Hobbit

I've been to Zephyr, Texas.....nice place. :wink:

They are [b]NOTHING[/b] special, just "created" by someone that is out to make some money. This mix and many like it can be found at your local shelter or advertised in the local newspaper for MUCH less price.

He does. It's so, "Joe Cool". Mr. Stealth. 8)

We took him to see him mom yesterday. He was elated. They were squealing at each other, so glad to see each other. They kissed, touched noses about a dozen times, she kissed him, he kissed her....very touching! He is such a gregarious boy. He has to stop and say hi to everyone he meets. Could not ask for a better temperment. He is funny. He still has to leave the wrap on the halo. It's a soccer knee pad --- works so well! We'll tell him to quit pulling on the velcro. He'll stop and directly he'll go in the other room. I can hear him pull it one hook at a time. I sneak in there and of course, he hears me....he stops and lays his head on it....to hide the part of the velcro that he's undone. He has learned to pull is very slowly and quietly. We've been letting him sit without the wrap, to make him feel better.

[quote name='gigishiba'] I would do everything in my power to train the dog. If he/she barks when I'm not home, I would find a way to sound proof a room in the house and he/she would be in their crate, in the room, when I was gone. I don't care how much money it costs. I'm not rich, not even CLOSE (we struggle at times), but my dogs mean more to me than that. I would find a way to make it work. Second job to pay for doggy daycare? Maybe just a paper route in the morning would be enough to cover that cost. I don't know....but they would never be debarked. NEVER EVER would I do that. [color=red][size=6][b]I don't care how much justifications people can post. [/b][/size][/color] Mine are spayed and neutered, get heartworm pills, regular vet check ups, healthy food and PLENTY of love. Nope. Not gonna touch my dogs to debark them. :x[/quote] Exactly! Everyone of our dogs are on heartworm preventative, up to date on vaccinations, healthy, good food, loved, played with, spoken to, taken swimming, in the house, on the butt-ugly couch (that's abuse, I know), with us the entire day. Any breed of dog can learn, it's their nature to please and be a part of the pack, even the "free thinkers".

He's been a really good sport thru this all. We've worked thru everything with positive re-direction. He absolutely loathes the horses and barks at them when he sees them. He scream-barks, that is how much he detests the ground they walk on. Hum...when they pull off his halo, since he'll already be under.....maybe we'll just have him DEBARKED. [size=2].....yeah, that was hateful and tacky.[/size] Maybe there is a need for debarking, but I just can't see it. Guy is smart enough that we can work thru this.

[quote name='Poofy'] Anothe wrote "I see no reason to debark," And there are those who see no reason to spay neuter too, keep their dogs contained, put them on heart worm prevention, take them to obedience...etc..etc... [color=red][b]What? You are merely attempting to divert the main topic. Not spaying/neutering, using parasite prevention is an entirely different topic. [/b][/color] "move," Oh goody, you plan on buying her a new house. I am sure she will gladly move to a nice 100 acre secluded area, if your buying. GET REAL [b][color=darkred]Some people actually DO MOVE when they decide that they want more than one dog....so maybe it's YOU that should GET REAL. [/color][/b] "keep fewer dogs," You cannot have a decent breeding program if you don't have dogs. Sure you can "pretend" you are actually doing something...but most breeding programs require 2-3 litters a year to actually GET any where, that is if you actually have goals. [color=red][b]Goals? And what goals would that be? NOW, it ALL comes down to money. This entire "debarking" topic comes down to multiple dogs, kept quiet, so the owner can MAKE MONEY. Because, if the neighbors complain, then the dogs must go.....and there goes the money. Thank you for finally admitting that. [/b][/color] "teach them not to bark," HAHAHAHAHAAH you are sooooo funny. NOT all dogs can be taught not to bark. [b][color=darkred]Dogs are not stupid.[/color][/b] "lots of ways to correct the problem." Sure...and one way is DEBARKING the dog. [b][color=red]Yep, it's the EASY way out. [/color][/b] Another wrote "I DO have guardian dogs. I have guardian dogs because of what they were bred to do.....guard, as in livestock. The do not bark non-stop, only when they preceive something is a threat. " Your right...they usually only bark when they percive a threat. Guardian dogs are not (usually) recreational barkers....but they bark at predators (or what they percieve as a threat), the mail man, the birds in the sky, the trash bag blowing in the wind....Butterfly farts. It would be nice if people would research LGD's before they buy them (and other breeds). But sadly most don't. I would rather see these dogs debarked, then subjected to shock collars or being hit or locked up...or worse...loose their homes and wind up on death row. Also...your dogs probably don't bark that much to YOU...but your neighbors (if you have any) may feel differently. I only have one pyr at home now, he is old and crippled. When I run them with livestock for training, or had them to guard what I had, I would listen to them all night long, barking as they patrolled. I liked the sound...my neighbors, who were acres away, did not. [b][color=darkred]WE DO NOT HAVE NEIGHBORS, and if we did --- our dogs are taught not to bark non-stop and they are ALL free thinkers. It's the people that run out and buy their "ranch" that is 5 acres that aggravate me. Then they bitch when the person next to them has a dog that barks, or sheep, or pigs, or any kind of livestock.[/color][/b] " don't understand what you mean by a dog that won't accept human control. Any dog can learn." LGDs are bred to be self thinkers. They are bred to be taken out into a pasture and release with the livestock, to remain out there and make descisions about what has to be done. LGDs do not make good obedience dogs for this reason. Teaching them to heal [color=red][b](HEEL), [/b][/color]when they feel they need to walk out front of behind. Most can NEVER be trusted off leash, because they will not come when called. There are those who do obedience and have been successful with it, achieving titles, but most NEVER get any where because these dogs are hard wired to be independant self thinkers...its about like trying to train a cat. Other dogs can just be plain stubborn...it just doesn't CLICK in their heads as to WHY you are correcting them. [color=darkred][b]Every dog that we have are free thinkers (you are right, they do not make good obedience dogs).....and can be managed to do anything. Maybe we just spend more time with them, than other people. [/b][/color] [/quote]

The massage therapy will be the best. Although, pulling rubber bands out of his butt would be a challenage.......hum......naaaaa, I'm sticking with the massage therapy.

Did you notice that the bottom two rings were touching at first? Within a very short time, from the surgery on Dec 3 to Dec 31, the rings are now parallel to each other. The bones grew much faster than anticipated (or was that a miscalculation?).

No, a wire above that came out. Now, tell me how he is supposed to have full range of movement with a pin in his ankle? The Surgeon is concerned that his ligaments and tendons can never be the same, because they are so tight. He wants to keep him for 3 days and do extensive therapy ---- he must be sedated to do this because it's painful. Or the other option would be to hook up rubber bands from the lowest ring to his paw and pull the paw upward in order to stretch them. Guess how long the rubber bands would last. He'd definately have to wear an E-collar. We're not putting him thru anymore pain. As soon as the halo comes off, he'll undergo massage therapy. I have one lined up that works specifically on working dogs.

:lol: what Jacsmom said......that's good English.

The halo is scheduled to come off around Jan 23! IF, the radius and ulna are strong enough. Here is a link to view his radiographs and post op picture with the halo on. I don't have a picture of his very last radiograph or his last picture (I'll get those soon). It's under the photo album "Guy's radiographs". [url]http://photos.yahoo.com/kelpie_dogs[/url]

[quote name='Butterfly']It does not take a genius to understand me saying to "look before you speak." I see no reason to debark, move, keep fewer dogs, teach them not to bark, lots of ways to correct the problem. What I said is, if anyone thinks only puppy mills do uncaring things to their dogs you are way off base. I believe the psoter wrote Liver shunt-puppy mills, debarking-puppy mills, no doubt, but that ain't all folks![/quote] :drinking: .....lots of people are cruel to their dogs.

[quote]="Poofy What do you do when you are not there to exert that control? Are you going to baby sit the dog every moment of its life for the rest of its life? I don't think so. You have to sleep...you have to have a job... What about dogs that don't take human control? Such as the large guardian breeds? Pyrs, marammer, kuvas, and the many others...they couldn't give a rat's butt what you wanted...they have a job to do...and that is to warn off predators...which means BARKING. [/quote] I DO have guardian dogs. I have guardian dogs because of what they were bred to do.....guard, as in livestock. The do not bark non-stop, only when they preceive something is a threat. Debark because you can and want to. Too many do it because they don't want to take the time with dog, it's an easy way out.

[quote name='sashagirl']And where do you get it?? :-?[/quote] It is sold at garden stores, health food stores and at feed mills. We buy 100lb sacks from the feed mill (cheaper than any other place). It is feed grade diatomaceaous earth, used in livestock feed.

[quote name='blueheir']Would anyone out there have info about breeding a Newfoundland that has arthritis from being on concrete all her life. She now lives on a farm but was in a kennel at an early age[/quote] Are you 100% sure the concrete caused her arthritis, or was she genetically predisposed for it. Personally, I would not breed a dog that has arthritis. Mei-Mei is right, it is painful. I have arthritis and it hurts, everyday, all day long.

[quote name='Jacsmom']Carol I found this at on a great Lab site. Pretty interesting. (the whole site is actually) Why do the noses of some yellow Labs turn pink during the winter? Yellow labs are really black or chocolate dogs. Well, they would have been if they hadn't inherited a recessive gene from both their parents which is called the "epistatic" gene. This "ee" gene masks the expression of the black or chocolate coat color, but it does not mask pigmentation. That's why even though the dog is yellow, he will still have a black or chocolate nose (the latter of which is not preferable in a yellow dog). Now, although a yellow Lab's pigment will be black, it will fade more easily in response to environmental and physiological changes such as temperature, hormonal changes, and even medications. The reason for this is that even though the yellow genes do not mask pigmentation color, the presence of the yellow epistatic genes result in a mutant form of the cells which produce pigment. The ability of these mutant cells to produce black pigment is temperature dependent and may also be inhibited by fluctuations of hormones or other chemicals in the bloodstream. When the environment becomes cold, these cells stop producing black pigment. As a result, the color fades. If a yellow Lab has received a black gene for coat and pigmentation from each of its parents, that dog will have very dark, black pigment which will fade more slowly. If the yellow dog has received a black gene from one parent and a chocolate gene from the other parent (black is dominant to chocolate, so whenever a black gene is present it will cover up chocolate expression), fading will be more evident Here is the link to the site. [url]http://www.labbies.com[/url][/quote] ....and: The tyrosinase enzyme responsible for producing the dark nose pigment is unstable at low temperatures. Low temperatures causes the tyrosinase enzyme to stop the chemical reaction, and tyrosine conversion to eumelanin in the skin will occur at a much slower rate. Thus, pigment will fade.

Any discharge? Foul smell? I would make sure if the girl was indeed pregnant or false. She could have .... there is no nice way to put this .... dead puppies. She could be late in having her pups.

I've heard that Mal's have a wide range of "voice". It's music, to me.

[quote name='Cheetah'][quote name='Hobbit']You can tell by looking as his teeth.[/quote] Umm...how? Sounds a little difficult for the common person to determine (unless there's an easy method to figuring it out) I would think it would be easier in this case to have the vet look at the dog's teeth and estimate how old the dog is (you can have him do this while you're asking the vet about the best flea treatment for your dog :) ). When I got Roxie, the shelter said she was 3 months old (although even I thought she looked a little older) When we took her to the vet for vaccinations, the vet looked at her teeth and estimated 4-5 months! He just kinda glanced in her mouth, so I guess it really isn't a very difficult thing for a vet to determine![/quote] Cheetah, you are right. I've just seen lots of teeth so, I can guess pretty accurately, most of the time. A lot depends on nutrition, injury and wear. Some dogs wear their teeth down faster than others. You're right, just take him to the vet and ask about the flea stuff and work in ...."Um...while you're at it Doc, how old is he?" Good advice!

[quote name='gigishiba'][quote name='Hobbit']You can tell by looking as his teeth.[/quote] [size=1]I can see your blood boiling, Hobbit.[/size][/quote] :lol: :o

It's that little man..... :o er.....dog syndrone. Yeah, Kika knew there was a fence between her and the Kaiser!! .... :lol: :lol: ....... [size=2]just kidding, she thinks she's 7 foot and 300lbs! [/size]

Frozen ponds are something we don't have to worry about, here...normally. Thank goodness, because our dogs LOVE to swim. Good for the police officer! Mc! .... cool dad! :wink:

I can vouch for that! :lol:

Hopefully everything will work out.