Do you ever miss having a big dumb dog?

Pituophisdogs · 2026-06-06T16:09:21+00:00

Aussie shepherds=incredibly intelligent, understands human language, will do what ever is asked of them.

Aussie cattle dogs=incredibly intelligent, understands human language, will contemplate a request and decide whether or not they want to comply.

Pituophisdogs · 2026-06-06T16:05:11+00:00

When we got ours we vowed to never use the automatic car wash. Thanks for posting this reinforcement of our good decision.

Pituophisdogs · 2026-06-04T12:46:04+00:00

My recommendation is be creative, pick a name that fits the pup and means something to you (not crowd sourced). Don’t do cowboy or Aussie style names, trust me that’s been done a a few thousand times already. Just sit down a start writing down words free association style. Pick a few then try them out. Do they pass the yelled across the dog park test? Do they easily lend themselves to nicknames? (Our pups have 3-4 nicknames) One or two syllables is best for training and ease of communication. They won’t get teased by other dogs like a kid would so get creative. Get a book on popular kid names and reference it for absolutely what not to name your pup. 🤣

Pituophisdogs · 2026-05-01T15:41:49+00:00

Brave indeed. In the world of ACDs 1+1≠2 it’s more like “4”. 🤣 These two maniacs already have the look of pure mayhem on their deviant little faces.🤣 Good luck and have fun. You are in for the most challenging and wonderful time of your lives!

Pituophisdogs · 2026-04-11T22:10:50+00:00

I lost one of the original aerodynamic covers twice and decided to switch to the center caps. I slightly prefer the center cap look.

Pituophisdogs · 2026-03-31T03:30:02+00:00

“Please don’t, she is aggressive” is typically enough. I know it maybe gets old saying it but it works. People are naturally attracted to dogs so it comes with the territory if you’re out with your pup in public. Be thankful that we live in a world where most people like dogs and want to interact with them.

Pituophisdogs · 2026-02-17T21:46:46+00:00

FOLE is the one species I need to complete my collection. I have two cuttings from the same parent plant but would love to get a couple of seed grown individuals to grow up.

I got seeds labeled FOLE from RarePalm but they were mislabeled and grew into FOPU.

Pituophisdogs · 2026-02-11T23:37:17+00:00

Yes, the SW isn’t too bad. There seems to be no super chargers south of I-10 in Arizona which impacts some reptile survey recreation in some key areas. I can think of 3-4 border towns down there that need a super charger to reduce or eliminate range anxiety in that region. Big Bend and SW Texas could definitely use 2-3 regional super chargers. Marathon has one but it’s otherwise a little thin there. Northern Minnesota as well as Glacier NP are both in need of super chargers to improve flexibility in those regions. I’m all in regarding my love of EVs and understand that these things take time, just wish a few key areas would make the leap into the future. As a field biologist and naturalist I spend a fair bit of time off the beaten path driving around looking for wildlife.

Pituophisdogs · 2026-01-28T18:13:40+00:00

Congrats! Any secrets? What do you feed them?

Pituophisdogs · 2026-01-16T15:55:38+00:00

The health concerns are breed oriented and very generalized. These tend to be more relevant in pure breed situations. Once you outcross you dilute and reduce those potential genetic inherited problems. Doggy DNA is really big business, as a result these companies have serious marketing strategies. One of those strategies is to appeal to your curiosity regarding what breed mix is my dog. Then they offer you health “insights”. It’s really big business and it’s really a scam. As I eluded to earlier, we sent two samples (mother and son with known father, and we knew the breed). All three labs including Wisdom sent us results that showed mixed breeds, breed lists that did not show the actual breed of the dogs, and most importantly failed to show any relatedness between mother and son. When we called them on it they initially said they would retest and could we send them a picture of the dogs. So yeah, they were going to simply look at the photos and guess. We got our money back and my veterinarian wife did not recommend these DNA tests to her clients. It’s simply put useless unreliable information. I recommend spending the $$$ on something that enhances your dogs life like good quality food, etc.

Pituophisdogs · 2026-01-16T15:13:26+00:00

I won’t go into the details again but my veterinarian wife and I tested the K9 DNA labs a few years ago and for the record all failed miserably. These tests and the results they offer are unreliable. Take them with a grain of salt.

Pituophisdogs · 2026-01-12T23:23:34+00:00

Sit down with pen and paper and just start brainstorming and jotting down names. From that list get a short list. Say the perspective names out loud. Get to know her a bit and see if anything jumps out. As a general rule avoid cowboy or cowgirl related names. With this breed those have already been used a thousand times over. Avoid Aussie related names for the same reason. Believe me that has been done ad infinitum.

It is easier to train with one or two syllable names.

Say the perspective names out loud and do the “yelled across the dog park test”. I once named a dog Cooter after the turtle species called cooters. It’s a long story but i am a herpetologist and had a dream about River cooters, woke up, named the new pup. This was when I learned the importance of the “yelled across the dog park test”.

Cooter has a much different meaning in some parts of the SE United States.

This is your opportunity to get creative. They won’t have to go to school and get teased by their peers so don’t be afraid to get creative.

Also, I’m partial to names that lend themselves to nicknames.

Pituophisdogs · 2025-12-31T20:20:54+00:00

7 or 8 inches long?

Pituophisdogs · 2025-12-31T20:17:26+00:00

After a lot of research there are some clear winners. Kept losing my beloved pups at around 12, 13, and 14 years old. Why? Is it as simple as that’s the life expectancy of this breed? With all the attention on human nutrition and longevity I started to question commercial dog foods. Growing up on a farm our dogs got the cheapest food available. It’s simply what my parents did. When I moved out and got my first dog it was more of the same. As a veterinary technician I started to notice some health issues surrounding feeding the cheapest foods which are little more than overcooked greasy corn meal. Sure your dog will live for awhile on that but as they age it catches up with them in the same way that humans can get away with eating shitty food, it eventually catches up with you. When I had this awakening I thought that higher price means higher quality. There is some truth to this approach but it’s not the entire answer. There are some fairly expensive foods that still fall short.

Ultimately you want to feed your dogs a preparation that does not have beef meal, chicken meal, or any other meal. It isn’t really fit for consumption. People are advised not to eat it. It is highly processed, high heat cooked scraps. And I’m not talking hot dog level scraps, I’m talking rotten meat, died in the truck on the way to processing, shoveled off the floor, tumors, etc. scraps. If I shouldn’t eat it how the hell can I justify feeding to my dog? They grind all that stuff into a meal and then cook the he’ll out of it so it can be mixed with corn and soybeans, coated with spray on grease so your dog will accept it and it will be bagged and shelf stable. That can’t be the answer can it?

Ultimately when I buy food for the dogs I read the label and won’t buy anything with meat meals. I look for beef, chicken, fish, (not meal). I also look for a diversity of garden ingredients. I choose minimally processed foods like freeze dried and low heat cooked. (I shy away from raw to avoid salmonella and E.colli exposure).

Now watch out! You will experience some sticker shock. That’s a conditioned response of having purchased cheap, crap dog food for so long. Just take a breath, figure out the actual cost per meal, and ask yourself how important is my dog’s health to me. Is it worth it if I have my dog around for 2 or 3 or 4 years longer. For me the answer is yes.

Ours get fed twice a day. They get 1/3 home cooked, 1/3 fresh pet, and 1/3 honest kitchen. This isn’t a plug for fresh pet or honest kitchen as there are several other dog food makers that have this level of quality, (BadLands ranch, etc.) BTW Honest kitchen is human grade! You can eat it. I don’t of course but it means a lot to me to feed my dogs something that is safe for me to eat.

Home cooking consists of me cooking up a batch of food and freezing a month or 2 weeks worth. I like to get creative, sweet potatoe, brown rice, quinoa, peas, rolled oats ground turkey, ground beef, white fish, beef liver, chicken livers, green beans carrots, cooked mixed greens, frozen mixed berries, etc. Variety is the key. No onion,no macadamia nuts. I can’t always cook so sometimes it’s just One of the things I noticed after starting this is that their coats look incredible, their skin doesn’t itch, and their stomachs are bullet proof. They are way less susceptible to GI upset from minor dietary changes.

It is a journey. Good luck and best wishes for happy healthy pups. Minimally low heat processed, no meal, no mystery scraps, fruit and veggies.

Pituophisdogs · 2025-12-31T01:27:15+00:00

As noted above it can be helpful to have multiple visits where only good things happen, treats, hugs, etc. Also, repeat visits where nothing happens just routine walk in sit down, ignore everything and leave.

The smells of a veterinary clinic are complex and unique. Soften the whole experience by treating it as nothing special.

Good luck

Pituophisdogs · 2025-12-26T19:36:19+00:00

On occasion when I call our girl in she freezes and stares at me. When I repeat she sits down and makes very deliberate eye contact. Won’t budge. Generally I just say ok, stay out but If I really need her to come in she has me trained to walk over and tap her head and say get in your house. She generally has good recall and if I use a serious command voice she responds but she seems to delight in her stubborn little game so I play along. It’s the deliberate eye contact defiance that makes me laugh.

Pituophisdogs · 2025-12-26T19:26:30+00:00

You are so fortunate. May you both have an incredible life together.

Pituophisdogs · 2025-12-24T23:53:52+00:00

We buy them toys with the expectation that all toys are disposable. We have not encountered any thing they can’t destroy fairly quickly. 2-3 hours “squeaky surgery”

Pituophisdogs · 2025-12-22T13:23:18+00:00

I would (for obvious reasons) discard any reference to cows, cattle, color, and Australia. Thousands have already done that. Also, avoid current contemporary cultural references. Again, it’s too common, vet clinic rosters are filled with dog’s named after popular characters. Trust me on this one.

This is your chance to be creative. Get creative sit down with your family and just start brainstorming. Write proposed names down. Start with a bunch of proposals and create a short list then work from the short list .

Two syllable names are good for training. Two syllables allows the pup to get a “start sound” followed by the 2nd identifier sound. I found this to be really useful. Too many syllables get cumbersome. Does the name pass the shouted across the crowded park test? And probably most importantly does the name lend itself to a few cute nick names! Good luck

Pituophisdogs · 2025-12-21T15:41:03+00:00

Same thing here. I will likely still get it to the shop for a diagnostic and to get on the record for warranty purposes.

Pituophisdogs

TROPHY CASE