Gentle Jax

                                   

The love I have for this guy amazes me and grows every time I see him. There's just something that happens to my heart every time I see him. I know I say it about lots of dogs and it's true it happens with many of my waggin' pooches. But man, this dog can do no wrong. 

        

His name is Jax, he is a Great Dane-Lab mix. He is one of the best looking dogs I have seen. In his pictures he doesn't appear that tall, but he is. He has long slender legs, and there's not an ounce of fat on him. He is solid though, like a Dane. 

                                   

If those eyes don't fully capture your heart and don't now what could. I have never seen a dog with such kind eyes. I can never stop looking at them!!

                       

He knows how much I love him, I like to think we are best friends. He does greet me with hugs and kisses everytime I see him and tends to stay close by my side. The only hard part for me working with dogs is that we have to send them home at the end of the day when all I want to do is keep them! I am thankful that I get to borrow Jax from time to time and he will forever have a place in my heart. 

                                   

Awesome Aussies

        Australian Shepherds are becoming one of my all time favorite breeds. They range in shape, size, and color, however all have their way of winning my heart!

                             

Tally is the very first one I have ever had a relationship with. She is considered a "Texas Heeler", which is a mix between an Australian Shepherd and a Blue Heeler. She's on the medium size, with lots of fur (which she is very particular about). Her mother cut her hair on her hind legs and got very self conscious. Silly girl! She is very intelligent as well. I go for the cute factor first in dogs, but once I find out they are smart it takes my love to a whole new level. This girl learns new tricks within minutes. 

      

She is also quite the ball player! This is her after 45 minutes of fetch. She may look tired here, but don't let that fool you, she will be begging to play again after a short rest as if she hasn't played in weeks! Another awesome thing about her, is she is the best hiking buddy. She never strays far from your side and when I get to far behind she comes back and "herds" me by nipping at my ankles followed by a whimper of encouragement. 

                   

You all remember Buster from my previous blog. He was a tough shell to crack but once you do you can't help but fall in love! Like I said Australian Shepherds come in many shades but he has one of the  most well known coat colors for his breed. The most common by breed standards are liver (red), black/liver, and Merle pattern. 

                    

This little guy is Linus, he is a toy Aussie and boy is he a charmer! Don't let his size fool you either, toys have just as much energy as their bigger brothers and sisters and are just as easy to train. They were bred smaller due to the increase in popularity in the past few years for people who wanted a smaller dog but still had smarts and endurance. 

      

His piercing blue eyes are very common in Aussies that have the Merle coating. The Merle gene dilutes pigment in eyes and nose as well as their coat. The more diluted coat leads to higher chances of blue eyes. I have also seen Aussies with "wall eyes" which is when only one eye is blue as well as "split eyes" where one eye might be mostly Amber or brown with hints of blue within. I'm a sucker not only for anything Aussie but for blue eyes to, what can I say! His nose print is also called a "butterfly" nose which is just a cute way of saying loss of pigment.