courtnek

do what I do...if you're not there to watch them (the only way to really break them of it) throw an old washable blanket on the couch before you leave. Leave it there unless you have company.. someone has a signature that says something like "there are two kinds of people, those that have nice houses, and those that have dogs...." goes with the territory... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I voted. and sent the following Although I feel very badly for Mr. Oliver, and Jennifer Brooke, I have to point out the fallacies of your story. First of all: She told him that people who suggest they can train them to be safe are fooling themselves, he said, adding, "What you are doing is training them away from what they are trained to do." This is not what well-bred and maintained, cared-for Pit Bulls were bred to do. They were bred to fight other animals, Bear, Bulls and Boars, to be specific. They were bred to NOT be harmful to man, or their owners could not call them off of a fight and make them behave. While I disagree entirely with what they were bred for, I know that manhandling was not part of it. Dogs who were nasty to their owners were culled from the breed, to make sure the owners would not be injured breaking up a fight. secondly: "Yeah, sure, as if I could train my Pomeranian-mix puppy to become an attack dog." yes, in fact you could. Any dog can bite, the only difference is that the size and tenacity of the animal makes Pit Bull wounds more dangerous than Pom Mix wounds. I realize that there is a lot of press about Pit Bulls and how "dangerous" they are. Tell me, ma'am, could you look out your window and define without a second thought that the dog you see is a Pit Bull? Not a Pit Bull mix, not an Am Staff, not a Bulldog? Most people CANNOT. Including Animal Control Officers. The resemblence is too close. So alot of the "Pit Bulls" the press is writing about are not real Pit Bulls at all, but mixes with other breeds of dog that DONT have the Pit Bull's bred-in tolerance of humans. Do I think that ALL breeders regardless of breed should be licensed? yes. But more importantly, do I think that ALL owners, no matter what breed, if it is potentially dangerous (as most large breeds are) should be REQUIRED to take the dog to formal training, and learn how to control it? YES! Banning real, well bred Pit Bulls will not stop these issues, because the real, well-bred Pit Bulls are not the ones doing the attacks. Backyard breeding and puppy mills are responsible for a great deal of it. And no, I dont own a Pit Bull. I have a Lab Mix and a Foxhound. The Lab mix does not like strangers or small children. She has growled at both. I am a responsible owner and never walk her off lead. However, were she a Pit, she would be chastised and maybe put down due to "aggressiveness"....as it is I have to tell people NOT to let their kids run up and hug her....It's all in the "perception"...I get REALLY tired of hearing "OH LOOK! It's a LAB!! you can run up and pet it!!" from idiot parents who never bothered to teach their kids that you NEVER pet a strange dog without the owners permission.... I think before you make blanket statements like you did, you need to research the real Pit Bulls, who are owned by hundreds and thousands of caring, intelligent people and who dont want to see the breed "disappear" due to total misconceptions. Katy Courtney Chicago

some dogs are very possesive of their food, and that's what he thought it was. However, that needs to be handled, that could become a dominance issue. Does he let you take his bowl away while he is eating from it? dont try it with your hand, but first with a broom handle or something, just in case. He should always surrender his food, toys and possessions to you on command. Kendalyn's "leave it" training is an excellent way to start.

I cross posted it to a UK board.. maybe international attention wil have a sway....

signed - 120 how many signatures do they need?

naw...you can train one of the others to do that.... :evilbat: (just kidding, of course) 8)

OH HF.....some dogs just have to bond with one person. That's the way they are. As long as he still loves and accepts you, you may just need to let him bond with hubby. At least there is peace in the house now... Laurel has bonded only with me, and that makes my son crazy too... You didnt "go wrong...." you did what was necessary for household peace and hubby's safety....sometimes there's a proce to pay... he still loves you, dont worry. :fadein:

[quote]Buck is confident around other people and meets strangers very well. He's also good with kids and doesn't get edgy when they're around. Once in a while he'll do a low growl if we're in the car and a man walks past us. Only in the car though so I don't know what's going on there. [/quote] It seems like even the gentlest dogs go into macho mode when in the car. I dont know if it's because of all the windows, or the lack of space, or just that people get so close to the car, without ever really meaning to. I lean towards the closeness to the car. It's like "their space" and it was just invaded by a stranger.... Is Scott going to get a puppy or full grown dog? If full grown I would definitely go with a non alpha female. I have an alpha female, and she became boss over a male dog that outweighed her by 15 lbs....only because she was here first I think

Every teenager has Rowie....but when someday you have your own, the tables will turn.... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: [quote]I thought you all had delightful children and dogs [/quote] yea, just "loverly".... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Is it the claw itself or the pad at the leg? It sounds like the claw, but I want to be sure. If it's just the claw, then put some disinfectant on it and tape it back together. or there is hoove repair stuff (kinda like a nail glue) that you can get at Horse feed stores and such. If it's the pad at the leg, then definitely stop the bleeding and get to the vet if possible. Then all of the above advice applies.

Holz..did you lose your mother? If so , I am SOOOO sorry, having lost mine as well..Know if that is the case, my heart goes out to you...

no, I didnt. I apologize Rowie, I got so PO'd about the whole thing I didnt read all the responses. Sometimes I do that. I just want to LAUNCH when people do things like that. My orirginal post still stands. I wish I had been there... :evilbat: :evilbat: :evilbat:

[quote]the satisfaction (if a bit self serving) of being able to look around and know that you saved a life (in the case of rescues) [/quote] I can go with that. Laurel can be a real pain in the you-know-what, she is very timid and requires special care and meds, but I think she is worth every minute of it. I saved her, I know it. I wouldnt have it any other way...

Freebee grunts and growls in her sleep, Laurel whines. Both run. Seeing the legs twitching and moving makes me want ot wake them up, but I have been told not to do that. Whatever they are dreaming about, in the first few seconds of being woke up they could potentially snap at you. Instead I was told to say LOUDLY "KNOCK IT OFF!" which wakes them up, but you are nowhere near them so they cant snap at you. Use their names before the KNOCK IT OFF command..they seem to respond well to that.... so mine is usually 'Laurel, Freebee, KNOCK IT OFF." They wak up looking confused, and then go right back to sleep.

WOC has numerous class-action suits against them, and I believe the humane society in Florida has been trying for quite a while to shut them down. They keep the dogs in the bare minimum conditions that law allows, that's how they get away with it. The humane society is trying to shut them down for the liefetime health guarantees that they promise, when a lot of the sales die or become extremely ill shortly after arrival. The problem is in the laws. The bare minimum conditions allowed ("reasonable" heat, food and living environment is all that is required. "reasonable" is open to interpretaton, according to the judge that hears the case) Since "reasonable" is so vague, and undefined, they can get away with this S***......and they know it. They need to strictly define reasonable....what temperatures are considered reasonable? how much food? how much living space? If "reasonable" is allowed to make the definitions, pretty much anything goes. I live in Illinois. "Reasonable" here is considered a shelter (an unheated dog house is considered a shelter) access to water (except that it will freeze in an unheated doghouse) and food. It was -15 degrees farenheit Tuesday night. Even with straw and insulation on the doghouse (not required) to be outside in those temperatures could easily have killed a small dog or dogs like mine, who have no thick fur. Yet the law would not have prosecuted me for it, since I had "reasonable" accomodations. The definition of "reasonable" needs to be changed drastically to shut down these mills. NO animal shouild have to live like that...

how beautiful, and how true!!! Do they ever turn out to be exactly what you expected? And do we not accept them anyway, even when they dont? I think they teach us as much as we teach them. Loyalty, unconditional love, die-for-you-if-necessary protection....but also, how to deal with stubborness, muddy feet, injuries, illness and death....how to master, and be mastered. How to give....(do I WANT to get up at 6 a.m. on Saturday and let them out? NO....do I DO it? YES....) I have said this before. I think God gave us dogs to teach us how to be better people. Toteach us to practice all the things they do for us, and learn to do them for each other as well.

so is my son... :lol: :lol: :lol: fortunately, dogs grow out of it faster... :wink:

oh pppfffttt Shara :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: 1 degree Celcius is 33 farenheit...a HEAT WAVE for this part of town. we've been living with 10 and 15 below for three days....and that's farenheit... :wink: :wink: :wink: (just teasing you sweetie) :)

Rowie did you tell your parents? If not DO SO!! Goldens are generally gentle souls, and this could crush enthusiasm, and may actually be the cause of some of the aggressiveness. You NEED to have your parents take this guy in line, and lay down the rules. I dont care what his excuse was, Rowie wasnt hurtring him or even intending to. I'm SERIOUS girl, tell your parents and have them take this guy to task. Wish I had been there....I would probably have used some of the above mentioned "correctional procedures" to straighten him out. You're a gentle soul, Rowie, just like your pup....but in this situation, you need to get hard. :evilbat:

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: so who says dogs cant tell time? :D

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: My house is designed in such a way that they cant do that, and I have hardwood floors because I've gone through 3 vacuums over the years. The motors dont burn out on the broom.... My house is 140 years old. The kitchen has 4 steps that go down to a "hallway" where the back door is. at the top of those stairs is another door. I go through the doorway and close the door. That way, when they come in they either have to wait in the entryway or go to the basement (another set of steps turns left and goes down from the door) The basement is unfinished and has cement floors, so even if they run down there it's just a quick cleanup with a towel. I let them in one at a time, holding a towel, and they know that means either stand still and get your feet wiped, or stay in the entryway or the basement. Since they'd rather be upstairs, they usually allow the feet wiping, although neither of them like it. Having been cordoned off downstairs for disobedience has taught them that it's in their best interest to just let me wipe them... :D

I have two dogs and a cat. Pros: the dogs are not destructive in the house because they have each other for company. They sound more threatening when strangers come by It's fun watchng the different personalities interact Cons: it's definitely more expensive. Food, vet bills, etc. More feet to wipe when it's muddy out :lol:

[quote]but I was curious why she's so pushy when dogs are involved, and so submissive when humans take her food. Sorry for the digression from DAL's problems, I just wanted to say thanks for clearing up my questions [/quote] lack of food, instinctively, is a driven in their instincts. By nature, if they dont eat, they die. Its why the whole pack society was formed. It is why they decided to work together, form family groups, protect and care for each other. It is what made them bond to us. WE provided them food and shelter, they survived longer under our care. They decided to join us, since it served our mutual interests...... We fed them, sheltered them, gave them the warmth of our fires and tribal living, in return, they protected us and warned us of danger, followed us and set up camp with us. It was better for them and us. they ate better, we lived with less fear. That was the beginning of our relationsip with the dog, the wolf. But the instincts are still there, with or without us. They never lost the pack traits that made us accept them, and them us. The pack traits protected us. The pack traits helped them survive. helped US survive, too...

dogs can tolerate a lot of stuff..most dogfood has feed and gluten and meal in it...in the wild they eat tubers if necessary...the proble with fruit and seeds is the acid content. Int he wild they dont normally eat fruit unless they are starving, so their systems are not accustomed to acid. we have a people disease called Irritable Bowel Syndrome, where the acid in fruit is not tolerated.

In Cody's case, his food aggression may actually be caused by his hearing and vision problems. Consider a pack member who cant hear or see well... he cant see another animal coming to steal his food, or hear them. He can smell them, that's all. So he becomes more protective of his food because he has to. He doesnt get the early warning signals of sight and sound. If he wasnt more protective, he might starve. While Cody is not going to starve, HE doesnt know that. He only knows what you have taught him, and what his instincts tell him to do. In a real pack, he might actually be killed for his infirmities, since he could not service the pack in that condition. So he is a little more touchy than the average dog. Try to consider that in his training, and realize he knows instinctively he is at a disadvantage here. I'll help you any way I can, you know that. :fadein: :fadein: