courtnek

welcom Max! I have a Lab/German Shorthair Pointer mix, name Freebee..a rescue a Foxhound, Named Laurel, a resuce a cat named Pushycat (and he lives up to his name) - a rescue... can you tell I tend to rescue animals? Tell us about you, and yours...

seems like a silly question I know. I know they can tell if people are "bad", but other dogs? Kyle had some friends over yesterday who brought their dog with - a Rottie/Akita mix. He said this dog loved people, but didnt like other dogs. He derived this opinion from watching it snarl and warn off another friends dog, at that friends house. I let them put it on a long lead in the front yard, attached to the fence, and let my dogs out the back. The fence was seperating them from any altercation, 6 ft wooden privacy. But slatted, so they could see and smell each other through it. Freebee of couse went all ballistic at first - my house, my yard...bark,bark, bark...and the dog DID NOT REACT AT ALL...just laid down and looked uncertain. Kyle (and the owners) were amazed. After seeing how Bracy reacted to the other kids dof, they thought for sure she was dog-intolerant. I went out to meet her, she's definitely a people-sweetheart. but didnt seem aggressive to Freebee at all (that takes some doing) and Laurel ignored her completely. I didnt let them meet, except through the fence, more because I was afraid Freebee would get territorial than Bracy...so my question is...was there something about the other dog, or the other kid, she picked up on? Now, I;m not particularly fond of this kid either...he has issues...and doesnt come here anymore. ?????

GOOD JOB MOUSE!! YAY FOR YOU!! Most people would have either ignored the poor thing, or called animal control. Good for you for bringing her home!! :D :D :angel:

top of the list was the Lab...who I have a mix of...also mentioned was an Elkhound....Foxhounds never get listed, in any of these tests, and I'm assuming it's because they are based on getting a puppy....and Foxhound puppies need TONS of exercise, and open spaces, cuz they need to run. My girl is 6 years old, was field trialed and basically "run out"...she doesnt have the energy of a young hound anymore... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

dont feel too bad HF.....while I have no fear of bugs (except cockroaches, and that's a LONG story) I am a klutz supreme...My dogs are used to it. I drop things on them, trip over them, smack them with a dangling purse... etc.....I also get the WTF? look, but then I say "sorry" and they get over it :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[quote name='Kruqnut']My puppie gnaws on me and everyone else, doesnt aggressivley bite. Though i'm tying to break the gnawing on flesh habit. But if he's anything like his dad that will be near impossible. Also my puppy is still kinda afraid of people. i want him to bark and growl when people knock on the door or any other disturbing sound(want him to be protective of the household due to many breakins). He is 4 months, does he just need to be older or what?[/quote] give him time. Dogs dont "develop" the guarding insticnt until 8 months old. And it comes on naturally, no training is necessary. If you want a "guard" dog, and not a "watch" dog, they require special training. As far as the gnawing, put some black pepper, or bitter apple, on your hands. Some dogs like bitter apple, so the black pepper may be the better take. A few instances with that and they usually give it up. And no, it wont hurt them. Just tastes bad.

HF, that cracked me up as well. Therapy/Guide dogs are trained to NEVER "go" in the hospital...they hold it until a proper place is available. I wonder where she got her statistics that there was random dog fecal matter laying about in hospitals? I sent his email to the counter poster... Karen. THANK YOU!! I read the Ms. Wade article, and just wanted to jump through the internet and throttle her....this quote, in particular "Americans are overweight and obese because of dogs. Humans need to exercise with other humans, not with dogs, and exchange ideas in discussions with their fellow man. Dogs actually destroy the lifestyles of their once active owners. " WHAT???? The only exercise I indulge in., or enjoy, is WALKING MY DOGS!!! I have two, A Lab Mix and a rescued Foxhound. They have a huge yard to run around in, but they both go ballistic at the thought that I might walk them, on a leash. A long leash, true, but they are still fettered, and cant run. But they will knock me over to get to the door for their "walkies".... I dont go to the gym, I dont think exercising with people is more enjoyable than exercising with my dogs. I dont dislike people, I just prefer to walk with my dogs. They dont talk too much...After a long day of being on the phone with cranky people who treat me like I am a non-person ( I do computer technical support) nothing is more relaxing than walking the dogs. They dont care that I am tired, and not walking as fast as they want to, or that they havent been fed yet. They just love to be with me. no matter what. How many people could say the same thing about their spouses, their kids, their relatives? this is my "down time"...nothing is expected of me other than that I pay some attention to them, and let them sniff the area. Thank you for a really insightful article. Katy Courtney Elgin, IL.

I have owned a series of mixed breeds, including the Lab mix I have now. Irish Wolfhound Mix Malamute/BC mix Golden Retriever/Lab mix Lab/ GSP mix (current knucklehead) owned 2 purebreds, A Golden Retriever, and the current Foxhound fostered a purebred Tibetan Mastiff All except the original Golden have been rescues, or fosters. Now for your housetraining...it is right that you cant correct them effectively if you dont catch them in the act...but you CAN (and should) take the mess outside when you find it, and put it in the place outside you want the dog to go. Encourage the dog to sniff it, and dont clean it up. Then when you take him outside, take him to that spot, and encourage him to go there. Praise him greatly when he does. He will eventually learn that this is where his droppings belong.

Very lucky for Sandy, and Sally and the elderly lady, and you! Yes, there is a God...he looks after all of us. Now, I have a friend who is a fireman, and I told him this story. He suggested this... Take a picture of Sandy, you, your dogs, Sally and Sandy's owner (the elderly lady) if you can do that...will all of them get along ok? Then write the story down in a nice letter with the fireman's name who helped you, and send it to the fire department. The fireman will get some kind of accolade for that, because helping animals in distress is not really part of their job, but they do it because they have the equipment to do so and the training as well. Point out that despite the freezing cold water and wind, the guy got in the pool without hesitation to help Sandy, who would have died otherwise. The other firemen will probably razz him a little, but he will appreciate the kudo's...what goes around, comes around. He did you a good deed, do one for him as well. what an :angel:

[quote]I agree with all of you that some of these back yard breeders may only be in it for the money. But don't you think that if money was the only thing they cared about, they would buy two purebred dogs of the same breed and sell their puppies?[/quote] there seems to be a new prevalance lately for "designer dogs"....sold at ridiculously high prices for what is basically a mixed breed. Now at first you said that the Maskita's breeders may have been trying to improve the breed, by giving the edgy Akita a more easy-going Mastiff like temperament. All good and well....except, as was mentioned, there are no pictures, or mention, of selling adult Maskita's. Only the puppies. Which makes us think that there are NO adults for sale, this is a first litter. And in no way can you promise temperament, personality and illness traits on a first litter. It makes multiple generations of the type of dog you are trying to produce, to perfect the traits you want it to have. Good breeders know that, and expect that the a good number of litters will NOT have dogs with the traits they want. In the old days, those dogs were culled from the litters, so that they could not be bred. So perhaps just maybe, these people are trying to produce a dog with the above mentioned characteristics...guarding capability with a gentle temperament and good with kids. I somehow doubt it. They are not trying to perfect a breed or create another, they are trying to get their piece of the designer-dog pie.... Now I personally have no issues with "creating" a new breed of dog for a specific purpose, as I mentioned, The Golden Lab. Some will disagree, I know, but we are civilized here and tend to accept each others' differences of opinion. Hower the GL is being bred by the assistance dog societies, the Seeing Eye, the Hearing Ear, etc., specifically for use with the handicapped and people in wheelchairs. Why? Because it has the temperament of Golden Retriever, the tenacity and strength of the Lab, shed's a little less than the Golden and is easy to care for grooming and physically wise. But dogs have been used extensively in assistance care...but the combination of the two appears to make an even better assistance dog. and they DONT sell them at outrageous prices...Assistance dogs are given away to people who need them and cant afford them. Do you think for one minute, when they started this breeding program, that they allowed the first, or second or third or fourth litter to be guide dogs? Not on your life. The ones that do not meet the extremely stiff standards they are looking for are found good homes to fit their personalities, the same as the guide dog has to fit the personality of the owner it is given to. These people put a lot of work into this, and they literally get nothing for it, except the satisfaction of a job well done for thier clients and dogs. So back to the Maskita....will it be an even tempered guarding breed dog that loves kids? No way to tell till it hits 8 months, when the natural guarding tendency tends to come up. By then it will be sold to some family expecting this to happen. And when it doesnt? because no investigation of temperament in the adult dog has ever been tested? and it bites the kid? It will be a throw-away....And I bet the "breeder" wont return their money, either...Imagine that. Also, on that note...If you want a guarding breed dog that is gentle tempered, and loves kids, the well-bred, well-trained, well-raised in a loving family German Shepherd will fill that niche. And has been filling it for decades.

Peng1, thanks.... I have been making a point of getting up and facing the "intruder"...when the door opens....as soon as she starts to bay, I get up and face whoever entered. She growls a little now, but settles down much quicker. So back to the door is bad, and I will work with it. I was surprised at how quickly she backed down, once I stood up and faced the door. She is trying to protect me, and I wont fault her for that, but she needs to learn who is "bad" and who isnt. Those parameters arent instilled yet, but I'll work on it..... thank you for your input!! 8)

I'm not arguing with your thinking...if making the dog better is the purpose, I have no issues with it. HOWEVER...many of these "breeders" are not interested in "making the dog better", or making a dog that will have less illness or personality trait issues. Thats why I advocate licensing. Yes, sometimes you can make a better dog by mixing traits and bloodlines. The problem is the BYB's who seem to think that breeding any dog to any dog will make good puppies....that';s what pisses everyone off here...because we see the "throw-aways" from such breeding... and the dogs do NOT deserve to suffer because of idiot owners, and breeders. And they DO suffer, when they end up in shelters, and on the euthanaisa block..

I personally prefer "Why does my Dog?" by John Fisher, but it's not really a training book. He is a behaviorist, and gives good advice on how to break a dogs bad habits...there is also one I have heard touted as very good, called "The other end of the leash.." and I believe that is a training book. Other people here can confirm. Goldens are generally very easy to train, they want to please, but like any dog, they need discipline and structure.... and they are VERY intelligent, and in my experience, the more intelligent the dog, the quicker they learn to manipulate their humans.... :lol:

fingers crossed....best of luck!! :D

[quote name='HazelNutMeg']Yay! Congrats to Aroura and Montie!! :D She's gorgous! [quote name='courtnek']Iwhy is Cassie being [b]neutered[/b] after what sounds like one litter? The story said she threw two show dogs....did she just not quite meet conformation for breeding?[/quote] Can females be neutered? :o :wink:[/quote] sorry Shara..."neutered" is actually a generic term for any kind of sex alteration that prevents either getting pregnant, or causing pregnancies. It applies to both male and female. "spayed" is a specific term, for females only. It is the literal surgical removal of all the puppy bearing organs in the female. People can be "spayed" as well, except they call it "hystorectomy" in our case... :D

[quote name='doglover']you people can all just f**k off. there's nothing wrong with what these ppl did. if u have a male and female dog, u can breed them if u want to. AND put them on the internet, there's nothing wrong with it. So what if ppl are proud of their puppies? Find something else to bitch about![/quote] such a CIVILIZED post too....You;re on a DOG forum, and most of the people here (obviously) know a WHOLE LOT MORE about this then you do...yes, people can DO IT...most of us here have petitioned, at some point or another, to have it STOPPED.. So without being rude, or obnoxious, or insulting, I will tell you that if I had my way, NO ONE WOULD BREED WITHOUT A BREEDERS LICENSE, EVER... and to get the license you would need to be able to prove you are bettering the breed, breeding out illness and bad tendencies, checking generational histories to make sure the things that cause some purebreds to be sickly, ill-tempered and dangerous. having been as politically correct as I CAN BE after that insulting post... GO FIND A BRIDGE TO LAY IN WAIT UNDER.... :evilbat: :evilbat: :evilbat:

for right now, I would keep the kids away. Children often distress dogs, they screech, they flail their arms, they move too quickly, they dont act the way that baby dogs act, so the dog doesnt understand. As the puppies get older, they should be socialized with the children. Get a good start, so if they get adopted into a home with small kids it's not a whole new experience for them. I think mom will become less protective as they get older, dont worry. and again, thank you for taking this on. you are on :angel:

the hunting/prey instinct is very strong in some dogs. The fact that they DIDNT eat the rabbits just means they werent hungry at the time. In the wild, they would have eaten them, or brought them back to the pack to share. I did feel sorry for the poor rabbits though. and the old guy who owned them. But the ACR's portrayal of this being just sport was incorrect. and the dogs should not have been loose anyway. Another bad owner, another set of dogs doomed to euthanasia... :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

do the puppies seem happy/healthy? eating well? sleeping lots? if so it's just an overprotective mom at this point, but if she senses something wrong with the puppies she may not want to leave them. She should let you handle and touch them, they should respond to you even if they cant see yet, by wriggling and trying to get back to mom. even little puppy cries would be normal. other than that, Kat's suggestion is a good one. Put her on a leash and let her get away for a few minutes. She could use the break too.

I agree with all of you, under normal circumstances...this dog had her first heat...and reacted badly..heat changes the scenario... Let her come "down" from her heat..and see what happens..

Rott? Hmmm? Pittie people!! she needs your help... this is a good place to start, to teach...I wish I could help...

the reason I suggested false pregnancy...I have a friend who's dog DID get pregnant and they didnt know it..major OOOPPSSS,,, the dog started stealing food off the tables and counters....never did that before...they were not feeding her enough to sustain the pregnancy, since they didnt know, and she was devising her own ways to get enough food for the pups... just a thought

do you plan to breed her? If not I would get her fixed. Hormonal imbalance causes all kinda weird things to happen, from depression to false pregnancy. I would watch her for symptoms of false pregnancy. Shredding newspapers, digging, hoarding things...the fact htat she is now protecting her food makes me think that even though the heat is over, she is either handling the non-pregnancy badly, or is having a false pregnancy....it may work itseld out with some training and discipline, but watch for the signs...

How old is she? she has apparently decided that she doesnt need to do what she's told.....teenager? DO NOT let her lift her lips to you, for ANY reason. That needs to be handled sternly!!!

Better idea DL - we'll wrap duct tape around his mouth and let him starve/dehydrate to death, like poor Rusty did. #$%^&^%$# bastard.... :evilbat: :evilbat: :evilbat: :evilbat: RIP Rusty - you're in a better place now.... :angel: