Toy and Mini Aussies are moving....

Kibby's ready for the move, are you?

To all my faithful followers and the ones that stop by from time to time to read this blog,

We have made the decision to move our posts to the new face book group Toy And Mini Aussies. We invite you to join us there.

For those of you who posted your own information here you will find it easier to post to face book than to this blog. If you have been thinking about sharing your pictures and stories about your Toy or Mini Aussie, you will love how easy it is to share at face book.

If you just like to keep up with what is going on with Shade Tree Aussies, you will find it all there as we will be posting pretty often on that page.

So change your book marks, meet some new people who have joined us already, learn more about this wonderful breed and lets have some fun posting and sharing those cool pictures and great stories you have of your Toy or Mini Aussie(s).

See you there,
Karla

Where have all the puppies gone?

We are often asked about where the pups have gone after they are taken off the puppies page at Shade Tree Aussies. We thought we would make it easy for folks to follow a puppy so we would put a new page on the site. Please take a minute and check out Past Puppies by CLICKING HERE

We also have pictures and information about the new litter from Kibby and Rascal up on the puppies page. This is a large litter (8) and Kibby is doing well with them. Waiting on their eyes to open so we can tell what the eye color might be is making time drag. Both parents have blue eyes so we are hoping for a majority of them to have blue eyes, however there is never any guarantees with this breed. Even if the eyes look blue when they open at 2 weeks, you can't be sure they will stay that color until they are about 8 weeks old. For more information about eye color in Aussies check out the Eye Color page on ToyMiniAussies.net

Miss Kibby, a black tri with blue eyes.

Keep watching the Shade Tree Aussie site for updated information and pictures of the newest babies.

Sad loss of a dear family four legged friend...

I was recently asked to help a family member of a very good friend to get his family dogs weight under control. We took them to the website Shade Tree Pets for our homemade dog food recipe and the list of A+ rated dog foods. They had been feeding dog food that could be purchased at your local large chain stores that carry groceries to tires (you know what I am talking about), or at the neighborhood grocery store. This 12 to 14 year old female dog was a large breed dog, possibly a lab mix. She had packed on a lot of weight and was becoming very lazy. She even at times refused to complete the daily walks her human took her on. He mentioned to me that she had been drinking a lot of water.

He attempted to make the switch to a better dog food supplemented with our homemade formula. She refused to eat and even was vomiting up what she did eat. At first I thought perhaps he switched her too fast, which he had done in my opinion, however the other dog was fine. While Elvis the male, another large breed dog that is overweight, made the switch and loved the new food, Abby would barely touch it.

I went through the list of possibilities in my mind and suggested they see their Veterinarian right away. My first though was that she maybe had cancer or something else wrong in her digestive system, perhaps she was going into heart failure. I missed the key to the problem, did you?

Abby was rushed to an emergency clinic on Sunday, January 30. She had to be put to rest from advanced complications of Canine Diabetes. This family is suffering greatly from the loss of their Abby. They are blaming themselves for not seeing she had a problem sooner. We all miss signs of problems. If our four legged kids could only talk, it would be much easier.

I have spent some time researching Canine Diabetes since yesterday afternoon. The common thread in all the information I can find about this devastating disease is that the only hope of extending the life and helping the quality of life for dogs with diabetes is early detection and treatment. Do you know the signs? Do you know what I missed? The increased amount of water she was drinking was a huge sign.

This takes me back to the article on the home page of ToyMiniAussies.net Do You Know Your Dog's Health? If you have not read it, this is a good lesson for us all. Know your dog's health before they are sick. If you are taking the time to record what is normal for your dog, you are more likely to catch problems before it is too late for your best friend. I do it, it isn't that hard to do. Please take the time to pay attention to how your furry children  are feeling, behaving, eating and drinking. Know what is normal so you know when something isn't normal. There is a print out provided for you to record information on. It is a good tool to help you see problems before it is too late. Your Veterinarian can use the information as well. They appreciate good records when trying to diagnose problems.  

Look for new articles about Canine Diabetes coming soon to Shade Tree Pets.

New litter of Toy Aussies at Fenix Toy Aussies

Mike and Vicki are the proud owners of a new litter of Toy Aussies. Shade Tree Aussies helped them get the parents of this new litter and have tried to be of assistance through the process of becoming breeders. Since this is the first litter of puppies they are learning very fast the joys and frustrations of raising babies.

Lilly and Koda litter at Fenix Toy Aussies.
They are starting to venture out! Let the games begin.

Check out the new babies at Fenix Toy Aussies

Maxine Nap Time

Maxine napping sitting up on the couch.

I asked Maxine's Mom if she was the lap dog she had hoped she would be. She replied "Maxine is wonderful. She learned how to navigate the stairs this week..She is loving the snow. She plays and romps every time she goes out. She's pretty playful, so during the day, she's not one to curl up on my lap. At night, she sleeps right beside me. At first she slept at the foot of the bed. Now she plants herself in the small of my back or right between us!"

Then she sent me this picture. She may not want to sleep in Daira's lap but here she is sitting up, as close as she get, sound to sleep! She may not be a lap dog, but I can assure you that is a happy, well adjusted, Momma's girl right there. Isn't that just the cutest thing you ever saw.

Winning Smile

Have you ever seen an Aussie smile? It is a fairly common trait in the Toy and Mini Aussies. Often people who are not familiar with the breed think they are threatening with the display of the pearly whites, but generally speaking it is more a sign of submission or joy. If you have an Aussie who smiles it is pretty easy to teach them to do it on command. Every time they smile at you, say "Smile" and reward them with "Good dog, boy, girl" and lots of pets. Soon you will be able to show off your new trick where ever you take your hairy children. I personally like to have them smile at drive thru bank tellers, fast food service people and at the Lowe's cashiers.

What? You have never seen a Toy or Mini Aussie smile. Well, it just so happens that Itty Bitty from Carousel Aussies was captured showing off her very big grin just recently.

Itty Bitty is a Tiny Toy or Micro Aussie.
She loves to show off that winning smile!

Don't forget to to take your four legged kids to vet for an annual check up. While you are there, ask them about the condition of your babies teeth. Dental care can extend the years you have to share with them and can improve a case of bad breath.

Baxter and Reggie on Vacation

Left to Right; Hailey, Baxter, Reggie, Marissa
hanging out in the motel after a day romping at the beach.

"The boys are SO glad to be home! They are back to their "normal" selves, eating and sleeping and romping! I really was glad they did so well in the car and at the hotels. Would recommend travel with them again... might just be the breed that does well, might be the dogs, don't know, but they made believers out of me as far as taking dogs on vacation! I had a lot of nay-sayers, thought we were out of our minds taking them; boy were they surprised too." By Karin

We here at Shade Tree Aussies always take at least 2 of the hairy kids with us when ever we are away from home for even one night. The size of the Toy or Mini Aussie makes them perfect travel companions. Give them lots of rides in the car or truck and you will soon have willing travelers. The are so naturally protective that I just feel safer with my little body guards along for the ride. There are many hotels and motels that allow pets these days.

Aussies are family committed companions. They don't do well away from their people. Please consider traveling with yours. You both will be very surprised at how easy it is.