gooeydog

With the weather getting colder, a lot of places with ponds, lakes, etc are starting to freeze up. So if you live near any bodies of water, or walk the dogs near any, be careful. Dogs don't understand that while the top layer is solid, the rest isn't, and by the time they do, they've already fallen through :-?

We (Goo and me, the other dogs just don't get the concept :roll: ) do hide and seek... we also do obedience races, I work with 2-4 of the dogs at once, sitting around me, and the fastest dog gets the treat (obviously, this would only work with multi-dog households, unless of course you have a well trained child :lol: ). We do the "find the treat" game as well, and "find the toy". We also do "paper shredder", where I hand any junk mail, mistyped office work, etc off to Goo and let her go to town on it :lol: That carries over into "tear up the box", where I dump some kibbles and a toy or two into a box (with or without paper torn up inside to add to the fun :roll: ), tape it up, and give it to Goo to open. Both the last two are rather messy. I'm also a bit embarassed to admit that several times over the past month, I've filled up the bathtub, plopped a couple toys in there, and let Annie swim around in there after them for a while :oops: (BTW, I stayed in there with her the entire time, just to make sure she didn't find some way to drown herself :roll: ).

[quote]It makes the pads of their feet tougher.[/quote] It's not the pads of her feet though, the webbing between her toes gets all irritated when she's out in the snow, would that stuff still work for that? She also tends to get little sores on the sides of her toes (I think partially allergies from being in contact with the wet grass/leaves, partially irritation from the snow/cold) at times. I tried vaseline last year, and it didn't work, so we did baby socks for the rest of the winter. I'll see what I can find about the other jelly stuff though (it'd probably be much easier than the booties anyway, though Goo wouldn't like it so much as "getting dressed up" :lol: :roll: ). I think too that it didn't help things that she insisted on walking through every puddle she saw, even standing in a few until I made her get out (like a little kid, get them a pair of shoes, and they're out stomping around in the first mud puddle they see :roll: ). We'll try these until this snow is gone, and if no improvements, we'll find something different :lol:

Aside from what's already been said, it could be that your husband's trying to "make friends" is only scaring the dog more, though I'm sure he doesn't mean for it to. He might try just ignoring the dog for a while, and seeing if the dog starts getting used to him on its own terms. Make sure too that you're not coddling him i nany way when he acts fearful, as that will only reinforce the behavior, making him more likely to repeat it.

I got Goo a set of booties a few weeks ago, and had been acclimating her to wearing them in the house/yard before we had snow, anyway, last night the snow started, and we have a few inches. The problem we're having is that she either steps on herself (clumsy dog :roll: ) and pulls them off by accident, or gets running/pulling so much in her excitement over the snow that they work their way off (the back ones are the worst). I think I have them on tight enough, I pulled them so that the slack was out of the velcro, then tightened them up a bit more (they'd been staying on like that in the house), so how am I supposed to get them to stay on her? As it was, she was getting all upset with me because we kept stopping every 5 mins or so to pull the booties up. Her feet are really sensitive to the cold, normally after about 5 mins in snow, she's lifting her feet up, looknig to me for help, but other than that, she loves being out in it, and I don't want to not let her be out in it. I was hoping that someone in a snowy area would have some advice for me, otherwise I'll be dragging out the duct tape and making [i]sure[/i] they won't come off :evilbat: :wink:

Apparently some dogs related to the dogs who attacked the girl were stolen from a rescue ***************** Please crosspost 4 Dogue de bourdeaux's and 1 pitbull have been stolen from a rescue in the Colbourne area. Roscoe's rescue was holding the 4 dogue's until a court date and they were stolen from her front yard last night. The lock was cut off the fence and the lock was cut off the pen they were in. It must be someone who knew them as I don't know anyone would just walk up to 1 dogue let alone 4. The descriptions are as follows. Voit 6 yrs old male Dogue de bourdeaux Finale approx 1 yr female dogue Thelma and Louise both approx 6 months both female and Bovine a male blk/wht 4 month old pitbull pup These are the dogs related to the dogues that mauled the grandchild a month ago or so. If anyone hears anyone trying to sell these dogs etc, can you please email me back and I will pass on your information.None of these dogs have been fixed and I am unsure on microchips etc. Thanks ******************** Isn't it great!? :roll: :-?

Good post Mutts4me :klacz: In addition to the actual care for the dog, you also have to consider the costs... do you plan to pay for all the dog's toys, food, vet bills, etc? Do your plans for the next 10-15 yrs give allowance for a dog, or would it be left with your parents after you move out? I honestly don't like the idea of using a new pup as initiative to take care of a current dog, as often when the "new" wears off, the pup and the older dog are both sent back to the amount of care the older dog was getting before, apparently not enough for your parents. That's just my opinion though, based on experiences I've had. A few years back, I tried to talk my parents into letting me drag home a cute little APBT pup who's owners had left her at the clinic after they decided parvo treatment was too expensive (it was my mom's fault for showing her to me :wink: ). I made lists of the expenses (most of which I could handle on my own at that point), time constraints, the whole ball of wax because I wanted so badly to be able to have the pup. In the end, they denied me the chance, said we weren't getting any more dogs (this was back when we only had Goo). Little did they know that 4 more would fall into our laps and end up stuck with us :lol: Anyway, I guess the point of my story is that while I didn't get what I wanted at the time, it actually made me throw myself a little harder into working with Goo, and we eventually aquired a horde of dogs (5 total), which I love just as much as I would have loved that pup if we'd gotten her. So I think things do have a way of working out. I'm glad now that I didn't end up with the pup, as our current dogs are a good group, and if we'd had her, we probably wouldn't have them.

Pengz is right, in most cases, the licking is a submissive behavior (Joey, the extra submissive Chi does it ALL the time). Sometimes though it can also be a manipulative or even dominant gesture... "I'm going to lick you because I feel like it". Haley does it to Goo all the time, sometimes she's being submissive, other times it's coupled with dominance posturing and the "eff off" expression, and I have to seperate her until she can get herself under control again. Annie is a manipulative licker... the only time she usually licks another dog's mouth is when it's hot outside and she wants a drink, at that point, ANY dog will do, and she's determined to get her snout in there. BTW, good to see you back Sashagirl :lol:

[quote]Good for him/her.[/quote] I agree. If more breeders would follow their example, we wouldn't have the problems we do now.

[quote]As for Dogos and Presa both of them have bull and terrier as well as other fighting lines in their blood. Do they have differing personalities and traights? I'm sure they do but its not exactly "hysteria" lumping in into the same category.[/quote] While Presas, Dogos, etc do have some bull breed on them, they are also clearly molosser breeds. The typical (and "correct") Presa or Dogo's temperament (that of a molosser) is nothing like that of the typical and correct APBT (that of an APBT). In addition to that, Presas and Dogos, often weighing in at twice the maximum weight in the APBT breed standard, take after their molosser roots in appearance as well, more so than the bull breed side. There are tens of thousands of APBTs in the hands of idiots today, with few incidents compared to the number of dogs owned by poor owners. Yet, there are a much smaller number of Presas in the hands of bad owners, and already there has been one incident involving the breed. I think it's safe to say that the average APBT, in the hands of an idiot poses far less threat to the public than the average Presa (no, I'm not insulting the Presa breed, but I think even most owners would admit that their dogs are NOT for "casual" dog owners) in those same hands.

Allergies? My dog gets these on occasion, and I have the same issue with brushing... had to switch to a rubber mat type brush. Could be something in his food, his shampoo, or outside, practically anything.

There's another update on the Pit Bull Pets board (link in one of my other posts), along with a letter from the person who eval'ed him. It seems (and this is just my take on what I read, I may have been misunderstanding, who knows) that the person who put his description up on petfinder wasn't actually a shelter employee, just listed animals hoping to get them out, without actually knowing anything about them. Anyway, according to the letter, the dog was growling at people from inside the kennel, and they couldn't get into the kennel with him. They had to bring him out on the pole to cut the chain (the one on him in the petfinder pics) off him, and that's when he was freaking out. The person who was going to adopt him does not want to take a chance on a dog that seems unstable and aggressive (can't say I blame her), so there is no longer a home lined up for him, and no rescuer is going to pull a likely unstable dog with nowhere to go when there are so many stable dogs already lined up to die. I think the fault needs to be placed on the woman who put up the description, as she wasted a LOT of peoples' time, possibly costing the lives of other dogs who could have been saved during the time spent trying to save Killer. Of course, I also wonder about the shelter, which apparently did nothing to stop the woman from listing the dog with false information on petfinder, and which refused to tell people inquiring about the dog ANYTHING as to his temperament.

"Not all are bad"? Even PETA's own website states that they want to see pet ownership put to and end via mandatory spay/neuter of all pets. Do YOU enjoy the companionship of owning a dog? PETA is seeking to END that.... no more "pets" at all. And it's also interesting to note that those animals PETA "saves" almost always end up dead anyway, PETA "saves" them, then hauls them away to have them killed. They're also a proponent of breed specific legislation, and support these laws, whihc lead to the deaths of tens of thousands of dogs every year. PETA is a disgusting organization, anyway you look at it.

Sorry guys, but the person who evaluated the dog is VERY well versed in APBTs, and knows what she's doing. I'd be willing to bet that there was more to it than the dog just biting at a rabies pole, if she deemed him "too aggressive". It truly is a sad thing that this dog had to endure all the suffering leading up to his death, BUT this is a person whos word I would take on whether or not a dog was adoptable.

At 5 months old, you can't expect her to stay in the yard when there are so many wonderful things [i]outside[/i] of it! She doesn't understand the concept of "her yard", and "their yard", but as mutts4me said, dogs can be taught fairly well to respect boundaries, if owners take the time to teach them. It's important for her safety though that you keep her on-leash until she understands several important commands, at the very least, a "stopper", either "sit!", "down!", "stand!", "stop!", etc; AND has a good recall (ie: "come", "here", whatever it is you use :wink: ). In most cases, the recall can be used to get a dog back to you if they're heading the wrong direction, or doing something they shouldn't be, BUT if that fails, your dog's life may very well depend on a backup. If your dog has been taught to stop [b]whatever[/b] it is they're doing (no matter how great, how fun, or how interesting it is) when you give a particular command, then you have a way to stop a flight towards the road, or after a sickly looking animal, midchase even. Most dogs aren't reliable off-leash until they're at least a year old, and require training to get there. Some dogs will NEVER be trustworthy off-leash. We have one dog who is reliable in most situations off-leash, but leashed in many situations just as a precaution. Another one is reliable in a lot of situations off-leash, but due to the seriousness of those which she's NOT reliable in (ie: other dogs around, she's very dog aggressive), is never allowed off-leash in anything less than a 6 ft fence, and even then only when supervised. Another is not trustworthy off-leash, she's usually ok for a while, but the first thing that interests her, and she's trying to run off. Two others are ok in low-moderate distraction settings, but not in settings with higher distraction. Freedom must be earned, it took about a year before I would walk the most trustworthy dog into the backyard off-leash, the others longer. In your dog's case, hanging out with you in the yard isn't nearly as much fun as visiting neighbors. You can either make yourself "better", a la treats, toys, whatever; or make visiting less fun, a la corrections. Until you do that, and she's absolutely SURE that you're a better option than they are, you need to keep her on-leash, for her own safety (also, everytime she runs off and visits, it reinforces the fun of running off, making her more likely to do it again).

Leaving a dog alone for 3 days after they've just whelped a litter of pups is a recipe for disaster. If you can't find a way to stay home with them, or get someone else who will understand instructions on the care she and the pups need, then the next best option is to board them, either at a vet clinic, or at a boarding kennel with knowledgeable staff, who can keep close watch and make sure nothing happens.

If anyone's been following this on the other board, the dog apparently threw a bit of a fit when someone went to get him out with a rabies pole (not sure why someone would do that with a friendly dog, sounds like they shouldn't have been working at a shelter in the first place), and he's scheduled to be PTS again. Here's the link, the message is towards the bottom of the second page: [url]http://pub180.ezboard.com/fdogcommunityfrm1.showMessageRange?topicID=4567.topic&start=21&stop=31[/url]

[quote]personally i have never seen or heard of a DH in SAR, but i think it's a great idea and the dog could do well, especially in places where bigger dogs can't fit.[/quote] I actually checked into it a bit a few years back, there was one SAR group at a pet expo type thing I took Annie to (great chance to get her out and about amongst a lot of people and dogs), it wasn't anything national, just a local group. They said that they didn't accept dogs under 40 lbs, because they weren't agile/strong enough to make their way through rubble or cover much ground :-? I was a bit miffed at the time, because it seemed pretty stereotypical, and I think they may have been surpried at how well a drivey, determined small dog could do that type of work. Almost all of their dogs were labs, goldens, and mixes including those breeds, with I think one mutt and a GSD or GSD mix. I was thinking along the same lines as you though on the whole thing... a small dog would be able to work amongst rubble, bushes, etc, without disturbing things nearly as much as a larger dog, and the dachsie's natural aptitude for tunneling and tracking for make them especially adept at the job. No, they wouldn't perform the "big dog" functions as well as a big dog, but they very well might bring with them some assets that the larger dogs do not have, if that makes sense. I guess when the time comes, if I decide to try it, I'll have to see if I can find a group that will at least give us a chance to show the dog's capabilities, and not just write them off because they don't LOOK capable (not saying that that's necessarily a bad thing, as in many cases, they might be right) :lol:

The site said something about following the lure... I'm guessing that they have a toy or furry something that they use to kind of target the cats to each obstacle, sort of a cross between agility and lure coursing :lol: As long as they and the cats have fun, it's sounds like a good activity for all (though I couldn't see myself out there with our cat :o :roll: ).

[quote]more "well-rounded" individuals that are not hyper, snappy, yappy, aggressive, timid or fearful. [/quote] Ahhh... what a pleasant change that would be from Annie :lol: . While she's not snappy, timid, or fearful anymore (though I still wouldn't call her "friendly", she's pretty aloof until she knows someone better), even at five years old, she's still climbing the walls unless she gets in her exercise every day, and screeches her head off anytime I crate her in my room (keep in mind here that we can crate her in the kitchen, no problem, and I can let her loose in there with Goo, not a peep out of her) and leave the house. She also quickly became known as "that loud little dachshund" at the training place we go to for her tracking classes... she whines while I'm getting ready in the morning, on the way there (intensifying as we go), then barks the whole time she's in her carrier before and after her turn. She doesn't have seperation anxiety, and she knows that barking/screeching/whining isn't going to get her out, so there's really no reason for it except for that being how she lets out some of her excitement. [quote]while dachshunds generally don't put up with much nonsense (not a dog for very young kids!), they are supposed to be well-adjusted, confident and even tempered even in stressful/unfamiliar situations, highly intelligent and able to work on their own (this is why some people claim they are "hard to train"). [/quote] She does rate pretty well on this one... definitely a smart and independent worker, extremely manipulative at times too :roll: She was pretty nervy when we got her, due largely in part to lack of socialization, but with a lot of work has turned out to be pretty stable, can be taken out, she even "played" a reindeer at the neighborhood store the Christmas before last, with kids coming up and petting her, some even holding her on their laps (as if that wasn't traumatizing enough, she had on a set of antlers with x-mas lights on them :lol: ). [quote]your average dachshund these days, especially those from breeders who just breed for money, not even for conformation (which are the majority of puppies you see in pet stores and newspaper/internet ads) tends to resemble the "original" dachshund in looks, but seldom in character. timidity and fear aggression are often a problem.[/quote] Agreed. Another question for you... what do you consider "work" for them? Are you speaking only in terms of dogs that are still used for hunting, or does your interpretation of the term carry out to things like earthdog trials, tracking, etc? I don't have plans for getting any more dogs anytime soon, nevermind a dachsie, but eventually I wouldn't mind getting one and possibly training it for SaR work or the like. It would be great if I could find a young rescue dog with the temperament I would like/need, but then I'd be concerned about the health/structure holding up for that type of work, so it's possible that I would end up going to a breeder for the dog. I know that in many breeds, "working" breeders take the purity/work ability of their dogs very seriously, and insist that any dogs of their breeding be used for what they were bred for, which could bring up some issues for me, since I have little desire to hunt with a dog. This would be years down the road if at all, but it's still something I wonder about, as I do feel for the most part that dogs bred/used for some type of work are usually better suited to work than dog bred for other purposes. BTW, I'm assuming you have Dachshunds...? Any pictures of them? :lol:

[quote name='Anonymous']there [b]are[/b] two things you should avoid however, too many stairs and jumping [b]down[/b] (up isn't as bad by far), for example out of a car etc. [/quote] Yes, I can see those type of precautions, and follow them myself (ok, so she has flown off the kitchen table once or twice after being caught up there gnawing on someone's leftovers :-? , but for the most part I try to pick her up to get her out of the car, her crate, etc), but I think that several of the things I listed are a bit ridiculous. [quote]good muscle tone is important in dachshunds to support their back and far less likely to appear if a dog is well exercised. most dachshunds i see are either too fat or are lean but without real muscle tone because they hardly get any exercise. too many people mistake them for couch potato dogs, and they easily turn into just that if they don't get accustomed to regular exercise. it angers me every single time i hear "dachshunds are nice apartment dogs and don't need much exercise", because following that advice is the straightest way to develop yourself an animal that just fits all the "wiener dog" stereotypes to a T.[/quote] Very true... I think too that a lot of people get them because they're "cute", then don't want to deal with the fact that some are very high energy dogs. It seems to most of the "out of control" or "he attacks everyone he sees" dachshunds I've seen are just dogs who get nowhere near the amount of exercise they need, and have been allowed to do whatever they want, as long as they look cute and don't bother their owners too much. [quote]walking a mile a day is for example [b]not[/b] what i would consider exercise. it's a warm up if anything. lots of running, off leash if possible, is the best exercise you can offer a dachshund. contrary to what most people believe, they make great jogging partners too and are great on the hiking trail - after all they were bred for hunting, and not only in badger or fox holes, but also for tracking in dense undergrowth - NOT for sitting on people's laps all day.[/quote] Agreed. On average, Annie (10 lb mini) likes to be a "lapdog", once, maybe twice a week, usually first thing in the morning when I'm just waking up and the last thing I want is her breathing in my face and climbing all over me :roll: She demands at least an hr of running/playing catch a day, the rest of her time is spent barking, and dragging any available toy (as long as it's coated with slime) around to anyone she can find in hopes that she can annoy them to the point that they grab the toy and lob it through the house :lol: [quote]personally i would also never buy a dachshund from a show line, no matter how "pretty" they look in all their "rare" colors. those animals are mostly so far removed from what a dachshund is supposed to be that it isn't even funny anymore. anyone who is considering getting one, do yourself a favor, buy from a working line and don't pick a pup because of the coat color. it's well worth the longer search for a good breeder who actually works his dachshunds.[/quote] I don't know much about the show/working aspect of the breed, as Annie is neither (my aunt bought her from a local petstore :-? ), but would imagine it is like with any other breed, with the working dogs usually having better "real life" conformation, health, and drive. I do have a question for you though since you seem to know the working end of the breed pretty well... how would you compare their temperaments to those of the "pet"/show dogs (in reguards to both people and dogs)? I'm guessing that it would be something that depends on the individual line, but just a general idea...? [quote]My foxhound enjoys herself chasing squirrels around the yard...I doubt I would trust her with any cat but mine (he is king of the castle and the dogs answer to him, and they KNOW it...lol) but I would not make her stop chasing squirrels...she is a hunting dog. she needs to run, to play with other dogs (raised in a pack of 20) and to hunt...you have to give them a little lattitude to be what WE designed them for... [/quote] I agree completely. The situation I mentioned a few weeks ago with Annie diving under the shed after the groundhog (she still would, but I don't let her just run around down there anymore, if she starts to head over in that direction, I call her back), my aunt suggested that I "punish" her (her idea was to take her up and put her in the crate for the rest of the day, no wonder the dog acts like a savage when she goes over there to visit :roll: )for it... I'm not about to "punish" her for doing what instinct told her to do, especially when she was on "her" time (she wasn't in a heel, or under ANY type of command, and I wasn't even in sight, so she wasn't disobeying me in any way). I just don't see the reasoning behind getting a dog with strong hunting (or any type really) instincts if you absolutely DON'T want and/or can't deal with a dog who likes to hunt, chase, etc.

[quote]There is no "this breed comes in this color and that one comes in those colors" thing going on in this breed. [/quote] They're wrong on this part. While red (liver) noses occasionally show up in purebred AmStaffs, they are very rare, and are either a major fault or a disqualification (I don't remember which) in the conformation ring. [quote]i heard somewhere that your dog can only be registered like that is one of the dogs in its pedigree are too[/quote] All the dogs in the pedigree have to be dual registered as AmStaff/APBTs in order for a pup to be registered as both. I [i]think[/i] they can also be registered if one (or more) ancestor isn't registered, but has a pedigree that can clearly be traced back to APBT or AmStaff lines, whichever they are not registered as. The way I feel on the APBT/AmStaff thing is that for pretty much all intents and purposes, showbred APBTs (even a lot of "pet" and/or scatterbred APBTs as well) and AmStaffs are the same "breed". Neither has really been bred (in most cases) with any specific purpose or work in mind, just looks, temperament, etc. AmStaffs and performance bred APBTs though, yes, I would probably consider two different "breeds", but then I think the same could also be true about show/pet/?bred APBTs and performance bred APBTs... the performance bred dogs ARE being worked, are being selected based on their working ability, temperament, soundness, etc; the AmStaffs and show/pet/?bred APBTs are generally not, and it's been this way for a while. As you can probably tell, this is something that I even confuse myself on :oops: I think though that the whole AmStaff/APBT argument (not that we're having one, but even people who own/show/love the breeds get into discussions on this, and often get quite heated) is a null point, because when it comes down to it, they're both in the same boat, which is sinking fast in some areas where BSL has or will be passed.

Aroura, I understand what you're saying, but at the same time, there are still working dachshunds out there, and at the same time, the dachshund breed has always been long backed and short, so why did the early dogs not run into this problem as often? I wonder too if maybe by coddling the dogs, breeders/owners are not aware of health problems that would surface if the dogs were allowed to do things that are considered "too strenuous", and thus these dogs don't seem to develop problems (though they may still have factors that would cause them to have problems if they weren't coddled), and are allowed to pass on their genes, contributing to the next faulty generation, who WILL have problems if they do any of the "strenuous" things, but appear fine as long as coddled. The thing that gets me too is that most of the owners that suggest these precautions think that the dogs love being "babied" like that. Looking at Annie, who is an independent little firecracker and thinks she can conquer the world all by herself, I have a hard time imagining her being treated like that and "enjoying" it. I DO worry about back problems, and I do not deliberately send her running up/down 10 flights of stairs a day, or diving off the top of the furniture, but IMO, there's a point where it stops being cautious and starts to become ridiculous. BTW, all that wasn't directed to Aroura, just the first little bit. I got carried away :oops:

You may have already checked this possibility out, but did the vet(s) check her mouth/teeth after her accident? If she's got a broken tooth or any cuts, etc in her mouth, she could be reluctant to eat the hard kibble. Just an idea...

How do we take a healthy, strong animal and reducing it to a genetic mess that needs special care and precautions just to keep them alive? This is what I'm wondering after a few recent discussions on a dachshund email list I'm on. In the past couple weeks, I've seen messages from numerous people saying that because of the propensity for back problems, you shouldn't allow your dachshund to: a. go up/down stairs (too jarring for their backs) b. get on/off furniture (same as above) c. run on uneven ground (same as above, and the twisting of them trying to maneuver) d. jump up for toys (same as letter a) e. walk/run on sand (too hard, too much resistance, the sand slipping out from under them is bad) f. play with larger dogs (they might get knocked into or stepped on) g. picked up with any less than two hands (it takes two hands to "properly" support their backs) h. walked on a collar (the pulling puts stress on their backs, and if they go after something, it will jolt their backs) i. play tug (too much stress on their backs) Now, I let Annie do all that stuff, and maybe I'm just asking for trouble, but I feel that she's probably less likely to have serious back problems than dogs who are always pampered and coddled, because she's built up muscle tone and flexibility along her back, which helps to support it. The thing that gets me though is that they're supposed to be hunting dogs... how have we gone from a hunting dog, who was known for toughness and durability, to a dog that has to have its every move watched, and has to be treated with extra care in almost everything it does. Or is this just a lot of hype, being made worse by all the rumors causing owners not to properly exericse their dogs, predisposing them to these type of problems? I know that some breeds do have a higher propensity for certain problems, but is it really best to take such extreme precautions with EVERY dog of that breed, or is it actually hurting, because the dogs aren't used to that type of activity if they encounter it?