# Drake - Australian Shepherd



## jbuck92 (Sep 28, 2011)

As some of y'all may know, I was going to meet with an Aussie today. It was an interesting encounter..

I got to the breeder's farm at about 11:00 this morning. Drake (along with 15-20 other Aussies) was being kept in a long run. It's been raining a lot and the run was nothing but mud. Drake was completely covered with matted fur. The guy washed him off for me and then we had him interact with my girlfriends mini dachshund. 

He is the most well behaved, docile dog I think I have ever seen. I immediately knew that I would be keeping him! 

His overall condition, however, is horrendous. He is probably 10-15 lbs underweight. Each of his ribs and both hip bones. His fur was beyond matted. I took him to be groomed today and they had to shave him fairly short. It's to the point that I am considering reporting the breeder. He was completely malnourished! I'll be posting pictures regularly of his progress! He's definitely in a better home now!


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## luv2byte (Oct 21, 2009)

Considering? Sounds like it necessary.


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## jbuck92 (Sep 28, 2011)

Here's some pictures of him. The groomer had to shave off a bit of hair in order to cure his severe matting. After the shaving, his severe weight loss was very apparent. Does anyone have any information on how I can report these breeders? They have 15-20 dogs at their farm and I doubt they have any proper licensing to have that many dogs in their possession. 


My poor boy is gonna be a short haired Aussie for a while! I'm putting him on Wellness Puppy for a little bit in an attempt to get some meat back on his bones and get some nutrients back into him. Hopefully I'll start seeing some results fairly quickly.


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## luv2byte (Oct 21, 2009)

Local ASPCA or humane society. Give them as many photos you might have, details & groomers info.


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## jbuck92 (Sep 28, 2011)

Great thank you!


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## jbuck92 (Sep 28, 2011)

Last night wasn't too bad for Drake. My kennel for him is arriving today, but he laid by my side on a bed of blankets all night long. Our other little one, Andy, however, is still adjusting. I'm thinking he'll end up being the "dominant" one between the 2. Drake has shown 0 signs of ANY aggression, food or dog. Andy has been play growling ever since we brought Drake home and he has just ignored Andy for the most. Frankly, I don't think he has the energy to play at the moment.

I'm feeding him Innova Puppy right now. He absolutely refused to eat the dry concoction of kibble I got from his previous owners. It was some random off brand stuff they mixed together: 1 40lb bag was $44 and the other was only $23 per 40lb bag if that gives y'all an idea of what he was eating. Going to start giving him about 3-3 1/4 cups a day spaced out over 4 meals a day. It's been so long since he had eaten I don't want to shock his system. 

She claimed he was UTD on all shots (did her own) but I don't trust her. Have a vet appt this evening and will be getting him tested for worms/HW, put on a proper HW preventative and have all of his shots redone just to play it safe. 

He's currently asleep on my lap and looks up inquisitively whenever I readjust my position. It may be my imagination but it feels like some of his ribs aren't quite as prominent as they were yesterday!


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

Sounds like your pup is lucky to have you. He probably will put on weight fairly fast as he may not have been able to get much food in with that many dogs and probably did not have access to clean water. It is a good idea to get his shots done as you cannot be sure that he really got them.

You are probably right about his energy level, he will probably change a lot over the next few weeks. Good luck with him at the Vet, hope he is healthy other than being thin. Let us know how you make out.


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

I know he's shaved, but his head looks wrong for purebred Aussie. Cute boy though, and he definitely needs some groceries!


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## jbuck92 (Sep 28, 2011)

Thanks for the wishes everyone!

Yea his head does look a little strange with it shaved, but before he was shaved you can tell he is a purebred Aussie. I have his registration papers with his entire pedigree as well. Can't remember what lines he came from though.. I'll have to check this evening.


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

jbuck92 said:


> Thanks for the wishes everyone!
> 
> Yea his head does look a little strange with it shaved, but before he was shaved you can tell he is a purebred Aussie. I have his registration papers with his entire pedigree as well. Can't remember what lines he came from though.. I'll have to check this evening.


I'd like to see his lines - Aussie pedigrees have been an interest of mine for 30-something years. One of my dogs is an unknown (rescue). The girls (sisters) are Justus, Crown Point, Slash V and Woods (up very close) and the boy is a combination of those and some Las Rocosa and Flintridge.


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## jbuck92 (Sep 28, 2011)

Sure. When I get back home later today I'll type it out. I have a 5 generation pedigree. As far as I could tell he didn't come from any reputable breeders, however I just glanced through it. There might be one breeder from way back, ya never know. If you are a member at theaustralianshepherd.net forums, I have an ongoing thread about him right now that you can follow. Basically, he came from a puppy mill type breeder in horrible conditions.


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## jbuck92 (Sep 28, 2011)

What's the best way for me to draw up a pedigree? I tried doing one in MS Word but it came out pretty convoluted.


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## jbuck92 (Sep 28, 2011)

If I can't figure out how to type up a good looking pedigree, I'll scan the actual document tomorrow. There's a lot of Mckays, some CL and CH in that. LOTS of Weissacre (Almost the entire g.g and g.g.g of the dam's side is Weissacre). Lots of Slydrocks as well. There's 1 Pinewoods and Las Rocosa. Couple of Madx,Circle A, TUR and Best Blue.

I don't know anything about Aussie Pedigree lines. Anything interesting from those names I listed off?


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

jbuck92 said:


> If I can't figure out how to type up a good looking pedigree, I'll scan the actual document tomorrow. There's a lot of Mckays, some CL and CH in that. LOTS of Weissacre (Almost the entire g.g and g.g.g of the dam's side is Weissacre). Lots of Slydrocks as well. There's 1 Pinewoods and Las Rocosa. Couple of Madx,Circle A, TUR and Best Blue.
> 
> I don't know anything about Aussie Pedigree lines. Anything interesting from those names I listed off?


Slydrock breeds some very nice versatility dogs. I've heard of McKays - show kennel I think. and Las Rocosa has been breeding good multipurpose Aussies since 1957. It's not unusual for bad breeders to manage to get ahold of some good bloodlines.


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## felipe (Sep 27, 2012)

Quite contrary to the fact that Aussie dogs are usually found to be very good in shape. Ignorance would have been the cause here in this case. Appreciate your effort. Try to get as much photos as possible of that. 


---------------------------------
pet sitting business


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## jbuck92 (Sep 28, 2011)

Cross-posted from The Australian Shepherd forums

Well, I've been kind of out of the loop on the boards here between work, school and playing with my new pup!

Drake has been doing much, much better overall the past 5 months (I can't believe it's only been 5 months!!). His abscess is still there, unfortunately, and I'm likely going to need to have his toe amputated (unless anyone else has other suggestions that could work. He's been on antibiotics, and I've had it lanced once already, but it just won't go away for some reason. Eve of Mithril Aussies suggested soaking it in warm water and epsom salt to try to help with the inflammation. I'll be starting that regimen later today. 

His energy is so much higher than when I first adopted him! He gets all riled up just from the mere mention of "ball" "park" or "outside". He'll fetch a ball for hours with me. He'l actually get to the point where he won't bring the ball back all the way because he's so tired, yet he'll still run if I throw it! He loves the thing! 

His weight hovers around 53-55 pounds and his coat is starting to grow out very nicely. His undercoat is starting to grow back and he's really starting to get that furball fluff to him that we all know and love! My girlfriend's miniature dachshund, Andy, gets along very well with Drake and we haven't had any issues whatsoever with them being together! 

When I get home later today I'll post some more recent pictures of him!


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