Horsefeathers!

[quote name='Bentleythewonderdog'] Sorry if I hit a nerve.[/quote] Bentley, you didn't. 8)

I respectfully disagree. I respect that she has gumption enough to post her opinions even though they are very unpopular. If she only chooses to engage in controversial topics rather than the fluff n' stuff, I'm ok with that. I'm only trying to be objective, but I really would hate to start banning people because they have unpopular opinions and only participate in hot topics. While it may really p*ss people off, it also makes people think. Though her opinions are unpopular, I've yet to see her be blatantly disrespectful. To be totally honest, I think she's made some valid points. Also, I have to shamelessly admit that I realllllllllly like spirited debate. I just imagine how boring it would be if we all shared the same views. I don't think that having unpopular opinions is the same as being argumentative. Maybe I haven't seen everything y'all have. :oops:

Forget it. Geez.

[quote name='Cairn6'][quote name='Horsefeathers!']Cairn... ok, you're right and I'm wrong. Better?[/quote] Well that's great I can see your someone you can't have an open diaglog. Your very sarcastic.[/quote] I can do open dialogue. It's just pointless when the "opponent" twists your words to fit what they need to believe. Therefore, I concede. Take it the way you want to.

Cairn... ok, you're right and I'm wrong. Better?

Not defensive. You haven't been here long enough to know that I don't just p*ss and moan about what bugs me, or just post fluff n' stuff that any dog can this, or any dog can that. That's just too easy and doesn't make for intelligent debate or conversation, IMO. It's really kind of condescending and patronizing to just preach the same ol' "any dog can bite..." sermon over and over rather than stick with the topic at hand. Believe me, you're not the first to do it and I'm sure we're all aware. I've long been the biggest mouth here trying to change the perception in the past of all small dogs being yappy and snappy, so you don't know me as well as you think. Wait a while and then you can know me well enough to hate me for real. I'm more of an OFfensive person than a DEfensive one. 8) By the way, I've heard PLENTY of people say they aren't large dog folks. I'm not narrowminded enough to think a person has to love every single breed of dog to be a dog lover. If it works for you, hey, whatever flips yer switch. :bigok:

Glad everything worked out ok. I was wondering if perhaps Buck may have just been in some pain. Pain can make them act really puny if they hurt bad enough. Good to hear he's fine.

Guest, I'm just being nosy here... by using the term "sook," I am assuming you are from somewhere besides the US (UK maybe, or Australia?). It's just not a common term here. Saying that, I'm wondering what kind of Cockers you are referring to. In the US, the generic Cocker term applies to the American Cocker Spaniels where (I assume?) in the UK the generic Cocker term applies to the English Cockers. All this to say which kind do you have? I'm in the US and have never had opportunity to meet very many English Cockers. As far as the US goes, I think Cockers have become so popular and so overbred that their temperaments have suffered greatly. I adore well bred American Cockers.

Good luck! 8)

This is not a criticism at all (because I have no clue), but wouldn't he be considered to be down in his pasterns? I was just looking at his front feet and the way they set to the ground when he is moving. I know NOTHING about GSDs, but Devin (Lhasa) stands on his pasterns as well. Not that that's Devin's only fault (severe HD, bad knees, down in his pasterns, roach backed, walleyed, way undershot jaw... oy, my little show dog, aye?). Anyhoo, I'm just curious. Knowledge is power and all that good stuff. :wink:

Buck should be at the vet by now, so I'm sending as much positive energy and healing thoughts as possible up Michigan way right now. I truly do hope he's ok and that there's nothing seriously wrong. I hate to hear he's so out of sorts. :(

What you have to do is go in there like you and the dog both belong there. Don't ask anyone anything about permission to be there. Don't make eye contact and don't look guilty. Don't act nervous. When I take mine into stores, I just always "assume" it's perfectly acceptable and normal unless otherwise told so. I act as if everyone takes their dog to the store. Try it. The worst thing that can happen is they say no dogs allowed. They can't eat you. :wink:

[quote name='kendalyn']How many dogs do you bring with you HF? Do you bring the larger ones, or just the small ones?[/quote] It really varies. Peanut (the Toy Poodle) and Devin (Lhasa) go with me EVERYWHERE regardless of who else is with me. Perry & Pauly (Standard Poodles) go with me a lot as well. It really depends on where I'm going. I've been taking Rocco (Doberman) lots of places, too, but I don't take Perry & Pauly when he goes. There are only so many I can handle at a time and it takes a LOT to get Rocco in and out of the car and able to walk around places. Peanut & Devin are wonderful, though, and can happily be carried, walked on leash, or ride around in a shopping cart depending on where we are :) . Pauly & Perry are feeling a bit ripped off as they aren't getting to travel as much as before. Still, at any given time, there are at least two dogs with me. The rest of The Gang virtually never goes anywhere with me. They are dogs who'd prefer to stay home and don't enjoy traveling, or whose manners can't always be counted on :oops: . Well, except my poor beloved Tucker (Lab). His hips are so bad and it's so hard for him to get in and out of the car repeatedly and do a lot of walking, so I don't take him much. Shame because he is a certified therapy dog. :(

Yoladybug, what's weird is that I live about half an hour away from you and have never had a run in with one of these toads, though I have heard of them. We have all sorts of frogs in our yard (so many that I've stepped on them and refuse to go outside barefoot, anymore :oops: ), but don't reckon I've ever encountered one of those wretched toads. My dogs have had similar reactions eating some bugs, though, like stink bugs. Glad it was nothing serious.

[quote name='Bentleythewonderdog'] I just don't want to deal with the possibility that the larger dog may decide to snap at a tasty little morsel.[/quote] Isn't this sort of discriminatory in the same manner that some people are getting peeved at the small dog stereotypes? I mean, it assumes that all big dogs potentially see smaller dogs as "tasty little morsel"s. Mind you, I believe you are entirely right in maintaining control of your own dogs and not assuming that others are as responsible and in avoiding contact with other dogs you are uncomfortable with. It's just food for thought, but not necessarily directed solely at you, if that makes sense. :wink:

Believing in karma the way I do, I'm sure they'll get theirs in the end. Creeps.[img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0agANA3gibnHWpLbhXWCnAh6I988OolFcHYKH74GgfRG0du0SN71HmfBi1JJotlHfiYki5AnEttRP8aZoVwo1VAQr!H1*KVgHWdKwSSUmPadwP8!xKuGV9JQra7JUSDnzK3QGpCXMLljX2pH0KbGGBu8NfAcJ2aX6/smiley%20angry%20blaze.gif?dc=4675382217556571913[/img]

If Eagle Pack were available to me locally without having to order it, I'd feed it to mine on a rotation. Right now we're rotating Wellness, Canidae and Solid Gold (of course, with the homecooked they get :wink: ) because that's what's available to me. I'd love to be able to find Eagle Pack nearby. I believe it's a great food.

Probably for the same reason we don't eat vegemite here. I once tried it and would sooner extract one of my own major organs and consume it than ever eat it again. :P Some things are just more popular depending on where you live and Dr. Pepper is pretty popular around here. 8)

Or maybe we should start another thread about how much poor little misunderstood darlin's are terrorized by big, mean dogs. It's been done to death, but let's do it some more. I don't know what part of "yeah, irresponsible dog ownership sucks" people aren't understanding. I don't understand what there is to debate. Some people are just p*ssed off that someone addressed the issue of irresponsible small dog ownership and absolutely insist on believing that we are categorically claiming that all small dogs are evil. [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0ZQDfAnEflEYn5YnL00k!DWMkMJdh4FzliTKiKRvBvIMg5WjmFG!gXwWfO3q536t5JSsFh3bb7EBhDKWqIPqXzXaOaILgFvw6VON*XMDHERLgvdFIe309riYDjI7Iz*6utYlRtNg6ZHLgGY!6lNRIEw/la%20la%20la%20la.gif?dc=4675382217526523049[/img] I reckon I'm just disappointed. The concept is SO simple. I assumed we all knew that ANY dog can be a butthead without having to actually point it out over and over, but the whole point of this thread originally was just a vent that someone had about how people think it's cute to let little dogs aggress. I'm just taken aback that this is such an offensive observation, or such a difficult concept to grasp. The only people I could imagine having any problem with it are the very people who would encourage their own dogs' ill manners as being "cute." *shrug*

[quote name='Cassie']They still make Dr. Pepper??? :o I thought that went out of style like disco music... 8) [/quote] Shut yo mouf!! :o I'd probably thirst right to death if they stopped making Dr. Pepper. Some people have coffee in the mornings... Peanut & I have Dr. Pepper. I don't generally drink a lot of sodas, but if I do, it HAS to be Dr. Pepper. It seems to be very popular in the south. When I used to be a professional tourist :P , it could sometimes be very hard to find DP the further I traveled out of the south. I don't remember EVER drinking DP when I was in Canada.

I was told that Home Depot is supposed to have a corporate pet friendly policy. I know around here, most Home Depots are right next to a PetsMart, anyway. I take my dogs into virtually anywhere. I figure the worst that can happen is that we be asked to leave, but it very rarely happens. If it's not a grocery store or a restaurant, I'll take mine with me. Peanut is going to the movie theater with us later this afternoon. 8)

I don't get the logic... we can do the Pit Bull and "bad" dog thing to death around here, but let someone express their disgust about irresponsible small dog owners and all h*ll breaks loose. Pheh! If it bugs you, avoid it, that simple. The original poster of this thread had a perfectly valid point when she pointed out that [u]had the same situation been reversed and it had been her larger, more "vicious" (perceived) breeds doing the attacking, she could have faced much stiffer penalties rather than having it laughed off[/u]. How often do you see a call for small breed bans due to irresponsible ownership as is the case with the bigger breeds, both victims of irresponsible ownership? Still think that it's a one size fits all situation and that "all" dogs are treated equally? I also don't necessarily buy that generically labeled crap of "bigger dogs can do more damage, therefore the need for more concern." While that's true on the surface, I don't buy it as a defense of irresponsible small dog owners. A small dog is perfectly capable of killing a small child and it has happened. I don't think anyone here is stupid enough to need the sermon on "any dog can bite" since it's blatantly obvious and gets beat to death in each and every Pit Bull and "vicious" dog thread. I think we get the picture. It's certainly been drawn enough. While *W*E* K*N*O*W* that *A*N*Y* dog can bite, *T*H*I*S* thread was about irresponsible [u]small[/u] dog owners. Owners of much maligned breeds like Pit Bulls, German Shepherds, Chows, etc., have every right in the world to be p*ssed off about irresponsible small dog owners because the former are under much closer scrutiny than small dog owners. If you think it's that silly, atrocious, offensive, stupid, unnecessary, the choice is there to avoid it altogether and go post on those topics which you seem passionate about... the general "any dog can bite" fluff and stuff posts. OR, here's a thought, you could actually DO something about it like promote owner education so these little darlin' don't get such a bad rap. If there weren't so many irresponsible people letting them get away with murder, there wouldn't be that reputation to defend, now would there? It's what the responsible Pit Bull (that you obsess on) owners do... they don't just p*ss and moan about their bad reputation on an internet forum. They are actually involved in trying to promote responsible ownership, discourage irresponsible ownership, and show what a GOOD representative of their breed is supposed to be. I still don't understand why one would be so offended if it doesn't apply to them. If your dogs are well behaved and well mannered, more power to you for doing the right thing.

[quote name='Cairn6']Irresponsible owners are irresponsible owners it hasn't a thing to do with the size of the dog[/quote] True. However, *T*H*I*S* thread is about irresponsible [u]small[/u] dog owners. Again, the Pit Bull and "bad" dog thing has been done to death here. I'm actually GLAD someone addressed this issue with small dogs. That's why we have different boards on this forum and why we title the individual threads. It's easy enough to avoid a topic that is upsetting. [quote]I don't like people using derogatory words against any dog anymore then I would agree that a child with lousy parents is a little sh*t.[/quote] Start a thread about lousy parenting and we'll see. I call bratty kids with rotten parents little sh*ts all the time. Start a thread, put it in debates and we can go at it there.

[quote name='Cairn6'] Actually I can't see how they wouldn't perceive size[/quote] I said I don't believe they perceive size the same way we do. Of course they do have some perception. I just don't buy into the whole thing of having to be blatantly aggressive solely because they are small. It just doesn't make sense to me. [quote]How do you feel about Pit Bulls do you think that is right for people to get down on them because irresponsible owners are encouraging aggressive behavior.[/quote] Start a thread on it and we'll discuss it. The whole Pit Bull thing has been done to death here while there are very few discussions on small dogs, so if you want to mull over some Pit Bull issues, you can go back and look up old posts, or start a new thread. [quote]Perhaps we should be faulting the owners and not picking on small dogs.[/quote] From everything I've read so far, that's EXACTLY what we've been doing... complaining about the PEOPLE who think it's cute to let small dogs show aggression. I don't see where anyone has placed the blame on the dogs alone. [quote]How many of you here who dislike small dogs have a small dog?[/quote] I don't see where anyone said they dislike small dogs. I think the general consensus is that people dislike irresponsible small dog OWNERS and the results of the irresponsibility... NASTY small dogs. No one is saying that ALL small dogs are nasty and aggressive. Still, for the record, I have 3 Lhasa Apsos, 1 Chihuahua, 1 Toy Poodle and a Mini Schnauzer. I have more small dogs than big ones and am still one who thoroughly despises ill mannered small dogs, though through the fault of irresponsible owners (of course... should go without saying). [quote]If I were to start a thread that said I can't stand pit bulls because they are all aggressive and the owners don't train them right. Is that a generalization? Is that true or not?[/quote] Start a thread and see. I really don't know why you're taking this personally. Everything I've seen indicates that most people posting here do not like irresponsible dog ownership, whether dealing with Pit Bulls or little darlin's who would just as soon rip your face off as say hello. If you dig around here enough, you'll find that it's ESPECIALLY the Pit Bull people who loathe irresponsible Pit ownership. Still, that's another thread.

For the most part, I agree. I don't vaccinate yearly, anymore, but am absolutely fanatical about heartworm prevention. In my area, heartworm is almost a certainty for a dog not on prevention. We see at least a couple of cases of heartworm positive dogs each WEEK in our clinic. :(