courtnek

A Day of Pet's 'N' Play? (still trying to start with an "A") All Pets 'N' Play? All Creature Care?

oh they;re adorable. But demons is right. Just look at those faces... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

very cute! AP did a show on double-headed animals (turtles and pigs and such)...I wonder if there's ever really been a double-bodied animal like that? :o :o

Dog, I'm so sheltered. It never occurred to me that "The Yellow Pages" would be all around the world...Hang on to them. They are quickly losing steam to the online "Yellow Pages"....they may become a collectors item some day. I like "A Dog's Day out"....that's catchy....

the lead is the missing piece of the puzzle Shara. I would never try to take something from a dog with out the lead. Not until he has been trained to give it up willingly. the lead, from an early age, tells them tha YOU are in control. During walks, during recall training, during agility.YOU have the lead, and YOU can make them do what you want. Or keep them away if they dont behave. This is just another training piece. And as HF has mentioned, a very important one. maybe most important. If Coal got ahold of a bottle of aspirin, would he give it up? If not, it could kill him. he has to be willing to give up things you dont want him to have. food, pop tops, aspirin, panty hose.....doesnt matter. he needs to let you take whatever you want away from him. for his safety, and yours...

I took Laurel and Freebee out on their split leash, for a walk around the neighborhood. Suddenly, around one corner **8** kids came running up. I worried about Freebee since she is not usually kid friendly. But Laurel took the lead, and even though her tail was not up" (not under either) she approached the kids and let them pet her. Freebee then followed suit (not to be outdone by the upstart) and actually wagged her tail a little. A big thing for her. the kids were typical. Pet the head, the ears, the back. Both dogs were very good (and I had them on short leash. They couldnt leave my side) asked a zillion questions. would the dogs sit?: I showed them sit. Lay down? they laid down. roll over? sorry, no....do they bite? only if neccesary. One very small child was enchanted by Laurel's floopy ears and lips, and kept lifting them up to look at them....Laurel pulled away from the lift lipting at first, but when I told her OK she allowed it. she wasnt happy, but she allowed it. I dont know what this kids interest in her lips was.... eventually, she licked the kid, which startled her. She looked at me and said "is she going to bite me?" and I said no, she licked you cuz she likes you. Laurel was now wagging her tail. all in all, it was good socialization, for both the dogs and the kids. Of course, the kids all ran home yelling I WANT A DOG....so I may be in some peoples Sh** list now... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Thanks HF - another trick, using the lead, is to pull the dogs head up from the food, make him sit, and then add something to the bowl. A small piece of cheese, a piece of bologna, etc. even a few more kibbles will work after a while. The dog then learns that mom reaching into the bowl, or picking it up means something GOOD happens. I use this with all my dogs, although none of them need leads now. I reach down while they;re eating, pick the bowl up (Freebee gives me that "look", "where are going with my food????" but never gets aggressive) and then I put a treat in it, even a milkbone, and the dog learns that losing the bowl could mean something good will happen. I dont treat them everytime, once they have learned. Sometimes I just put the bowl back down, or I reach in and stir the food around while they watch. They know its a crapshoot. I will also reach down, while they are eating out of the bowl, and gently nudge them out of the way, then put a treat in the bowl for them. They know that i can do that. Now I dont even have to nudge them. I can reach in their bowls and drop off a treat anytime I want. They both lift their heads, and wait. for the cheese, the bologna, the milk bone, or a few extra kibbles.

[url]http://www.puppydogweb.com/caninebreeds/ads/alaskmal.htm[/url] this is a site that lists breeders and kennels. just click on alaskan malamute. They may be able to tell you of a breeder or kennel in your area, and how much the pups generally cost. It will vary from kennel to kennel. Be aware, this may be your dream dog, but they require lots of exercise and lots of work. They are working dogs. Good luck in your search. I would love to hear that you have researched this dog before you decide to get one.... :)

Freddun (on our board) has Springers, but dont know if they are KC's or not. I dont think so, Alfie looks too big. But he may have pointers. :D

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: oh poor meg....maybe she was thinking you ditched her ball... :lol: :lol: :lol: they're so funny when they're confused. that sounds mean, I know, but the facial expressions are priceless...Mine both do the "cocked ears head to side" thing and look so unknowing, like they're saying "What the HEY are you talking about????" 8)

thanks VERY much Abker!! we have a fairly high incidence of Lyme here, because there are SOOOO many deer around, in the forest preserves and woods. A thought, perhaps....I have a friend who got Lyme from Deer Ticks in Wisconsin. Never considered it, until the symptoms started. He gets bitten by ticks all the time, because he hunts in the Wisconsin woods during deer and duck season. (so WHERE are your high boots and long sleeve shirts, hmmmm? we've had this argument many times....) Anyway, I remember him saying that during some of the stages of the disiease, he had extensive, horrendous joint pain.....He was diagnosed with arthritis, the ongoing type that continues to get worse over time (cant think of the name off the top) and all the drugs they gave him never helped any. The swelling would go down, but the pain never left. He said it got so bad he started searching around the net, and came across Lyme. When he was tested it was confirmed. And they started him on intense antibiotic therapy, and pain killers (yes! pain killers! he couldnt take it any more) there were some other drugs too, for the swelling, and some anti-inflammatories....anyway, he got better. He told me the pain was so intense that sometimes he just wanted to die... actually thought about suicide. So maybe the dogs aggression could be contributed to pain? pain that they can no longer tolerate? Everyone knows to muzzle a dog hit by a car, because in pain they become extremely defensive....just a thought.

theyn I'd have second thoughts on barf. you cant let raw feed lay around all day. It will spoil, and could make him really sick. You could try putting a short 2 ft leash on him, pull him away from his food, take it up for 2 or 3 minutes, then put it back down. Just until he gets the idea that even though you took it away, you intend to give it right back. break him in slowly as it were....

we have foxes here too, and coyotes, but they dont normally venture in close to the houses. I live in a "neighborhood" where it is mostly houses and businesses, but fairly close to a number of forest preserves and the fox river, where the foxes hang out. The possums, and raccoons and skunks are not afraid of people anymore. They wander right into the 'hoods and raid garbage, build dens under houses and sheds, and pretty much make themselves nuisances. I did have to evict some skunks from under the shed a few year ago, since they are NOT afraid of the dogs and the smell is unbearable....but the possums dont bother me. I just dot want the dogs getting bitten by digging into their den trying to get at them.

well HF....I think you are correct. She has given up sleeping on the bed, unless something frightens her. And I think I have it figured out. "it" would be Freebee, who never slept on the bed, but always laid up there with me to watch TV, then slept on the floor in front of the bed all night. She tolerated Laurel laying on the bed up until about 2 weeks ago. Then Freebee suddenly decided she was going to take back her place..and she started jumping up on the bed to watch TV again. They wont both share the bed. If one is up there, the other gets down. Freebee now refuses to get down anymore, so Laurel doesnt get up. Could Freebee understand why I had temporarily "promoted" Laurel, and now figures its time to demote her again? She is back to being friendly, and is actually a little more confident now than before, so maybe she was uncomfortable in her pack position. She seems better now, so be it.

Shara, he will show LESS food aggression if he gets used to you taking his food away. he needs to learn that YOU control the food. YOU can take it away whenever you want. Trust me...

I thought that too. I had hoped to make her more comfortable, then eventually take her down to a normal pack status. All of your pratices would normally work. SHE seems happier sleeping on the bed. and loses her "confidence" otherwise...I have never had a dog go so "down" when reduced in pack status. I think she's "playing" me. We'll see how it goes.

I have let her sleep on my bed (and began to like it, even though its against my normal training rules :oops: :oops: :oops: ) because she was SOOOO Omega, afraid all the time. this seemed to help. she seems to feel higher in the pack rules now. Then something happened, not sure what, but she seemed afraid to get on the bed. She was also more afraid of me, of Kyle, of everything. She didnt wag her tail when I came home, she was back to acting like the Omega when I got her. This has been going on for 4 days. Last night, she got over it and jumped on the bed. Today she is herself, wagging her tail, communing with Kyle, chewing up bones. WHAT HAPPENED? and am I now stuck with her as a bed companion from now on? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

if you want to get him to eat all his food at one time, put it down, let him eat, but take it up after 15 minutes. That's more than enough time to consume a normal dog meal. Mine have snarfed it down in less than 60 seconds on occasion. Shara, dont feel you are "starving" the dog. It might take two or three feedings, but he'll get it, believe me. He's not eating it all now because it's there all day. If you want him to eat barf, you need to train him him to consume it all at once. raw food left laying around is a salmonela disaster...mine crack me up. They try to eat out of the bowls before I even put it down. But thats because there's two of them. survival of the fittest. If they dont both snarf it down, the other one will take it. (Laurel learned that early on. She didnt eat her food, Freebee would...) :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

possums are pretty common here....in fact, I think there might be one living under my shed. Laurel has dug a hole there and puts her face in it and keps trying to dig whenever she's out. Hunting dogs....I put a crate over it to keep Laurel out. There is still some room on the sides for the possum to get out if it needs to. But not enough for Laurel to get in...or stick her head in. She still stands nosed up to the crate, trying to figure out a way around it. you cant stop their natural instincts. You can only protect them as best you can. :fadein: :fadein:

ok I know that all dogs show a sort of "internal clock", about feeding times, and when their people come home, and when they know if you're going to work or not. Most of it has been half-heartedly explained by insignificant signals you dont know you're giving..... NOT THESE TWO!!!! I let them out at 6:30 to play in the yard (at their insistance). I'm sitting here reading posts, and suddenly I hear Freebee barking and Laurel jumping on the door. I look at the PC clock. It's 7:01... they get fed every night at 7:00, no exceptions....(banning an emergency) HOW DID THEY KNOW IT WAS 7:01???? I was NOT out there with them, there were no signals they could get from me....yet at 7:01 they're demanding "in and feed".... :o :o :o :o

cement is very difficult to paint and keep painted. I painted my basement floor, where dogs are not running on it, and in two years it already started to show wear. cement is water resistant. repellant. it doesnt absorb the paint, the way a wall does, so it easily comes off. Basically it lies ont he surface of the cement, and doesnt "take" the way paint does to a wall. Secondly, what made him think that paint would keep away bacterial infections? bare concrete doesnt hold any more bacteria, to my knowledge, then a painted surface does. And what kind of bacteria are we talking about? Feces? urine? painting the floor wont stop that bacteria from spreading. the floor needs to be cleaned daily (multiple times if necessary) with very hot water and baking soda. If it is animal waste he is worried about, he should set aside a space in the kennel with gravel and sand, and teach the dogs to go there. That area too will need to be cleaned regularly.

I thought it was funny too......unfortunately, at first I believed it, until I got to the part about Chi's being rodents, and dogs being bred with pigeons.... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

oh DARN!!! I guess that means the guy I hired to hijack him and bring him here failed in their appointed task...now, to get my money back.... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: he's adorable Fred. I bet he'll fit right in with you guys. What a face.... :angel:

[quote name='K']What is in the minds of these people?????..where do they even dream up these things?????..I would of never,ever thought of doing that...its just beyond normal...its really a sickness..and they need treating..to a bullet in the brain...I mean thier brains are not working right?..best to put them down surely?...first a dog....and then a kid?...it happens...a high percentage of child killers/molesters began by maiming animals... :x[/quote] took the words right outta my mouth. Most of the sicko's you hear national news about, the John Wayne gacy's and the Jeffrey Dahmers, started their illustrious careers abusing animals. Their parents "lectured" them that it was wrong, but that was it. Did no one see that there is a truly sick mind at work here? that requires more than mere lectures, and then avoidance of the problem, because "it couldnt happen to MY kid. He'll never be one of "those" people......" :agrue: :agrue: :evil: :evil: :drinking:

yes, it is possible to get it from the mother. A friend at work had a dog tht developed mange after being adopted, and it was determined to have ben spread by the mom. It often takes multiple dips, not just one, to get rid of it. She had to have her dog dipped four times....