# Meet Zuri, my new ****** puppy



## KristiM (Oct 18, 2011)

Okay, okay so not a GSD but who doesn't like puppy pics?? After searching high and low for a breed that fit everything I wanted I stumbled across *******. They are an Australian herding breed, not very common in North America. I am so glad I found them, I was having a really hard time finding what I was looking for and they seemed to fit all of my criteria! So far I am absolutely in love with her!!! She has TONS of personality and is scary smart! Lots of drive, loves to play LOVES, to tug, excellent focus, very thoughtful etc etc. Anyways here are some pictures

(oh and Odin also thinks she is pretty cool!)


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## Rei (Oct 10, 2008)

So cool! I'm a huge fan of the breed, and I know you are going to have a TON of fun with her. Is she an Avalon dog? 

BTW you should hop back on the all breed board you joined a while back! One of my friends there got a Koolie baby from Australia, plus there are 4 others plus one or two part time C/Koolies frequenting the forum


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

What a cutie! I hope you have many years of fun together and she stays healthy throughout


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## KristiM (Oct 18, 2011)

Yes she's from Avalon  LOVE her breeder, had a totally excellent experience in getting this pup! I have been meaning to post there....Zuri has been keeping me crazy busy though and I'm like super dumb when it comes to posting pics and stuff lol. 

Health is actually one of the big reasons I went to this breed apparently their average life expectancy is 17!


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## Carriesue (Aug 13, 2012)

Aww what a cutie! I've never heard of this breed before so thank you for introducing them to me, lol.  I too have been researching and researching my next dog, specifically herding breeds(they are my favorite) and these dogs sound right up my ally! I just got sucked into agility but I also do herding, lure coursing and I'd like to try flyball someday.

What can you tell me about their temperaments? And wow 17 average lifespan, that's wonderful! I will always have a GSD but me personally I don't want to have two large dogs at the same time.

Anyways, keep us posted with pics I'd love to watch her grow! If you get a flickr account it's super easy to post pics, just choose the appropriate size pic for the forum then copy and paste the BBcode. Photobucket works well too, I just find flickr's user face easier to deal with.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

sooo CUTE congrats on your new addition


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## ShenzisMom (Apr 27, 2010)

Congrats! 

Btw, Zuri means cute in Swahili =) (I named most of my animals after the lion king...lol) I think she lives up to her name!


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## Rei (Oct 10, 2008)

KristiM said:


> Yes she's from Avalon  LOVE her breeder, had a totally excellent experience in getting this pup! I have been meaning to post there....Zuri has been keeping me crazy busy though and I'm like super dumb when it comes to posting pics and stuff lol.
> 
> Health is actually one of the big reasons I went to this breed apparently their average life expectancy is 17!


Very neat! I really like the look of the Avalon dogs. One of the members on the other forum runs an in home boarding business and she takes care of a gorgeous little Avalon ******. 



Carriesue said:


> Aww what a cutie! I've never heard of this breed before so thank you for introducing them to me, lol.  I too have been researching and researching my next dog, specifically herding breeds(they are my favorite) and these dogs sound right up my ally! I just got sucked into agility but I also do herding, lure coursing and I'd like to try flyball someday.
> 
> What can you tell me about their temperaments? And wow 17 average lifespan, that's wonderful! I will always have a GSD but me personally I don't want to have two large dogs at the same time.
> 
> Anyways, keep us posted with pics I'd love to watch her grow! If you get a flickr account it's super easy to post pics, just choose the appropriate size pic for the forum then copy and paste the BBcode. Photobucket works well too, I just find flickr's user face easier to deal with.


Of course Kristi will be able to provide much better answers than I could, but check out this website if you haven't already: Welcome to the Koolie Club

From what I've heard, they're fun, FUN dogs. Definitely drivey with great sport dog potential. They aren't lacking in intensity and can probably fixate on something and become obsessive if you let them, but they're not neurotic and generally stable in temperament. They seem to be very in tune to their owners but they are not hypersensitive when it comes to their surroundings, and can be great dogs to take around and about. 

What else? Oh yeah. Apparently they are LOUD. That's one of the reasons why I never looked too far into the breed... and I've got a very vocal GSD. 

Here are a few links to the all breed board I mentioned in an earlier post. Do keep in mind, though, that most of what I've heard comes from (Australian) Koolie owners who've all gotten their dogs from the same kennel/lines. Which herding dog? Thread 1 and Thread 2. More C/Koolie information from C/Koolie owners here and here.


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## sparra (Jun 27, 2011)

Cute pup!!

Our neighbors have a Koolie......she is a pretty handy sheep dog.....they LOVE to work so if you could get her around some sheep that would be lots of fun for you.


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## Carriesue (Aug 13, 2012)

Rei said:


> Very neat! I really like the look of the Avalon dogs. One of the members on the other forum runs an in home boarding business and she takes care of a gorgeous little Avalon ******.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Awesome thanks! All this info makes my head spin, lol... Though I know that I have ZERO interest in ACD's. My GSD is silent, he never barks like ever but I do live with a Pom so I should be able to deal with it. 

So what is the difference between German ******* and Australian Koolies?? :help:


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## sparra (Jun 27, 2011)

They are the same breed.....they are trying to get rid of the "german" as it is not a German breed and confusing.....they are Australian.


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## KristiM (Oct 18, 2011)

Sorry! I'll post more about the breed a little later as soon as I get a chance! (Did I mention she keeps me busy lol)


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

A lady that comes to our place for lure coursing has one. She is being trained as a Human Remains Search dog. The little thing is SCARY smart!!


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## KristiM (Oct 18, 2011)

REI was pretty much on the money with the temperament. I really chose the breed over other herding breeds for a few reasons. I really like that they are exuberant, I find a lot of the herding breeds are very internal, they seem like they are a loaded spring, always coiled up but you never really know what they are thinking or if they are actually having fun. Does that makes sense? Malinois and Border Collies very much tend to be like this, they love work but are very intense and serious about it. I prefer a dog that is expressive and shows great joy in everything they do (a lot of GSDs are like this) ******* are very happy workers and have a smile on their face in everything they do.

They also are supposed to have a very good off switch and should be able to just chill with you by the camp fire after a day of hiking vs a dog that is always on no matter what you provide them with. Also from everyone I have talked to there is virtually no aggression issues in the breed. I really wanted a dog that I could take ANYWHERE without having to worry about it. I really looked into kelpies too but pretty much everyone described them as "edgy" so that was a deal breaker.

Umm loudness.....well so far Zuri is about 10x louder than any other puppy I've had so ya I'm thinking that is true. I totally don't mind a barky dog so not a big deal for me They do sound to me to be very similar to Aussies, minus the body checking that aussies tend to do and a few other small things. I would have gone with an Australian Shepherd but I lost my aussie a year ago in a terrible accident and couldn't bring myself to get another one. I wanted something similar but different (and I wanted a dog with a tail!)

And smartness! I can teach Zuri a simple trick in one three minute session, a more complicated trick in two sessions. She really is scary smart! She is also very thoughtful, thinks before she does stuff and is very reasonable. But I have heard that not all ******* are like this, I specifically asked for a thoughtful, reasonable dog.

Sorry for the novel! I talked to A LOT of people about the breed before getting one (tough to commit to a breed when you have only met ONE in person lol) so far she is everything I wanted and more, I just love her personality! She is also great for Odin, he is so happy with his new puppy lol. And she will be a really nice size, around 18 inches and 30 pounds. I also didn't want to do 2 large dogs again and I wanted something that was athletic enough to hike for 8 hours on a Saturday and go to flyball practice on Sunday.


ETA: yes German ******* and Australian Koolies are the same breed. German is the traditional name since the breed was developed by German settlers in Australia but yah, totally confusing since they are not German. Some call theirs German some Australian, the breeder I got Zuri from goes with German so I guess that's what I call her lol.


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