Katiebob

All my pups are tattooed in my name. I haven't changed the ownership over to the new owners. They can get them chipped if they wish. I will know if any of my pups turn up in rescue although, as I keep in touch with all the 'pups' owners and they have all signed a contract to return them to me in the event of being unable to keep them for any reason, I'm fairly confident. You can NEVER be 100% sure - even rescues get their share of problems - but I do my very best.

Congratulations I'm sure Seth had decided he was staying pretty much straight away

ok, I didn't really want to get involved in this but it seems this may be helpful so here goes I breed and show rough collies. I suspect that's no surprise to many of you - and some of you know already because I don't make a secret of it if asked. I am also a fosterer for Rough Collie rescue and have had quite a few rescues living with me and my dogs - and have kept one or two. For the record, at least one of the dogs I kept was as poor an example of a rough collie as you would find so I can assure you I didn't keep her because of her good looks or fantastic breeding All my male collies are neutered. However, I recently bred from one of my blue merle bitches who was of the standard that I was looking for. I intend to mate her again, probably in the autumn. I have kept one of her daughers who is lovely and has been quite successful in the show ring. She also has the best temperament of any rough collie I've ever come across or owned, and I know there are a few on this board who have met her and would endorse that fact. I will breed from her too when she's a little older. When my first litter was born I was desperate to do the right thing for them. As far as I'm concerned, they are MY babies and I brought them into this world, therefore I will do everything in my power to ensure that they have the most perfect homes I can find for them. That's MY responsibility. Some of the homes were quite a long way from me - the other end of the country in fact - and it's pretty hard to be looking after pups responsibly and running off a few hundred miles to do homechecks. I asked friends to homecheck for me and they were absolute stars and helped me out. I would have found a way but it would have been very difficult without their help. The point is, these friends were RESCUE homecheckers, first and foremost. In rescue, we take it for granted that we can find someone to homecheck wherever in the country we want homechecked but breeders don't have the same network. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it's not as easy. I always offer petrol costs for anyone who homechecks for me as a breeder. In fairness, when my homechecker wasn't well, I asked someone in the breed if they could get someone to homecheck for me and it was done completely voluntarily. I completely agree with Kaos' point that, if breeders and rescues were to work together, the world would be a better place for all our dogs - pedigree and non-pedigree - but currently there seems to be an attitude in rescue that all breeders are 'evil' and from breeders that 'rescues' have a holier than thou attitude, so it's not easy to get them to agree! There's good and bad in both cases - but it would be fab if the good ones on both sides could get together to help the dogs. The husband of the breeder of my foundation bitch told me I was mad to try to homecheck my pups' homes - he said it would be insulting: none of the homes that I chose for my pups had any issue at all with being homechecked. Just goes to show, that we need to open our minds to see what can be done and not presume that things can't change, just because they're not the 'norm'.

I remember my first foster dog going to its new home. I kept his lead in my car for a fortnight in case I had to go and pick him up btw. his name is Monty and you can read all about how he's progressed in the training and agility thread - he's been a total star, has appeared on Blue Peter, qualified for Discover Dogs for the last 3 years - everything I'd have wished for him actually!! Just shows how pathetic we fosterers can be You never forget your foster dogs but you do learn to appreciate that they will do better in their new homes

Good luck Holly - hope you like your new people , cos they'd have to mad if they didn't love you

Awwww He's a feisty little chap, isn't he

Morning It's a beautiful day here. I've got at least one family coming to meet some Bengals today so I'd better get on and do some work to make this place look vaguely presentable. Have a good day everyone

I DO have a problem with a 'rescue' who uses a 'rescue' dog to breed from, no matter how well bred it is. I DON'T have a problem with a breeder using one of their own carefully chosen dogs to breed to selected lines and, separately, also rescuing dogs in need.

Awwwwwww She is beautiful. Well done, Electra - such a gorgeous daughter

Happy 3rd Gotcha Day, Mac - you handsome hound Sorry your Mum forgot your gotcha day but I'm glad you've had some special treats today instead

No idea why other peoples' cats aren't used to normal household noises So glad that Lily isn't too scared of you any more - please pass on to her that I've forgiven her for the scratches Willow is just adorable - but they both are gorgeous; Lily obviously just takes a little longer to settle in. When you've got a pair of cats, one is always a little more reserved On the plus side, Gatsby goes to his new (foster) home tomorrow, although I'd be amazed if he comes back to me because he's a gorgeous boy as you saw!! Someone, already homechecked, (thanks Wizzie ) is coming to see Anubis on Sunday. I've got a perfect (I think) home for the snow boys - I couldn't get hold of them to get them homechecked today but if they visit this weekend I could reserve them pending homecheck - and then there's just the gorgeous Apollo (son of Gatsby) who will be piddle easy to rehome. But I'm fussy!!! Then on to the next 5000 on the waiting list!!!!!!

Brilliant news I'm very happy for you both and Salada Hope you manage to get it all under control soon.

Anne, your foals look stunning and Ivan is lovely I've had a lovely day today, spent a fortune at the local horse sale (on horse clothing ) and then found a really good local saddlery shop and spent another fortune there Good news is that I've bought rugs for next winter at sale prices so I'm a happy bunny

My sister has her dogs insured with Tesco and although it's true that it's not a 'for life' cover, they have always paid out quickly and in full (other than the excess).

Awww bless, he looks so content in those pics

Thinking all good thoughts for Salada

He is simply gorgeous Enjoy every minute of his puppyhood, they're only puppies for such a short time .............

Very happy for you Clare that Loki is home I know that feeling, Jacky; Frant once dragged me and half a fence across the yard and I couldn't let go of him because he'd have panicked even more! I had bruises for weeks afterwards. Hope yours aren't too sore Finn is doing really well. Sarah & Sue hacked Frant & Finn today and Finn proved his soundness in traffic by coping with some seriously big lorries Onwards & upwards!

I bet you won't laugh so hard when she runs up to greet you tomorrow

Not enough I think we'll have to give her a hose down anyway, because she stinks I dread to think what's in the mud at the bottom of the stream. The owners don't come back until Friday.

I take my hat off to you - that looks challenging enough for me, let alone the real thing

I will happily sponsor you. BUT make sure you remind all the people who've offered to sponsor because I know that I, for one, have offered to sponsor people in advance before and have forgotten when the time comes round Make sure you pm me to get my money!

This is Maisie; she's one of our usual 'holiday' dogs, that is, a dog who comes to stay here when her owners go on holiday. As her owners have a holiday home in France, it's a pretty regular occurrence for Maisie, particularly during any school holidays. She's a nice dog, it's just that whenever she visits us she thinks she's died and gone to heaven She gets over excited and barks and barks and barks - and sets all our dogs off She is also slightly partial to getting wet, (as are most golden retrievers) so our streams are fab in her eyes. Unfortunately, we're not quite so keen I would bet her owner never lets her off lead!! Any offers?

Sorry Elaine because I can't remember but how old is Kyla? I think if it were me I'd drive to my local supermarket, muzzle her and sit on the benches outside. There are always loads of kids around with their parents and if she's muzzled they will keep their children away which should help Kyla's confidence. When I've had dogs who were worried by children I've always tried to 'introduce' them in a situation where they were unlikely to be approached directly by the children. It doesn't always work very well, btw - some dogs just can't cope with children and their fast movements, no matter how hard you try - sometimes even if you've had them from pups. Sorry, edited to say, if she's very uncomfortable being there after a reasonable period of time, I'd give up the idea personally, especially if you don't need her to interact with children.