'em very easily and since they are older dogs, the shouldn't be as destructive as pups always are. *wink*

[RMDupree]

Ssshhhh! You'll spoil the surprise! *grin*

[Lil'freeper]

They are truly growing on me and I am really looking forward to having them (don't tell Big'ol, I'm still milking this for favors). But yeah, I'm nervous about them getting enough exercise.

[RosieCotton]

OK, I think it's the Australian shepherd that's called a kelpie. A guy I know through guitar stuff has several kelpies.

http://www.rollybrown.com/bio.html

Scroll down to the bottom for some pics. They look a little alike, but the ACD looks stockier and has a shorter coat, from what I can see.

[Lil'freeper]

Oh I love wolf hybrids! My neighbors growing up tried breeding them for a while. Tho, in the southern AZ desert, it was rather cruel. The coyotes would howl in the evenings and then the wolves would pipe up. Blood curdling. When the coyotes sounded off again they were much further away! LOL. Unfortunately the rest of the neighborhood didn't find it as amusing and pressed them out of business. Beautiful animals!

[Wneighbor]

You know. I would like to live in the country far enough to take in a passle of those Dalmations. By the time I got one she was 2 years old and a terror. Well, not mean, just active like Scott said. I spent 2 weeks bonding, running her (me in jeep), sitting beside her most of my time home, showing her what places where "her spots" in the house etc. And before the 2 weeks were up that was one of the best behaving most obedient dogs I've ever had. Of course all dogs are different but I've heard so many people say that Dalmations are stupid that it just ticks me off. That's a wrong rep. Nobody else ever trained as fast for me at an older age.

[Lil'freeper]

Pretty dogs! Tho I'm not sure they're shepherds either. AKC has this picture of an Australian shepherd:

But then, I admit, I don't know all that much about all the different breeds.

[RosieCotton]

AKC has this picture of an Australian shepherd:

Hm...doesn't look a thing like those pics, does it? I guess it's yet another Australian breed! He always just calls 'em kelpies or "Aussie dogs", but I know they're used as shepherds, so I just assumed their real name was "Australian Shepherd". Guess not!

[HairOfTheDog]

Yes, despite their flashy and carnival appearance, Dalmations were bred from hound stock to be guard dogs. They are going to be both high energy and protective.... I dealt with that with Gidget and she only has half!

And Gidget is not as dominant as I thought.... She seemed so from the pushovers she was raised with. When you were here with your two, I was surprised to see that she was more than happy to stand down and stay in the corner when challenged by your two for pecking order. I would have predicted more moxy on her part.

I think the difference is in the level of intensity of the drive to win. Your dogs were happy to have her just respect them.... They were not going to fight to the death over it... it was all posturing, and manageable.

[Lil'freeper]

Ok, best I can figure is that the Australian Kelpie is a separate breed, but not recognized by the AKC. Aparently the Kelpie is part of the ACD mix- which also includes collie, dingo, dalmation, and possibly bull terrier.