courtnek

Presa's are in the mastiff family, so to speak, but are not exactly "mastiff's" they have their own breed classification. However, if you said Presa to most people they would have no clue what you're talking about...everyone I tell I have a foxhound says "What's that? Is it like a bloodhound?" (yea, 80-100 lbs smaller - and a sight hound, not a scent hound - lol) So maybe they just used mastiff as a term that the un-dog-knowing would understand....

Actually, I agree with both sides of the story, but I lean towards the dog owner being wrong in this instance. yes, Dogs should always be trained to allow a person to take their food away. This dog may have been, for all we know, however, this child was not a member of his family, was probably at eye level with him (threat level, as K said) and the dog was eating. Food aggression, while never excusable, is also not uncommon. Perhaps the owners never had a reason to take the dogs food away, so it never got trained to allow anyone to do that. My dogs will let me take their food, because I make a point of doing it to show them who's boss.... but some people (most people in fact) just put the food down and walk away. Secondly, although the child belonged to the neighbor, if you have someone elses child in your house YOU are responsible for the childs welfare. And anyone who owns a dog should know you dont let a child, or anyone else, bother it while it's eating unless you know FOR A FACT that the dog will not react to it. This dog was probably fine with this child except for the food incident. Way too many children are bitten and mauled in food incidents, because they cant read a dogs body language and dont know any better. (In all honesty, most adults cant either) So I err on the side of the owners. If you are watching someone elses child, or allowing it to play in your house, it is YOUR responsibility to make sure there is not a child/dog conflict.

[quote]MY problem is that when confronted with a flippant I-could-care-less attitude like she had, I get steamed pretty quickly and have to walk away before I just lose my religion...er all my manners! [/quote] he he he.... You and Me BOTH....except I have no self control in these situations, and would not have steamed off and calmed down - I would have read her the riot act right then and there, but that's me.... Does that explain why NO ONE in my office will cross me? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I got the red X, but was able to right click on it and choose "open picture" and now I can see it...

I'll try - I dont have a lot of luck with pictures... [img]http://community.webshots.com/s/image6/7/39/67/93273967nseoeh_ph.jpg[/img]

[img]http://thumbs.webshots.com/s/thumb4/7/39/67/93273967nseoeh_th.jpg[/img] They call it a Mini-Shepherd - and it looks like one but I've never heard of it. It's about 8 lbs.!!!!

[quote]No no at me! I always try to find weird spellings for names for my pets...Like Jaeden instead of Jayden. [/quote] OK I can understand thaqt completely....I lke Jaeden, by the way, better than Jayden.... My dogs have been named various different (and odd) things from the beginning of my having dogs.... 1. Taurus - my first dog. Golden Retriever. No one in my family could agree on a name, and he was born in May, so I suggested Taurus and everyone agreed to it. 2. Rasilon - from Dr. Who - usually called Razzy...he was a rescue with temperamnet problems, so I named him after a "bad guy" in the Sci-Fi show....he was an Irish Wolfhound mix... 3. Luigi - also a rescue - he came with that name and I just loved it - he was a Tibetan Mastiff, and him and my sister got me ended up in court.... 4. Jarvis - a BC Malamute mix (yes, odd combination to be sure!!) - He was black and white, and the layout of the fur made him look like a butler, hence the name. and now Freebee and Laurel, already explained. I also had a cat named Isis....completely black with amber eyes, the perfect Halloween cat, so I named him after a Goddess, because when I got him I was told he was a female....then found out he was a male...oh well. Change his formal name to Isocoles (like the triangle) so I could still call him Isis. I'm SURE I am spelling Isocoles wrong.... :lol:

My mistake, the church is St. John's....sorry...

They do that here once a year over in Arlington Heights....a suburb of Chicago. I dont know how it got started, but it's a big hit with everyone in the area....The Minister is an ex-Catholic Priest. The story was that the church he belonged to wouldnt let him bless his mother's dog, who was dying, and she wanted to make sure the dog could go to heaven with her. This was many years age, but the church wouldnt let him do it, so he basically quit and became a Minister. He also got married, has kids and pets of his own, and he holds the annual "God's Creatures Blessing" every year.... Apparently the Church has lightened up a little? I would assume St. Francis is a catholic church, but I could be wrong....

oh, this is politically incorrect, but I cant think of "Bean" without thinking of my son's best friend, Francisco.....He's Mexican, and everyone always complains that his name is too long, and he hates the name Frank or Cisco....So one day he just decided that everyone would call him Bean from now on..... I was surprised at that, but he thinks its hilarious, so Bean it is....

This would be why he is SO arrogant, so full of himself, and the dgs obey him without question most of the time....18 lbs. of ill-temper....I love him though..... [img]http://thumbs.webshots.com/s/thumb4/1/6/40/92610640yNdaJy_th.jpg[/img]

I'm glad you posted Tydo the Guido....I had been pronouncing it "Tiedoh" :lol: @ me!! 1. Freebee - named so because the lady I got her from wanted to sell her as a "purebred German Shepherd" (with FLOPPY ears???) and once I set her straight she gave her to me for free.... 2. Laurel - had that name when I got her. It's pretty, so I'm going to leave it. 3. PushyCat - the description and reason is in his name. He is arrogant, ill-tempered, your basic bratnick..... I call them Free, Freebers, Fruitbat, Fruit... Laurel, Laur and Silly Girl... and as for PushyCat.... DAMN CAT.....or woose, or just Pushy.... :lol: :lol: :lol:

If Carol is very young (like a teenager or a young adult), unfortunately, in our society, people feel they dont need to pay any attention to someone who is "just a kid"....(wrong attitude - today's kids will be tomorrows leaders, and have not yet been folded into a set way of thinking about everything).....and some people just dont give a damn what anyone esle thinks. I like the idea of her stepping in someone elses pile....or better yet, have her run into a Park Ranger, who will read her the riot act (then throw her out!!) :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

very much, thank you. BC's are famous for that stare....they are sight herders, and they use the stare to "stare down" the sheep and make them obey. Sheep are somewhat meek (usually, altho someday I'll tell you about the one that scared me half to death when I picked Laurel up) and they respond to the stare in a submissive manner. BC's also nip at the sheeps heels when they herd them, kinda like saying "let's go, no lagging...."altho they do not normally break skin, the nip gets the sheep moving a little faster, and also makes them more submissive to the dog. Their hocks are very tough so the teeth dont penetrate. Unfortunately, this herding drive can work against you in a household. When they get bored, they take to herding other animals and people around to keep their minds stimulated. And they have been known to nip at peoples ankles while they herd them. This is a dog that does very well learning agility, it gives their very intelligent minds something to concentrate on. Because of the high herding/prey drive, it's unknown what would happen if he caught the cat. Depends on the particular dog, I think, but chasing is as inherent to them as breathing. They dont injure the sheep they herd, but the sheep are again much bigger. It sounds like he is trying to catch the cat, not just chase it. That's part of their breeding as well. He may not mean to, but he could accidently hurt the cat if he caught it. I think Cassies suggestion is good. A stron "down" command, reinforced continuously through training (they actually love to be trained) and in the house, seperate them with a gate when you're not there. He may chill out a little now that winter is coming, the cats wont be running outside so much, and he may become very tolerant of them. But it will require training. Like you said, they are very intelligent and they learn quickly, but for safety's sake you need to make sure the cats have a place to go where he cant get them. My place is the basement. I have a baby gate secured about a foot off the floor, the cat can get under it but the dogs cant, so if they get too "playful" (the cat would say "annoying") he has somewhere to hide.... As long as you keep an eye on him, you'll probably br ok. Just watch him. :)

"The bag's in the CAR???" was she planning on going back for it, then coming back to clean up? yea, RIIIGGHHHTTTTTTTTTT.... The arrogance of some people is amazing.... Because of people like her, **I** get yelled at in the neighborhood if my dog sniffs around someone's tree....They come out screaming that my dog BETTER NOT **** on their lawn!!! (which she never does, but I carry bags with me anyway, just in case.) It's people like that that will get the dog parks closed..... :evil: :evil:

[quote]sadly, with an animal aggressive dog, sometimes things just don't work out. you could try controlling the dog more[/quote] I think I missed somethng here. Is this an aggressive chase? Mane, stalking, type of chase? Or just a "It's running so I'll chase it" type chase? If this is a hunting chase, then yes, you will need much stricter control of the dog. Cassie's idea is the best under those circumstances. A stern down, and emergency down will be essential, and a reward much more enticing then the hunt....I was thinking this was just a "oh-boy-what-fun-it's-running!" type of chase. Like when Freebee chases my cat. The cat always escapes (and later enacts vengeange...)but to Freebee it's all the fun of the chase itself. Even if she caught him, she wouldnt do anything to him.... I apologize if I set you wrong the first time....maybe I misunderstood...

Kyla Lea Carmen Raggae

damn....Mouse, what am I doing wrong? It worked once, and now comes up with the dreaded X again.... :evil:

WOO HOO!!!! That's Laurel baying her fool head off while Freebee retrieves tha ball!!

ok one more time - I'm trying to get it a little bigger...

:oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: I cant get my signature to work either.... :(

I'm having issues with my signature now.... I swear I am picture illiterate

how cute!!

You need to put a partition in his crate so that's it's only big enough for him to stand up all the way and turn completely around with a about 6 inches inside to spare. He will be less likely to soil his den than anywhere else in the house, but make sure someone lets him out at LEAST every two - three hours in the beginning. For every month old he is you can increase the crated time one more hour.... Good luck with him!! :D

Yea, I have to agree I think the investment in the screen door is a good idea. And keep it LOCKED - not only for Felix, but for your son. Also, I would try to teach your son to NOT open the door unless you're there. There are too many horror stories of people's childern disappearing after having answered the door.....and too many weirdo's in the world..... I am glad Felix is ok.