abker17

RIP Zoe. :(

Ahhh K talk about a REAL bulldog! What a beauty!

Happy Birthday Tigger! :D

I play hide and seek with Abby sometimes. I'll cover her with a blanket then run and hide, and she'll search until she finds me. I never really taught her to, she just did it automatically. It's a fun game. :D

She looks like a JRT mix to me. :D

Made it a tie. :D

[quote]I'd also like to add that things would probably go far more smoothly if Heinrich were a submissive dog. You might want to observe his personality for awhile before having your heart set on him.[/quote] I've been watching how he acts around me and he almost always sits when I pet him, and likes to roll on his belly. I'm not sure if this is a sign of submission or not though, he may just like to roll around. :lol: I will keep watching his behaviour around me for signs, but that's about all I can do to tell. The SPCA doesn't allow the dogs to solcialize with one another. Malamum- Thanks so much for your reply. It is good to hear that others have gone through a similiar experience and it worked out. :) Bubblezzz- It really doesn't matter to me whether they become best buddies or just tolerate each other. If I can just get Abby to tolerate him I'll be more than happy. :D DP- That is a great idea and great advice, thanks so much. [quote]they may NEVER like each other..if they tolerate each other, you're ahead of the ball game. some never click, but they do learn to tolerate. [/quote] Exactly. :)

Thanks for your reply Kat. I do think going on NILIF would be a good idea and could help. As for the BC, I'm aware of how demanding they are. From the time I've spent with Heinrich though he seems more on the mellow side, and I think the amount of exercise I give Abby will be enough for him. (That's including walks, agility, and training time.) If it's not then of course I will step it up and do what need be to fulfill his needs. I think my family could also participate in helping exercise him. But we'll just have to see, I have to bring this up to my parents again, as I had just started re-thinking it and they probably thought I had given up on him. :P

DO and Courtnek- thank you so much for your input and giving me hope. I was really doubting whether this could work. [quote]it can be done, with forethought and training. are you available during the day to keep an eye on things?[/quote] I am available all day everyday until school starts up again at the end of August. I think that would be enough time for both dogs to adjust. :) DO, the thing I'm kind of worried about letting them work it out on their own is (from the fights I've seen) Abby doesn't stop. She doesn't just get up and walk away once Cracker has submitted (is that the right word?) to her. She keeps going, and it's incredibly scary to watch. Even when Cracker is on her belly just trying to get away Abby keeps going. I have NEVER seen her back away from a fight once it was started. How do I know when to say that's enough if the whole time I feel like Abby's fighting "to the death"? I'm not against letting them work it out on their own, I just don't want any of the dogs to be injured. [quote]Id try what DO says... although Im not sure if the shelter would let you do that or not. [/quote] That's the thing I'm not sure of either. They're a dog pound, and as far as I know they don't do "adoption pending" sort of things where the animal comes to live with you for awhile to see if it will work. [quote]If you really want him that bad but Abby still wont tolerate him, then theres always the crate and rotate option.[/quote] I want him badly, but that comes second. Heinrich's best interests come first, as well as any other dog we consider adopting. And again I don't think my parents would go for the rotating dogs option. Abby is a pretty mellow dog but Heinrich is almost pure border collie, and although he's not as high strung as some I wouldn't feel like it was fair to confine him in one room or a crate while I'm at school. But thanks for your input. :)

Many of you saw my thread in the Pictures section about the border collie Heinrich I was hoping to adopt. (Little background on Heinrich; He was found as a stray, is only 6 months old, and I can't really tell whether he's a more dominant dog or submissive. He's really still in the process of coming out of his shell.) I'll go ahead and reiterate what happened when Abby and Heinrich met to see if they would get along; We brought Abby out to the SPCA and let them meet in the parking lot to begin with. They both sniffed each other over and Abby lost interest pretty quickly. She basically didn't seem to want anything to do with Heinrich. He wanted to play, and jumped on her back at one point, and she turned around and growled at him, then lost interest again. Usually if another dog initiates play Abby will go along with it. I was really surprised she was just ignoring Heinrich like she did. Usually she'll try to "assert her dominance" over the other dog or at least play. After this first little meeting we took the dogs to the enclosed courtyard in the middle of the shelter. No other dogs were around, so there were no distractions. We kept Heinrich on leash and let Abby off. Again, she totally ignored him. One of the shelter workers supervised and said Abby is just a very dominant female (which I already knew) and doesn't want to be messed with. Which for the most part is also true, she likes to play somtimes, but if she's not in the mood then no other dogs better mess with her. :-? The worker also said she thought it was going to be very hard for us to bring ANY other dog into Abby's household. But I wanted to get a second opinion. Is there anything I can do to get Abby to be more accepting (per say) of bringing another dog into our life? Should I just give up now, is there no hope of getting another dog? There's been no other interest in Heinrich, would it be too much of a risk to adopt him when Abby wasn't interested in him at their meeting? (I'm grasping at straws here I know, but I really, really liked that dog.) I have the money, the time, and the room for another dog. With so many being put to sleep simply because there aren't enough homes I feel like if I have the space there's no reason why I shouldn't be providing a home to a dog who might not otherwise get one. But the dog's best interests have to come first too. And while I wouldn't mind shuffling dogs around and putting up baby gates to seperate rooms etc, my parents don't want to deal with it. The dogs must be able to at the very least tolerate each other. My mom is here all day but she doesn't know much about dogs and I can't have them getting into a fight when it's just her here alone with him. I also should mention a little background on Abby for those who don't know; She's 4 years old, I've had her since she was 4 months after we found her as a stray. She's been my constant companion and tends to get jealous if she's not the center of attention. From what I've observed she really doesn't like dogs that are larger than her, but seems to get along for the most part with smaller dogs. She's a border collie mix (My guess is Akita as well, from her personality) and around 18" at the shoulder. (Heinrich was almost the same size, maybe a bit smaller.) Any opinions or advice would really be appreciated, I'm sorry this post is so long.

[quote]if, or you may be at this time, considering getting another dog in addition to the ones you already have, what breed would it be ?[/quote] A border collie or a border collie mix. (Preferably mixed to mellow out some of that energy, since some days I just don't have the time to take really long walks.) I currently have a border collie mix and her energy level is just right for me. We did try to adopt another BC but my dog didn't get along with him. If we find the right one though I'd still really like to have another. :D

Great news CC! :D I'm sure once she gets settled down a bit with you she'll come out of her shell a little. Agility should also help with that, and maybe taking her on outings to meet some people. I'm so excited for you! :D

I will ALWAYS go there DL. :wink:

[quote]And finally, if you still haven’t figured it out, here is a quote from a very wise man. He certainly gets it. “We have learned that terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength; they are invited by the perception of weakness. And the surest way to avoid attacks on our own people is to engage the enemy where he lives and plans. We are fighting that enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan today so that we do not meet him again on our own streets, in our own cities.”[/quote] You think Bush is a wise man? :lol: You really are off your rocker in more ways than one.

I think Kes would really enjoy it Kat! :D Since it's plastic it's best as a supervised toy, (Abby has knocked the recording device out before, I'm sure Kes is smart enough to figure out how to take it out. :lol:) but it's alot of fun to watch the little doggies go mad at it. :wink:

Does anyone else have one of these things? Does your dog like it? I bought one for Abby a long time ago and just recently found it again. For those who don't know, the Talk to me Treat Ball is a plastic ball with a recording device for you to record a message to your dog in. You can also put treats in the ball. When it is rolled a certain way a treat will come out, and the message you recorded is also played. Here's the web site if you want to see what it looks like: [url]http://www.talktometreatball.com/[/url] Abby has the one called Glow Ball, that glows in the dark. This thing drives her NUTS. :lol: It's so funny to watch her push it around and growl at it like a puppy. Though hearing my voice go "Hi Abby" a million times can get kind of annoying. :lol:

I missed the last part of your post where you said he growls at her when she comes close now. Personally I don't blame him. :-? Boarding the dog until she moves out could probably work. (Depending on how long that's for.) But I think the daughter definitely needs to leave, not the dog. The dog hasn't done anything wrong and it would be totally unfair to dump him at a shelter just because she can't control herself. :-?

I don't think your dog is doing anything wrong. Your daughter on the other hand... sorry but her behaviour is outragous, abusive, and immature. If any relative of mine hit my dog and injured him so he had to go to the vet and be STITCHED up, that relative would be out the door the second I got home with my dog. I realize you don't want to lose your daughter, but IMO opinion her behaviour is just unexcuseable. The dog is defending itself, reacting naturally. Why can't your daughter just ignore him?

The brindle color makes me think Pit bull. :)

I'm so sorry for your loss Marion. :( RIP beautiful Cleo. :angel:

What's your favorite thing about your dog, personality-wise. How about least favorite? For Abby, I love that she's kept the kind of curiousity you see in young dogs and puppies. She always looks at me when I talk to her like she's trying to pick out key words that she understands. She also often watches when I'm doing a task as if she's trying to figure it out. She's really like a small child, and it's neat having a dog so curious and interested in the world around her. My least favorite thing about Abby would probably be the dog aggression. I feel like she's missing out on being able to play with other dogs and socialize. But she certainly doesn't seem to mind. :lol: What I love about Cracker is how laid back and sweet she is. She might never tear up an agility course or win any awards but she's a good dog. :D My least favorite thing about Cracker is how fearful she is of everything and everyone. Like Abby, I feel like that makes her miss out on alot of normal doggie experiences.

This story was also posted in the News section. I feel for everyone affected by this horrible crime. :( Sending best wishes.

Thanks for the compliments on my weavies! [quote]Abker... could you get some pics of the chute? I don't have one and would love to make one... I figured i'd do the garbage can thing but wasn't quite sure how to fasten it all together...[/quote] Sure thing, here ya go... The tunnel- [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/Abker/MVC-004F.jpg[/img] Well, I was a little off with the staples thing. My dad actually made holes all around the trash can, and strung these plastic things through them... I dunno what they're called. :lol: Hopefully by the pics you'll be able to tell what I mean... [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/Abker/MVC-005F.jpg[/img] [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/Abker/MVC-006F.jpg[/img] The hole in the bottom for the tent stake that holds it down... [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/Abker/MVC-008F.jpg[/img] [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/Abker/MVC-009F.jpg[/img] Hope that helps! :D

Abby does that ALL the time. It's so cute. :D

You're welcome! :) [quote]Hmmm, Im gonna have to get a job soon. :x [/quote] Tell me about it. :lol: I'd love to work at a kennel as a first job though. :D (even if all I can do is clean cages.) Oh, and I really like the collar and leash, very nice. :wink: