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ImWithAlice

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  1. Uh.... ehem, well, er... uh... really cantakerous horse? really green rider? fibbing? :-/ Oh, there is this sport called "Ride and Tie" where two people and one horse in each team compete in a cross country race where at some non-specific point in the race they switch who's riding and who's running. Perhaps she's wanting to prepare for that and hasn't told you about it yet? Yeah, that must be it.
  2. Because you can FLY!!! At least on my little red mare I can. She's got a Morgan turbo trot that puts most horses following in a hand gallop, and if you don't think that's work to stay on, please come ride with me. My dogs LOVE going out for a ride even more that walks and bike rides. We can cover 10 to 15 miles in a few hours in hilly terrain and I've got happy sleeping pups on the way home in the truck. Teaching horse manners can be tricky with BCs though. My two were given the strict commandment of "Thou Shalt Not even LOOK like you want to herd a horse" and I have no problems with them with the horses in the pasture or out on the trails and they are high drive dogs. Alice's littermate didn't get as much of a firm hand from her owner and she turned into a heel biter on the trails. That dog can no longer be trusted on a ride and her owner's horses will now kick at any dog that gets near them. As others have suggested, you need PERFECT recall, and a good down on your dog. Careful with your down, however, if it's a down/stay you could get your dog trampled in traffic. What also helps is to be able to direct them by pointing to get them off of the trail, or to the side of the road if someone or something needs to pass. And a little agility training can wow your friends if you get your dog to leap up onto a stump and lie down to pose. And by all means, make sure you're in complete control of the horse before you take your dog along. You have to be able to ride AND keep an eye on your dog. And yes, some horses are dog stompers, if it turns out yours is trash the idea all together, unless you like seriously risky living for both you and the dog. Take it slow on your first rides, watch the dog carefully when you pick up speed and make sure that invisible prey drive doesn't suddenly materialize. Also, if you're riding in brush, the horse has to be pretty darned near spook proof because the dog will inevitably dash in and out of the brush, appearing and disappearing and making noises in the bush like some-kind-of-prey animal trying to find a horse to eat. If your dog is ahead of you, WATCH them. Even bright BCs can get so distracted by that interesting scent on the trail that the forget that there's 1000lbs of animal coming up on them. Which reminds me, you'll also have to get your horse used to you yelling verbal commands at your dog when you're onboard. It took my very sensitive, very reactive horse awhile before she realized I wasn't yelling at HER when I would call or command my dog. Can you tell I've done this a bit? Suddenly I feel like saddling up.
  3. Oh! I bought Zonk It! at the same time to use on the horses and I do like it. Smells nice too, and I'm even trying it on the cows (since they stood nicely when I sprayed it on them over the fence). I guess I'm lazy with the dogs and like the once a month treatments, especially since Alice is loved by ticks.
  4. Anyone have a GOOD experience with TriForce? I just bought some (mail order), and now I'm afraid to put it on my dogs. :-/ I chose it because it's supposed to work on Mosquitoes and repel ticks (instead of just killing them) and FrontLine + does not.
  5. Actually, in the article the Executive Director of the Humane Society in that area states: Rea said the shooting should not have happened. She said her agency could have dispatched a euthanasia technician, food, water and kennels to the site. She also said the Humane Society has enough vehicles and volunteers with trucks and trailers to transport large amounts of animals safely. Even if some of the dogs couldn't be moved from the site because they were too wild or too sick, she said the Humane Society had the resources to safely euthanize them at the site. She said the agency has received more than 40 animals in a single day previously. It has fielded at least 30 phone calls from upset residents who read about the shooting in a local newspaper
  6. I actually have two (resulting from a friend losing her job and moving cross country to a new job). They're fairly tame, easy keepers, pretty easy on the dog and TINY. The not quite two year old heifer is around 3' at the shoulder. From what I've read there is at least one miniaturization issue. When the "short legged" type is bred to another of the same "short legged" type they tend to have hyper dwarf-ish calves that are usually stillborn/aborted. I suppose the point is they fit into small freezers better and they appeal to people who want to produce milk for a small family and don't like goat's milk? Dunno, they say dexter beef is as some of the best there is, however. I haven't tried it. Yet.
  7. And let's put it on all the "Off Leash Area" signs!
  8. There's always the possibility that they are coyote/dog crossbreeds. We have tons of coyotes here, I hear them at night sometimes sounding like they're right outside my window. When Alice is out, she does a great job of keeping them away, sometime driving off more than one at a time (wish she would drive sheep that well). They are wary of humans and very afraid of the dogs. We also have a fair amount of cougars in the area. They feed of the local elk herd mostly. Bear too. Both are much rarer sightings than the coyotes. I'm thinking dog/coyote crosses because they are more likely to not fear humans or dogs. They also tend to pack more than coyotes, at least the coyotes we have out here. No matter what they are, you've got a preditor out there that doesn't show the normal fear of humans and moves in a pack. Dangerous situation.
  9. Anyone recommend or have done Laparoscopic spays vs. "standard" spays? What are the advantages? ALSO Anyone try the New Flea/Tick control product TriForce? Any good? Any issues? Thanks in Advance!
  10. Ah well, maybe Alice is grounded on days when the sun threatens to appear.
  11. I've got a nearly 5 month old bc pup and his lower canines are turning black, apparently from teh inside out. I'm not a very experience puppy owner; is it normal for their milk teeth to do this before they fall out?
  12. Summer will be here soon and in the Great NorthWet it comes in fits and starts. Friday was 70 something and I was going after poor Alice with a clippers. Saturday it was pouring and cool. I like to do errands between doggie activites and I'm often caught out in a parking lot searching for a couple of square feet of shade to cram my car in for the 30 minutes or so I'm in the store when the weather gods determine it's time for another blast of solar radiation. I've seen folks at dog trials with those sheets of foil backed insulation. Is that the best way to go? Does it really keep your car cool? Anyone invent the solar powered-roof-top auto fan yet?
  13. I recently heard a radio broadcast on NPR about the top shearers from Australian and New Zealand who travel the world shearing sheep. They said that they can do 300+ sheep in a day. The record was somewhere near 600. I nearly fainted just thinking about it and I've never attempted to shear a sheep!
  14. Oh, OH this is one of my favorite rants! I have decades worth of stories, but I'll show some self control and give only two. This weekend I was heading down the freeway to a relative's funeral. I had the dog in the back, planning to house her at a cousin's during the service. I also planned to stop at a rest stop on the way to empty her, in case she didn't have a spot at the cousin's. So 'bout 50 miles in I realize I have no leash with me and I panic as the rest stop isn't an off-leash area. So I pull off, dig through the trunk and come up with 5 yards of old yellow rope. Now my dog has as good a recall as any dog and will, when commanded, walk behind me through a flock or down the road or in dog park and never leave until released, but I figure I need to set a good example. So when I finally get to the rest area and pop out of the car with the dog, and the pick-up bag, and the 5 yards of old yellow rope attached to my favorite-animal-in-the-whole-world, what do I see? Dogs everywhere off-leash. Including one that jumps out of the car, heads to the nearest grass (non-dog area, picnic area) and takes a giant dump while it's owners walk off leaving the dog and its mess behind. Why do I bother?? And last week there was the unleashed boxer that attacked a dog in our riding party as we returned to the trailer (busy parking area with lots of horse/dog traffic) and its owner said "I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming" as she was kicking it away from the other dog (my dog had been recalled and sent 20 feet behind me when this fight started). Sorry? How about leashing your animal if you don't have control of it? Or putting it in your rig? Or LEAVING IT AT HOME? Why (grumble, grumble, growl). Okay, I feel better.
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