deepseasnake

Thanks sasha and mei mei I'm glad to be here I don't think Washington state has ever gotten hotter than 86 degrees and that was a first this year. Normally summer passes with only giving 2 or 3 days above 75. but I see what you mean if the dog is really pulling the whole time, just pure exhaustion would attribute to his hyperthermia. I still have the stuff from when I took my Alaskan husky "Homer" hiking and he would get pretty hot, at which point we'd take out his water bottle and that combined with a little break would do him really good. The other hikers would always stop at the site of the dog that size being bottle feed. :) My main concern are the dogs pads my husky used to mush (by the way does anyone know where that word came from?) and his paws were like iron, but I've seen more people than I can remember stuck on the trail with a dog bleeding from the feet :( but on the other side, just last week when my girlfriend decided she could go no further while we sat and rested these two dogs (one was a boxer the other a mastiff like mutt) came cannon balling down the trail with an exhausted owner in hot pursuit. Come to find out he'd been hiking BACK for an hour. Thats not the only case that I've seen dogs do very well on a trail I've always assumed that it had everything to do about the dogs time spent on trails and "built" toughness. But now I wonder if it was more...genetic I guess or maybe instictal (if thats a word) :-?

Hi, Brand new to this site but I have been reading old posts for about 3 days now. You guys seem to really know your stuff (most of the time). I thought I would register first, as I find "Guest" posts quite aggravating. Anyway glad to be with you and all that. My main interest in my next companion is an american bulldog. They seem like excellant and capable dogs. Unfortunatly I have not been able to find a whole lot of info on these guys. Most pages I see say they are great dogs that are extremely athletic and then go one to show tons of pictures. So if all of the educated masses out there (you) :D could help me out with a few questions that would be great. watch out this might get a bit lengthy :wink: I plan on feeding him (I have to have a male) on a BARF diet when I can find good meat and high grade commercial food when I cant any opinions on this? I need him to be able to stay in the yard for extended periods of time (no more than 8 hours) and not plow a hole threw the fence or get any mental issues from being away from me. (will I need another high energy dog maybe?) I also need to be able to take him on long (no more than 30 miles) hiking trips with out his feet hurting. I'm an addicted camper and love the outdoors, I live in washington and it does tend to get kinda cold and wet here (50 degrees lota rain). While camping he'd be in my tent or I'd get him his own. While at home he will have a doghouse with a heat lamp if necassary. I guess I'm worried about skin infection and thermal protection (I've never owned a short haired dog) I would also like to hear about compatablity with other pets as I have quite the collection of exotic reptiles. The dog would never have acsess to the reptiles but we all know the nature of animals to explore and test boundries. I know the snakes would not attack him unless he struck first. I assume that mostly has to do with how I raise the dog. But is there a instinctal drive to attack first smell later, that I will have to work through. or do I worry to much? :-? last but not least is shedding, the only thing I hate to deal with is shedding...thats it! I dont mind poop pee or any combination of the both, I dont care about muddy feet through the house or paw prints on my shirts but I hate hair, cant stand it! so how are american bulldogs about sheding thanks for everything sorry the post was so long :oops: I'll try to keep it down next time :lol:[color=darkblue][/color]