science_doc

My mom called me the other day a bit worried since my lab window basically looks at the CDC about 1/2 block away. I try not to think about the possibility. I hadn't really thought about having to stay inside for weeks at a time with the cats. Now I'll never sleep, thanks goo. But seriously I was talking to my boss about the advice today and she said the same thing, what they are recommending probably won't really help, but people feel better when they can do something about their own future.

I don't know if there are any tracks here, but with all the greyhound rescues nearby I'm pretty sure there must be....I'll have to check that out!

When I lived in the great cold north I used Bag balm to keep my hands from gettin soooo dry :oops: (science often requires me to wash my hands like 1000 time a day)

Thanks so much everyone for all the information. I will be in touch Margaret P., my heart has been taken by these dogs and I am just trying to get my living situation set up so that I can adopt one with as close to the perfect situation as possible.

I have no additional words of comfort, but I will keep you and Daisey in my thoughts. I'm sure that your being there by her side makes all the difference to her. I know that scientists aren't supposed to feel this way, but I am positive that animals think and feel things we couldn't even imagine possible. I know in my heart that when it's time for them to cross the rainbow bridge they know and they want us to be happy not sad until we see them again. My sister's cat is dying of kidney failure(she was my cat too when I still lived at home), so I have been thinking alot about this particular topic, because the cat just keep getting sicker and sicker and I'm trying to help my sister from 1000 miles away.

Go K, Hopefully we can put together a chain that will get this little guy home :angel:

Gigi, the whole idea for a greyhound came up because I have been hauting the local pet-co and pet smart meeting as many rescues as possible and I ran into a greyhound rescue. Those dog were SO calm, I was really taken by their quiet, inquisitive nature. While I was there chating, a little bitty dog came up to them and started barking it's little head off. All the greyhounds turned their heads, but not one of them twitched a muscle. I also spent some time talking to them about cat safety and I really like that their dogs have been cat tested. I know that this is no guarantee, but they send the dog home with a muzzle for the first interaction.....all of this makes me feel safe. But I have still not settled on any one breed....I think that what Horesefeathers said is probably what will happen, someday we'll meet the right dog and we'll just know that's the dog for us.

Oh boy, Aniaml Planet had an even longer segment with Skidboot on Amzing Animals, basically the same trick, except using a leather glove instead of a toy. In addition they showed how if the owner got on the ground the dog would mimic his every move, TOO CUTE!!!!!

I was wondering if anyone has any personal experiences with adopted/retired greyhounds? I have read up on the subject, but I just wanted to hear some stories. Anyone have objections to this being someone's first dog?

Definately one of the coolest dog tricks I have ever seen :smilecolros:

she sold the house :( IT WAS SOO COOL Had a huge back deck with a hot tube and screened in porch with a real fireplace. Boy we all had it tough there :lol: The kitties would book all over the house all day long chasing each other up and down the steps. That was how we were able to keep the cat aggressive dog with us until we were able to find her a new home, we had 3 stories to keep them apart. Except for the time the dog got away from me and chased the kitties up stairs with 2 humans in close pursuit. I was never so scared in my entire life, but I guess I'm getting off topic. It was a nice place to live.

Actually, I should clarify a bit.......I work with stem cells that live in muscle tissue of adult organisms. So lucky for us we aren't involved in all the hoopla that goes with embyonic stem cells. I think that embryonic stem cell research has it's place, I just don't think we have had enough OPEN HONEST factual scientific debate for the public to make an informed decision. Of course I'm a scientist and therefore more likely to see the good than the bad side of any research. Any hoo I love to chat about my work and I think more scientists should take the time to bride the gap and pull back the curtain from what we do.......I think it would make people less skeptical to know the truth about what goes on in research labs. I feel like I have nothing to hide, I'm sure not all of my colleagues feel that way, probably for good reason :oops:

Thanks for the replies......we have decided to rent a house a hopefully convince the owners that 2 cats + 1 dog = 2 dogs. I know sounds like Fuzzy math, but we REALLY want to get a dog. Lucky for us, when we were back in Michigan we were living in my aunt's brand new 1/2 million dollar home with 2 cats and 1 dog and did absolutely no dammage. I was hoping a letter from her would convince them we are O.K. and responsible.

No an apartment is not necessary we are checking the homes for rent too, thanks for the tip :P :P :P :P :P :P

We have been looking for a new place to live that accepts more than 2 pets and this is tougher than I thought, even for 2 kitties and 1 doggie. I am VERY surprised.

Thanks for all the warm fuzzies everyone :oops: I promise not to stay away so long ever again. I was really trying and trying to stop thinking about dogs, so that I could wait until we could afford a house before I adopted another dog. No luck, always on my mind :lol: even when they are not in my house. courtnek, I am a medical researcher who works with stem cells. I'm working on a Ph.D. in cellular and developmental biology, which is fancy words for studying embryology. Horsefeathers, you kind of read my mind. I thought that maybe I could at least help get the dogs more exercise so they wouldn't need to be tied outside. I don't know if it will make a difference, but at least I can try.

:oops: that last post was me, got booted off the site

Hi all, Been away for a while, trying to get dogs off my mind until I can find one of my very own. I was wondering if anyone has read a good book on breed selection. I know that there a ton of them out there.....I just want to find one that will help me narrow down the type of breed that will fit our lifestyle best instead of the dog I find most visually attractive. By the way the rescue I wanted to volunteer with, keep dogs outside on chains during the weekend .....I know that they are probably just under staffed, but now I don't know if I want to volunteer there? I just don't see any good reason to keep them outside like that.......In addition their small dogs were living in hanging cages (not with wire bottoms, thank god), which seemed to small for dogs. Again, I'm pretty much of a novice, but I thought that even small dogs were usually kept in runs/pens at shelters? perhaps I've just been hanging out a ritzy shelters? Anyway, if I'm way off base, please let me know. There are plenty of other groups who could still use my help.

Well I guess I'm a Chihuahua! :roll: I don't know how to feel about this.....not my favorite breed of dog, but I guess we have a lot in common :lol:

Gigi, that was me :oops: guess the computer had logged me out, thought I checked that :o I'm going to try and contact a rescue and see what they say about helping me find the perfect Shiba. I'm surprised by the idea that males would make a better pet, I have to admit I'm one of those people who assumes that females tend to be more easy going :oops: I wonder if having a male dog will help the female cat be less aggressive (BTW both the cats are altered and have been since as soon as they were ready for surgery). Thanks again for all your help, I'll keep you updated on our progress.

Oh Gigi, I spent the weekend looking at web pages about the Shiba breed on the web and well, I'm feeling a bit discouraged. Our cats are BIG 13 and 15 #'s and the female well she is a bit of a BITCH(excuse me please, but that's the best way to describe her attitude). I'm really scared that even if we really work at finding a docile Shiba, we could end up with aggression problems later in life. Mina (the BIG female) would waltz up to our husky mix and pop her in the face (no claws, but still an agressive move) so fast that I could never back the dog up fast enough (I ALWAYS kept the dog leashed for the kitties sake). Anyway we are in love with the look and description of the Shiba, but feeling a bit afraid.......the dog can almost always be trained to ignor the cats, but a cat looking for trouble will sure get trouble, know what I mean?

I had to go to another computer to hear the sounds of the Shiba, but there not as bad as what I was imagining :P

Oaky one more question, how do Shibas do with heat? I'm not sure how big of a deal this will be since the dog willl be inside an air conditioned apartment when it's alone, but we thought we should ask.

Gigi, Your information was EXTREMELY helpful. I am going over everything with my partner tonight so we can be sure this is what we REALLY want. We both love huskies and adopted our last dog with that breed in mind. Shibas seem pretty similar, at least in attitude. The only thing we are worried about now is that we wanted to wait to get the dog until we had a house with a fenced yard, but we are finding that hard to do. Can a Shiba be crated during the day? We will committ as much time to exercise as necessary, but the crate is going to be necessary unless we MUST wait till I get a house. Then it's going to be a wait of 1 year or more, KILLER.

I do like the black and tan ALOT.......and yes I had asked you about the size, the black and tan I saw in the park seemed really small, like a miniature dobie, but that was just a guess, the fur was more like a dobie than a shiba.