courtnek

mine both do it as well. but even worse, they insist on walking on my feet. everyone laughs and says "dogs stomped on ya again?" as I limp in to work.... :lol: :lol: :lol:

[quote name='Malamum']I can't really add anything to what the others have suggested but wanted to poke my head in an ask a really silly question. What is a coon? Is it a shortened term for a racoon?[/quote] yes. sorry. y'know, that made me think. To my knowledge, this dog has never been called a "racoon hound" their breed name is Coonhound.... black and tans are the most common to my knowledge.....I have a friend in Michigan who breeds coonhounds and bloodhounds.... I'll have to ask him about it. but yes, they were bred to hunt racoons (why, I dont know....maybe for those racoon tail hats? :lol: :lol: :lol: ) although racoons CAN be a menace if they overpopulate....

well, first I am sorry about what happened with your Boxer. Sometimes stuff like this happens. Beagles are hounds. while they dont have the horrific "hound smell", they do bay. A long drawn out "howl"....can be aggravating...cant be stopped. can you deal with that? (I have a foxhound) they are gentle creatures, like children, very pleasant personalities...BUT!!! spark up your yard!! they are natural escapists. they will dig out, run through open passages, and do anything they can to be OUT!!! they need to follow whatever animal scent they smell. its a hound thing... good luck. beagles are good house pets, but you have to watch for their escapist tendenceies.

put a bad taste in OUR mouths too, which is why the current stricter regulations exist. Some people just dont know when to quit. even after being politely, not politely, and ANGRILY requested to do so. **sigh** welcome aboard. glad to have anyone here willing to be actively engaged in our discussions, without being nasty about it. :D

she's trying to "sell" herself, Crazy. She wants fame much more than she wants good homes for these dogs. She wants attention. fame and money. she is using her so-called "tests" on these dogs as a means to an end. the tests themselves are ok. In a pinch, a plastic hand is better than being bitten to test for food aggression. In most cases, one or two tries will tell you if the dog is going to react badly. even then, alot of those dogs can be "weaned" from food aggression over time, once they no longer fear they will starve. and once they accept their new owner as alpha. but as with any fear training, it takes time. SHE would have put Laurel down. MY foxhound!! because she barks/bays/growls at men. this is fear, not aggression, and she runs for it most of the time. scrabbles out of the way in fact, when she's scared. I have her toned down to better levels, but its taken a year. SUE wouldnt have given her that long. she would be dead now if in Sue's hands.

my guess is it depends on the dog. also, people who write stuff like that are more concerned with "doggy smell" and " oil on the wallpaper" than the dog. Labs were bred to keep their coats oily, to protect them from the elements. their coats should literally be "waterproof", and its the oil that provides that. along with the double layered undercoat. Freebee lays in her pool and gets hosed off and plays in the sprinkler, without a bath she never smells bad. Laurel has typical "hound smell" and so needs the fast bath. both need their skin oils for a healthy coat. and protection. I have them bathed once in the fall before winter, and once in the spring before summer. It helps with the coat blow, and allows the oils to build back up before the really cold/hot weather starts in.

trust me. Your weather is going to change. I guarantee it, from years of owning hunting dogs...... :lol: :lol: :lol: also, I agree that you're bathing him too often. He NEEDS his coat oils, to protect him from the elements. You may actually be drying his skin out unintentionally. There is a "fast bath" spray you can get. Spray it on Coal, rub it in with your fingers, and brush it out. I use it on Laurel. her coat gets a nice brushing and it smells good, while keeping the essential oils in. Mine dont actually get "bathed" more than twice a year. It's called "Instant dry shampoo".

first, try talking to the neighbors as suggested. They may just be used to the baying and dont hear it any more. (that howl is actually a "bay" - sounds alot like a howl and is a hound trait). Since it's a coonhound, it may actually be calling it's master. Raccoons are nocturnal animals, and hunt at night. It may be smelling coons, and trying to call the hunt together. these are hunting dogs, even without a pack some of the instincts never go away. Hounds being outside in kennels is not at all unusual, although usually there are multiple dogs since they hunt in packs. If the neighbors wont co-operate, you can try (unless its cold out) spraying it with a hose. it wont hurt it (unless its cold) and may get it to stop. Dont soak it, just a sharp spray in the side (not at the face). however, if what it is baying at is the coons, unfortunately, it may not stop.

Shara, the hair coming out in "clumps" is normal for the breed. My Lab does it, my Golden did too. That's how they blow coat. Flaxseed or olive oil will help with the dryness. Fish oil is excellent too. But the coat is still going to clump as it blows. all you can do, literally, is brush and vacuum. It's probably going to start getting warmer by you now. Labs and Goldens seem to be excellent weather vanes. They blow coat when they can "sense" warm weather coming, and they start filling in for the winter depending on how bad it will be. Nothing to be concerned about. Clumping is normal. aggravating, but normal. :)

Frontline, Advantix, get one from your vet. Kills fleas too. On a bigger note, if you have deer in your area and get ticks alot, there is a big risk of Lyme disease. In advanced stages, its very painful and debillitating. There are places you can call that will spray your yard and try to kill off any tick infestation. I strongly suggest you look into it for your own safety.

The big problem for the shelters IS lack of money. Most of them rely on private donations from the public. and they use the money from the adoption fees to help keep the shelters running. That is why I donate old clothes, sheets, blankets, foam bedding, pillows, etc to them. Old sweaters make good bedding, and old t-shirts make great shop rags. They exist on these things. Most honestly do the best they can. There are NO government funded shelters in my area, and few, if any, that I know about in the US. Maybe some of the Humane Societies get some funding, but I'm not sure about that at all. They are in a tough spot, doing a tough job.

thanks!! that was making me nuts! I know she's retired, and the commerical dog wasnt her, but still, she belongs in the "famous dog" list... :D

its been reallt hot here too, the last few days. kiddie pool in the yard for the dogs, AC on for the rest of us! window units work!!

I am seeing a pattern here. A lot of people lean towards dogs they either had, or cared about as children. So heres my story. I wanted a dog. My mom did not like animals in the house. we pestered dad, he was the easier touch on that subject. we pestered and pestered and pestered. Dad would always say "WHO will take care of it? NOT ME." I said I would (as all kids do) he said OK prove it. he knew a breeder of Goldens. He said "you can work there over the summer. REALLY work, then decide if you still want a dog" I agreed. I moved onto the farm for the summer. up at 5:00 a.m. (I am NOT a morning person) feed the dogs. exercise the dogs. train the dogs in basic obedience. I learned alot there. a number of these dogs were being bred for the Seeing Eye in NY. I got to meet the "chooser" and actually got to walk around town blindfolded with a guide dog (SCARY stuff) anyway, summer was done. I went home. I still wanted a dog. Mom finally relented, and said "get a small, shedless dog, a poodle or someting". while I was at the farm, I had fallen in love with one of the dogs, a big, oversized golden, not the choice for the Seeing Eye and too big for competition or show. I asked the trainer if I could work him out of my salary. He said no, my parents had to approve. They didnt. I went home heartsick, but somehwat appeased that at least I was going to get a dog. My dad left one Saturday morning to get our dog. The farm was 3 hours away from our house. My mom really thought he was off for a poodle or something. He came back with Taurus. the Golden I wanted. who promptly, upon getting out of the car, threw up on my moms perfectly manicured lawn. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: they were in it all along!! (my mom wasnt, and wasnt happy about it) Dad wanted to make sure I would be dedicated to taking care of the dog. The trainer apparently gave me good marks, and they struck a deal. In the end, mom ended up loving Taurus, like everyone did. You couldnt NOT love that goofy face, and smile and the fact that he liked EVERYBODY. I moved out on my own when he was 8 (dad cried, mom got the carpet replaced) and had him til he was 13. I still have his ashes in an urn. since then, altho I have had many other breeds of dogs, as pets, as fosters and as rescues, I love hunting dogs. I now have a lab mix and a foxhound.

Newfiemom, theres another newf. The one on the commercials. that saved drowning people and people in boats. I just cant think of her name...

I would rather have them with me. On a side note, Freebee would go up and sniff the bush. just sniff it. Never peed on it, or touched it just sniff. Freebee knew my mom. Laurel will not go near it. period. she circles wide around it and ignores it completely. I stood in front of it and called her, she refused to come. I thought that was weird.

well, you all know how I feel about Sue. IMO, she should not be allowed near animals, period. The tests themselves, when properly conducted, and in a proper environment, can and do show the aggressive TENDENCIES SOME dogs may have. To food, to noise, to quick movements. To prod a dog who is trying peacefully to eat, in a strange place, away from its people, or who was previously abused, is not a proper usage of the test. I would be very pleased with a shelter dog who had been starved, but showed no food aggression the first or second time it was prodded or the dish pulled away. you would move on from that to being able to touch the bowl, pick it up, remove it completely, but for safeties sake the hand right now is the best bet. She prodded those dogs into aggression, then put them down. Dogs in a strange place, among strange people, lots of unknown smells, lots of noise. No wonder they eventually snapped. I would too! This woman is a news hungry, wants-to-see-her-face-in-lights, wannabe star. She should be disallowed access to any shelters and any animals at all. it's not THEM she really cares about, it's HER.

my house is 140 years old (really) and has NO ductwork. The heat is radiators. no central anything. so the air is all window/wall units. the BIG one is in the living room. both dogs lay on the couch (the permanently installed wall unit is there) and let the cold air "fall down" on them when its really hot. SPOILED!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

!@#$%^!@#$%^&!!!!!!!!!!! bastard. she shoulda called the police when he first threatened. then it would have been on record. Oh I would be taking bats to MORE than just knees...car windows, house windows, knees, upside the head. that would just THROW ME OVER THE EDGE..... poor dog wasnt hurting anybody.... :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :grab:

happy bday Jada!! :bday: :bday: :bday: :bday: I agree with Sara. From the pictures, her weight is perfect. dogs should be a lot skinnier than most people keep them (Free's a pudge). a few spinal vertebrae and some ribs is not too thin. my vet thinks thats perfect. Their waists should tuck in from the front and behind. I was told to keep my hound so that when she turns, you can clearly see some rib exposed. skinny legs (but huge knees and hocs) cant support a lot of weight. unless your dog has the legs of a Clydesdale, they shouldnt be too heavy. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[quote name='Horsefeathers!'][quote name='courtnek'] I was adopted, and my father was abusive, both physically amd emotionally. Most adopted people I know are happy about it, after all, the parents have to jump thru hoops to get the kids, so you have to think they really want to have kids. the "hoops" werent there when I was adopted. If the parents had money, they could adopt. [/quote] That's downright spooky. I can almost just say ditto ditto to that story, Court! I prefer to think of my adoption as more of a "purchase" (seriously... my birth father sold my sisters and me to 3 different families willing to pay), but still... wow, we have so much in common, it's scary. No one EVER believes me when I say this, but I think that adopted people looking up biological relatives is a horrible idea. I can relate and empathize with the curiosity of people who are adoptd, the who do I look like, whose talents did I inherit stuff, but I've known WAAAAAAY more people who ended up heartbroken and bitter upon finding their biological parents than those who had a happy reunion. The happy reunions are not as common as people want to imagine. Once you get through the initial "joy" of finding (or being found by) a long lost biological parent, the reality sets in... why did you get rid of me, why did you not want me, why did you allow me to be put into such predicaments, what did I do wrong, how could you, insert scenario here. That's not even to mention the adoptive parents who, when p*ssed off always refer to your biological parents and tell you that you're just like them, or will never amount to much, or can't understand why you aren't just like the biological children they had and raised. Oh, and don't forget the aunts, uncles and cousins who never miss a chance to tell you how thankful you should be that these godsent people came along and "rescued" you, you little throwaway that nobody else wanted, and what a worthless piece of sh*t you are if you don't spend your days and nights expressing your gratitude for being "rescued" and why can't you be more like your (adopted) siblings and then there is always the perverted uncle who wants to engage in funny business because you're not REALLY related, so that makes it ok and... Oh, and I always enjoyed being introduced as basically an outcast. My (adoptive) parents always introduced all their kids like this, "This is Kevin, that's Joyce, that's Janet, and that'sthekidweadopted" (me)... geez, I could REALLY get on a rant here (you ain't seen nothin' yet). :x It just really breaks my heart when I see adopted people who get their hopes set so high for meeting their biological families. It's very seldom a happy thing longterm. It can open so many wounds that you didn't even realize were there and can be very difficult to get through. Sorry to go so far off topic. Blame it on Courtnek. *snicker*[/quote] gee, thanks..... :lol: :lol: :lol: I agree with you. I have never tried to find my birth parents. They gave me up for a reason, the most likely one being they werent married and it was an unplanned pregnancy. So what would it to to them, posibly now seperate, married to other people, with their own kids, to have the "other" kid (that the spouse probably doesnt know about) show up on the doorstep and say "hi. I'm the kid you gave up..." I;m not into wrecking other peoples lives. whether it was because I was an embarassament, a mistake, or they couldnt take care of me. those were the choices made. They tried to make a responsible choice by finding me a good home. It wasnt their fault it didnt work out.

OK creepy story. My mothers favorite flower was roses. She like a particular peach color, which does not grow in the wild. has to be pollinated that way. anyway, she died in 1999. in the spring of 2000, out of the blue, a wild rose bush appeared in my yard. wild, not planted, I have a completely brown thumb. the neighbors have wild rose bushes, but the flowers are red. THESE flowers were pale pale pink. as close to peach as a wild bush could get. this happened right after my son was diagnosed with diabetes. the bush lived for one flowering, then stopped. I never touched it. Never cut it back, never tended it. it did not come up the next year. in 2001 in the spring my son burned his leg (1st degree burns) which required lots of tending and caused me lots of stress. the bush flowered that year. In 2003 Kyle again hurt himself badly, in a motorcycle accident. Broke both the bones in his left leg, and required titanium bars to be surgically implanted. More stress, more expenses. the bush flowered. This year, in the spring nothing happenend. Then I realized I was majorly over my head in debt, more stress, more expenses. the bush flowered, in MID JUNE.... Mom is looking out for me....I truly believe that. :angel: :angel:

it doesnt bother either of the two I have now. Freebee always wants to go outside during them.... :roll: :roll: :roll: I had a golden that would hide and shiver and whimper in the tub, and wouldnt come out til it was over.

yes it is. I dont see the reason for owning a wild animal, although for years I wanted a wolf, until I got a dog that the vet believed was a small part wolf. and he was a major handfull. they never get over their wild instincts. I thank the sanctuaries for trying to repopulate the breed, and the zoo's, but I see no reason to keep them as pets.

does she seem excessively thirsty, and did the vet check for diabetes? that's one of the major symptoms. they cant help it, they just have to go all the time...