courtnek

someone at my office opened the "mydoom" virus, and since my home email was on it it robbed my address book and is sending itself to everyone on my email list. Gooeydog informed me of this. If you get anything from me with an attachment, DONT open it unless in the email itself it says its from me and its ok to open. sorry for the inconvenience. Double delete it if you get it, dont open it. Katy

boiled chicken, cut into cubes and then refrigerated are good. same with any kind of beef. you can get the cheaper cuts of chicken and beef if you simmer them, it takes longer but they taste better and once refrigerated, they dry out a little. yu could also line your pocket with a plastic bag, to keep it clean. even wax paper will work for lining a pocket.

LOL@HF and Malamum!!! My malamute was like that. All winter he would lay outside in the snow and freezing cold, just watching the world go by.... come summer, he would insist on coming in immediately after "business", and then lay on the couch under the air conditioner..... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[quote]I hope all the people who are against having dog's ears cropped are against women and even some men having their ears pierced. If you ask me most people do both for the same reason, which is cosmetic.[/quote] True, to an extent...however, an ear piercing takes 30 seconds and hurts forless than that...and we make the choice to do it. Having said that, I personally would not crop or dock, but that's my stance. I am not going to say that people that do it are wrong, or right...I could say I have a valid reason to get my hounds tail cropped, since she keeps banging it into walls and little lumps keep appearing, that need to be sliced open and drained. To say nothing of the bruises she inflicts on my legs with it.... :lol: :lol: As long as the surgery is done by a real professional who knows what he/she is doing, and not a hack job, I dont really think the dog objects. They dont know enough to object....and if done correctly it does not appear to hurt them. I dont know about Dobies and Pits, but I honestly sometimes think I should get the hounds ears done as well, since she is so prone to ear infections. Her ears are floppy and lay flat on her head, no air gets in there and they have to be cleaned constantly.... I wont do it, but I wont slam anyone who does either.

I agree with you 10000%. But as we all know, some people are just morons....I think poodles are neat dogs, although I have to admit I like the standards better than the toy's... but that's because I prefer big dogs...and although I dont care myself for the show cut, I'm not gonna laugh at someone who does like it...that's just plain rude. :evil:

and she wasnt even tired afterwards!!! Made ME tired watching her!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

When I got her, I was told that she needed "a lot of room to run"....because she was field trialed and was used to running alot. In fact, it was a requirement to adopt her that I have a large, fenced in yard, or had somewhere I could take her to run. I have the yard, so they agreed to the adoption. However, I have never seen her run.....trot, yes...but never an all out run. Now admittedly, she was scared of everything when I got her, and it's taken me six months to get her acclimated to me and to here....also, she doesnt like the bitter cold we had been having, since her fur is so short... Today it's 60 degrees out. I let them in the yard, and went out and threw Freebee's favorite ball for her. As usual, she sat by my side while Freebee fetched, but today, she kept looking up at me everytime I threw it. So I said "GO get Freebee! Go Play!!" and then I stared in absolute amazement...she did 9 laps around the yard at breakneck speed, rounding corners like she was attached to the ground on rails...jumping over fallen tree branches, loping around behnd the shed and then back and all over again......she even got Freebee to chase her. I wish I had a video camera, it was a sight to see. Without a single incident, without losing a step or a beat. She could have done agility easily. Watchng her leap 4 feet off the ground over the fallen limbs was amazing....Now I dont know if I want to get rid of it, it's good exercise for her....a tree got hit by lightning and lost this huge 8 inch round limb with tons of branches on it, and it's laying in the back of the yard. Watching her round the corners and jump like that, for the first time I think an 80 x60 back yard is too small.... :o :o :o :o

while you're at it, could you tell them that NOT all dogs that look like Labs are friendly, like children and can be rushed up to and hugged? Everytime I take Freebee for a walk there are at least two children and one adult who want to touch, hug and pet her. She is a mix, but looks just like a black Lab. She is ok with most adults if I am there with her, and teenagers, but she is afraid of small children and the way they move and screech. And she does not stand there wagging her tail like the average Lab and beg to be petted, She tolerates, and that's it. I cant tell how many times I have had to stop a small child from rushing up to her to hug her. She will back off, and stand behind me, and their parents still encourage them to keep going!! I hate to do that, because I am afraid they will think they should fear dogs, but what if she snapped? She never has, but theres always the chance. By her body language, I know she's afraid.... :roll: :roll:

y'know another thought...the guy next door is mexican, very large and intimidating looking, with two sons who are both over 6 feet and also intimidating looking..... and has two chihauhau's....no one ever bothers him about them...(except me, when they wont stop yapping...)what is it about poodles? Do they have a show cut HF? I know some people think that cut is "feminine" looking, without realizing how strong and athletic these dogs really are......or the original purpose for the cut...although I still woulda said what you were thinking in that situation....

Gooey, I LIKE THE SPRINKLER!! HEE HEE!! get em ALL wet and see if they come back anytime soon!! :evilbat: :evilbat: :evilbat: "so sorry, just tending to my yard..." :evilbat:

ya dont want to do the whole yard, just the places they peed...they will go back to them to re-mark. doing the tires wont stop your dogs unless they stop to sniff them before they get in the car...the other dogs are marking. pepper their marking spots... then complain to the town that this person is letting her dog pee in your yard..without your permission. attack it from two sides. :evilbat: :evilbat: :evilbat:

next time, instead of "choice words", simply tell her that the park rules require leashes...If you dont put your dog on a leash, I will report you to the park supervisors, and you wont be able to come here anymore. THAT might get her attention, even if the park doesnt respond. SHE doesnt know they wont.. it's called "political infighting..." :D

THEY ARE STUPID AND INCONSIDERATE....now the fix...anywhere where they have "relieved" themselves, they have sniffed first. Pour an ample amount of black pepper on all those areas...it will cause the dogs to sneeze, for quite a while, but wont hurt them. (I did this to stop Alex from peeing on the shed). The dogs themselves, after a few trials with this, will decide they DONT want to go there.... :evilbat: :evilbat:

thank you kp!! You did something most people wouldnt be bothered to do, other than bitch about it. You did something positive, and to you, I say WAYTAGOGIRL!!!!!! :angel:

[quote]LOOK!! SOME DUDE OVER THERE THINKS HE'S TOUGH BECAUSE HE GOT HIMSELF A TOUGH LOOKING DOG! SEEMS TO ME LIKE HE MIGHT BE COMPENSATING FOR LACK OF SOMETHING ELSE; KNOW WUT I MEAN??"[/quote] y'see, HF, I wish I woulda been there...because THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN ME...... :evilbat: :evilbat: :evilbat: :evilbat:

you could put a little olive oil on it, but she may decide to lick it off. Dont use creams or moisturizers, in case she licks. You might have to put a little oil on it, and watch her till it soaks in some, so she doesnt likc it off.

she's thawing, a lttle... You know, I agree that ONCE, this breed might have been a viable, wonderful companion. Unscrupulous breeders and owners have ruined its reputation and bred for bad character. Whether you and other good owners can reclaim the breed is a question for the future. However, I will never, ever think that anyone needs six dogs of any kind, in a family home, with a young child. That is a pack and pack animals will behave accordingly. Thanks for being nice. Jackie m. While I know that a lot of people here have multiple dog households, like K and HF, I agree with this statement for the clueless pet owner...some of them shouldnt have dogs at all....

why did they oust Devin? Behavioral issues? and If so, what makes them think this puppy will grow up any differently.... there should be LAWS for crap like this, and I;d turn my ex in-laws in in a heartbeat...I cant tell you how many pets they've been thru..my cat is one of their castoff's...

I decided to reply - calm;y and rationally "To all those readers whose letters I have faithfully answered for all these years, I apologize. To those whose courtesy I admired, I salute you. I'll still write. I'll still read everything. But if you send me a cruel diatribe, you will receive back what you deserve: Silence." so be it. You did not deserve the diatribes that were inflcted on you, you ARE entitled to your opinion. Having said that, let me see if I can explain how the Pit Bull side feels, outside of abuse and name-calling. Pit Bulls were bred, originally, to hunt Bear, Boar and Bulls. Therefore the name. However, they were also bred to be extremely tolerant and loving of people. The reasons for this were obvious to the breeders of fighting dogs. If you couldnt stop the dog from fighting, if you couldnt restrain it without getting bitten yourself, it was useless to you as a hunter. Therefore extreme tolerance of people was one of the breeding traits that was required. Dogs that didnt have it were "culled" (killed) from the litter, so that they could never be bred. This was before neutering was an option. What eventually evolved was a dog that would fight, and kill, another animal, without ever being a threat to a human. The stocky build, the tenacity, the strength of the neck and jaws, was perfect for what they were being bred for. (they cannot actually lock their jaws, no dog can. They just refuse to give up) Do you remember Petey, from the Little Rascal's? He was a Pit Bull.... Enter the 20th century.....gang wars, drug wars, street unrest, violence...the good old days of comfortable, happy and usually country life are gone. People are packed into cities, where crime is rampant, and fear is an everyday thing. At some point, the criminal elements, the gangs, the people causing the unrest, realized that this dog could make them money. It was bred to fight, so they would charge a fee to fight them and have people watch. The dog itself doesnt care what it fights, it is fullfilling it's instincts as they were bred into it. But a purebred Pit Bull, with the bred-in tolerance is expensive. And even if you have one, it still has to be introduced to life with people, and to tolerance, from an early age. The criminal element arent interested in that. They want a dog, quick, vicious, and a winner. That;s ALL they care about. Thus comes the inbreeding, the lack of training, and you end up with the dog with "never-let-go" jaws, and no tolerance, no training, no socialization with people, And yes, that is a dangerous animal. Then people hear about these dogs, and they think "GREAT guard dog!" and go out and get one. In reality, a well-bred Pit Bull is NOT a good guard dog...he likes people, and unless someone shows a real threat to the owners they love, he wont go into protect mode. This is the dog, when well-bred and raised, that would lead the burglars to the safe. But these mixes, mix-ups, untrained, unsocialized, are as likely to turn on their owners and their children, or other people's children, without a second thought. As far as Rotties, yes, they are guarding breed dogs. They were bred that way. They serve the police and military well, they are also well versed at search and rescue. These dogs need a JOB, plain and simple. You cant raise a Rottie without giving it something to do. And you have to be a frim hand in that raising, literally the "Alpha presence" in the house, because that's who these dogs will respect. I say this with experience, I have ":broken" many a dominant dog that got above himself, because his owners let him do whatever he wanted, without stopping him. What did I "break" them with? Pack Rules...sometimes you have to think on their level, not ours...We have a bad habit of thinking of our dogs as "people with four legs", which they definitely ARE NOT....we spoil them, treat them like people, and in some cases that's fine. It does not work well with the large, bold guarding breeds. I;m not saying that people shouldnt be allowed to have these breeds...but I am a firm believer that the potential owner should be able to PROVE he knows how to handle a dog like that. And yes, if he cant, he should be REQUIRED to go to professional obedience training. It's not the dogs fault, he too is a victim of circumstance. I know many people with APBT's, and Rott's and Shepherds....I think, although undeserved, that a lot of the rancor you received was because the governent wants to ban these dogs entirely...also not the correct solution. But it's cheaper and easier then verifying that people did the obedience courses necessary to handle the dog, and it makes them look good in the public eye... So while the abuse you suffered was uncalled for, I can see the other side of the coin as well. I would appreciate a response to this email, if you dont mind. I dont intend to jump all over you, I just wished you to see the other side of story from a somewhat more reasonable viewpoint. Thanks. Katy Courtney Elgin, IL. [email]courtnek@wideopenwest.com[/email]

Good dog Blaze!!! Now they need a bloodhound to find the bastards that ran him over.... :evilbat: :evilbat: :evilbat:

awwww.she made me cry..she is so PRETTY!! and I LOVE the flop ear!! I bet they'll be the best of friends...Kudo's to you for taking her... :angel: :angel: :angel:

black labs - Blackie, Midnight, Starless (THAT one I thought was original at least), Ebony, Shadow.... Yellow labs - Goldie, Ol Yeller (no joke) Sunshine, Sunrise....Sheena (who also owned Shadow) While searching out clues on my Foxhound there seems to be a lot of people who name them Fox, or Foxy.... Collies - Lady, or Lassie...altho I knew someone who named hers Timmy....never did figure that one out.... I have a friend who is getting two Labs, and wants to name them "Starsky and Hutch"....I thought THAT was cool.... :lol:

X, are they neutered? your pregnancy may well be the issue. They can smell the hormones your body is giving off, and the changes, and they can see the difference in your behavior, even if you cant. People, like animals, exude pheromones, and pregnancy almost triples that. This is just a guess, and I would ask your vet, but in a pack the next highest female from the Alpha will be chosen to tend to the puppies while the Alpha hunts. She will even develop milk to feed them if for some reason the Alpha cannot. Your pregnancy may have set off a "bitch wars" between them, to see who will be chosen as backup...especially if you make a point of not favoring one over the other. However, your boyfriends concern for the baby is very real, and should be taken into account. What you might try, just to see what happens, is pick the one that you feel is the more dominant over the other, and favor her. Set up a pack environment in your home, and see if the other chills out. Either way, if they are prone to aggression towards each other you have to take the utmost care when the baby is born..... because on top of wanting to be favored by you, your attention to the baby could cause jealousy issues as well. best of luck to you....

I have a very large yard HF and mine do the same thing....they would prefer to be walked on a leash where they are confined, to running around playing in the yard....If I stay out there with them, they're fine. Otherwise it's business as usual and I want in RIGHT NOW.... I guess since they're in all day while I'm at work, they feel in is the place to be. If I trusted my sons friends, I would put a doghouse out there and leave them out on nice days. :roll: :roll:

HF is right - the kennel help should have offered. Next time ask them. For what they charge to board a dog, they should vounteer to help you...