After recently taking our spoilt, a little overweight english bull terrier who always gets mistaken for the pitbull variety and people think she will kill them (maybe if licking to death counts) to the pound for an overnighter I saw a dog there who was spending 6 months while its owners were away and I thought how pleased I was to have taken our dog (Ebony) around Aus with us because she would have some stories to tell if she could talk. She licked a seal in Albany, fell in love with a donkey at Wauchope(NT), developed a liking for oysters in streaky bay and now loves a good kilpatrick, ran free on cable beach ( the non tourist end towards the racecourse), got chased by a bull near Daly Waters where she politely posed for pictures for the tourists in the trailer behind the Harley. And if we wanted a dog free day or night there were plenty of great kennels to put her in for a few hours or overnight along the way so we could do some sightseeing or have a night out. I also got the travelling with pets book which came in very handy as we were in a three man tent so tended to stay in parks rather than the side of the road. She is now getting a little old (arent we all) and has a little arthritis but she is excited about the next trip and has been sitting out beside the camper trailer a couple of hours every day since we cleaned it last week knowing a trip is on the horizon. She was exhausted every night after travelling with her head poked out the top of her trailer taking in the view  and would crawl into the tent by 7pm and not move till sunrise. So if you can take the dog do it because they like us like a little adventure too

what a great posting and so damn true, good on you for that, enjoyed reading every word, thanks, I couldnt go 6 months without our little buddies 

weird isn't it? I'd happily leave SWMBO in her mothers care for 5 years but I doubt that I could leave my dog for more than a few nights....
I think society is becoming more aware of dogs generally, the benifits they give to mankind, I know a cuppla restaurants that have out doors areas that are dog friendly, NSW has just introduced "Companion Dog Legislation" (though the NSW Parliament is in uproar) and since microchipping dogs and cats became de rigour they can now be quickly reunited with their owners. I don't believe that there are too many "Bad" dogs out there but there are some real richard head dog owners.

yep agree fully with all of that, we came home through copley and whilst travelling through we could not pass the copley bakery, an elderly couple were having a brunch type thing under the side shade section and I noticed a big old chocolate lab, he seen me and immediately came across to me and put his paw on my lap, I shook his hand and gave him a pat, he gave me a big old lick and laid down beside me, the owners apologised profusely and said he had never aproached anybody before and immediately tried to call him back, he would not go, we got to talking (it's what I do best) it turned out that the lovely people had lost their son (dont know how didnt ask)  apparently I reminded the old dog of him, the son and the dog were inseperable, I spent quite a bit of time with the old dog as we ate our lunch, and I am bloody sure this helped the parents as they started chatted to me about their son, the wound was still fresh, talking about it helped them immediately, the old man gave me a hug as we left for home and the lady had tears in her eyes, dogs have a sixth sense and I am damn sure this ole one singled me out for this reason, dont ever downgrade your dogs inteligence, they are smarter than us, when was the last time you seen a pack of dogs at war

dave06 wrote:

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yep agree fully with all of that, we came home through copley and whilst travelling through we could not pass the copley bakery, an elderly couple were having a brunch type thing under the side shade section and I noticed a big old chocolate lab, he seen me and immediately came across to me and put his paw on my lap, I shook his hand and gave him a pat, he gave me a big old lick and laid down beside me, the owners apologised profusely and said he had never aproached anybody before and immediately tried to call him back, he would not go, we got to talking (it's what I do best) it turned out that the lovely people had lost their son (dont know how didnt ask)  apparently I reminded the old dog of him, the son and the dog were inseperable, I spent quite a bit of time with the old dog as we ate our lunch, and I am bloody sure this helped the parents as they started chatted to me about their son, the wound was still fresh, talking about it helped them immediately, the old man gave me a hug as we left for home and the lady had tears in her eyes, dogs have a sixth sense and I am damn sure this ole one singled me out for this reason, dont ever downgrade your dogs inteligence, they are smarter than us, when was the last time you seen a pack of dogs at war

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Yes..... Dogs are pretty smart, basically they do what they were put on the planet to do and do it very well. Even in a pack situation each knows it's place and knows who to fight and who not to. It's when homo sapiens started to elect leaders we got into trouble...

My dog Deefer thinks he is a 4 legged human, like he wants to sit at the table and talk. He makes a rrrrr, rrrrr ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sound, then like a person he tries to open the fridge. Life without him (& like, he actually is my ex's dog) would be very boring.

thats the very sound I make at meal times there ashely, great looking dog