My Skimmia x Sheltie x Mahonia hybrid

Each has its own look....Hard to decide which face I like best...Oh, I just love them all

What a lovely quartet.

~they are just fantastic!so obedient!

awww lovely photo

Beautiful Portait of the Happy Family2be Fleurdemai :)

Guess we've got a few things in common! :-) Only my family (4-legged) is white and fluffy. My present litter is just over three weeks old. I'll put up a photo of the three little boys today.

Ilove them all can't wait to see pics of the new puppies Fdm!

Beautiful photo Fleudemai

Looks like a mug shot with them all lined up!
The girls on the left right?
They all look healthy and very well loved.

Hi PF, i guess you dont have dogs then...lol
The girls are on the right, normally an inch shorter than the boys though ours are 2 inches smaller

~when are the puppies due?

Luna (the tricolour) 23rd Jan

wow, not long then!~Will you keep any for yourself?

No, she is on breeding terms so the 1st litter will not have our affix and it wasn't our choice of stud dog...

~you will probably still be sorry to see them go!
When we got our two boxers from the same litter in 99 they were all still with the mother~eight of them~about 3 weeks old when we first saw them courtesy of someone who knew we had just lost ours some weeks earlier.
We visited until they were old enough to leave their mum ~which was a nice thing for the owners to allow us to do~we have some great pictures!
Sadly one of them died from cancer in dec 07 which is why we have an old and a young one now~we are hoping Harvey will keep Merlin young.

If we had the space I dont thnk we'd ever let one go :o)

Hi FD, im wondering why you can't use your own dogs for stud and why it wasn't your choice of stud ? sorry to sound so thick hehe.and one more thing, how did you keep your dogs away from her when she was in heat!!!

Hi YDD, answer is a long one so I've sent you a PM :o)

~I'm sure it must be really difficult to let them go~the person we got our boxers from was keeping one of the puppies despite having the mum and gran!

Luna is such a pretty sheltie. I bet her puppies are adorable. This is a lovely photo FDM.

If I could...I'd love a little girl as they are smaller than the dogs. I so badly would like one...they look gentle and loyal.Are they good with little ones? I have so many fields and walks for a new puppy but I just don't think I'll be that good as I have no experience with pups....boo hoo!

~everyone has to start somewhere~we had our first boxer~ who are incidentally brilliant with children~ when my son was 15 months and they grew up together and were inseperable.
As he got older my son would wake up in the night and he would go downstairs and get all his toys out. In the morning he and the dog were curled up together in an armchair ~` the dog afraid to move in case he woke him up.

Hi Vilai, shelties are excellent with young children

Re: having no experience... 4 years ago (aged 43) I'd never even thought of owning a dog and 18 months ago the only plant I could identify was a tulip
We all have to start somewhere. I run a sheltie forum so when new owners need help or advice they just post a message.
The main thing is to read up on the breeds before buying, I know many people who have bought dogs totally unsuitable to their way of life.
If you want to find out more about shelties visit our website: www.fleurdemai.co.uk

Hi Gilli, Luna was bred to a blue so we are hoping for a mix of tricolors and blues in the litter

what a lovely photo!! my daughter is desperate for a dog we are still thinking about it, not a decision to be taken lightly i feel. She promises she will walk etc., but i have heard all this before, re hamsters, cats, goldfish etc.

~it's a real commitment~we each walk our two at different times of the day~if one person has to do it all it gets to be really tiring~they get 3 and half hours in 4 walks with a long one( an hour and a half at lunchtime) down to the beach!

Oh FDM, I bet the puppies will be beautiful. I hope you will post photos when the pups arrive.
My sister in law used to have, show and breed shelties too. They are such adorable dogs.

Yes I have had pets Fleurdemai including dogs my whole life. I just do not breed them or own them in large quantities to see a height difference between males and females. Next time I will google breeds to know this.

My pets are all rescued from the S.P.C.A. prior to their ultimate demise (death) if they do not get adopted in time. So far I have saved and given a happy loving warm home to a few rescued pets. Recently I had to put a stop with our furry friends in the home because of allergies.

If I could I would have them live in the detached garage or a out building but our winters are to frigid to even think of it even with artificial heating.

What a shame you can't keep them any more PF. I didn't have any for 40 odd years but now I wouldn't be without them.
I think I am correct in saying that in all dog breeds the girls are smaller

I used to have allergies but oddly since I've had the shelties most of mine have gone..
Saying that I don't many visits from either my eldest daughter, or my best friend anymore, they both come out in a rash as soon as they touch the dogs..

~that's odd~I wonder if it is because of the long fur?my daughter is okay with our dogs but starts sneezing when there are cats around!

Arlene, more people are allergic to cats than dogs.
I'm not sure the length of the hair has anything to do with it? My daughter is the same around all dogs and my friend is a chronic asthmatic.

This is a pretty photo.
Lovely new variety of Mahonia. :o)

Interestingly there are some dog breeds where desirably the bitches are heavier than the dogs.
e.g. Pekingese.
Kennel Club Breed Standard ~
Weight not exceeding 5 kgs (11 lbs) for dogs, 5.4 kgs (12 lbs) for bitches.

I agree with Arlene about the allergies. I have a slight allergy to cat hair but am fine around Shelties and budgies .

Your puppies are gorgeous.
I hear you about your new found love for dogs. DAve and I got Chummy when we had been together for only 6 months, he thought I was crazy..."what ya want a dog for?" I couldn't explain it, but he knew within days......They both adore each other. Chummy even shakes when I say "dad" when he is at work. lol.

Your family in the photo look really contented and they look as though they are very obedient. Did you see the dalmation on the telly that had all the puppies? SHe's broken the record...and kept her owners busy for the next few weeks in helping to feed them all.

Newfie if you think these ''Puppies'' look gorgeous you'll really like the real ones when they come.
These are all adults, the boys are 4 1/2 and 3 1/2, the girls are both 2 ...

Lindak, not sure we could cope with the amount of puppies dalmations have. How could someone find that many suitable homes all at the same time???

Let's hope that the dalmation puppies all get a good home to go to. I get stressed out when dogs and cats get turned out just because they are getting old and the owners want a new puppy or they can't afford to keep an animal anymore or they get animal behavioural problems, sometimes because the owners don't know how to train the animals properly and treat them like human beings instead of how the animals would live with their families. Dogs are a pack animal and need a leader and the human should be the boss dog and give the commands in a loving way. We have a rescue cat who was turned out of two homes. She is a one eyed SIamese and has settled down wonderfully with us and is obedient. We've taught her to be so with a biscuit and repetition. She can do tricks like sit, turn in a circle etc. I think that before people buy an animal they should look into the cost of keeping it which includes vet bills, and the time that it takes to look after it and with a dog that means taking it out for a walk, and the training. It is wonderful to have an animal as a pet and they give one so much love, compansionship and affection.

I've just tracked down Twinkle. Cute cat :o)

Cute, clever Twinkle :o)
Very wise words by Lindak. With the recession and general unrest in the UK world of pedigree dogs, puppies of some breeds are being reared with no pet homes in prospect for their adult life. The Dalmatian litter will find homes because of all the media publicity.

Owners don't always think through the commitment to owning a dog or a cat ~ vet bills etc. Possible damage a pet might do to the garden. All kinds of issues to be considered. Shelties, fortunately, are generally easy to sell as puppies and to re-home as older dogs. The four in the above photo look really lovely. :o)

Lovely pic. I found all the comments here really interesting, eventhough I've never owned a dog (I've always found that a single cat provides ample 'animal personality' in the home!) Plus it would be really selfish for someone like me to get a dog - I haven't got time for walking a dog for hours a day and should the dog get a serious illness, I'm not sure I would be able to afford the vets fees. My brother is a plumber and putting central heating in a house and is there every day at teh moment. The couple who live there work full time. They have what my brother calls a 'beautiful alsation' (spelling? - german sheppard). He says this dog follows him all over the house all the time he is there, but of course when he finishes the job, the poor dog will be alone in the house all day again. Those people are so selfish. Why don't they just get a goldfish or something?!

Sid you are so right. German Shepherd Dogs (Alsatians) belong to the Pastoral Group, same as Shetland Sheepdogs, and as with dogs from many other Kennel Club Groups, are very intelligent, and need constant stimulation of the mind, as well as exercise. Goldfish would be much better. Or one of those robot dogs ? It could be trained to follow your brother around the house and help him with the plumbing tasks. :o)

hehe - I think he would like that :-) Cats get bored too esp if they're on their own all day. Luckily, there is almost always someone here to keep Birite company and I try to find time to play games with her everyday. She's spoiled ;-)

~Harvey was bought by a surgeon at the loacl hospital for his wife as a very small puppy and all though they bought tons of stuff blankets,toys carrying crate etc he didn't like being left and when his wife returned to work they paid someone to go in and walk him twice a day until they realised that was not fair and advertised him prior to giving him back to the breeder.
We saw the add and because we already had Merlin with the prospect of Magnum going because of his cancer we didn't hesitate~ they were happy to sell him to us and my daughter and son in law had him for a short while until Magnum passed on.~ he was three months oldat this time and they spoiled him~he had constant attention from Gary and his staff and lots of dogs to get to know.
~ Magnum seemed to recognise that Harvey was a possible threat/replacement and was very aggressive so we had to let Harv stay elsewere for both their sakes.
When Magnum died It took a while for Merlin and Harvey to accept and meld together but I do think that having Harvey has given Merlin a new lease of life although we will never know if Merlin would have enjoyed being number one dog~ he always lived with Magnum as top dog and protector.
My husband is retired and home all the time and the area where we live has lots of room to walk and exercise them and that is the bottom line really~exercise and loving company for them and for us!

A dog is a pack animal and needs company. So many times I have heard that the dogs people have have chewed and scratched at doors and have been generally naughty in the house when they have been out for a while. It's only because they are pining for company. I have always kept Siamese cats and they are very demanding, more so than the ordinary cat. In fact they are more dog like than cat like sometimes. One thing that I never do is let the cat out at night. My cats have always slept in. Funnily enough I have just taken a black labrador back to it's home. Found it in my garden. It fortunately had a name and address tag on so found out that it came from the next road. Made up a lead from binding tape from the cardboard boxes as I am having the kitchen done tomorrow. She was a very good girl to walk back and I spoke to her as I walked her along to reassure her. The owner was down the lane calling for her, and quite worried. He was so pleased to get her back as she had escaped out of the garden.

Beautiful!

Lindak - pleased to hear you keep your moggies in at night - I've always kept mine in at night - Birts goes out for a wonder for about an hour in the evening then she's in. She only occasionally complains! The roads are so dangerous at night tho and also it's safer for the birds in the early morning. They are also less likely to encounter cats with feline HIV if they're in at night and less likely to make a nuisance of themselves in other peoples gardens. For these reasons I think catflaps are not a good idea at all, unless they can be locked shut at night of course. Glad you were able to reunite the 'lab' with her owner :-)

how come they stay still like this?wonderful photo!

When they were young and we started taking them for walks we'd start by taking their leads off and saying 'Stay...!
If one of them moved we'd put the leads on and start again. We would then walk 5 yards away and call them from the stay with their release word 'Okay'
Over a few weeks we were able to increase this to whatever distance we wished. They all learnt that if they stayed until the release word they will get a food treat (except Quito who gets his tennis ball as a reward)
Sitting for a photo they are simply looking at me waiting for the release word... If I call the name of an individual dog he/she will come and the other 3 will stay where they are.
They are so used to it now we don't even require the treats anymore :o)

All our shelties were bought at 8 weeks and by 10 weeks all knew several commands both vocally and with hand signals. The basic things like sit and down take between 2 and 5 minutes to teach.
Things like stay and rollover took 5 minutes a day for about a week.
We also taught them not to touch their bowls until we say the word 'Dinner'.. If we say 'Leave' they all stop.. It makes for much less chaotic mealtimes.

Note to self..
They do what they are told
They love you unconditionally
They never sulk
and they NEVER ask you for money
In your next life forget having kids go straight for a dog :o)

Oh wow this would look great on a calendar :-)