My Best Friend; GoGo Yubari the Australian Shepherd

Meet my best friend, GoGo Yubari, the blue eye, blue merle, standard, Australian Shepherd. She was a Christmas gift to me two years ago and is the best gift I've ever received! She's appears to be just a little smaller than your standard Australian Shepherd. She stands approximately 18 inches at the withers and weighs in around 45lbs. I don't keep up with exact measurements as she is not a show dog. She's only here to be my buddy. And for those wondering yes, she is fixed!

This is the GREATEST dog ever! She will be turning two years old this November 2011. It is amazing how in tune she is with me at such a young age. I love this dog! She loves everyone we love. She gets along with all dogs of all ages and sizes. She even gets along with my cats! GoGo and one of my cats have a strange way of playing. Usually, my female cat, Gia starts with her and grabs GoGo's feet from under the bed and hides behind the bed skirt. It's hilarious! [But after a few minutes can get quite annoying]

The reason why I wrote this particular hub is because I wanted to show everyone how much aussie's change as they grow. When I was researching the breed I only found one webpage that showed a time line of Australian Shepherds growing during the first year. As you see GoGo's colors changed so much as she grew. She had more merle color on her when she first came home and has darkened over time. Her eye was always blue but lightened up to the icy blue color it is today. The other eye was green and eventually changed to an amber brown color. I love that she doesn't have perfect 'show' markings. She is beautiful! I plan to get another one in a few years and will again go for the one no one wants so I can have another perfect pooch!

Hope you all enjoy the photos!

Aussie's are a brilliant breed, very sweet, loyal, and can be the best companion in the world at its best. But a neglected or bored Australian Shepherd could be a disaster. I would strongly recommend you research the breed. I researched for over a year and worked with dogs for a year before I acquired mine. I also researched a lot of breeders and spoke with them as well. Sometimes breeders can be misleading in their ads as well as over the phone. Do your research!! I cannot stress that enough there are so many abusive breeders out there it is ridiculous. Not to mention some of the prices these people try to charge. While I was looking I could not believe some of the prices these people were charge. There were aussie's for sale in the $2000's! A lot of breeders will boast they only have one litter a year but the internet shows otherwise. Some of the nicest and honest sounding people had multiple ads throughout the year with a new litter each time. Breeding should not be a business!!

Remember: RESEARCH! RESEARCH! RESEARCH!

Sometimes when people ask me what my dog's name is I tell them, "GoGo Yubari." Some respond with, "Wow! That awesome or cool." Others look at me cross-eyed and are like, "Where or How did you come up with that?"

For those of you who already know I applaud you for being Quentin Tarantino fans. Her name come's from Mr. Tarantino's, "Kill Bill Volume 1." GoGo Yubari is basically O-Ren Ishii's body guard. Even though O-Ren Ishii was a villain or bad guy in this movie I still liked how she kicked ass. GoGo Yubari was pretty bad ass in the movie wearing her school girl outfit and looking innocent. GoGo Yubari was the youngest of O-Ren's associates and an awesomely skilled fighter for her age. She was one of my favorite characters in the movie. My pooch, GoGo is the youngest in our household and acts as my 'body guard.' GoGo has lived up to her namesake. By that I mean she is so cute and innocent acting and is very sweet! But, if you try to do something to any of us she will back you up and put you in your place really quick!

Well they were right!

We humans want instant results ALL of the time. We have become spoiled with all the technology these days that we expect everything to be instant. Humans need to get back to practicing patience and learning over time. A dog is not a computer! You can not insert a training chip in it and expect it to be the perfect dog. If you don't have patience or time don't get a dog.

There were a lot of bumpy roads with GoGo. There were many a sleepless night when she first came home.[no exaggeration, puppies are just like newborns!] There were many no's, aahh's, uh-uh's, stop, down, and offs before we got where we are today. If you want a perfect pooch you have to put in the effort!

GoGo turned one year old on November 18, 2011. She shares the same birthday as my youngest son. I couldn't take away from his birthday but following his cake and happy birthday song I had to do something for her. So I bought an old fashion cake doughnut and put a tablespoon of peanut butter in the center to hold the candle and sang to her too. I'm pretty sure I'll do the same this year on her birthday. She loved it!

Thanks everyone for taking the time to view my pictures of my favorite pooch!

Feel free to leave comments or stories about your favorite Australian friend. I love to hear about other Australian Shepherds and their crazy antics.