bob aaron

Bob, have I ever implied that I "didn't like you?" If so, please show me the quote that suggests that. If not, please don't make outright assumptions about what I feel, please. OK? And please don't condescend to me either. ^^^ How did I condescend to you? You are re-quoting ME with condescension and sarcasm. Melanie may not feel up to telling you how offensive your comment appeared, but I am happy to tell you. ^^Melanie did fine just on her own thank you very much, Snap. She took the time and effort to write a coherent, detailed, important post that contributed significantly to the SUBJECT thread - which was fear aggression in dogs and ways to manage it or approach management of it. She shared her experiences with her own dog as an example. ^ And I didn't mention anything about it did I? You, in sharp contrast, replied with a single sentence with 8 thousand exclamation marks affixed to the end of it, suggesting that it was positively ridiculous that anyone would need to have their dog under the care of a behaviourist for 3.5 years. ^^Seriously, are you moronic? I did NO such thing. I have explained this several times already and apologised for any confusion. Do you have cotton in your ears, Slappy? I believe that incredulousness WAS your intent when you wrote the one liner. It's hard to imagine what else it might have been, besides inflammatory. ^^ I TOLD you over and over again what it was. What else can I do? Who are YOU to call me a LIAR? If you don't understand the power of excessive punctuation in written communication, maybe use it more judiciously and you may not get misinterpretted (if you were in fact misinterpretted, and I don't think you were). ^^ First off, you have too many t's in misinterpreted. Stop it. You're rude, and insulting. You're NOT the God of border collies, or dog training or anything. It is YOU who is being obnoxious. Do you own the thoughts on this list? If you are in too much of a rush to respond with something useful, perhaps delay responding until you have the time to post something thoughtful. ^^Who are you? Are YOUR thoughts worthier than mine? Have you read any of my other posts? You had nothing useful to say to the original poster, you had only a derogatory one liner to post to Melanie ... who DID, in fact, have something useful to offer the original poster and the thread in general. ^^Oh, is that so? Border Collie expert. I wasn't replying to the original poster, son, I was responding to MELANIE'S post. DUH! And I've already explained my "one liner" ten times over. Did you NOT hear it? NOT useful? Tell that to the 10 folks who have privately emailed me from THIS list. THAT is why your post came across so offensively. ^^T0 YOU, and apparently to you and Melanie only. I'll leave the list now, which was OBVIOUSLY your objective, so you could convince all others of YOUR ideas.

Bob, have I ever implied that I "didn't like you?" If so, please show me the quote that suggests that. If not, please don't make outright assumptions about what I feel, please. OK? ^^Yes, it's obvious you don't like me. So be it. I'm uninterested in being right. I was never mean or sarcastic. Please stop. And please don't condescend to me either. Melanie may not feel up to telling you how offensive your comment appeared, but I am happy to tell you. She took the time and effort to write a coherent, detailed, important post that contributed significantly to the SUBJECT thread - which was fear aggression in dogs and ways to manage it or approach management of it. She shared her experiences with her own dog as an example. You, in sharp contrast, replied with a single sentence with 8 thousand exclamation marks affixed to the end of it, suggesting that it was positively ridiculous that anyone would need to have their dog under the care of a behaviourist for 3.5 years. I believe that incredulousness WAS your intent when you wrote the one liner. It's hard to imagine what else it might have been, besides inflammatory. If you don't understand the power of excessive punctuation in written communication, maybe use it more judiciously and you may not get misinterpretted (if you were in fact misinterpretted, and I don't think you were). If you are in too much of a rush to respond with something useful, perhaps delay responding until you have the time to post something thoughtful. You had nothing useful to say to the original poster, you had only a derogatory one liner to post to Melanie ... who DID, in fact, have something useful to offer the original poster and the thread in general. THAT is why your post came across so offensively. RDM

^^Ok, Ok, let it go now please. Please?

I've been working with my aggressive dog for twice as long Bob. How many exclamation marks does that deserve? ^^What did I say wrong? A few too many exclamation marks? I was asking a question, and was emphasizing astonishment that a behaviourist would be needed repeatedely for such a length of time. It's the handler who does the work, and the behaviourist who offers advice, I thought. What could a behaviourist possibly say after 3.5 yrs of visits was my question. That's not an unreasonable query, or critical, or "armchair quarterbacking" (whatever that is). I had no intent to "touch nerves" of anyone, yet I met with aggressiveness and namecalling. I KNOW that numerous problems with dogs sometimes can be dealt with over their lifetime only by maintenence. That's not news to me. I just wanted to find out what NEW info a behaviourist could offer after such an extended period of time. I guess I should have been clearer, and I must have come across badly. Sorry.

Here's the problem - you made this claim: They often require MORE work than a pup, no? I've raised pups, I've trained and rehabbed many a rescue. By far the rescues are consistently easier to deal with. ^^Is this not a generalization? I was simply pointing out, questioning, that do not rescues come with baggage too? They are OFTEN mishandled initially, which doesn't help matters. And AGAIN, my interest was NOT to downplay rescue dogs, but to uphold my opinion that puppies, TO ME, are NOT the "dark side and hellish". As several people have said, Border Collies are puppyish for up to four years, with the first two being fraught with the most uncertainties and changes. I've been told by several old handlers that Border Collies are pups until they have a year under each foot. ^^Once again, I feel this is suggesting that there is something "bad" about puppydom. I ENJOY the growth, the solving of difficulties during the formative years. If I were looking for an "easy" dog, it wouldn't be a bc, would it? The fact that the dog IS the way he is, is WHY I wanted him to begin with. We just like to keep the facts straight when it comes to rescue. We object when people make it sound like rescue dogs are intrinsically inferior in some way. We get like this because we work with the contrary evidence every day - we know how great these dogs are and hate to see one miss a home because someone believed misinformation spread in a forum like this one. ^^If I were to have been guilty of criticizing rescue then it would have been made clear. I had NO intention of spreading misinformation. If I have done so, I apologise. I have NEVER felt that rescue dogs are "intrinsically inferior", nor have I ever said so. I thought I was defending the pup who, it was CLEARLY suggested, was intrinsically inferior to a rescue. It wasn't me who called rescues "hellish and the dark side".

^^Finally a respectful and considerate response. All I did was disagree. But I was "mocked" at one point with my quote of "What?". Reread if you will. "If you have nothing to say, you have nothing to fear"- dog and his bob

^^Well, indeed I have raised a rescue, NOT a bc, but a mixed breed of questionable parentage. I had her for several years. It's an entirely different scenario to raising a pup. I was disagreeing with the concept of a pup being a "hard" thing to deal with. That simple. It's a pup. Of course it's hard.

I hope your reply is as tongue in cheek as Andrea's post. Puppies are very cute. I love puppies. I ADORE adults and my grown up dogs, though they were fun when they were puppies, are now reliable and ^^^... so on and so forth. WHY would I be "tongue in cheek"? I think puppies are a better bet. Sorry. I don't have to agree with you, do I? A question was asked, and I answered with MY opinion. Sue me.