kendalyn

I also use those noises to correct Buck. Mine is kind of a low ehhhhh. It works way better than no. He stops immediately.

Obviously they are your puppies and you can sell them to whomever you want. I completely understand wanting to be choosy. Personally this is one of the reasons I would probably never go to a breeder to get a dog (not the only reason). I just don't react well to people making me do something their way when my way works well also. When you sell someone a puppy you really don't know what will ultimately become of that puppy and I'm sure it is scary because you have bonded with these dogs. Hopefully the people will follow the contract, but I'm sure at least some do not. That isn't to say however that they aren't in great homes and being well taken care of. A breeders rules help them weed out the irresponsible owners. I have no problem with that as long as the breeders admit that there are ways of owning a dog that differ from theirs, but are still good.

[quote]Not going to obedience class, not giving the dog an outlet to use their brains, not establishing strong leadership thru training only causes problems down the road[/quote] I agree that dogs need to be able to think and go through training but I don't believe that obedience class is the only way to do this. I have been to an obediance class before and it was a terrible experience. Granted, there are good ones and bad ones and maybe this was a bad one. I really don't know. Mainly I think my problem with obedience class is that I know enough about training to do it myself. I know my dog better than the trainers who are also trying to work with at least 3 or 4 other people at the same time. Unless I had a dog that I could not train on my own I probably would never go to another obedience class again. I enjoy doing it myself.

[quote]Its the people who are offended if I defend myself against their dog lunging and jumping inapproprately or being so extremely rude to me no matter how nice I am about it...even if I just block the dog, they get offended[/quote] I usually have the opposite problem. When Buck was learning manners about jumping, people would come over and tell me it was ok for Buck to jump on them. I mean, they're just trying to be polite, but I would have to stop and say something like, "no, he's learning to be a polite dog." I have to say though that when other people's dogs jump on me I instinctivly say it's ok :oops:

How has his weight been? (and yours for that matter) If he has tape worms I'm pretty sure he will start losing weight. I'd still take a sample in if you have doubts though.

I agree too! Uh Oh... no debate here yet! :lol:

I thought about this a lot today. I went to visit a relative who found a dog a few months ago. It's a purebred Boxer who did have tags. She contacted the owners who told her that they no longer wanted the dog and that if she did, she could come by and get the papers and the dog would be hers. So she did just that. The dog is very sweet and actually fairly calm for a boxer. However, the dog has absolutely no training at all. I have the feeling they have no idea how to train this dog in basic manners. I was able to teach the dog an OK sit, and found her fairly easy to train. However, I know this will not be continued. I also want to say that I was around the dog for only about 3 hours, and the dog would come to me better than anyone else in the house. (BTW, this really ticks off the owners) When I saw this it really hit home how important training is. I don't think they will get the point though. So is my aunt a good dog owner? I commend her for taking this dog in, getting it spayed and up to date on shots and giving her a loving home. Misty (the dog) seems very happy and well socialized with people. I guess my final answer would be that this is the way a lot of dog owners are and it's not the worst but it is certainly not the best. I really could not believe how bonded Misty was to me after only that short session of training though. It was really cool.

No kidding! :evil: Maybe rescue shelters need to start making up "miracle" stories to make people want them. Here's a miracle story for you. A puppy is bought by people who have no idea how to be good owners. They are ignorant about dogs and succeed in thouroughly confusing and frustrating their puppy. They encourage the dog to continue "cute" but bad habits until they are sick of it and than blame the bad behavior on the dog. They ignore the dog and make it live outside or even inside the house but with basically no positive human contact. Finally they dump the dog in a shelter. Here's the miracle part: Somehow this dog CAN STILL trust people and love them like no one has ever done him a wrong turn. The dog shows amazing forgiveness and is adopted by a good person who gives the dog a happy loving home. To me, that is a miracle.

Personally, I am most bothered by the fact that only NOW people want to adopt this dog. The only reason they want to is so they can say they have the dog that survived euthanasia. If these people really want to adopt a dog, I hope they look at the hundreds of other dogs that need a home once this one isn't available anymore. And you guys are right, the dog should have been put up for adoption initially. It said she was abandoned at the shelter on Dec. 3 and euthanized on the 4th, so that doesn't give her much of a chance.

Oh yay for Laurel! Glad to hear that she is coming around and getting comfortable with your family :-)

Can the kids walk the dog? It might be a good way to get her bonded to them as well. Maybe you and the kids could take turns doing it. :-)

Well, I put no because I have never seen a dog react this way. In my experience dogs are incredibly forgiving and wouldn't think to be spiteful or revengeful. It's not really a matter of intellect, just the way they are I guess. I have accidentally stepped on Buck before and he comes right to me with his tail wagging. I really feel like he would react this way even if I had done it on purpose. I can see a lot of dogs being like that. That is part of their appeal in my opinion. They are usually very forgiving. If dogs had a lot of spiteful, revengeful qualities, it would be really, really hard to adopt out dogs that have been mistreated in the past because they would be aggressive. Mistreated dogs can have problems with fear and maybe aggression as a result of the fear, but I don't believe they develop a hatred of humans simply because we are humans. Any aggression is usually fear based.

[quote]bolt it to the floor[/quote] How do you bolt a tree to the floor?

Yup, They sure could have saved some money by just asking us! Personally, I think anything with a brain has a personality...

yup, they work! What a pretty dog :-) :BIG: :new-bday: :beerchug: :calus:

Oh, Ok well that makes sense. As long as the possibilty of you losing your deposit is contingent on your own decisions, I don't think you can lose as long as you are committed. And of course, all the appropriate testing is done. Does this breeder have a health guarantee policy?

Hmm...that's a big decision. Do you think your other dogs would like him? I wonder if he would like your other dogs. I would say go meet him but if you're anything like me, you won't be able to walk away after seeing him. Especially since he isn't being taken care of. Do you think that they will hold off on another puppy if they can't get rid of Benji? I think probably not. They will probably dump Benji in a shelter if they can't find another home. I wouldn't worry about that part of the equation because these people will do what they want whether they have Benji or not. My final advice would be to take him if you like him and it is feasable to do so. It would improve his current situation, even if you don't have the time right at the moment to totally commit to training. You can make time and in the meanwhile Benji will be saved from being dumped at a shelter or being picked up by a buncher.

[quote]He cannot price all the males at show quality, ultimately forcing us to buy a more expensive pup. [/quote] huh? I thought the show quality pets were the more expensive ones... Did you mean that he can't price them all at pet quality? I see no reason why the breeder cannot price all the dogs at pet quality if that's what they are. $1500 is an awful lot of money. What kind of dogs are these?

I found Buck near a place called Buck Creek in Kentucky. It just seemed like a good name for him since he kind of looked like a little Buck with his long gangly legs :-) So at first I was thinking Buckley and then shortened it to just Buck. It's a great name, so easy to say and call him with. I named my hamster Clover, simply because I liked the name and it seemed to fit a hamster. I named my beta fish Clifford (cliff) because he's a big red fish. Sort of like Clifford the big red dog :-) Cliff is a great fish.

[quote]The only way you lose the deposit is if there are no puppies that meet your request (gender/color/quality)[/quote] OK, I'm confused. You put down the deposit, and it just happens that there are no puppies available that you want. You still lose your deposit? So if you said you wanted a boy, and the litter was all girls, you would just be out of luck? What if there are puppies that meet your request, but you just change your mind. Than do you get it back? I guess I don't understand the policy.

I think it was Nadooshkinz... I'm not positive though.

Dogs are not allergic to dairy products. They simply cannot digest them. They lack the enzymes necessary for this process. Dogs that do not show any kind of sickness after eating large amounts of lactose are not digesting it. Usually the bacteria in their gut are fermenting it. However, not all bacteria can do this, so that is when you see the negative consequences.

I never have had problems. But I'm sure you could train the dog and the pup to avoid the tree. This could be useful as it will come in handy every year :-) You could also apply it to other things you would like the dogs to leave alone. If that really doesn't work, I have heard that upside down car mats (with the little rubber points) around the tree will keep the dog away from it. It's probably not the most aesthetically pleasing solution though!

This is something I have always wondered about: Obviously it is a good thing when breeders are selective about who they sell their puppies to. They want to make sure they are going to responsible owners. But what constitutes a responsible owner? Sometimes I wonder if some breeders would consider me to be an undesireable owner of one of their dogs. If I do things differently from them, does that make me irresponsible or someone they would not sell a puppy to? Some breeders or rescue organizations require a fenced in yard. I don't have a fenced in yard and Buck is off leash when he is in the yard. He is trained to stay there and I do not live on a busy road, but I'm sure that some people may consider this not a good situation. The main reason I don't have a fenced in yard is because Buck knows to go potty only in the weedy meadow behind the house and I cannot fence that in (don't have to pooper scoop there) I also don't feed Buck a raw diet or any other kind of "special" food. He gets a good, reputable brand of dog food and that is it other than treats. Some breeders may not like this as they feed their dogs alternative diets. Should I be required to do the same? Buck knows most basic obedience and I am constantly teaching him new tricks but he does not know how to heel. It is not really something I am intersted in teaching him. He knows not to pull on the leash, but when we go for a walk he is constantly changing sides, stopping to sniff and is generally out at the end of the leash. This doesn't bother me. As long as my arm doesn't feel like it has been pulled out of its socket at the end of the walk, I'm happy. But I have had people tell me that he should be taught to heel as it is just good manners. I think that as long as he isn't bothering anybody, than it is my decision. So if a breeder knew that I would probably never teach the dog to heel, would that make me irresponsible in their eyes? Basically, I wonder what makes someone a responsible dog owner. It is easy to pick out the REALLY bad ones. These are the people who do not immunize their dog, do not socialize them at all, do not spay or neuter and breed irresponisbly, etc... We can all spot them. But what about that grey area? I feel that I am a responsible dog owner, but there might be some out there that do not (it's ok, I have thick skin). So what do you guys think? [/i]

I have always wished we had a dog park here. I really have no idea how Buck would do in that situation. Usually he gets along with other dogs, but if they start showing aggression he won't back down. I guess if we did get one, I would take him just to see what it would be like. The health issue is a concern. I would hope that the dog parks require proof of immunizations before admittance...? Do they do this usually? I have to admit that I sometimes break the leash rules in my town. I like to take Buck on a walking trail that is in our city and on very slow days I will let him off leash. It always depends on how many cars I see in the parking lot and how many people I think will be there. And usually I do it on a cold day in the afternoon in the middle of the week. Almost nobody is around. But it is against the rules and I am usually quite nervous about it. Buck has a great recall though and so far it has not been a problem. Usually if he sees a person coming, he comes back to me on his own because he knows I'm going to call him back anyway... But I do know that if everyone did this, it would be a disaster. And for that reason I feel kind of skeevy about it. My final opinion I think is that dog parks are generally a good idea. It's not as if they are the only place someone can take their dog, and if someone knows that it's a bad place for their animal to be, than they won't go. But if others can enjoy them safely, I say more power to them.