Peng1zrule

you know, the "wispy stuff" was never something I noticed...but now that you mention it...yeah, there IS wispy stuff. I can always FIND fleas. Also, they leave "flea dirt" little black specks that are hard but easily crushed and, when put on a wet papertowel, dissolve into red nothingness (because it's the blood they got off the dog) Also, look at the dog's stomach, the crease of his legs, his tail, his ears, and his throat--major flea hang outs. A flea (or lice) comb taken straight over the back, or one leg, or down the throat, etc should return some white specks (flea eggs) black specks (flea dirt) or brown bugs (actual fleas) if they are present. I would suggest treating the yard with sevins dust as well...fleas spend only a portion of the time on the dog...the rest is on the ground or the floor, making homes for themselves. yee-uck! If the dog has been in the car, take no chances...treat it too. getting rid of fleas is all out warfare.

kaleb, thanks so much!

I think it's the leather...if you've got a fur coat or a very realistic looking plush animal (the eerily realistic ones are made out of -gag- actual cat and dog fur) animals will react differently to it. I do beleive they just then realized you had a bag made out of an animal in your hands, and it freaked them out.

I had to laugh (I'm in the library. laughing is frowned upon) what a beautiful dear! congrats!

I call them "tongue freckles" (or tongue spots) A lot of people say that if a dog has the tongue freckles, they must have some chowchow or shar pei in them--this isn't true. I've heard people say the absurdest things based on a little bit of folk lore...tongue freckles are normal and meaningless. (any dog can have tongue freckles, not just chow or pei mixes)

it's actually been like this from the very first. I tried to introduce them nuetrally, but Calliope didn't seem to like India at all. They fought. I seperated them, gave them time to cool off, and tried to let them play together. For about a month, they even shared one dog lot, and they got along GREAT. But I started walking them together one day, and they started squabbling. I ended up having to walk them home by thier collars. It happened every day, so I started putting Calliope with Fang, who always fought with Buddy and Sandy, (I kept him seperate from the others because breaking up and preventing fights became absolutely exhausting) And India went with the other three. Eventually, I just kept Fang and Calliope as one unit since they liked each other so well, and the other four as another unit since they were so peacable. I recently began re-acquanting them together because the fence plan became a reality once again, and this bullying started just now. ..............

Thanks Carol. I do beleive it is a dominance thing and I had wondered if it was a possession issue with Calliope, but she recognizes my dominance (or seems to) when I discipline her--usually vocally, occassionaly with a squirt bottle, and often with a good scruffing, she cringes, acts very submissive, and seems more determined than ever to stop her from getting away. She hates to see the cat sit in my lap, but knows not to touch her--any ideas on her stop trying to keep me to herself?

thanks for all the links and suggestions! My library doesn't have any of them, so I'm going to have to order the books through the mail (argh)

where do I go to find books on feeding the RAW and BARF diets? I am considering switching to this diet, but don't want to go ignorantly into the abyss...where can I research it? I have done a web search and only came up with testimonials...

I think so...I was astounded she had to pay that money, I barely heard the rest of the broadcast...she had been busted twice before and allowed to walk free, and this time she had the audacity to go before the court and say the dogs were not abused and that she deserved them back!! She cannot have them back, and I beleive she isn't allowed to own anymore...I'll have to check...

I don't know if anyone heard about, or remembers, that older lady in Union County, North Carolina, who was busted for a puppy mill--she had over 250 starving, dirty, sickly dogs on her property. Well, two days ago the news ran an update on her story--she has been ordered to pay over 37,000 dollars for the vet bills for those little dogs, as well as community service! yay! I'm glad all those little dogs got some justice...and now they can be adopted out, finally!

I don't have anything special to add...I'm from NC too and like hounds...I don't hunt--I don't have the heart to! I do admire (adore) dogs that work!

Hello all... In another two months, I am going to fence my yard, and I have been worrying almost non stop about two of my dogs. Calliope is my APBT, and India is a corgi mix. The cardigan corgi, if that means anything special. Calliope is FINE with my other dogs--she is Fang's boss, could care less about Buddy, cringes and shows her belly to Gypsy, and loves Sandy. But when it comes to India, she shows this behavior that makes me worry. She starts by just circling her, around and around, in a tight circle, trying to stop India from walking. It works. India will sit down and avert her eyes, and then Calliope becomes aggressive--pinching and nipping at her, and getting rougher and rougher, as if goading her. I can make her leave her alone, but only until India begins to move away, then she becomes more aggressive--not toward ME, but toward India--I have to make her leave the room just so India can get up and move. She won't let India move freely at all, but the other day India seemed fed up and attacked her. It was more of a showy fight, with lots of noise but no one really landing a bite. I should add now I don't consider Calliope "game" because she once started a fight with a much bigger dog, and I had to pull the bigger dog off, and Calliope left without a peep--she went and hid. Anyway, she left her alone (after the fight) for so long I relaxed and sat on the couch, with one leg under me and the other stretched out, with only my heel resting on the floor. The both laid down, one on either side of my foot, and they could see each other behind my ankle--they got into a fight for no reason other than they wanted the other to walk away from me. Again, it was a loud but not serious fight. I have kept them completley away from each other, but I had hoped to leave them in the yard together--is this dangerous? Should I just let them "work it out" since the fights do not seem to be serious? (I hate that idea)

they never stop going into heat! they go into heat until they die...She can be spayed while she is in heat, just costs a little more and takes longer.

muzzling makes aggression worse, since the dog feels trapped--you have taken his "weapon" out of commission, he is defenseless. When my littlest, Gypsy, was attacked by two larger dogs, she became very dog aggressive to strange dogs. It took me years (and lots of methods) to figure out a way to get it to lessen, if not stop, altogether. She yanked at the lead to bark, growl, snarl, or whatnot. So I stopped the lead-yanking--I verbally corrected her for pulling the lead taut. I didn't take her out in public, but instead walked her around my property, until the lead pulling was almost nil. Then I began walking her when there would only be the dogs contained in thier yards to deal with. After two or three passes--ta da! she no longer lunged and screamed with rage as we passed strange dogs. She still doesn't. To this day, dogs can bark at her, and she will give them a cool look and keep walking. You might try walking your pup around the perimeter of a park where children are playing, and correcting her for becoming aggressive, tense, or nervous--do not use physical correction! Do not praise calmness or indifference except with a calm manner or a calm pat on the head or scratch behind the ears, whatever your dog likes. Re-introducing her to children should go slowly, if at all. An explanation of what your dog has been through to visitors (as you put the dog in another room, away from children) should be enough to make most people keep thier kids away. If you decide to re-socialize your dog with kids, you might try children farthest away from the attacker's age group, and v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y working your way up or down to the attacker's age, where the children at that age should be extremely calm, polite, and generous with snacks.

You might try those devices that beeps or whatever when the dog makes sound. They are designed for your neighbor's dog--you set them at the fence so that when their dog vocalizes, it makes noise and supposedly startles them into silence. I almost NEVER give this sort of advice...but perhaps another animal (such as a cat or another dog) would end this. It sounds like her howling is an extension of her loneliness. I had one pup (when I was a kid) who would howl indiscriminately at all hours. She would eat, but barely looked up. She moved so little we warned visitors not to trip over what might appear to be a pair or shoes or a sweater...it was actually the dog. One day, she caught sight of another dog and her entire face lit up, her tail wagged, and when we got a friend for her, she never howled again...it was amazing what another of her kind could do for her spirits.

The rabies shots goes by your local regulation. Check with YOUR area's animal control or vet's office--SOME states honor do-it-yourself rabies shots, but I wouldn't (and my state doesn't) I dislike the every-year shots (for other diseases) and get them only every three years or if there comes a reason to be worried, such as if I notice an article on an outbreak of lepto, or a neighborhood dog or friend's dog gets parvo or distemper or something. Then I'll get the boosters. Pups should get ALL shots, on time, especially the parvovirus, which kills so quickly. american pitbull terriers, german shepherds, rottweilers, and dobermans happen to be very vulnerable to parvo, for some reason...

almost everything i taught my dogs is "useless" three crawl...that helps them come to me while still being in a down stay. three shake hands and one will "give me four" (she only has FOUR toes! she can't give me five!) which is useful for meeting people...i guess...buddy, if I tap my stomach while laying down, will rest his head on me for a petting. Gypsy will sit on her haunches, straighten her back, and display both paw pads--like she's "sticking 'em up" (as in a robbery) I taught her to both "beg" and "stick 'em up" using my finger as the gun point. The other day she was irritating me while I was eating and I was scolding her and shaking my finger at her. she "stuck 'em up!" I gave her the sandwich so I guess that's useful....to her....India claps if you clap. it's the clapping sound that does it. and the crinkle of cellophane does something to them...they come and sit or down in unison.

doglover, I noticed you didn't credit your quote (about pitbulls hanging on) did you not know the author? It's Vicki Hearne, a great leader in the pro-pitbull effort. I only point it out 'cause I'm a huge Hearne fan...

Thank you all for your tips and suggestions. I will be cleaning thier ears and purchasing baking soda on a regular basis now. I did not know food affected body odor. I have a linoleum floor (bedroom, living room, every room--yes, yes, for the dogs) so I use the vinegar on pee messes but don't know how great it works. about every two weeks, I have to wipe down all the walls with vinegar, I think the cat is marking but I NEVER catch her. grrrrrrrr. I will be switching to a better-grade food now that I'm making more money. I am using wal marts ol' roy which is "cheap" but a heckuva better quality than some of the other brands of the same price I've tried. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you, for the tips!

Hello everyone...hoping for some tips from experts or the experienced...I still live at home, I'm a full-time college student and working part-time. Anyway, my mother's about ready to throw me out over what she calls the "dog smell" I have never noticed smells, it takes something really strong for me to smell it at all. But she claims it's close to toxic fumes and it's her. How do you handle the "dog smell"? I bathe them weekly, brush them regularly, clean up any messes immediately with bleach and papertowels...and there's still "the smell" are there any products I should be using? Any gimmicks, or tricks? Also...my sister is a groomer and can brush out eye-popping amounts of fur. I've tried it and get this pathetic handful, and in the meantime, they're shedding enough to give me a medium sized dog! I could have a sweater by now. How do you remove the fur from a dog's stiff, soft, coat, only about two to three inches long? thanks in advance Jessica (and the Muttley Crew)

angelboddy, that is IT! the lambert kay. I need to order more, though...

It sounds like he thinks he's very low on the totem pole, (and he should be the bottom totem) and is anxious about it. Try training him, just any old tricks, including basic obediance. Not only will it build a big bond with you, he'll be more confident and willing to spend time with his "pack" several of my dogs were like this--very uncomfortable when I was at thier level, but through patience and training, they will now sleep curled against my back, or with thier heads on my ankles, etc. I still see the "oh no!" look on thier face when they make a doggy faux-pas. Try not to cuddle him alot, chances are, it's making him more uncomfortable than it is beneficial to him. Don't chase after him a whole lot to sit with or on you, he'll learn to sulk and pout when he's not getting his way. My little shih-tzu mix was like this as a baby, but I took her everywhere, and she would sit on my lap to look out the car window. Now she is always touching me or near to me, even when I am doing dishes.

I use snowy coat (cannot think of the company's name for nothing now...watch me get home and remember it) on my little one, who is mostly white. However, if you use any dog shampoo, not just a whitening one, but let it sit on the dog for two or three minutes, then rinse well, the dog will practically shine. Be sure you are washing her all over--her head, tail, belly, legs and feet. parts of her being dirty can give her clean parts a "dingy" look. I got a hose for my shower stall to wash them with--much more efficient than scooping water over them. You could also lather, rinse, repeat for the same effect.

Where should she sleep? In the tent! you don't want her to be eaten by something wild...like a raccoon or something...it's best to limit her interaction with wildlife as much as possible. Don't let her eat the droppings of wild animals (yuck) because she could get worms. If you're bringing mosquito spray for you, bring an approved version for her--all sorts of buggies out there are dying to get a taste of her! chiggers, lice, ticks, YUCK