Louis

The fact is, you can't just ask for advice and expect it all to support everything you are already thinking- you have to face facts. Some of the advice is going to run completely contrary to your current thoughts. If you don't want to hear things that don't precisely match your present perceptions on a subject, shut your ears, and DON'T ASK ADVICE!! Its a stupid blinkered way to live, but if thats how you have to have it.... :o

When are you going to let this dog into the house? Are you going to spend hours in the garden, rain or shine, playing with him? Have you got time to attend puppy training classes, obedience classes and so on? [b]Dogs don't just need money they need time.[/b] I hate to say it but from my point of view you are setting yourself up for some real trouble. A dog isolated in that environment for that length of time can look for things to occupy themselves.. this could include attempting to dig out of the garden or scaling fences but is most likely to involve long periods of loud, constant barking.. have you any neighbours because I am sure they will complain! Please consider. Do you really believe that a dog would choose that kind of lifestyle for himself? The old saying 'money can't buy you happiness' certainly applies to doggy living!

:o Erm- from an animal welfare point of view please lets not all do this!!? My uncle told me from the start that his reptiles and snakes are all only fed freshly killed dead animals because live it is not at all unknown for them to harm the snake- rats particularly have been known to turn the tables. He had 3 beautiful boa constrictors, and I can still remember the first time I got to touch them.. such a revelation, all dry and so smooth(I was about 5).

I was thinking that- wow, look at those paws! I'm surprised they don't keep falling over them....! How cute? (mushy voiced awwww.. dribble.. simper..) :)

Some of those dogs look 'Pitty' and it is possible that if UK dogs they may have been victims of the dangerous dogs act? Just a suggestion- that poem appeared in an english dogs obituary a few months back.. a clue? I didn't have a real good look, but its a possibility..?

Something most definitely doesn't add up. If I were you Mary I would get a new user name and start again. I suppose you can sorta be whoever you want to be on the internet but you still gotta be consistent! I think that all your posts will now be perceived in a slightly offhand way because of this beginning and I wouldn't think that that will be that much fun. I would suggest to everyone else that it is possible that this person hasn't actually got a dog at all (or has a family mutt), but is young and interested in pitbull dogs and also really wants to be liked and to be interesting to the majority of people who visit this forum, hence the stories/topics posted. Go easy on them. :wink: Really hope that all hasn't come out as offensive, I haven't meant it to be. :o If there is some truth in the posts however I am with Jollydogs in expressing serious concern over the sit. This is a ticking time bomb as I am sure anyone could see!

Highly amusing! :D No I'm not mean- read it!!

Mei Mei, I have read tips of that kind in many magazines, so I do believe it works! To add, I read a whole article on this and it said that the critical thing to do is [b]not to reward the dog for pulling in any way, shape or form! [/b]It pointed out that when we take the dog out, we put the lead on him/her, and the dog pulls towards the door.. and is immediately [b]rewarded [/b]because we open the door for them! So trick one is don't even start the walk until the dog is NOT pulling, make them sit and wait until you are walking out ahead of them. Then they will pull to get places, most owners have 'usual' walks- the dogs know where you are going and they think they are leading you! So just remind them who's in charge- dog starts pulling, you immediately change direction completely! This throws them and soon means they need to pay attention because they can't be sure where they are going! Helps to take your dog new places at odd times, keep life unpredictable!! Dog must listen to you because only you know where you are headed!! :D Guess again, you'll look a little odd and have some really long walks but never mind...!!

When I was young I saw something on Tv that I never forgot, It was footage of parrots being captured in the wild and it was horrifying.. To catch them they were driven into traps and to do this the hunters had this one poor parrot tied up on the ground, just about featherless, and they were hitting (possibly breaking!) what was left of its wings with stones to make it call out and cause the other parrots to fly away from its alarm calls. :cry: The birds were handled so roughly and were packed into cages so tightly.. no food, no water.. the death rate was astronomical. I was depressed and felt sick for days afterwards.. These birds are so intelligent and deserve to be treated with respect [b]please[/b] never buy a parrot you can't be sure is Captive Bred. (but best of luck with the bird that has landed in your family Smooshie.)

Guest- the forum is censored- the moderators did not deliberately block out the chapter title, it just occurred automatically- the word itself may not have been particularly rude, the forum was even censoring out dogs names recently!!!!!!!!!!!!! :o

Breeding more??! Isn't one quite enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :o

Been to the Galleria Stiff- seems to be working fine. Good lookin' dog!

Grrr.. lazy freeloading *********** :evil: !!!

Double LOL. People show up when you aren't looking for them remember, just concentrate on your dogs and he'll just fall into your lap! Wonder what your 'current' would think if he knew we'd effectively replaced him already this afternoon! :o

Hey- I just got home, I was a drowned rat when I got through the door!! It's raining even heavier now!! You're very welcome Sash. Sorry I wasn't here to say so earlier. I couldn't live with a guy who stifled me like your guy seems to Newfie..- my boyfriend's the best, he works really hard at his job (promoted a week ago!!), he loves my bunnies, likes dogs and I am working on getting him to like horses too :D . He's TOO generous and he always buys me stuff and takes me out... aww. There's better guys out there Newfie!! And remember-" You're worth it!"

No, you are 100% correct, again! The footage itself caused a bit of a storm in the UK. I know the technicians discussed it themselves. The general result in public was a total misconception about the monitoring of animal research. I think, and I know some of the technicians also thought, that those lab assistants responsible should have been dismissed immediately and prosecuted. That this did not happen is tragic. It really did damage perception of those that work with these animals and that is so sad when they are almost 100% genuine people!

How terrible. It is tragic that people can get to a stage where they don't want to live anymore. But effectively he was trying to keep you a prisoner with his threats, and no one can live like that. Sometimes you just can't help. Even the professionals fail. When I was studying I was told very quietly and seriously that just about every single practising clinical psychologist has lost a patient to suicide. It is something they have to learn to face up to. You did the best you could do at the time. It is so easy to say in hindsight, but I could have done this, or that. But chances are that it wouldn't have made any difference. Don't feel guilty. Was Sasha shook up?

My god Sash that is terrible. I remember hearing somewhere that suicide is hardest for those left behind as all they can do is think- why did I not see it coming.. what should I have done.. The hardest thing is to learn to forgive yourself. You can't take the ultimate responsibility for the other person's final actions. You can only do your best for yourself and hope that they can in turn do the best for themselves.

Regarding promiscuous monkeys- I can only say you ain't seen nothing until you have seen footage of BONOBOS :o . I would think these are the species that Science_doc refers to and they live in very peaceful society, but they are very sexually charged!! Sorry to chip in on a slightly off note, but when I studied Evolutionary psychology we did quite a lot comparing and contrasting the societies of the common chimp sand the Bonobo- it was fascinating. Science doc is right, the vast majority of the technicians involved with these animals are good and conscientious and caring individuals. I always found this idea laughable myself- until I was working among them. But some publicity a couple of years ago has really tarnished their image.. did you know about the 'It's a dog's life' programme that was screened here Science_doc? It showed footage of staff tormenting and teasing, even punching Beagle puppies in the lab. I believe there was an outcry because the staff were not dismissed immediately by their employers, Huntingdon Life Sciences. Don't remember for sure.. Sorry Beagle88

Boys and their toys eh? I once read that men never grow up- they just get sorta BIGGER!! You ought to point out to your boyf. that you get out of things what you put in- this could apply to several aspects of the relationship, but critically the dogs- does HE want to clean up the result of poor quality foods!!?

AAARGH CDs- My personal nemesis. My boyfriend buys 100s of CDs a month and every time I walk into the house I am sitting on one/ a cover from one/ crushing those daft box sleeves they come in- they're a flippin' waste of money! I would swear he listens to them once and then they're in towers and stacks everywhere in every single room :o ... But at least he's supportive on the getting a dog front, he lived with one when he was younger so really likes them!

My main objection to the use of animals in experimentation of all kinds is the conditions under which they are frequently kept. I believe that the environments are all too often completely inadequate. The sheer volume of animals retained in research facilities means that stimuluating, complex housing is frequently too difficult to maintain and clean to be economically viable. I have spent a short time in a large lab that used a variety of animals because I needed some of their facilities years ago- so I know this and I speak from experience. I love rats as I used to keep them as pets- I know just how intelligent they are and how they love to explore- I found it quite disturbing to know this and to watch them confined to small, rectangular plastic tubs throughout their lives, sometimes with only an empty toilet roll to play with and sometimes with nothing at all. They were also not infrequently kept alone. I would like to see all animals used in research kept with full regard given to their needs and natures. I cannot imagine how you could keep monkeys and dogs fully stimulated without employing full-time 'playmates'. There is the problem- the cost. But I still maintain that something can and must be done. Before I spent time in this lab I was rabidly anti-animal experiments and it was a real eye opener, meeting those who looked after the animals and who were actually very nice and caring. It sounds strange if you haven't been there but they were!! It is not something I could do, but they work very hard and have to monitor the conditions of many animals. This lab was well run and sickening animals were always detected early, and almost always given POSITIVE treatment from a qualified vet- not euthanised because this was less trouble. There is no excuse for the treatment that the monkeys on this website received. I [i]personally[/i] still favour alternative forms of research strongly as I believe this is better for us as well as for the animals. The one story that really haunts me is that if penicillin had been tested on guinea pigs way back when, we most likely would not have it now because it is lethal to them! There is no guarantee that what works in a tiny, furry rodent will act in exactly the same way on a human being. I often think of that great contradiction in animal experimentation that I saw stated on a welfare site- If you ask a researcher why they test on animals they may say; Because they are like us If you ask why it is ok to test on animals they may say; Because they are not like us This is not a clearcut issue and it will never have a simple answer. If you think it is all black and white, wrong and right, I have to say you are wrong. The more you learn and the more you experience, the more you come to see that it is more shades of grey. Thats my opinion at any rate!!!

Thanks Smooshie, thats a cool attitude you got there! Welcome to the site, hope you enjoy it!! :D

Maybe I skimmed through this too quick, but weren't we talking about puppies that are just the wrong colour? Where are you on culling these dogs? Just outta interest- polite query!!

Whats this Pedigree dogs registration club about? It looks a little suspect to me... :-? I though it was illegal in the UK now to keep monkeys as pets!!!?