Hello! I was invited here by a member (thanks!)

I thought I would introduce myself. My name is Ann and I am a dog lover. More so than that, I am also an experienced dog owner and I make my living as a dog groomer. What a wonderful job! I own my own little business and it's going well. My shop has been at the same location for over 10 years now and I have no intention of moving!   

I am 55 years old, married for over 20 years (to the same man -  ) and I live in Canada (in the province of Ontario to be a little more precise). Over the years we have had beagles, a black Lab mix, Border Collies (and mixes) and an Australian Shepherd. The mixes were all rescues (as was one of the beagles and the Aussie). The others are purebred (some with, some with, some without papers). We have never been wanting to breed dogs so I do the responsible thing and get them spayed and/or neutered. I am debating on whether or not to neuter my Border Collie puppy (he is 8 months old) because he shows fabulous herding instinct (comes from working parentage and is "papered" with the Canadian Border Collie Association) or whether to allow his breeder to use him as a stud dog. We have NO "non breeding contract" but I would never consider breeding to any dog but one of hers. I will likely just get him neutered once he is full grown.

I have a number of "pet peeves" which I am sure will be easily recognizable as I get familiar with how this forum works.

Peeve # 1 - Back Yard Breeders and Puppy Mills (unacceptable in my books)
Peeve # 2 - Designer Dog "breed" names - Darn it all, they are NOT a breed! Refer to Peeve # 1.
Peeve # 3 - People who ask questions where the answer is obvious (to anyone who knows dogs)
Peeve # 4 - Irresponsible dog owners

I am a bit of a "smart a**" at times. It comes from years of Yahoo! Answers where people keep asking questions like "I think my dog is pregnant. What should I do?" GGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRR     ....Where were you BEFORE this happened??? Or "Should I breed my teacup micro Yorkie?"....really?

Three are those of you here that will probably like me and some that will not. I can live with that. Before I can form any opinion as to the website I will need to learn how to navigate it. I hope that we can all enjoy good discussions.

I am going to try to post a picture of my dogs..... however, I haven't figured that out yet! I will likely use it in my "profile" if this site allows it.

Have a great day (or, in your case) night!

Hello Ann, glad you could join us! What a great intro, thank you.

Your pet peeves are also mine & from looking through Yahoo Answers I can see why you get frustrated at times.

Take your time & work your way round the forum. We're young yet, but we'll grow & I'm sure we'll find you a useful member of our community.

Hi and welcome! To be honest, from what you've said in your introduction, it seems like you share a lot of the same opinions as we do, particularly in regards to BYB and puppy mills.

One of our members very kindly typed up a guide on how to post pictures, so that should help!

https://allbreedsdogforum.forumotion.co.uk/t240-how-to-use-photobucket-to-post-pictures

Lovely to meet you Borders Rock!

Do take your time to find your way around the forum - we don't pressurise people here - and if you still find problems in posting photos just let us know and we'll help you further.

Welcome!   

Looking forward to seeing some photos - Border Collies were my first breed!   There are some pics of them in the Dog Breeds - Border Collies forum.

Hello Ann
Welcome to the forum  

hi ann from me and the boys

welcome to the forum

hello Ann - welcome looking forward to seeing lots of pics

  

Hello + welcome   

Hello and welcome to the forum from me and the kids , I grew up with Border Collie's too We lost our last boy a BC X almost 5yrs ago now and the only reason we didn't get another was because the little fella left so much of an imprint on my wife's heart she couldn't bear to get close to another , so Staffords were the way forward for us