courtnek

Unfortunately, I have to agree.The shelter here sends me mail, asking for donations, sheets, towels, old clothes (because they know I'm a sucker and will come up with stuff for them) so they certainly cant afford trainers and behaviorists....and I have seen over the years that very few people are willing to tolerate a food aggressive dog,although they will let this same dog growl at them and ignore it if its not food related..... :o :o :o :o

people sell them to labs, and like mentioned, to dog food companies who sell them up in labs for "testing"....

so do I, but I work full time and cant have one......*sigh*. If they would let me work from home, I would get a puppy in a heartbeat, just to have one again... :(

[quote name='bullylover']only 1lb 6oz! :o wow,looks more like 5 pounds.its unique looking,i dunno if i would put it on my dog but its unique looking. :P[/quote] I thought this from the beginning. If that collar chain was steel, it would weigh about 5 lbs, but I believe its aluminum. Can look like steel at a 1/4 of the weight. I have seen them in stores, and picked them up, and they are very lightweight. They look "dangerous" (that collar is all about looks, and not about training or compliance) but they dont weigh much. Most of the studded collars are aluminum too. lightweight, but look tough.

Like DO said (we're both in Illinois) the rabies tags are used for identification, and a rabies tag is REQUIRED. No excuses. Here in Elgin there is no seperate licensing necessary, since they track animals by the rabies tag if necessary. But if your dog doesnt have a tag, and you cant prove he had his shots, you are in really hot water. They can and have taken dogs away from people who refused to have them vaccinated... The county keeps track of the rabies shots, and if you dont get it done the vet will send a record of non-compliance to the county, and the county will start sending you nasty notices about non-compliance. you get 3 notices and you dont comply, they will send AC to your house to take your dog. Its VERY strict here... You get your day in court, but its pretty much decided before you ever get there that you broke the law.

p.s. AC and the police here all carry binocular cameras, so they can zoom in and photograph whatever tags the dog has on. The rabies tags are required to be fastened so the tag number is on the outside (they can actually write you a ticket if its backwards!) and having the tag number they can call the County and find owner. Like I said, VERY strict.... If they cant read the number, but the tag is there, they will still try and catch the dog without shooting it. Without the tag, the dog has little hope of escaping. That's why my dogs collars are never taken off. Of course, even without a collar if the dog is friendly and can be caught they wont hurt it. They will snare it in a catch stick if no collar tho...

my dogs are always offleash in the yard, but it's 80x100 and fully fenced. outside of the yard they are onleash at all times unless I take them to an offleash park. The laws here are VERY strict. A dog caught roaming offleash is immediately picked up by AC and taken to their facility, where it is caged until the owner can be contacted. If the owner cant be found, the dog is given over to the local shelter, which is no kill, and adopted out if possible. Now for the bad part. If AC cannot catch the dog, and it has no collar on with a visible rabies tag, they can and will shoot it. There is a lot of wildlife around here that can carry rabies (skunks, raccoons, etc) and they wont take the chance. If they are able to find the owner, its an automatic $350.00 fine. Doesnt matter how it got out. However, if you know it got out and you call AC (or the police dept., AC here is part of the police) they will help track it down and not fine you. They assume you are a responsible owner if you call them and say "my dog slipped the yard and was last seen at this location". they will try to catch it and bring it back to you then. I got Alex back after he dug out of the yard, even though he had no tags on his collar yet (I was fighting with his previous owner over the tags) because I called him in missing to the police.

I didnt see any puppies....I didnt see any puppies....I didnt see any puppies..... :o :o :o yes I did. Heidi has real soul in her eyes. Very sweet expression on her face. A real cutie.... 8)

I would do it, just to see how it goes, altho I;m not real sure I believe it. People psychics, yes. not sure about pets, but who knows? sranger things have happened. I would like to know for sure why Laurel is so afraid of people. Did something bad happen to her when she was a hunter, with the pack, caused by a person? (Maybe the Huntmaster?) or is it just because she's not people socialized? She's getting better, but its taking a long time. and she still shows some fear towards my son, which doesnt really surprise me because he refuses to work with her. His friends all go all out to pet her and make a big deal out of her, and she likes all of them better. All the dogs Kyle is familiar with never had people issues.

Laurel is both a sock stealer, and a used "sanitary product" stealer. During that time I have to keep the garbage under the sink, or she'll parade around the house with them and embarass the crap outta my son. She likes to do this when his friends are over.... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

its even worse when I fly with my son...we are both diabetics, so 4 different types of insulin, all of which has to be "examined" at security, then the blood monitors, which have lancets (prickers) in them, those have to be examined, and then Kyle's leg, which has a titanium bar in it from a motorcycle accident that sets off security alarms everywhere he goes. So we do the wand, the pat down, he has to lift his pants leg and show his scars, it takes forever to get thru the damn security gate...we are one of those few people who really DO have to get to the airport 2 hours early....it takes that long just toget through security.... and then at least one person will ask why we have cold gel packs in lunch buckets (to keep the insulin cold) and will question whats in the packs. You can buy these things at Walgreens for God's sake. This one guy was giving us a real hard time after the wand and pat down about the gel packs. I finally just exploded and said "I take it you make so much money you never have to carry your lunch and want it to stay cold?" and then demanded a supervisor. That worked out well because I was so aggravated (almost missed the plane) they bumped us up to first class....

You should see what I have to go through. Getting insulin syringes thru security is like puling teeth. I have to have a medical card, doctors waiver, it takes 20 minutes at security while they search my carry on luggage, they argue with me, want to know why I didnt sent it thru cargo, etc. THIS STUFF KEEPS ME ALIVE YOU MORONS. I CANT BE PARTED FROM IT. Do I trust you to get my cargo luggage to my destination? NO, I'm NOT TAKING THE CHANCE...I could DIE waiting for it to get to me... :evil: :evil:

[quote name='DivineOblivion19'][color=indigo]The lady was told he dog couldn't have a toy in the crate on the plane because of the new security precautions... :roll: [/color][/quote] oh not griping at you, but at the stupid rules they've come up with since then. a KONG is a security risk? Cardboard nail files are a security risk? I think they're overdoing it JUST a little....

oh please...what the hell kinda damage could a kong do on a plane? unless it was stuffed with plastic explosives its really not a security risk.... a coworker got stopped at secuirty and they took her cardboard nail files away...what was she gonna do with them, scratch a passenger to death? sheesh.....

The original purpose of HOA's was to have a "ruling body" who could force people to keep their property up to certain standards. This keeps the property values up for all the residents. It stops the people who dont mow their lawns, leave trash all over the place, park junk cars on the front yard, that sort of thing. If you live across the street from people who dont keep their property up, yours loses value just by proximity. In theory a good idea. But now it has gotten out of control, just like living in the "historical society" houses. HOWEVER, in most cases the HOA is there when the house is purchased, and you agree up front to abide by their rules. This is after the fact. Like I said, I dont think they have a case. There were no rules concerning dogs when you bought the house. Theres a housing development by us that has the same rules. No dog over 35 lbs, and these yards are HUGE. You could have 6 dogs and still have enough room for them all to run around. One guy defied them and has a Golden. Not sure how he did it, but he did. I see the dog in the yard every morning when I drive to work. I think you're probably ok, but if unsure check with a lawyer. I believe you would be considered "grandfathered" since you bought the house before the HOA was established. Ask Kat maybe. Doesnt she have a law degree?

Laurels hearing is impaired, which the vet says is one of the reasons she frightens so easily. When she is asleep, especially, she doesnt hear me calling her. She told me to get close, call her name and then touch her gently, like on the top of the head, or the side if they dont like their head touched. She said always call their name first, if they can hear at all, so as not to frighten them by touching them unexpectedly. She said once I have her full attention, to then give her commands. I have taught both my dogs hand signals as well as verbal, and she responds much better to the hand signals with a verbal command as well. Free also responds to hand signals, but will also obey only on verbal. Yours may have a range hearing issue like Laurel. She can hear some sounds, like bass noise or slamming doors, perfectly fine. Voices seem to be her range issue. If your husbands voice is very deep, have him issue a command and see if your pup hears that better. Best of luck with him.

he lost alot of weight, as it appears to have turned out because he cant eat his dry food, even tho the vet found nothing wrong with his teeth and gums. The bloodwork came back negative for everything except thyroid. he is off his thyroid meds now, apparently doesnt need them anymore. she wants to test him again in 2 months. I am feeding him canned food now and he's eating like there is no tomorrow. so now its just a time thing, see if he gains the weight back and is ok...he's very old.... thanks for asking....

my lab mixstill chases her tail, and she's 7. Something about it just sets her off.She can actually catch it and will stand there and hold onto it, but as soon as I grab a camera she lets go and sits down!!

I have the collars and tags from all my pets except Taurus and Isis. I have their ashes in urns, since Isis refused to be seperated fromTaurus' ashes after he passed.

oh how cute!! The kitten reminds me of "Fearless Ford" who sat on the couch when he first came here and batted the dogs on the noses like he was a lillt King or something... Good dog Jesse!

I dont think they have a leg to stand on. You had the dogs when you moved in, there was no homeowners assoc at the time, so you broke no rules. Your dogs have done no wrong. Get together with the other neighbors and make a bid deal out of it. Take it to the News. Make these people high profile, and tell them you're going to do it, and that this will discourage other animal lovers from buying their houses. If you have to, get together with the neighbors and take out a full page ad in the newspaper warning people about their rules and not to buy a house there. Hit them where it hurts themost....in their wallets.

I am stealing this thread....someone PLEASE start one about PushyCat...it wont let me start one. and he is in bad shape...

[url]http://www.spayusa.org/[/url] go here an fill in your zip code. it will then have you fill out an application and will send you info for vets in your area. The service near me is called STOPP, but may be called something else near you. good luck! :)

oh well. I remember hearing it on the news, and then never hearing anything after that. It was an actual news story though... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

did something in particular happen to bring on this fear? did the cell phone fall on her, or did she get yelled at for something else after hearing the ding? If so, you will need to work that into your desesitizing as well. you may never know what set her off, of course. it could have been something completely innocent that you would never figure would frighten a dog. But desensitizing is your best ber.Make every occurance of that sound something pleasant. You could even record it to start, so she doesnt need to be near the kitchen at first. eventually work your way into the kitchen, and set off ol' George armed with a treat to give her when she shows no fear. Do not either praise or correct if she shows fear. Ignore it and try again later. When she stops showing fear, then praise and treat. on the other side of that coin, my lab mix tried to dig up the floor when she was a puppy. dug through carpet and had left claw marks in the wood. she was frantic about something. Turned out to be my sons watch, which was in the basement, and would beep incessantly for 30 seconds at 2:00every day. It made her crazy, but since she was locked out of the basement she tried to dig up the floor. Putting the watch in a drawer in his room resolved the issue.