Malamum

[quote]Is there any merit to the idea that a dog breed can be inherently dangerous[/quote] [quote]theoretically wouldn't it be possible to create a breed inherently aggressive towards humans?[/quote] In theory I would have to say yes. If for some insane reason we humans decided to create a breed that was habitually aggressive towards people, I don’t see why it couldn’t be done. However like any breed bred for a certain trait it would take decades and generation after generation of selectively breeding for those traits before that characteristic became a given with that particular breed. It’s a pretty scary thought though.

Even though I will leave my dogs in our backyard with no worries what so ever, one thing I’m not a fan of is dogs in the front yard. Especially yards that have tubular style fencing rather than a solid fence. Most front yards aren’t fenced around here but there are a few that are. I hate walking along the footpath past a front yard that has a dog in it as in my experience most of the dogs that are in such a yard bark excessivley at anything that walks past. I guess they get a bit over stimulated by all the action happening around them. My yard is at the back of the house and a person just walking along the street wouldn’t even know there are dogs in there. We do have a fairly quiet street so there wouldn't be many people walking past anyway.

I can't see the pictures :(

I have a question. Does an egg need to be added? I see an egg in the first picture but there is no mention of an egg in your text.

That recipe sounds really good. I've printed it out with the intention of making it at some stage. I don't know how I'm going to go blending the liver - I may vomit. If not I think I will at least stand there heaving :wink: :wink: My dogs have offal night once a week. Liver nights are the worst. I usually shut my eyes when I'm putting it in their bowls - it's that gross.

:lol: :lol: Go Free!!! That is so funny.

The thing that s$(%* me the most is the fact he was so high and mighty about being a good Pit Bull owner and was so quick to lecture other people.

In winter I drive with the windows open and freeze to death so the dogs don't get too hot. My friends also think I am nuts buying a juicer just to use to do the dogs vegetables. I've never made any type of juice with it for myself.

[quote]Sasha can easily climb a 6 foot privacy fence... (I have seen her do this)[/quote] :o :o OMG is she part monkey? :lol: :lol: Seriously though, how the hell does she do that? I’m assuming when you say privacy fence you mean a solid wood fence. What does she use as footholds to climb? I’m glad my dogs are way too lazy to even consider climbing the fence. Indy is such a big scaredy cat I don’t think he’d even try. When we were out walking once I had to get him under a fence. There was plenty of room but he just wouldn’t do it. I had to get down on my tummy and shimmy through to show him how. :roll: :-?

They need to put them under because they need to maneuver and manipulate the hips quite extensively and get shots of them in certain positions to be able to see exactly how the ball of the hip sits in the socket. I think it would be way too stressful for the dog and I don’t think you could get them to hold perfectly still in an unnatural position. Also for dogs who do have a severe problem I would assume it would be quite painful. I understand why in my head but I’m not sure if I have explained it very well. Maybe some of our members who work in the field can explain it a bit better.

Courtnek, there should be no problem doing that at all. I use different computers to log into dogo all the time. You just need to log in using the same username and password.

Hi Rowie, Nice to see you round again. Kira is our female Malamute, she is approx 15 months old. We decided to get another dog earlier this year and decided to get a rescue rather than another puppy. We got Kira in March this year and she was 8 months old at the time. Thanks for the words of encouragement guys. Michael is not 100% convinced we need to get the X-rays done as she doesn’t show any signs of pain and I think he is a little worried about her having to be put under to get them done. I’m worried too but I’d rather have it done so we know once and for all if there is any problem or not.

My two (45kg and 28kg) get a desert spoon of either cottage cheese or yoghurt as their bed time treat. I alternate between giving the two, yoghurt one night, cottage cheese another.

One of our dogs has had a hot spot 3 times. The first time was after he got de-sexed. He had to wear an E-collar to stop him getting to his stitches and I think he bashed his head into so many things while wearing it, that it kept pushing back on his neck and caused a bit of a graze. We then had rain for 7 days straight. The area got wet and wasn't able to get fully dry. He is an Alaskan Malamute and has a VERY thick coat so although tried to keep him as dry as possible he was damp for those 7 days. The hot spot set in and he went to the vet, got the area shaved, had cortisone tables and cream etc..... The second time was due to an extended period of rain again. The hot spot was in the same area as last time. Back to the vet and same treatment again. After the second time we decided to buy a forced air blower so we could ensure that he was dry all the way to the skin. Rain again. OH was the one that dried him with the dryer but as it was still fairly new and Indy was still a bit scared of it he probably didn't dry him for as long as he should have. Got another hot spot - same spot again. (as a side note the guard hairs never grew back properly in that area from the first time he was shaved so I think that was why he was so susceptible to them there). So this time I didn't want the area shaved. Like it or not I used the dryer on him about every half hour to make sure the area was totally totally dry. I also alternated between applying an antiseptic spray and an antiseptic drying powder. Then used the dryer on the area some more....... then did it again.... and again. It cleared up in a few days. We now use the dryer to make sure he is always totally dry right down to the skin and since some time as passed the guard hairs on the back of his next have grown back again so he has his natural level of protection again. Haven't had another hot spot since.

Good work. :D

Took both dogs to the vet yesterday. Indy just for his annual vaccinations and we took Kira along too, as we wanted the vet the have a look at her hips. The reason I wanted them to have a look is that she sometimes walks funny. It's mainly when we are out on our walks, one minute she will be walking normally then the next she gets this funny gait. Kind of like she flicking her back legs out to each side as she walks. She doesn't seem to be in any pain at all and it doesn't stop her from doing anything. She loves going for a walk, her and Indy run round at home like lunatics and she is happy to lie in all kinds of positions. However the funny walk is always a niggling thought in the back of my mind so I thought I'd see what the vet had to say. We took her outside to walk around a bit so the vet could see what I was talking about, but of course she walked perfectly normal when the vet was watching :roll: :roll: . She had a bit of a prod around and stretched Kira's rear legs out which didn't seem to bother her at all. Although she said (which I already knew) that the only way she could really tell for sure was to do X-rays. We decided to go ahead and get it done. I'm a little nervous about the full anesthesia and of course what the results may show, however if there is a problem I'd rather catch it early. She is booked in to get it done in a few weeks. I'll let you know how we go when the time comes.

What a loser!!! :evil: :evil: :evil:

Glad to hear she is doing well.

Gorgeous pictures.

Cant' say I do unfortunatley. My male was neutered at 7 months and marks and marks and marks when he is outside. He has never ever done this in the house though. I assume it's due to toilet training - he never ever has any accidents in the house either.

[quote name='Horsefeathers!'] Malamum, from my experience (meaning just what I read on various international forums), most nations other than the US seriously frown on leaving a dog alone for very long periods of time, especially crated. It's been particularly interesting to read how many foreigners (for me) think crating for hours at a time is cruel. I guess it truly does reflect a difference in cultures. [/quote] Yeah, I’ve noticed very different opinions depending upon where the person lives and what is considered the norm where they come from. I don’t think crating is cruel, however it’s not something I do. I don’t see the need for it personally. I understand all the reasons why you guys do it and I don’t discount them I just don’t think my dog’s lives would be made better by spending the day in a crate as apposed to running around in our back yard. Again – I’m not having a go at anyone who does crate I don’t think it’s wrong, it’s just not for me. If I were to attended dog shows etc regularly then I would crate train my dogs to be able to stay in a crate while at a show or trial etc but wouldn’t bother for just being kept at home. Also in regards to the amount of time it’s ok to leave a dog, I have noticed that a lot of people in the US go home to check on their dogs and let them out at lunch. I personally don’t know one person who goes home at lunch time (for any reason, dog related or otherwise). Everyone I know works too far away from where they live. I know this is going off on a tangent but for those that do go home at lunch, how long does it take you to get from work to home? I was curious as to why people don’t allow their dogs outside. The general consensus seems to be to stop people in the neighborhood interfering with the dogs. I can understand that. It’s not a major concern here, but we do have 6ft wooden fences and padlock our gates. I’m assuming the weather may factor in aswell. Do those that don’t allow their dogs outside live in areas where it snows? If so, and that is the reason your dogs stay indoors, do you leave them out in summer? Again I’m not trying to start arguments or say any way is right or wrong, I just truly am fascinated as to why people do things the way they do.

[quote]I don't like leaving him for long, mainly because here its frowned apon to leave a dog for more than 4-5 hours in a day, and I don't particuarly like being called an dog abuser, or having people act like I was even if they don't openly say it...[/quote] Nea, when you say it’s frowned upon here – do you mean here at Dogo or where you live?? Either way I think that’s a silly attitude. Monday to Friday our dogs are own their own for up to 12 hours a day. We leave home at approx 7.00am and get home between 6.00 and 7.00pm. For more than one reason I hate so much of my day being taken up by going to work but what can you do? We work too far from home to go home at lunch time as well. Does this make us dog abusers or neglectful in any way? I don’t think so. My dogs have access to our kitchen, laundry and backyard when were are not home. It seems that my original thought was correct, as so far I am the only one here that allows their dogs to be in the yard when no one is home. I don’t think either way is right or wrong, the reason for the post was pure curiosity on my part. I belong to another forum where all the members are pretty much Australian. A very similar question was posted there and 95% of the people responded saying that their dogs are left outside or have access to the yard when the humans go out. I was trying to determine whether this was a cultural difference as I am always fascinated at how or why things are done a certain way in other parts of the world. Thanks for all your responses.

What does everyone do with their dogs when they go out and the dogs are left alone? I’m curious as to how many leave them with access to or in the yard. [edited to add] Also, what is the longest period of time you would leave your dog(s) alone?

Sounds pretty good. I wonder how long it will take to hit Oz. I have enough trouble getting the standard Innova. I feed BARF but if I need to get a kibble I will get Innova.

:lol: :lol: That’s too funny. I haven’t seen anything like that here, but I don’t think I’d be rushing out to buy one.