Malamum

Morgan, All of us here love dogs of all breeds, shapes & sizes. What we don't really like is breed hatred and stereotyping. [quote]Finally, you need to "come-on!" There is a reason people fear them! They can not be trusted! They will turn on you! Do you know what both owners said to me? " I'm sorry, I don't understand? He has never done anything like this before." Let's not forget about the people that left their newborn in a room alone with their pitbull. If that attack is not good enough for you then I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO TELL YOU[/quote] I also just want to comment on some of the things you said above. [quote]They will turn on you! [/quote] - I don't believe any dog [b]ever[/b] just turns (unless for a medical reason). The reason that bites most often occur in instances like this is because of behavior that the owner has instilled in the dog. Most of the time this is done unwittingly even if their intentions are good. Too many people own dogs and have no idea how to correctly train them nor do they have any understanding about pack order. And in regards to the people that left their newborn baby alone in the room with their dog - that is just blatant stupidity and totally irresponsible. I can guarantee you that most of people on this board regardless of what breed of dog they have will NEVER EVER leave a young child alone with their dog. It's basic common sense! The Pit Bull as a breed is not to blame for all the instances that occur it's stupid people that shouldn't ever have a dog of any breed.

:laugh2_2: :laugh2_2: LOL Carol I thought exactly the same thing when I read the title.

Courtnek, pleeeease be careful.

That really upset me :cry: :cry: The more I read stuff like that it makes me go home and hug my dog and swear to him that I will never let anything bad happen to him. There is something seriously wrong with the law when someone like that is allowed to have a pet. :evil: The thing is I really don't understand what makes them get one in the first place.

[quote]Quote: I wasn't trying to stifle anyone voicing their opinion and I never thought you were..I'm just VERY opinionated... [/quote] me too and sometimes it seems that my opinions are the ones that do the offending so again I was just being cautious. :wink: I think this is going to be very intersting reading...as I don't believe that there are right and wrong views (in regards to religion) - just different ones.

I wasn't trying to stifle anyone voicing their opinion I was just trying to keep the peace as I know some people can take what they believe very seriously and get easily offended when others contradict or discount thier views. Now me.. I'm very hard to offend and am a firm believer of "each to their own" and I fully respect everyones right to believe what they will. I personally am not religious at all and don't believe in god or heaven. I just try to live my life the best as I can and treat others as I would wish to be treated and believe that when my times up then that 's pretty much it. I don't really know what defines a soul but if I have one then I do believe that all living breathing things (cat, dog or otherwise) have one too. Ignore what I said in my earlier post - I do like the freedom of everyone airing their views I was just a little cautious as I know it can be a very sensitive topic.

I believe that it's best to tell a child as close to the truth as you think they can handle. This is always going to vary depending on the age and the personality of the child. Also, I do think we are best not to get into a religious discussion on what people believe and why. People's ideas on religion can be very personal and it's very easy for feelings to get hurt and for people to get their noses out of joint. I think we are asking for trouble if we go down that path.... just my 2 cents :wink:

Gorgeous photos. Thanks for sharing. :D

oh dear.. that one did make me cry

If I were going to get two littermates (or even just two pups or dogs) I would always go male/female. I've seen too many people who have had same sex littermates grow up and do nothing but fight. They may well get on their whole lives but you need to be prepared and have a plan in place for if they don't.

[size=7][color=red][b]Happy Birthday Abby [/b][/color][/size] :new-bday: :new-bday: :new-bday: :new-bday:

Another Saint Bernard here.

[quote]Quote: What a lot of people fail to realize is that WE also make a lifetime commitment to these dogs. It doesn't end when they leave our physical care This is actually the attitude that bothers me about breeders/rescuers that adopt out dogs. Actually, the relationship does end when the dogs leave your physical care. Just because you have formed an emotional bond with the animal doesn't mean that after you have adopted it out, you should retain any kind of control. If you want to retain control, don't adopt out the dog. [/quote] At present I don't have time to comment on everything that has been discussed so far in this thread but I did want to address the above. When discussing "responsible breeders" in the past we have all mentioned time and time again that we consider a responsible breeder someone who will take back one of their dogs at any time in the dogs life regardless of circumstances. If this is part of a breeders responsibility then I think it's only fair that they can be picky about who they choose to home their dogs with. This is why a lot of breeders will co-own any dogs they sell. My breeders stipulations were that we had a fenced yard and that we took our dog to obediance classes for a minimum of 12 months (plus the whole not breeding from the dog, but I think that goes without saying). These are things that I would have done anyway but I don't think it is too much to ask. No - she doesn't check up on me but I consider her a friend, we keep in touch and I give her lots of updates on how our baby is going. I don't know about everyone else but I feel you can never have too many friends and somone that shares such a common interest can make a great friend. I guess if I had a personal dislike for the breeder I would go elsewhere. If I was a breeder I would also have a list of criteria for potential owners. If I was selling to someone I already knew personally I would maybe be a little less strict if I knew they would be an excellent owner even if they didn't meet all the points. However when dealing with total strangers then that list of criteria is the only thing breeders have to go on. If they are inflexable about their conditions they may miss out on giving a dog to a good home but the chances are less likely of the dog going to a bad home.

I selected other. I don't really believe that there is a specific breed of dog that is more likely to bite. However there are breeds that are more capable of causing a serious injury when they do bite.

I am so sorry. My thoughts are with you and with Koda where ever she may be.

[size=6][color=red][b]HAPPY BIRTHDAY JADEN[/b][/color][/size] I think she is one of the cutest things I have ever seen.

Behle, it's nice to hear from you again, though I am so sorry to hear about your loss of Paisley.

Way to go Courtnek - you have come a long way with her and have done an outstanding job. :D

Oh no - how sad :( I really hope they find them safe and sound.

[quote]ONLY PUT DOWN A DEPOSIT WHEN THE PUPPY IS BORN [/quote] This is not always the case. A lot of breeders won't even consider a breeding a litter unless they have buyers (with deposits paid) for all pups before hand. Also I am still confused as to why the price varies for the pet quality pups. What is the differrence between one that he charges $ 800.00 for and another that he charges $1200.00 for?

I think we have done this before - but I am happy to tell again :wink: Indy - is named after the movie character Indiana Jones. It's always been a favourite movie of mine and I just loved it when in the third movie we learn that Indy was actually the dog's name. I have also learned this bit of trivia after the fact- The character Indiana was actually named after George Lucas's malamute Indiana and when they show you the dog in the third movie it's actually an Alaskan Malamute. I thought that was pretty cool.

The deposit should only be non-refundable if [b]you[/b] change your mind and at the last minute and decide you don't want a pup at all even though they do have what you specified what you wanted. If the breeder can't meet the requirements that you specified up front - (say you want a girl but the litter is all boys) then you should get your deposit back or be first in line for the next litter. If this not the case I would go elsewhere. I am also a little wary about the price range in both show and pet quality pups though. As far as I'm concerned there should be two prices, one for pet and one for show (my breeders prices were $1300 for show and $1000 for pet). For the pet quality pups - what determines their price? Why would one be $800 and another $1200? I totally understand the variance between pet and show but I'm really not sure about the variances within those categories.

Glad to hear that the surgery went well and that Paddy got an early mark.

It's a good thing, not a bad thing :wink: He'll be fine :D

Indy gets a RMB and sometimes a banana about 7.00am. He then gets his main meal at approx 8.30 - 9.00pm (depending on what time we get back from his walk).