imported_Cassie

Yes, dogs can suffer from a form of ADHD. The difference between a dog with a normal high energy (sporting dogs, herding dogs have been bred specifically to perform tasks which require them to be unusally hyper) and a dog with ADHD... Dogs with ADHD have exceptionally short attention spans and a high degree of impulsiveness that makes it impossible for them to focus on one task for long...they are easily distracted. A normal high energy dog will focus very quickly on the click and treat game...they are normal active dogs who haven't learned how to control their behavior, but they can if you show them how. The truly hyperactive dog can't focus even if she wants to. There are tests you can do at home to prove if your dog is just normal hyperactive or if the dog truly has ADHD. Hope that helps you.

I wouldn't consider champion conformation show dogs to be evidence that you have a good breeder. I have seen the worst genetic disasters become Champions...hey, I have one at home right now, a champion in 3 countries Canada, USA and Bermuda. Do I think his breeders are doing a great thing...no I don't. The only good breeders are ones who are bettering the breed as Courtnek already mentioned. A good breeder is one who gets titles on their dogs such as agility, obedience and other sports perhaps breed specific. I don't see too often in the dog show world where they are bettering the breed at all. All I see are people breeding for "pretty" dogs or dogs that are so disfigured its disgusting. Do I respect many of these breeders who show for champions...no, I don't. I think breeders need to open their eyes up and see the whole picture and start trying to breed for better dogs...instead of pretty or highly visible dogs. Perhaps even crossbreeding to better their breed. I would love to see the Newf's restored back to their original wonderful working selves. I have 3 at home that would drown if they fell off into deep water. A Newf is supposed to be able to swim :roll: To get a championship title on your dog is a joke...very very simple. It's who you know and what lines your dog has behind it. Every one I know always gets championship titles not their dogs with no problem at all. It's also depends on who is handling the dog. I'll just give you some thing to think about...if you watched a conformation show with "show" German Shepherds and one lady was getting Championship titles left right and center...would you think she was a GREAT breeder "because" she was winning the titles...or would you think she was a GREAT breeder because she is breeding for dog's which are so overly angulated that they are disabled? The overly angulated Shepherds is what is winning in the conformation shows. These Shepherds would never make good working dogs...I couldn't imagine using any of these champions for working. If used for police work you would have to shot the robber in the legs to allow the Shepherd to catch him. :roll: I have also witnessed wonderful reputable breeders destroying many other breeds including Dobermans. They are breeding for beauty...a beauty pageant does not prove the dogs are any good at all.

[quote]Despite its dog-aggressive nature, the American Staffordshire terrier is in no way human aggressive and is utterly loyal to its owner. [/quote] This is very misleading. ANY dog can become human aggressive if brought up incorrectly. I work with dogs daily in 3 different working environments the worst attacks to humans I have seen have been from APBT's, American Staffordshire terriers and Rottweilers. We had a local women who purchased an American Staffordshire terrier from sound lines, from a reputable breeder who breeds for temperament...the lady was almost killed by her American Staffordshire terrier due to redirected aggression...but, unlike most breeds the dogs enhanced drives escalated the attack. If the lady hadn't been able to get away at one point and lock herself in the bathroom she would have been killed. The dog was still in attack mode when the police showed up. This was a sweet loving AST which was brought up by this single mother with children. The reason she purchased this breed was due to the fact they are "in no way human aggressive". Any dog can be human aggressive, any dog can attack. Depending on the enhanced drives and predatory sequence will weigh what the end result of the attack will be. This just turns my stomach when I hear such statements coming from so called dog professionals. I own Newfoundland dogs and I deal with more Newf's than any other breed...in my experience I have never met a human aggressive Newf and they are bred to be non human aggressive...but, I would never put myself out on a limb and state that they are in no way human aggressive. That is basically saying that (if I had children) that my children would never lie or steal...good sound breeding can only go so far. The rest is completely up to how the dog is raised from puppyhood up. Any spoiled dog can be a dangerous dog, and a dog with a high predatory drive which "seems" like the sweetest dog can be dangerous in the least expected circumstances. [quote]It must be said that dogs bred to fight were bred specifically not to bite a human so that its handler could pull a dog out of fighting without the risk for injury[/quote] Makes me wonder why they require breaking sticks :-? this is really bogus...I have broken up hundreds of dog fights in my 30 plus years...I have never been attacked by any of these dogs...does this mean they were specifically bred to not bite a human due to redirected aggression or is it just the individual dog. I have broken up Corgi's, Shepherds you name it. The only breeds we ever had a problem breaking up were Rottweilers, APBT's, AST's and some other dominant or high predatory breeds with enhanced motor patterns. The vet I work for rescued an APBT from a fighting ring...her husband is a police officer for the Canine unit and they have ALWAYS had a multi dog household...she never required a breaking stick until she got her APBT...when it got into a dog fight (by mistake,long story) it was so focused on the other dog it took a lot to break the dog out of the fight...its very strange that one person was injured by the APBT...because they are not supposed to attack a human during a fight :roll: The thing that gets me are people from the breed club or breed fanciers will defend their breed by stating the dog was not properly bred...or it was not from sound lines. I think this is a flimsy argument, a dog is a dog and the temperament of the breed depends on the predatory drives, motor patterns and enhanced drives...some dogs can be great during a dog fight...but, also remember that a true fighting dog which is used for dog fighting is conditioned from a puppy to be used for fighting and the pup/dog gets used to a human interfering. Its not breeding is nurture. If I took an APBT and did not condition it to fighting and being broken up during a fight then the first fight it gets into...the dog will be just like any other dog (except most other breeds are typically not breed to have such enhanced drives to fight). So, for a person to say a dog was "breed" to be non-human aggressive or bred not to redirect aggression during a fight is very misleading. You have to "condition" or "nurture" a dog to be what you want when it grows up. It

First off, our purebred dogs are not "races" of Canines. Purebreds have been inbred to meet a certain standard. We humans are not purebred; we are races of humans. Mongrel dogs would be races of dogs, these dogs naturally evolved to adapt to a certain environment. Mongrel dogs evolved to be scavengers with low to moderate predatory drive. With purebred dogs we have selected small populations of Mongrels and inbred the dogs. Man bred for certain enhanced drives and motor patterns. Man deselected some motor patterns to fulfill certain jobs. I certainly would not want a dog with a full predatory sequence to herd my sheep, retrieve game or flush or point game. I would want the full series of motor patterns and enhanced predatory motor patterns to hunt rats and other pests....this would be the Terrier class. Some breeds are also going to be more inclined to be offensive (more dangerous) and other breeds would be more inclined to revert to fear...a fearful dog will give plenty of warning before protecting itself...an offensive dog may or may not give warning. So, yes there is a difference between different purebred dogs. By dangerous I don't consider a dog that may bite out of improper training to be naturally dangerous, or a dog that has been spoiled. With some dogs a bite could have been avoided with proper rules in the household...and proper socialization. I consider a naturally dangerous dog to be one that has enhanced motor patterns with the full series of predatory drives. A dog that falls under this category that is not properly socialized, trained and controlled will be far far more dangerous than a dog without the full series of motor patterns. When you think that a dog with the full series of predatory motor patterns follows a certain sequence this is what makes it dangerous. A bite will lead to grabbing and tearing (mauling). I have told the story many times of my sweet little Rottweiler Athena. When I first rescued her she had some dominance issues...but over all she was a nice dog which loved a good belly rub and would drop at any ones feet belly up for a belly rub. The vets I work with wrote on her file "Excellent dog", "good temperament"...she was a dream dog to work with even for other people. With her I learned first hand what predatory drift was all about. I had her loose in a field, let her off lead and let her run. I started to jog a little and here comes Athena at a full gallop towards me...I'm thinking that she is going to be wonderful at recalls...I just slightly noticed before she came running her head slightly lowered. Any way she came running at me and grabbed my upper arm and tore my leather jacket apart. I am a strong person and was able to grab her and throw her to the ground to stop the attack. Once she was out of attack mode it was my sweet lovable little Athena back again. Do I think all breeds are capable of this...probably not. Rottweilers have enhanced predatory drives. I have had many dogs in my past, most of them rescues or given to me by local breeders with little socialization. I had never experienced predatory drift before. The more I talked with other Rottweiler breeders and fanciers the more I learned that this can be quite common in this breed...therefore they require A LOT of socialization..not all of them have this high of a predatory drive...but, the chance of it being there is great. This attack (which can not really be considered aggression) but, this would have resulted in a mauling death for a weaker person...this prompted me to do research on predatory drives and motor patterns....and believe me, not all breeds are created equal in this department. All breeds do not start out with the same level of predatory motor patterns...the breeds were developed by playing with the level or deselecting motor patterns. Any way, hope this helps a little Just as a disclaimer, I am not saying that there are some dog breeds more inclined to bite than others. Biting can be the direct result not properly training, socializing, no house rules ...you can own a dog with a high predatory drive and never have the dog inclined or even tempted to bite. Good luck with your course __crazy_canine__ [quote]Well it was very interesting in class the other day. He was explaining the history of dogs.... and said they cam from wolves. I thought that was false? I mean I know theyre related but he was talking about the whole "cavemen tamed wolves" thing[/quote] Basically yes, our dogs did have a common ancestor with current day wolves. The ancestor is extinct. Our dogs evolved on their own to be local scavengers, this happened when man started settling down with permanent homes. This scavenger dogs lived amoung the humans and lived off the left overs man left. Our dogs became tame naturally, man had little to do with it...they just set the right opportunity for dogs to domesticate themselves. If you want to read a good book on this and the history of our dog read the book called "Dogs" by Raymond and Lorna Coppinger. This book was written by biologists who have actually studied domestic dogs, not studied wolves to understand dogs :roll: although they have studied all Canines including wolves and Coyotes. :wink:

All of my dogs eat raw meat and all 5 eat side by side with no issues. Food aggression is the result of poor training and lack of rules in the household. It really doesnt have much to do with the food. I have seen small spoiled dogs get very vicous when eating a bone or kibble meal...because the owner allows the dog to get away with it the dog will guard whatever it has. Some owners inadvertely encourage guarding behavior. My dogs will sit nicely before I place their meals in front of them. Same goes for raw meaty bones, they will sit nicely before they get one...they know there is no reason to fight over them. My Rottweiler and Dobie mix will lay side by side and some times chew the same bone.

I would have to say that the name Pitbull would refer more to a race of dogs. Generally dogs which had a keen interest in Pit fighting...it was at one time a general term for a race of dogs. For instance I could say Mastiff type breeds etc. and this would be a general term for Bullmastiffs, Great Danes, Rottweiler type dogs etc. Back in the day before Purebred dogs there were only races of dogs. Slang names were used to describe different groups of dogs that showed similar behaviors and enhanced drives. When kennel clubs came along and dog fighting was frowned upon the name "pit" was dropped from the name to reference this race of dogs. Kennel clubs wanted to represent a more dignified name for the bull breeds. There are still people who like to keep the breed reference name Pitbull alive. There are also kennel clubs which recognize this name to group together a similar type dog. Basically to me Pitbull refers to similar type dogs which have an enhanced drive (and lack of common sense :lol: ) to be dog aggressive. When you live in a country, which does not recognize the American Pitbull Terrier as a breed, then they can use the name as a general term to describe a similar "type" or "race" of dog.

Unfortunately this type of recall happens more often than we think. I have on occasion seen this type of recall, I think the owners are embarrassed their dog won't come and it escalates their anger. I have made a joke in passing of "gee, I don't think Id want to come over to you either...hee hee". An opening joke can decrease the tension the owner is feeling and allow them to seek your advice without feeling like a fool. Yelling at a novice owner can only embarrass them further and escalate the situation.. I have even seen some professional trainers who train other people and use these force-based recalls :roll: :-? These people have even gotten their CD and CDX obedience titles on their dogs. In the arena the dogs always seem to slink around the ring. With my dogs when I am doing a trail they are happy and people have actually left what they are doing to watch my Newf's do their joyous recalls :lol: So, instead of feeling anger towards the owner try to educate them without making them feel like an idiot. :wink: these people don't realize that they are threatening their dog and the dog is learning to avoid them. The owner feels as though the dog is betraying them and "the dog should know better" you don't know how often I've heard that sentence. :roll: So, lets educate those owners and show them the "proper" way to train. I have had many people come back to thank me after I have explained to them a proper recall. :wink:

I wish I could post the article from the paper...I don't have it in front of me I just read it while at a friends home. You make a good point behle about no trespassing signs...I wonder if by law they would not be allowed to put snares on my land if I posted a few of these signs. In my anger I never even thought about this :oops: Thank you behle...my blood vessels in my brain are much to constricted in anger to think logically right now. That is a very good point you brought up. :wink:

What a wonderful story. What a horror to read the horrible ordeal these people went through. One Newfie managed to stay alive by holding onto a dead body with a life jacket on. A baby was found alive floating on a mattress...another women holding onto a pole had to make a choice of which of her children to let go of because she could no longer hold onto both. How horribe for these poor people :( the child survived having been grabbed by another person. As Courtnek mentioned animals have a sixth sense, superior nose and ears. There were reports that animals fled before this tidal wave crashed. They did not find many animals dead amoung the people. I have heard people say that their dogs or cats will get very restless and pace before an earthquake and other major storms. Wild animals will flea before a major storm. I often notice before a big snow storm the birds will gorge at my feeder eating like they will never eat again...they were given a wonderful sixth sense to help them survive.

This is disturbing. This week a person lost their English springer spaniel to a Coyote snare. There is an access road behind our airport where many people walk their dogs. Unknown to we dog owners there are Coyote traps along most of the well walked paths...they are only about 20 ft off the trails. Most people walk here as you can let your dog off lead with no worries, airport officials OK'd this...they own 1200 acres of land which has some great trails for us loyal dog walkers. Any way, it turns out that Coyote hunters are setting snares along these trails...by law they do not have to post where they are setting snares. They Government stated in a recent interview that hunters do not have to post where they set traps as other poachers could steal their pelts. The airport officials are quite upset, but there is nothing they can do. Legally the hunters do not have to ask landowners if they can set snares on their land...by law they can ask only if they want to. The airport officials said if they had been asked they would have said no. I can understand to a certain degree the law...they stated that a dog off lead even if the dog is only 20 meters away from its owner is considered a dog at large. Dogs are not allowed off lead in any wildlife area. The part that ticks me off is the fact that hunters DO NOT HAVE TO ASK PERMISSION FROM LANDOWNERS TO SET TRAPS ON PROPERTY OWNERS LAND!!! This is what really ticks me off the most. I just bought a home with 16 acres....I have lots of Coyotes in my back woods...there is nothing I can do to stop hunters from putting snares on my land as long as they are 20 -30 meters away from walking trails, livestock, playgrounds and places of business :evil: So, therefore...I was planning on making a nice walking trail through my property, now I

In my experience Staffordshire Bull Terriers are inclined to be dog aggressive. Even in the show ring dog aggression is not a disqualification for many guardian type and terrier breeds. If it were a Newfoundland dog or Retriever showing dog aggression this would be unnatural for the breed and shouldn't be bred....it would also be a disqualification....but for your breed of choice it is a normal trait. What is the name of the kennel you got your Stafforshire from? If you signed a contract for one litter then you will have to do a breeding. Just keep in mind what breed you have and dog aggression is natural for this breed. I am surprised a reputable breeder would sell such a breed to some one with a lack of experience with the breed. I am even more surprised that a reputable breeder would sell a bitch from which they expect a litter of pup's from to a person who thinks dog aggression is abnormal for the breed :o The bitch may be dog aggressive...but, when it comes to their pup's they will not be aggressive towards them. As far as further knowledge on your breed of choice I would suggest you sit down with the breeder you bought your dog from. BTW, I am no expert on Staffordshire Bull Terriers, but...I do know that dog aggression is common and most times expected of this breed.

If you want to get technical, the only purebred dog would be a mongrel. Purebreds technically are mixed breeds that have been inbred and line bred to set a standard size, shape and behavior. So, considering this it's quite silly to think that a Purebred could be healthier than a Mongrel. People tend to forget that our purebreds are artificial and even Purebreds like spitz breeds may look more like the original mongrels they descended from...but, in order for a purebred to be recognized they have to meet a certain standard...in order to create a certain standard you need a small population of dogs as your breeding stock and you need to inbreed to set the standard. So, even though some of our purebreds seem as though they have a huge population...you have to think that the gene pool is very small as they do not have many dogs in their original breeding stock. To explain myself a little more, think about some of those documentaries of third world countries...you see hundreds of Mongrels roaming the streets living amougst the humans...but, these dogs do not belong to the humans...they are just stray mongrels. Some people may think, those poor stray dogs...some person must have abdondoned those dogs. In actual fact these dogs have been living this co existence for thousands of years. They have been around a lot longer than our purebred dogs. What happened was these dogs lived in villages and settlements scavenging off humans. Humans at one time thought of dogs much like we regard rats and other dirty scavengers. Dogs carried disease and they were to be avoided...but our dogs persevered and survived. Then humans started finding the dogs to be an asset. They barked when a stranger approached the human's yard it lived in...yes, they lived in people

[quote]I am going to give the Synflex a try. I can always mash a sardine into his food, he'd eat sawdust with fishies in it! My dogs do love their fishies. [/quote] This is exactly what I have to do with my little girl Athena. I give her lots of different supplements and she has the sense of smell of a bloodhound :lol: The Yucca root I put in her food has a very minty smell. Athena will turn away from her dish if she even catches a hint of this smell. I find sardines work wonders at covering the smell. I feed a raw/kibble diet so normally I put her supplements in her morning kibble meal. I find canned Solid Gold dog food has a wonderful smell and covers the smells of her supplements wonderfully :wink: Better yet, canned tripe from solid gold...or even fresh tripe has such a ripe smell...most dog

DO, I am so glad it has worked for you. I hadn't even tried it myself when I recommended it to you :oops: I had just heard from numerous people of how pleased they were with the supplement and how economical the price was. [quote]Words cannot express how much I am grateful. It has helped me so much! If we ever meet, I shall bow down and kiss your feet! [/quote] :lol: heck, I don't get offers like that every day. :lol: :wink:

DO, I