Elegant pets

[carl browne]

NJS

You're so right! I never thought of that. She must also be exotic. Her breed having originated if far off Australia!

But I still like the idea of strolling down the street with a Chetah on a leash!

[storeynicholas]

Carl - I know what you mean! Apparently, cheetahs can be easily tamed but I suppose that they need too much space to run!
NJS

[Simon A]

Nicholas' Siamese cross is a very handsome animal. It is amazing how dominant that seal point trait is in crossbreds. The trait is odd in that it is expressed in response to low skin temperature, so the dark fur grows on ears, nose, feet and tail where the skin temperature is slightly lower than the trunk. I learned this the hard way many years ago when confronted by a very distressed couple of "theatrical" gentlemen, a month after spaying their Siamese queen; the hair on the clipped zone of the belly regrew in the dark Sealpoint colour, and they were devastated that their queen had been "tainted forever" by my blundering surgery and aesthetic insensitivity. I assured them the dark hair would eventually moult out and the belly return to a cream colour, which it did...

Hello Carl. Regrettably, Australian Shepherds are related to Australia in name only; we have none that I know of in the Antipodes. I believe they are of American origin, and they are wonderful dogs with a great temperament.

In Australia, we use the Border Collie from the UK, and the local Kelpie breed, for sheep work, and Kelpies and Blue Heelers for cattle work. They are very charismatic and dynamic dogs, but are not ideal as pets. They need a great deal of exercise and intellectual challenge to keep them calm. Also our Kelpies and Heelers are as ugly as a hat full of fish hooks....

In Georgia, there is a rejuvenation of our Caucasian Shepherd Dog breed. These range from 50-100 kg in weight and were bred for protecting flocks of sheep from our local wolves. When well groomed, they are very handsome dogs. They are hard work to train but great company, and interestingly enough recapitulate the Caucasian character, genial and gregarious amongst friends but ferocious when challenged by an adversary. This is the sire of a pup I have on order..

[shredder]

Simon, that Caucasian Shepherd Dog reminds me of my friends' family dog, a Leonberger. He is absolutely lovely, very sociable and has the personality of a cuddly cat when amongst people but the worst nightmare when in the company of other dogs since he seems determined to shred all other dogs!! Given his disposition towards other dogs and the wife having broken a couple of fingers trying to keep him under control with the lead, they have given up on taking him on walks in public areas and have resorted to staying within the grounds of their property. He is so big and heavy that he has broken some windows of the house simply by leaning on them; now they have windows that are nearly bullet proof.

Even knowing that he is a friendly dog, it is still quite alarming when, upon seeing my approach, he dashes across the garden to greet me, sometimes quite vigorously with front paws landing on my chest. Motorcyle jackets come in handy for receiving such greetings. Crash helmets might be sensible as well...

s

[Costi]

Too much love will kill you...

[Simon A]

/

[carl browne]

Regrettably, Australian Shepherds are related to Australia in name only; we have none that I know of in the Antipodes. I believe they are of American origin, and they are wonderful dogs with a great temperament.

In Australia, we use the Border Collie from the UK, and the local Kelpie breed, for sheep work, and Kelpies and Blue Heelers for cattle work. They are very charismatic and dynamic dogs, but are not ideal as pets. They need a great deal of exercise and intellectual challenge to keep them calm. Also our Kelpies and Heelers are as ugly as a hat full of fish hooks....

Well, yes, I'd heard that about the Australian Shepherds. It is also a fact that the most intelligent creatures on the planet are--in order--as follows: Border Collies, people, chimps and dolphins, although the people and dolphins are somewhat over-rated, and may drop from the list when their true intelligence is correctly measured.

I've also heard that the Great Dane--an elegant breed if ever there was one--is not Danish.

[storeynicholas]

Nicholas' Siamese cross is a very handsome animal. It is amazing how dominant that seal point trait is in crossbreds. The trait is odd in that it is expressed in response to low skin temperature, so the dark fur grows on ears, nose, feet and tail where the skin temperature is slightly lower than the trunk. I learned this the hard way many years ago when confronted by a very distressed couple of "theatrical" gentlemen, a month after spaying their Siamese queen; the hair on the clipped zone of the belly regrew in the dark Sealpoint colour, and they were devastated that their queen had been "tainted forever" by my blundering surgery and aesthetic insensitivity. I assured them the dark hair would eventually moult out and the belly return to a cream colour, which it did...

Simon - thanks for this - the very strange thing in the case of our cat is that he is one of two cats of Siamese appearance that we have. The other is a lilac point and has the blunter features of the original Siamese cats before their features were sharpened up in Europe and her queen is a tabby with a white bib and legs (sire unknown). This queen is from the same litter as the late Sparky which was the queen of the cat in the picture in this thread and, as you say, he is a seal point (again sire unknown) but Sparky was a tortoiseshell. There might be a Siamese tom around here with particularly strong genes but in four years we have not seen him (he must be called Macavity!). If there isn't any such tom, then the recessive gene is extremely strong indeed. I ought really to put up another picture of him as he has matured into a magnificent animal. He suffered an injury and the fur grew back over it in a slightly mottled form - part white and part dark but, I daresay that it will all moult out.
NJS