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simba

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Everything posted by simba

  1. This thread actually made me laugh out loud, which is not good when you're pretending to be a grown-up in a public place. I usually do the opposite- grab poker, grab dog, hide dog, go out with poker.
  2. I prefer a dog odour (as in 'some clean dogs live here', not 'I've just rolled in something awful') to all of the sprays used to cover it up.
  3. Sorry to necropost but just to comment on the original theme, whether dogs percieve unfairness. I hand out chews to each dog that's there- the only food that happens with. I had one chew so one dog got it, and the jack russel mix got a piece of dog food, which she normally goes crazy for. She looked at me, spat it out, and led me into the other room. She then looked from me, to the other dog (and chew), back to me, back to the chew...
  4. A 3% euthanasia rate doesn't sound like a major overpopulation problem, especially when you factor in the variations due to different levels of competence at different shelters. I don't think anyone sane believes that 'no kill' should involve warehousing of sick or suffering animals. The term 'no kill' means anything from a euthanasia rate below 10% to not killing healthy, adoptable, not-dangerous animals (however you define that). So you do things like find fosters, decrease surrenders, increase the number of stray dogs returned to their owners, promote adoptions more heavily etc. What's interesting is that kill shelters aren't necessarily less expensive. In my neck of the woods there's a 'shelter' which kills something like 70% of all dogs who come in, but they're consistently over-budget, whereas the no-kill shelter in a similar area spends a little over half the money per animal and takes in a lot more animals. I never could figure that out. Puppy mills produce an estimated 500,000-4 million pups per year, depending on who you ask. So if you switched all of those new owners from puppy mill pups to shelter dogs you'd now have either cut the problem by 1/6, or eliminated it (for dogs at least). That's not counting the dogs who are actually used to produce the pups, who end up in shelters frequently as well. You'd have a rush of them initially, as the commercial breeders went out of business, of course. There are a lot more people looking for new pets every year and open to getting them from a shelter than there are dogs and cats put to sleep. Persuade enough of them and you'd be sorted.It seems less of a 'pet overpopulation' problem and more of a 'undesireable dog' problem. Attitudes are changing, and the kill rates are too. Mandatory spay-neuter would be very difficult to enforce. The people who'd want to set it up would probably fail to make a distinction between pet and working bred dogs, the puppy mills would have the incentive and probably the clout to try and get exemptions, and the show breeders/Yahoo answers lot would try to make it a condition of exemption that the dog must have been shown successfully for conformation.
  5. They sound very like the extreme no-kill people- not the people who think it isn't feasible in their area, but the people who follow a certain cluster of ideas. It's axiomatic that 'the public' are terrible, irresponsible people, and that unwanted animals are dumped because there are just too many animals in this country. For some reason they will get personally offended if you point out that it's a high absolute but low relative number, or try and compare it to the number of people who are looking to add a cat or dog to their home. It often involves the rhetoric that "Sure, we'd love to become no-kill, and we plan on doing just that. As soon as we have mandatory spay-neuter laws and all the irresponsible people disappear, everyone vaccinates/donates/adopts, no dogs get sick, only small fluffy purebreds get donated, and greeders stop breeding." Then there's the others, like Peta, who think that no-kill means stuffing the animals into tiny cages until they go insane. http://www.peta.org/issues/companion-animals/overpopulation.aspx "Noel Griffin, the ISPCA's chief executive said that his group's put to sleep figures were higher than other pounds because it does not give dogs to other welfare groups to rehome in Britain. He questioned how other Irish animal-welfare groups were managing to find homes for dogs that he said were of "no value" & "not the prettiest"... "a load of old mongrels"... "With all due respect to the little dogs they are not the prettiest so what is the attraction ?. Why would someone take five or six dogs to England ? These are not thoroughbreds that have a value. When a dog has no value I think animal welfare goes out the window". Could it be burnout, lack of education, or guilt when someone feels they aren't doing enough? Edit: not trying to turn this into a topic about no-kill, it's just that this seems like another aspect of a familiar argument.
  6. I have a lab. She's calm and good with everyone, wags her tail at anyone and everyone, learns tricks as quickly as any dog I've ever seen, and is good with kids. But I'd never get another. She has no drive to do anything at all but be scratched and go for walks (and eat more than should be possible).
  7. Just from reading the pedigree dogs exposed blog (and yahoo answers) and talking to people, it's amazing how many people are vehemently against 'designer breeds' (or mixing of breeds) of all kinds, under all circumstances. I can understand being against dogs being bred indiscriminately for money, dogs being poorly-bred, dogs being an expensive fashion statement for uneducated owners etc. I can understand people who want other people to call their dogs mutts or mongrels rather than shih-poo or whatever the latest is, or who think people should rescue if they're that easy about the traits. But for some people (nothing I've read on here though) the blood-mixing seems to be a major problem. The breeding practices are also common among purebreds, but all the blame gets laid on the 'designer dogs'. Disclosure: never owned a designer dog (just a lovely mutt), and I wouldn't pay big money for any dog.
  8. I've only ever got hatemail (the 'green ink' letter in email version) once. I said (in response to a question) that even white dogs just usually need to be brushed, and washed only when they get muddy or roll in something. I got an email saying that I 'probably lick your dogs anus hole clean' you 'nasty frak.' Actually, it was a series of emails. I was told by someone else that it was just that I'd got used to the stink, and this was horrible abuse, because dogs should be washed two to three times a month. So- provocative posts on religion, politics, history, relationships are all fine. But dog washing is apparently a touchy subject. The little terrier was run over by a car yesterday, anyone have any suggestions on how soon I should wash her? She's fine, but bruised and shaken, and I'm not sure about bathing her right away when she hates it and it will involve being picked up. The tire marks look a little alarming, that's all.
  9. Poodles 'herding' sheep:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-78SOFiHOw From the comments: "this proves the poodle can do almost anything." " We also have a BC but the POodles do it for the love of it. The BC does it because it is work
  10. Just found the best bio ever (*sarcasm): "Hairy Hound x Date uploaded: June 07, 2012 Breed: Hairy Hound X Viewed: 28 times Age: Sex: Male Hairy Hound X needs some care." Hopefully that's just a 'copy goes here' error.
  11. I quite like a short, factual bio that admits "We just got this dog in with no history, and don't know much about him yet" with all the info they have so far. Much better to my mind than guesswork or speculation, and it makes me more inclined to adopt from that rescue.
  12. What information do you think should be put in the information of a dog up for adoption? I was reading the website of a local rescue. They have two main 'styles' of bio. One is an information-heavy third person presentation of a dog (Energy level? Breed? Background? Age? Personality?), focusing on the positives, and the other is a first-person appeal for a home which often has little useful information. The bio of one dog could have been summarized as 'shy'. "I love walks and would like a warm bed and a nice family" sort of stuff. Lots of references to the rescuers as 'minstering angels', and histories given which are unverified ("I had a lovely home but then I got out a window and someone took me to the rescue, and they couldn't find my family") in the second category. So- does that kind of stuff work on non-curmudgeons, and therefore is good? What info would you like on a bio, and what kind of style do you think is most effective?
  13. I would have got this if not for the same reason. Didn't notice it myself until someone else pointed it out. http://www.zooplus.com/shop/dogs/dog_toys_dog_training/activity_dog_toys/chew_dog_toys/282151
  14. Jellybeans. I dropped a jelly bean, the terrier scarfed it. In the middle of the night (about 3am?) I was woken up by the dog whining at me. Last time this happened was when the fox ate all of the chickens, so I figured something was wrong. She nudged me and led me downstairs very quickly. Straight to the jelly beans, where they'd been casually left up high. She tried to lead me back downstairs twice more for them.
  15. Anyone else notice how cute dogs get away with more? Case in point: two small dogs playing with guests. One's an ugly little 5 month old (morphologically more like an adult), one's an adorable 10 year old (big eyes, drop ears, big head, fluffy). The older dog bows and dances around with a toy, the other one drops balls at people and looks up hopefully, then shakes them. Same level of activity, same level of noise. Older dog is being good/sweet, younger dog is being a pest/untrained.
  16. It's definitely her. Her virtues are all her own- her vices are from the people. In fairness to her I dropped the lead and told her to wait while I did washing-up, and she sat quietly for the whole time, while the cat played the "Run around the dog while swishing my tail madly" game. Nancy- totally agreed. Puppytoes- I've never met a badly-behaved staffie.
  17. Exactly like that! It was, as far as I know, her first goat. She was fine with the others, didn't even look at them (including the goofy kid), but she got unreasonably excited over the one that happened to butt my friend. Oh, and one cat (the calm one) was a-okay. Got a lick and all. The other, well, she reacted like it was dinner and a tennis ball all in one, especially when it started chasing its own tail, and she remembered the next time we saw those two. She hasn't had enough experience with non-dog animals. Having said that she's always a bit of a pest, because people react well to a small fluffy thing asking for belly rubs ("I'm sitting, and fetching you stuff, look how cute I am!") She's not a bad dog, just an attention-seeking one. G. Festerling- still aspiring to that! And thank you everyone for the very good advice! I have seen dogs at other people's houses who come inside and mess within about five minutes, with an open door nearby. I've seen dogs let outside at other people's houses where they go and chase or kill chickens and rabbits. And the owners didn't seem to really notice.
  18. I was recently absolutely mortified at a friend's house. Brought the terrier over and she was so rude. She wanted to sit in the middle of everyone, she gave out when told to stay in the corner (crying, scratching). She obsessed over the cats. I had her on-leash the whole time: her stay is good and she didn't break it even when the cat pestered, but better safe than sorry. When a goat headbutted my friend she went berserk, and tried to lead me back outside to the goat several times. Both of them would have been at least chased or barked at if she hadn't been on-leash and listening, and she tried to lead me out to the goat several times. When new people came into the house she barked. Even when I put her into stay she'd stand up and move a bit when she got excited, and sit down again. I was totally mortified, apologising, I'd never bring her back again ("I swear she isn't like this normally!"). Even thinking about it now makes my cheeks burn. They complimented me on my well-behaved dog, and not sarcastically. I had this happen at another house too, dog owners seriously asking me how I got my dog 'so good'. Same thing happened with someone who didn't even like dogs ("I don't mind that one, she's trained"). The last two times she wasn't as bad, but nothing that would warrant those comments. It's weird. Is it because she's small and people don't notice bad behaviour from small dogs? It was so weird I'm actually posting about this on a public forum, like a total idiot.
  19. I would say don't let him focus on it and whine like that. Praise him for not focusing, if he starts focusing give out to him and bring him back inside. How did you introduce him to the cats?
  20. It's not just BCs. Everyone has a problem with labs. Terriers, mixes, bull breeds... Just about everyone except for other labs. Something about the incredible pain tolerance, indiscriminate 'friendliness' and love of high-speed contact does that.
  21. It's not me getting a dog- if it was me I'd be on asking about senior rescues. This is just because I had a friend recently get their first puppy, someone who's never had a dog on their own, and I was trying to think of the most helpful things to say. The owners here tend to be clued-in on socialisation, training, getting the best start etc, and good at dealing with high-energy dogs with a potential for mischief, so I figured this was a good place to ask. I was thinking- remember to bring the dog out regularly, and praise for going outside; lots of chew toys; don't let the kids run and get the dog to chase them, and teach them to leave it alone when sleeping etc.
  22. What would be your advice for someone getting a puppy, particularly someone who hasn't had a puppy in a good while, or ever? Apart from "Don't!" which would be my advice. That and "Don't get a lab." Interested to see what people come up with, and I've had a few people talking about new puppies recently, asking about toys and training and such.
  23. I read a bit of animal husbandry history, and the diets for sheepdogs were mostly oatmeal, supplemented with milk during heavy work. Black's veterinary dictionary recommended supplementing the traditional oatmeal-only diet with fishmeal. The men who used dogs who I talked to mentioned bread, scraps (fat off meat and bits of vegetables), cheap kibble (varying quality), and potatoes/oatmeal. They also mentioned 15 as a young age for a dog to die of anything other than an accident. Having given my anectdotes, I have to add the caveat that anectdotes and the opinion of experts are notoriously unreliable sources of information, especially when it comes to medicine and dietary interventions. Bloodletting was used by compassionate experts for thousands of years, because they saw the benefits with their own eyes. There's a reason we need clinical trials and experiments, and don't just go by common sense and what we've seen 'work'.
  24. My labrador would put up with kids hugging her, and I know people say how much she loves kids... no. She tolerates them, stands there, wags her tail passively, puts up with everything and anything, and then tries to get out of the situation quietly. About the only border collie I knew fairly well hated kids. Once they got to a certain size, she suddenly liked them (well, didn't try to savage them- you could walk by her without fearing for your life).
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