kendalyn

Since you are a high school student and looking at colleges soon I would say getting a parrot is a bad idea. Parrots are much much more demanding than a dog and can be twice as irritating. They scream. Have you heard a parrot scream? It's shockingly loud. They can develop neurotic behavior (feather plucking and such) if not raised very diligently. Getting a parrot is a big lifestyle change. It will really limit your time. Also, their cages are humongous. If you're looking at finding an apartment while you're in college with a dog AND a parrot with a giant cage, be prepared to shell out some major bucks. Landlords usually aren't fond of birds because they can be so loud. The parrot could very well outlive you also. And even if he/she doesn't outlive you, you could have this pet for a good portion of your entire life. I have an aunt who owns a macaw. She is aging and her bird will most likely outlive her. Someone in our family is going to have to inherit this bird. Guess how many people are looking forward to that? It's a nice bird and all, but I know I certainly wouldn't be able to pick up where she left off with it. How Coal will react to the bird is good to be concerned about, but really that is one of the smallest obstacles. If you want to get into birds, I would really start off with something smaller and a little less maintenance. Maybe a parakeet or finches. You might have trouble finding a parrot to adopt. Most rescues won't consider homes that don't have a lot of bird experience. And hopefully a breeder would require the same thing.

[quote]Dear God, We dogs can understand human verbal instructions, hand signals, whistles, horns, clickers, beepers, scent ID's, electromagnetic energy fields, and Frisbee flight paths. What do humans understand? [/quote] This one is my favorite :-) It's pretty true! Thanks for the laugh :lol:

I have to admit that I laughed. It's obviously meant to be a joke! People have enough capacity to be cruel on their own. It's not like they're going to see this commercial and think it would be a great idea to catch a cat's head in a sunroof! Plus, no cat would let that happen. They're way to fast for that. I'm sure no cats were harmed in the making of the commercial :lol:

If someone gave this to my kid (if I had any) I would be out for blood! :evil:

awww that sucks :x At least your sister got to warn those people and now they know to be extra diligent when raising their puppy.

[quote name='Mutts4Me']They could also be temporary things, like when the owner's not home or something. [/quote] I can't speak for the houses I noticed while I was driving because I'm never in that area so it was the first time I saw them, but down the road from me there is a house that has a small kennel like this. Those dogs stay in there all the time. The house near me has 2 Treeing Walker Coonhounds in the kennel. Just today I noticed a dog house sitting outside the kennel with a third dog chained to it. I've never seen anyone out playing with the dogs. I assume they are used for hunting. The dogs don't look uncared for or anything. They aren't skinny or dirty and generally look fine. I've never heard them bark which surprised me. I still feel bad for them though. I feel like they'd be happier inside with their family. [quote name='Courtnek']These are hunting pack animals, and prefer the company of other dogs when raised this way. The kenneling is to keep them focused on their job, and not on people. [/quote] [quote name='SexxieRacerChik']I know several people who hunt and they don't allow anyone to play with their dogs, they say it makes them lose focus on the prey and want to come to you for attention instead. [/quote] Yeah, I can see how this would be true. I've never had a dog used for hunting so I have no idea if bonding with them would make them a worse hunter or not. Although, I did see a hunting trial on ESPN once and the guys participating were VERY bonded with their dogs, but maybe it's different in a competition instead of a real hunt? If people are going to keep their dogs outside the house for hunting purposes, I guess I'd prefer the dogs have a little more space to run in and a better encloser. Maybe a shed or something that has a real floor. Those barrels don't seem adequate for Michigan's long winter.

Does he usually eat kibble or soft food? If he normally eats the kibble, it's kind of odd that he doesn't like the hard treats. Maybe they just don't taste good? If not, maybe he's not used to hard food, or maybe his gums are sensitive?

Did you tell them that he's pretty smart and trainable as long as you're firm with him? Maybe they can pick up where you left off :-)

well yeah. I saw many different houses in different areas and they only had 1 or 2 dogs.

Why no pictures of an adult "maskita"? :roll:

Sometimes on my job I'm required to drive large boxes of legal documents to various companies. So most of my driving yesterday was on back roads and I noticed something interesting. I saw many yards that have a chain link kennel built for their dog. These kennels usually aren't that big. Maybe 12 feet by 12 feet at the most. They usually contain some sort of a dog house and maybe a food and water dish. My first thought was, "Why do people bother having a dog if it is kept outside in such a small kennel?" I really don't get it. My next thought was, "Wow, every dog I've seen so far has been some sort of a hound!" By the end of my driving I didn't see ONE dog in one of those kennels that did not look like some sort of hound. I saw Beagles, a Foxhound, Blueticks, Treeing Walker Coonhounds, and others that I couldn't identify but they looked like hounds to me. Why is this almost exclusively a hound thing? I know there are some dogs that actually do pretty well as outside dogs. But I would think that hounds would not be a good type of dog to keep outside. Buck has some hound in him and he's pretty sensitive. He NEEDS to be around people. It would kill him to live outside in a kennel. Also, most hounds have very short coats. I'm pretty sure they don't have undercoats to help keep them warm. So why does this seem to be pretty common? Is it because these hounds are hunting dogs and their owners don't see them as family pets? That's really the only kind of explanation I could come up with. What are everyone else's thoughts?

Treating Apollo as the dominant dog for a pecking order is fine, but that doesn't mean you have to let him push Zeus around. Both dogs need to realize that all resources are ultimately yours. If you don't want Apollo eating Zeus's food, don't let him. Being alpha isn't the same as being rude and pushy. You can still teach Apollo some doggy manners without disrupting their "pack". I would make sure Apollo knows that it is never ok to eat Zeus's food or take chews away from him. Maybe you could start this by training a good leave it command.

When we found Buck and the two other dogs in Kentucky, the people at the boat rental place told us not to take them to a shelter no matter what. He said they euthanize the dogs after 3 days by shooting them with a .22. :x They emphasized that the people who work in those shelters are not usually animal lovers and are not nice to the animals who come in. I hope a law gets passed. Stray dogs should not be used for target practice. :x

Enjoy your day! I'll bet Fifty will look very cute sleeping :-)

Yay! Good job Bella :D I hope the weather warms up for you soon :-)

[quote]The walking usually makes them have a bowel movement quicker. Usually after walking briskly for 10-15 min (at most) they have to go.[/quote] This is true for Buck at least. He is like clockwork when we go on a walk. After 5 or 10 minutes he almost always has to go. It would probably be worth a try.

inquisitive? You might not be able to find one word to describe all those things, but you could explain in your thesis what you are trying to describe and that you will be using a certain word to encompass that meaning. Good Luck :-)

Can you watch her really closely and when you see her start to poop, pick her up and take her outside? I would give her a stern no before you pick her up also. Obviously praise her like crazy when she does poop outside. I've never trained a dog using the indoor pads, but if you want her to only go outside, maybe you should get rid of them? It seems like it would be more confusing for her if they were still around.

[quote]When your puppy is on your knee, put her on her back, and push in the hernia into the little groove and rub it in circular motions.[/quote] LOL! I used to rub Kody's all the time because I thought it felt cool and he lOVED it! I never knew it was really doing him any good :lol:

I don't have a problem with culture differences when they aren't inhumane. What I saw in those pictures was pretty cruel. And what you saw in the marketplace sounds pretty bad too. I hope it does fade away as Korea becomes more modern, but the problem is that children see the way those dogs are treated. I'm sure not all of them will grow up believing that it is OK, but some will and that is a big problem.

[quote]understand that they do not have the same kind of love u have for your pet and that he or she is frightened of getting hurt. yes, i know a properly trained dog does not attack a stranger, but some do. and maybe the person got bit when he was a child. [/quote] There is a difference between being afraid and being irrational. I'll admit that I am a little afraid of German Shepherds. My only experience with one was when I was little and the dog ran into our yard and bit my sister pretty badly. I was standing there and saw it happen. It was really scary. GSD don't seem to be that common here and I haven't met another one since that incident. But I'm rational about it. I realize that there are tons of wonderful German Shepherds out there that would never hurt a fly. Just because my only experience with one was negative doesn't condemn an entire breed or species. I can't wait for the day when I do meet a friendly one so I can be over my fear. The whole, "I got bit when I was a child" thing really bugs me. People say this as if to explain away their irrational behavior. I guess I don't understand how someone can let a bad experience cloud their judgement forever. I'm sorry if someone got bit years and years ago by a dog that is long dead. I don't see how their experience has anything to do with me as a dog owner.

I did read that. Poor kid :cry:

Also, they are asking for help in stopping a new amendment that will make it easier for the horrible abuse to continue in Korea. The amendment at first seems like it is limiting the dog for food market, but in reality it is really more of a publicity stunt. The amendment allows inhumane treatment of animals as long as it is not visible to the public eye. I guess the Korean government figures that as long as they can't see it, it really doesn't exist. :roll: To learn more about the amendment and why it is a bad thing, look here: [url]http://www.koreananimals.org/amendment_problems.htm[/url] Sunnan is asking people to write the Korean Prime Minister about the amendment. Here is the e-mail address: [email]m_opm@opm.go.kr[/email] There is also a snail mail address on the website.

I found this website a little while ago and wanted to post it up. A pair of sisters named Sunnan and Kyenan Kum started the ONLY animal shelter in Korea and have been doing their best to keep it up and running. The way dogs and cats are treated in Korea is horrendous. I had no idea before reading her website. I think these two women are pretty amazing and I wish them the best of luck in running their shelter and changing the minds of as many people as possible. Here's the link if you want to check it out: [url]http://www.koreananimals.org/index.htm[/url] WARNING! If you go into the sections of the website titled Animal Issues or anything labeled Korean Dog Market, there will be some pretty disturbing pictures. The rest of the pages are ok, but those dealing with Animal Issues or the Korean Dog Market could make you lose you dinner. The section about myths about cats and dogs is an eye opener. :o

My Standard Poodle had this same thing. The vet said it was an umbilical hernia. Kody had it his entire life with no problems. Our vet said it could be fixed with surgery, but he felt it was more risk to do the surgery than to leave it. The size of the hernia really determines whether it needs to be fixed or not so you really should ask your vet. It may be a good idea to have it fixed when your puppy gets spayed. That way she'll already be under the anesthesia.