hmmm, pretty cool if you ask me!

Now way mine would win any obedience, he can do it all, but when it's needed he pretends he doesn't know what i am talking about!!!! drives me nuts.

Now, your black 'leader', out of interest he must be the pack leader for the rest to so willingly follow? Did you make this happen, or was this just a natural thing? (I know mine follow my female, she is the natural leader)

Do you think your black one knows the others have a disability? Or is he oblivious. I guess there is alot more body language in dogs anyway, so hearing isn't THAT important?
I would be interested to see them in action, what they do as a pack.

They dont actualy have a single pack leader, not since my old girl passed away [ she was a true Alpha - much as I hate using the terminology because its so widely misunderstood and used too often as some sort of fashionable `techy` word - as she ruled with a velvet paw - true Alphas are not about shows of dominance contrary to popular belief :smt002 ]

When she passed away there was some disarray for a little while as none were confident enough to take on the `role` so instead they have their own strengths in different areas and whichever is `best` in one area will bow to another in a different scenario [ hope that reads in an understandable way lol ].

My black girl, [ Gremlin ], was described by her abusers as `an untrainable imbecile` but she took totally naturally to the role of hearing dog, also to SAR exercises [ I did volunteer to do SAR with her but she was deemed too old to start the training even though she has a completely natural ability at it She enjoys the set-ups I put on for her just cos she loves the `job`, and someone else in SAR recently told me she should never have been turned down based on age when her ability was so clear ], plus she is a great Guard and Protection dog [ not many Collies proficient in Protection I dont think lol ].

IOW, she is exceptionally bright and I just utilised her natural traits and abilities for the things she does [ and enjoys ] the most :smt001
No agility with her though - she doesnt think its ladylike enough for her to do :smt005

Dogs [ and other animals ] do seem to know when another has a disability, illness or infirmity and when bonded as a unit they do tend to naturally behave appropriately for them, [ as opposed to a mother killing her young sometimes because of an abnormality which their instincts sometimes kick in for, for instance ].

As a unit, when Gremlin gives off a `warning` that someone might be about [ for instance ], the others will start barking with her because her body language is like a visual alarm to them plus indoors they can feel the vibration of her barking [ so can I - she has a very piercing bark lol ], then when she stops, they stop. They do all look to her for things like that.

At least 80% of all canine communication is visual anyway so, [ I`ve said this many times over the years lol ], why on earth do so many dog owners only use the 20% of available communication with their dogs which can hear :smt002

All my agility students have to do some exercises and complete courses in silence some times :smt077 and their dogs do much better that way because the handler is communicating much more clearly to them visually, without the voice `nagging away` and getting cue timing wrong etc.
My eldest deaf lad is the best teacher of all for them on that, when they do an exercise with him first then in silence with their own dogs :smt002

Sorry guys, for going so off topic, but as you can see I have this conversation a lot from the initial ` your dog is deaf ?` which I get everywhere I go [ and am very happy to keep having for aforementioned reasons :smt002 ]

sorry for being sooooooo stupid but i have never heard of a sibe?? can you tell me a bit about them? also I have a film called 8 below about malamutes/huskies and they refer to the huskies as keets can anyone educate me on that one? I think there's so much to learn on dogs and once you know it all ( then what) ?????

Sibes is short for Siberian Huskies, never heard of keets? I dont really refer to my Sibes as huskies because that can lead people to believe they are crosses when they are not. You can find out all about Sibes and some other breeds in the dog breeds section heres the link to Sibes

http://www.dogsey.com/siberian-husky.htm

I dont think anyone will ever know all about dogs would be nice if I did though

thanks Donna, will not look daft should they come up in conversation at a dog show. you learn something new every day.

Yes! Very annoying. People say to me "are you sure he's a staffy" errrrrrm just because he's black and tan! What do you think........

I actually passed someone in the street the other day and I heard them say "oh look! I saw a rottweiler puppy like that the other day" Ho hum!

I used to get this sort of thing with my old rescue dog Keiser who was a bull mastiff but due to being starved and beaten as a pup was very very small so everyone thought he was a boxer, personaly alien would be more fitting for the old kodger. will try to post a pic of him soon. he was on the verg of being pts when i took him, he had had 5 homes in his short 18 months of life and someone took an iron bar to his back end, smashing his leg,hip, and tail right up to the base of the spine!!! after 6 months the dog was fine he did not wee if you stood up quickly stopped freeking out at you carrying something in your hand, he made my then 10 year old son very happy.

the worst thing is when someone who knows the breed gets it wrong, because the owners of the dog have something that is to say the least 'strange'.
Walking in my local town centre one lunch time with a friend who also knows the sibes well. Saw a couple with a malamute puppy, well it was the right size and build to the ones I have previously met and loved at rallies, and said how wonderful the pup was. Then was dumbfounded to have them respond that yes they loved their sibe to bits!! There is a huge difference between a sibe and a malamute, and I love both breeds although I only have sibes. Even my friend was stunned to silence. The paperwork on that one would have been interesting. At this point I decided not to say anything as it would have only upset the couple. Embarrassing moment though!

yes i really gets up my nose people think metz is a collie cross just because she is black and not big built but they must be blind she looks like a typical gsd

Well at the moment everyone says our older boy is a sibe (which he is) but get this because he has blue eyes our pup (7 month old) is a chunkier build and has brown eyes and is therefore deemed by all as being a malamute :s