#seagulley

Despite never in my life having been a big terrier aficionado I have just recently started looking at them like 👀😍👀🥰 and I consider this to be 99% your fault.

So if some decades down the line my house ends up overrun with terriers well then I hope you’ll be real happy with yourself 😤

ok so 1, they meet the aesthetic criteria of "impeccably papered purebred who nevertheless looks like i pulled it out of a dumpster"

2. as we all know i have a thing for herdy breeds. i currently have 1.5 of them and like it enough that i want more.

despite this, i also have a thing for, well, edginess? nonconformity. i don't want 17 identical black bi border collies. i both want variety in my dogs AND to be a special little snowflake with a pretty princess dog :)

3. briards are tending/guarding dogs, not focused on actually MOVING the livestock (ACDs, aussies, BCs, etc) but on Keeping Them Here Thank U. they share this purpose with GSDs and beaucerons, but unlike them haven't been sharply bred for war instead. this makes their brains a fascinating place. type A personality and a tendency to Solve Problems With Biting but less of the ALL OF THAT that you get in the shepherd club.

(note: i also want some shepherdy things. i am a person of many tastes. but this is what i like about briards.)

4. haystack with Eers. or no eers, depending on ur flavor.

I have a feeling that you might have read quite a few so if there's anything you'd suggest!

before us is my full collection of Aussie-specific reading material (plus some dogs who really wanted to be involved):

Jeanne Joy's (Las Rocosa) Judging Compendium is a great place to start understanding the specifics of the Australian Shepherd standard if you have a basic understanding of conformation terminology. It was intended to help all-breed judges better understand the vague language of our standard through the lens of ✨function✨. All About Aussies (also by Jeanne Joy Hartnagle-Taylor) is more of a top-to-bottom how-to for the aspiring Aussie owner and/or breeder and suffers a little bit from "written by a stock dog person in the 80s" disease but it's pretty interesting from a historical perspective.

Paula McDermid's (Bainbridge) Unforgettable Aussies books are basically illustrated pedigrees for some of the biggest producers in the breed's history with commentary from contemporary breeders; if you own a well bred Aussie, I can almost guarantee you'll find photos of relatives in both of these volumes. (These were the kinds of books that dominated my childhood and ignited my love of dogs; I know way more than I need to about collies.) Notable Dune relatives featured include: Brigadoon's One Arrogant Dude (volume 1, pg 70-85); Broadway's Blaze of Glory (volume 2, pg 30-55 & also spotlights Dune's sire, grandsire, and half-brother on pg 40); McMatt's EZ Going and McMatt's EZ Victor (volume 2, pg 110-153); and Oprah Winfree of Heatherhill (volume 2, pg 166-181).

63) What’s your favorite piece of dog gear you own?

75) Share your favorite picture of your dog

52) What are some goals you have for your dog?

right now just focusing on her recovery... i think the goal is for her to go back to being accompanying me on everything, pain-free this time

63) What's your favorite piece of dog gear that you own?

THIS COLLAR that sadly didn't fit her comfortably and rubbed her fur way too much

75) Share your favorite picture of your dog

easy! this is one of my favorite pics ever and it was so much fun too... we rarely get snow in south texas

25 was Movement by Hozier

50 was Tempt My Trouble by Bishop Briggs

70 was Ragged Wood by Fleet Foxes

100 was Say So by Doja Cat

Thanks so much for asking!

Tagging @seagulley who also sent an ask about this. Short video example with written explanation under the cut.