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An octopus!! as far as I know, those are pretty good escapees! they can squeeze themselves through the tiniest holes.... 

@jazzy22  beautiful dogs and very nice to read more about them!

Octopus -- eight-armed hugs.  Albeit a bit slimy...  

lolol love your pups jazzy I am a BIG animal fan love all animals  do you know what breed wedge is? and an octopus????  that would definitly be different :))

yes, they are master escape artists so the tank would have to be secure. I asked her what they ate, how often, what they needed in their habitat to be a successful environment, how much to buy the tank, the octopus, the feed, calculate the monthly cost, etc.

If she accepts the challenge, and it is a reasonable/affordable amount, I have no objection to an octopus. Better than the reticulated python she wants.

Marly, Wedge is a double merle. 

Double Merles are a result of irresponsible breeders breeding merle to merle.  Some breeds, like Australian Shepherd, have solid and merle (solid coat and patched coat/merle).  The merle gene is what gives certain breeds a patched (or patterned) coat.  When merle is bred to merle, 25% of pups will be born solid or mostly white, and be deaf, blind or both.  Breeders do this to get a higher percentage of patched coats in the litter, which are more popular -- then kill off the solid white pups.  Responsible breeders breed merle to solid (like solid aussie to patched aussie), which gives a 50/50 of each in the litter.  Certain rescues are trying to save these pups from the irresponsible breeders who have a practice of just culling the whites (or lethal whites as they call them) to get more merles. 

Wedge is mostly Aussie (double merle and deaf), and was set to be killed as a pup before a rescue saved him.

Here's an easier explanation (it's short):

Unbelievably, the ASCA (Australian Shepherd Club of America) used to have this on their website (maybe it still is?):

"Cull those white-factored puppies at birth, and then forget them and enjoy your healthy, sound litter."



Okay, I'll stop now.  This is just an issue that makes me sooo angry.  All those loving pups...


...people ask me a simple question, and they get a novel.  lol 

p.s.  There is a rescue here in Ottawa (Canada) who seek out double merles and rescue them.  Wedge actually came from Kentucky!

Can we put videos in this thread, Tookie?  Sorry if we are supposed to keep them to the video thread.   

Look at me -- triple posting.  Yeeehaaaa!  

I figured as much, baw, but thought I'd check.  Thanks.  

oh ok thanks for all the info I did not know all that :)

I didn't know that either. What an awful practice for breeders to do and for it to be acceptable/recommended by an organization is unconscionable

Since Wedge is deaf, does he has any special needs you have to do for him or does he take his cues from Bailey?

Kentucky is known for a lot of good things...glad Wedge is one of them!

Haha, Tookie!

Pups, we trained Wedge with hand signals (you just make up the hand signals you want for each command).  It wasn't too difficult mainly because of Bailey.  When we would do the hand signals to teach Wedge, we would speak the command as well with Bailey beside him.  Wedge picked up to do what Bailey did (treats were a good incentive to follow the leader)-- and now he knows the hand signals on his own.

We have hand signals for sit, come, NO, good boy, lie down, shake paw, go outside?, shhhh, and more. He picked it up very quickly.  Good boy! *thumbs up hand signal*