courtnek

check his diet - he may have a fiber lack in it. paper provides a lot of fiber when chewed up - he knows he's doing wrong, but his body is telling him he needs more fiber. I had a dog that used to chew ROCKS...no joke, whole rocks..and I had him blood tested and found he had a mineral deficiency...so it's not far-fetched.... ask the vet to do a bloodwork on him to see if there is mineral, or fiber, deficiencies in his diet...he doesnt seem to be anxiety ridden, he just likes to chew paper. My Foxhound chewed up a whole box of kleenexes..I have the vet checking to see if she needs more fiber in her diet... fiber is necessary for proper waste elimination, and for proper metabolism...paper will supply that, but there's probablt better means (vitamins or fiber supplements) that the vet could suggest...

[quote]He ran over to the fence jumped directly between her and the guy and showed his teeth something fierce. the guy backed up from the fence and then Reefer (are you ready for this) grabbed my cousin by the hood of her shirt and pulled back to the portch... If i hadnt seen it with my own eyes i wouldnt buy it.[/quote] they KNOW RNP, they just KNOW......I dont know how they know, or if we'll ever understand how they know, but they DO......he may very well have saved your cousins life that day. Freebe and Alex both went ballistic when a so-called "animal control" person showed up at my door... they just seem somehow to know the good guys from the bad. Both of them barked when someone came to the door, but this time they SNARLED. Full face teeth out "we-will-bite-you-if-you-come-through-that-door." I think that's a big part of why we bonded with wolves in the first place. They have senses, and sensibilities, we dont have. Reefer was an excellent pet and a good protector, knew his job and did it well.... Sweet story!! thanks for sharing! :angel:

thanks again everyone. Rose, I have wondered about her vision too.... I need to get her checked by the vet, but I too thought maybe she doesnt recognize him right away until he gets close up...I guess I just assumed she would recognize him by smell, since they're scent hounds, but maybe if she cant see well that's causing an issue - he may be frightening her without intending to..... He just walked in the room, sat down and hugged her - I have asked him to talk quietly to her and not manhandle her, since I have discovered she is touch-sensitive.....so he just sat down, and petted her and talked to her, and she was fine. Never made a sound, it's only when I'm in there. So maybe she just doesnt want to share me....I can believe that, she is very attached to me. And thanks Cassie - I can use all the encouragement I can get. I know that Kennel life, and pack hounds, and hunting is what she was bred for, but it just seems so sad that they dont take the time to give them people attention too. Oh well, she's mine now and that's the way it's gonna stay. Even if it takes a year or two.... She kinda grows on ya...her foster mom emails me every few days wanting to know how she is.... I never had a velcro dog before!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Foxhound: If it's not running, I couldnt care less Lab Mix: Why do you need light? Just SMELL your way around.... [quote]Ever consider what they must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul -- chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth!" [/quote] I think mine have both realized that....I come home from the store, and they have to check out EVERY BAG....as soon as they find the one with the meat. they are all excited and happy... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[quote]Courtnek, are you absolutely positive that this is a low-warning growl? I am thrown by the baying after the growl. Baying is used in play, hunt and boredom, not really used as a protective measure. [/quote] Thanks Rosebud (AND everyone else!) I was hoping you woudl see this... It SOUNDS like a warning growl, but maybe I'm wrong? As you know, I'm new in the hound arena...(and I'm LOVING IT....she's so DIFFERENT) if she's laying down she will either raise her head or sit up, occasionally stand, do the whole low growl thing, then put her head back and bay. Her ears remain the same, and although she seems a little tenser than usual, she does not show what I would call aggressive body language. Her tail, when she stands is straight out. Once he pets her she will wag it, but it's almost like a challenge...When he pets her at first she seems a little scared, her eyes are wide and she holds perfectly still, but then she calms down and relaxes. What do a hounds ears look like when they are in guarding mode? do they flatten? stick up some? her ears are of course very droopy....he has decided he's not afraid of her (typical male) but I dont want her to snap at him or anything. So far she hasnt. If this is normal greeting by a hound, that's fine. I just need to find out. Thanks everyone! :D

yea, it's a growl, but not a snarl. Low in the throat, then the bay starts, like it's a warning, but as soon as I say "chill" she will shut up and lay down - that's a taught command to stop barking. She hasnt worked up the courage to defend the door if someone comes by, and only seems to feel like defending when I'm in the room. She isnt really threatening, just warning. (However, if my son gets up at 3:00 a.m. to go to the bathroom, it's unnerving to have a dog baying...lol...) I feel she is protecting me, but I dont want her to feel that she needs to protect me from Kyle. With the life she had before this (kennel life, no real people around to bond to, lived in a pack of 20, very little human contact) she seems to think it's her job to stand by me, no matter what...but I wnat her to be more socialized with other people, and less afraid...she's SOOO complicated... I've been sick for the last few days, so didnt get to take her to Petco. Maybe seeing other people besides us will help...

Laurel is getting to be a better dog every day, more confident, less scared...she has acquired this weird trait...when I am in the room with her she "protects" me...she bays and growls low if anyone, including my son, comes near. But if I'm not in the room, she lets people come in and pet her and makes no noise about it.... I came home and found Kyle sitting on the bed with her petting her and hugging her, and she was fine, even after I walked in. But if we are both in there, and Kyle walks by, she growls a little bit (low in her throat) and then starts baying....but if he walks in she will still let him pet her. Wazzup with THAT???? She is very complicated....and hounds are different than any dog I;ve ever had.... I think she has bonded too closely to me, but I cant wean that bond yet....I still need to get more of her confidence up. I am now having him go in there when I'm not there and pet and talk to her (which she seems to like) and when she starts her attitude when I'm in there I shut her down with the "chill" command.... Is this weird, or is it just me?

DONT FEED THE TROLL.....

and they are wrong.....according to the bible, Jesus ate fish.... or are they thinking fish is considered "vegetarian"? these are the same people who throw BLOOD on people wearing fur coats.....while I dont wear fur, out of personal preference, I wouldnt throw blood on someone who does... :evil:

very nice Sharpei - you draw quite well..... can you do a Lab too? :D

new friends are good!! I would try telling the "new friend" that she is trying to meet people, and be socialized. and then tell her to sit/stay and ask the person to come over and meet her. Some may refuse, but if they see her obeying a sit/stay they may decide to come over and see her. She will then feel rewarded for having correctly obeyed the sit/stay, and she will get ot meet all kinds of people that way. Most people are more comfortable around dogs that are well behaved to commands. It makes them feel safer. :D

She'll be ok. she's young enough to come out of this. Play tug with her, teach her to fetch, have someone make some of the nosies she is afraid of while she is playing with you, and then when she doesnt seem afraid anymore praise and treat her. Just do your best to make her feel comfortable, and she'll get over this. Take her places where there are other people and let her socialize with them and other dogs.... what kind of dog is she? that might help for suggestions too...

How cute!! What a good program!! It also has the benefit of teaching the children how to behave around a large dog, without even realizing it!! :angel:

I really need more info, but here goes... Is she tearing down the wallpaper and stashing it somewhere? Also, the carpet she has ripped up, is she putting it witht he wallpaper? She may be pregnant if not fixed, or false pregnancy if she is, and she is nesting....they seem attracted to paper for some reason in that condition.... Is she left alone long times during the day? She may be having a bit of seperation anxiety, or she may just be mad that you left her. Now THIS is an odd one, and unlikely, but I'll include it since it happened to me...Does your house have radiant heat? And if so have the radiators been bled this year yet? The reason I ask is that radiators make "squealing" noises when the heat comes on if there is air in the lines. Your pup might think there's a critter of some sort behind the walls or under the floor, depending on where the pipes are running. My dog chewed up half the carpeting trying to get to a wristwatch in the basement that would go off at the same time everyday - I finally figured it out on a Saturday when I was in the basement when it happened, and heard her scrabbling to rip the carpet up to get at it. I have also seen her run over to the radiator in the kitchen and paw at the floor there, and when I put my head to the ground I could hear the pipes hissing....Once I got rid of the wristwatch and bled the radiator the terrorism stopped.... If you have any more info, please share it. With what little I have to go on, all of the above could be dead wrong.... :fadein:

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: VERY cute!!

Laurel is the same way....sometimes you just have to pay a little extra attention to them, keep your voice down, and have play games (like tuggy) where they can win once in a while.....You always keep the toy, but they can pull it out of your hands now and then, and seem to win.... Also, some dogs are "touch sensitive"...which is different than timid (Freebee is touch sensitive and doesnt have a timid bone in her body... :lol: ) There is a test for that. You take one of their front paws, pick it up and press down on the middle between the pads...NOT HARD....just enough pressure so that you can see they can feel it. A non sensitive dog will let you do that for 10-13 seconds, before trying to pull away. A touch sensitive dog can last as little as 6 seconds before pulling away. Let the paw go immediately as soon as they pull...and she is touch sensitive you just have to be careful about how you pet her. Gentle strokes, less roughing up, that kind of thiing.

I agree as well, with all that has been said. I was a very young girl when S&R started their act, and always like their show. I had read stories on animals kept by zoo's that were not nearly as well kept as those tigers. Although admittingly this is not their natural environment, it's the only one they know.....PETA does not seem to understand that it is now too late to return them to the wild....or even to a sanctuary. Since kittenhood they have lived with and around people....In the wild white tigers are a fluke, and dont live long. A sanctuary would not be much better, since they dont know how to hunt or be wild tigers....they have never had to. I admit that raising wild animals comes with an inherent risk of personal injury, but now, PETA needs to step back and think about the cats. They are not loners, like wild tigers. They live under these unnatural circumstances in family units....perhaps it was not the best thing to do, but it's done now and the cats need to be left with S&R until they pass on naturally. To take them away is almost assuring their death.

makes perfect sense TPP - it's not the age of the walker, but the maturity level.... Maturity cannot be quantified...it's as individual as people themselves... My ex is 47 years old, and is as immature as they come....

There are places here in the states (like Michigan) where you have to be 18 to walk a pit, or any known aggressive dog. Except for the potential strenght of the walker (if this is a powerful dog, can he control it?) I agree that the age is not so important, as the type of dog, the area it's being walked in, and the maturity of the walker. My son is 16, and I get nervous everytime he wants to walk the dogs, because he is not dog-saavy and they are both very powerful in the strength department.... In this case, since the dog was known to be dangerous, he should have been muzzled. That was the parents responsiblity.....

[quote]Why is a 13 year old walking an aggressive Akita alone?[/quote] good question...here's another one...since the teenager told his friends to keep away because the dog bites, why wasnt it muzzled???? :evil: :evil:

well, he did say he handed "another witness" (also unnamed) a pipe tp fight the dogs off with....perhaps the other witness could tell what really happened. How did he happen to have a pipe that close by? The story just doesnt track.... However, the owners of the Akkida's are in for it now. They are very dominant dogs, and require strong handling and continual obedience training. They are very intelligent, to the point that they will deliberately disobey if the prize seems worth it despite the punishment. They should never have been offleash in the first place. As to why they attacked the boy, anything could have happened. The child may have done something, albeit accidently, to threaten the dogs positions in their view of the heiarchy, or simply didnt respect their ranks....On the surface it looks like these dogs have dominance issues, which havent been handled by the owners. I'd really like to hear other versions, eyewitness accounts, that sort of thing. Maybe from someone who knew the people and the dogs...

OK, I'll give on language differences.. :lol: :lol: :lol: "Cage" just sounds, well. so CONFINING...SO zoo like... I guess it's just me... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

THAT'S SO STUPID.... I had a friend in HS who had a blind, three legged dog (some idiot farmer shot off the 4th one) and he was fine!!! He ran almost as fast as any other dog, and since, except for sight hounds, most dogs respond to sound and scent, it was never an issue for him. He lived to a rip old age of 13 at 90 lbs and was happy his entire life, without sight and three legs.... The Lab rescues I'm sure will pick him up. Once he's adjusted to being sightless, his nose will take over and he will scent to find his way around. Lab's are scent dogs anyway. They use their noses to find the bird once it's downed....vision has a little to do with it as well, but in a house dog it wont matter. DAL has the hard job...since most dogs use their noses and ears to get around, her's has lost a very valuable tool..... people can be SOOOOO stupid.... :evil: :evil: :evil:

depends on how you plan to travel.....there are lightweight metal cages that fold up when you reach your destination, for easier storage, kinda like baby playpens. There are heavier plastic ones that do not fold up, and are more enclosed, in case your dog tends to get carsick. It blocks the views to the outside. If you are driving, either one will do. For an airplane, the heavier plastic and metal ones are better. Also, the cage should only be large enough to allow the dog to stand completely up, and turn around comfortably. Any bigger and he may soil it. If he's still growing, you can guesstimate what size cage he will need when he is full grown, and then block it off with plywood or heavy cardboard so that it confines him to the above dimensions... oh, and I prefer the term "crate" over cage.... :lol: :lol: :lol: hope that helps. :D

good for you! and Roxy!! Good dog!!! you'll still need to be there, though, because overconfident kids get unpredictable around dogs.....but I'm glad she is doing better!! Can you send that story to the news? :lol: :lol: :lol: