Shenanigans

As you know, there was a Pit Bull attack in London a few weeks ago. There has been another attack in Toronto, and the person might lose their arm and leg because of it. That said, this person was the dog's caretakers while their owner is still not present. Apparently the owner is not the most responsible or nicest person in the world. The caretaker might or might not have had one of the pit bulls in a headlock when the attack occured, but in the end, the man was seriously injured and both dogs killed by police. So needless to say, breed specific legislation is back on the table at our city, but now the province is considering it, which is pretty damned horrific, soooo, we need lots of pens to paper the email address of the attourney general is in the artcle, he wants to hear how people think, so let him know! [url]http://tinyurl.com/3lhj8[/url] Background Articles [url]http://tinyurl.com/5fnh8[/url] [url]http://tinyurl.com/3ulfv[/url] [url]http://tinyurl.com/4tzkt[/url] [url]http://tinyurl.com/5eqe9[/url]

I have two big dogs too, and while I can if I have to walk them both together, I'd rather not. When I'm home alone, I take them out seperately, and it's more work for me, but I know if they both really wanted to, they could overpower me. It took an incident where I had them both out and on leads on my front lawn for a pee, and my inlaws walked up the street, naturally the boys wanted to see grandma and grandpa and I had a seriously hard time in controlling them. Mind you, I only had them on their regular collars, for control I use a choke chain on Shenanigans and a halti on Banzai. I generally go through great lengths to let small dog owners that my dogs won't eat them even if they are provoked (Shenanigans once had a Manchester Terrier hanging off his face and didn't do a thing) and Banzai just skillfully avoids any attacks. Because I grew up with Shelties, and knew the fear that one has when they see a big dog that looks like it's longing for a meal of small dog. It might not be justified as in the case of my two, but you've got to be careful with those wee ones. Nowadays when I'm sitting Shelties, I'm a nervous wreck walking them.

[quote]my point in that paragraph was that had this guy been educated enough he could have avoided a bite and harm to his dog or family. i am sorry if you feel highly disturbed by what i said. i will try to offer some explanation. [/quote] I don't know if that is true really. I've had a pit bull come after my Sheltie once, and while there was a good 20 feet between us, I don't need to tell you, that the dog was moving extrodinarily fast, and there was nothing short of a freight train that was going to stop that dog. At this point, it was either letting my Sheltie be mauled or picking up my dog, which I did and I got bitten. I accepted this fact, however in this case, the decision on whether to press charges weren't in my hands, but the police's and in the end the dog was destroyed. It was probably the best case scenario as the owner had set the dog on us, he had done so to several people before, but was always able to call the dog out last moment, just to scare the piss out of them, but not this time, and at that time, the 16 year old girl I was got a nasty bite. The following year, I went out to protest a breed ban in Toronto. This is a sad chain of events, the collar malfunction, the dog jumping up on the man, the man kicking the dog and the other dog biting the man. I have to admit that many of these are causing gut reactions in me for each and every instance, so I'm sure the fallout will probably be very difficult for pit bull owners in London (strangely enough, I had a strange memory that they were already banned). Could this have been prevented? Maybe, maybe not. I might get roasted for this, but I don't feel a strong sense of anger towards the man for kicking the dog. An ordinary Joe Schmoe who has his Shih Tzu in his arms and a Pit Bull jumping on him, is going to be inclined to protect his dog. I don't think he should have done it, but I don't think that it was planned on his part either. What I am angry about is the selective amount of media this is getting and it would seem this couple's participation in that, but I'm not surprised at all. I think this is a good lesson for everyone to double check your collars and leads and buy high quality, especially if your dog is the type who would drag you across the street for an item and has a poor recall (which also should always be worked on, as well as a strong STAY). These are lifelines to our dogs and we need to be on top of the lifesaving equipment we use just as much as our dogs.

I have to take issue with my dogs regarding HF's post, *G* apparently my dogs have never learned that they're not supposed to: Have temper tantrums. Shenanigans used to throw the worst ones when he didn't want to do something or go somewhere, he'd throw himself on his back and just kick wildly and not get up under any circumstance. Fortunately those terrible twos are over. Invite friends over. Our backyard backs onto a valley which is city property and although not officially an offleash park, all the residents who have similar properties treat it as such since it's enclosed. Fortunately we're all extremely respectful of our precious space. Anyhow, whenever my guys are out in the yard and they hear one of their buddies running around, they send out the invite by barking up a racket and sure enough, their buddies are waiting by the fence, or in the case of some Vizzies, they've come over the fence! b*tching about their clothes. Well, in Banzai's defense, the reindeer antlers were goofy looking, but I got an earful when I put them on his head. Dogs do slam doors, they just slam them open instead of shut! Especially when your bathroom door is just ajar and you're on the toilet and your Newfoundland simply must burst in to show you his teddybear! Dogs do sleep through the night, but certain dogs (ie my two) are just as difficult to get out of bed as a teenager. I had to literally drag Shenanigans out of the crate the other night as I wanted him to sleep upstairs and he wanted to stay in his crate. (I'm neurotic and like my dogs near me as much as possible) I'm just kidding too of course, but I just found it funny how I could relate to your list with my dogs. :)

[quote]Do you mean the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair? Cool! I go there almost every year I may have seen your dog! Was he the Newf in the Superdogs? [/quote] Sorry, I meant the one in Ontario. Like many people in my province and indeed city, I believe I live in the centre of the universe. My apologies. Shenanigans and I have done a lot of pet education at the local level where we are usually set up in a booth with the CKC. [quote]Shenanigans, that would be a wonderful idea for you to visit schools and teach children "dog sense". I think I read else where that you use your dog as a therapy dog already? you would have a perfect dog to demonstrate with. [/quote] I'd love to get involved with that, I've been investigating ways to make it work. Ideally I'd like to do it for a fee, since I would have to cover the cost of insurance and travel, but I'd have to keep it as low as possible, I'd want such a program to be accessible to everyone within a reasonable distance (no driving up to Thunder Bay for me! lol). Shenanigans is a therapy dog, he's quite a star for it, it's just amazing the kind of hype these dogs create. Last night we walked to our local park where everyone it seems was having a picnic of some sort. Shenanigans had people from all over the park who came from all parts of the world to see him. The only people I could understand were the french africans, and only using my pathetic french skills could I communicate! If you guys want man bait, especially men in uniforms, get a GSD as handsome as Banzai. oops, who am I kidding, no other dog in the world is as handsome as His Majesty. ;) [quote]This is a little off topic, but I've noticed that it's not uncommon for people who love dogs to not be very enthused about little children. Does this ring true for anyone else? The correlation surprises me because I can draw a lot of similarities between dogs and kids.[/quote] I've done a bit of personal research on this. Using a loose generalisation, I find those who keep dogs because they believe that they are truly altruistic creatures and won't hurt them like people have aren't too fond of children, let alone people. That said, it's just a generalisation so no biting off my head. :D Personally I love kids, I don't like misbehaving ones, but I usually direct my annoyance to their parents, likewise with dogs. I've always been a little nervous around smaller ones, but I've found Shenanigans to be a great icebreaker and has helped me to get to connect with wee ones a lot better. And what I've learned is, that they're a lot of fun to hang out with!

Oh geeze, I had a parent try to place their kid on Shenanigans back when he was 12 months old. I was at the Royal Winter Fair and had about 20 people surrounding me wanting to pet Shenanigans. I was quite alarmed when I saw the parent holding their child over my puppy's back, and boomed out NO, DON'T YOU DARE! I didn't mean to raise my voice, but I was actually quite frightened. *brrrr* We need a kid/dog safety program here in Ontario. I know several trainers and behaviourists have gone into schools, but there is nothing mandated here in the curriculum. I think it only makes sense, heck we had Elmer the Safety Elephant, I think they now need a Shenanigans the Safety Dog! ;)

I think newfiemom and Cassie might be able to sympathise with me, but I find kids are just drawn to Shenanigans. It doesn't matter where I go, if there are kids, they are there wanting to hug the big giant teddybear walking along. And thankfully Shenanigans is a very stable dog, he has been startled, but he has never reacted negatively. Banzai used to be very much the same way, but he's starting to age and would rather have his space, unless the kids are deemed "his", in which case, he becomes quite protective of them. I don't think I could have a dog that wasn't safe around people or other dogs. I know a lot of people do and have done wonderous things with their animals and go to great lengths to keep everyone safe, I just think that for myself I don't want to be anymore vigilant than I am. And I am extremely vigilant. I have shown at various pet shows for the express intent of education. I have shown at the Royal Winter fair which is an EXTREMELY busy event with about a million people throughout the week, children, schools, not to mention hundreds if not thousands of every kind of conceivably domesticated animal. I still shudder when I think of parents just letting their kids run wild among dogs, horses, cattle, pigs, goats you name it, not to mention thousands of people on any given day. Their justification is that if these animals are at a show, they must be safe to anything a kid can unleash. I think this is very dangerous behaviour. I STRONGLY believe that it is a parent's duty to protect their child. So if you do bring your kids into a Petsmart, yes, expect there are going to be dogs, and expect that there are going to be dogs that might not be so great with kids, and expect that if your kid runs around behaving incorrectly towards dogs, they're going to get told off. If your kid doesn't routinely ask to pet the dog, then you hold that child's hand, if they have ADD, you hold their hand or consider that a place such as a petstore with various dangers and stimulations isn't the best place for your child if you cannot properly protect him/her. Frankly, it drives me mad that kids are wandering around pet stores or any stores without direct supervision. I have a duty to keep my dog protected and safe, which is why I don't let them wander around a pet store, parents have the very same duty to keep their children safe. I just spent a week at a family campsite, a place where kids were roaming free and at will. 95% of these kids were the children of teachers and none of them had any problems whether they were 3 or 13 asking if they could pet the dog and all of them did. I thoroughly enjoyed myself because the kids played safe and yet managed to be kids.

CKC probably refers to the Continental Kennel Club which will register a Hot Dog. The Canadian Kennel Club has been seeking ways (unsuccessfully) to avoid confusion with such a club. The Canadian Kennel Club if you can get your registrations ever completed has pretty strict standards of what is registerable.

Don't feel too terrible. Dogs know when it's an accident. I have clobbered my dogs with toys, boxes, the clothes hamper you name it accidently hundreds of times (they live with a very clumsy mummy) and they just shake it off and are ready for the "I'm so sorry" hugs. On the other hand, they have clobbered me thousands of times, and I don't get hugs. Hmph!

Responsible breeding means that you are breeding for the betterment of the breed. This should ideally include some sort of standard your Boxer colleagues have agreed on collectively. Whether it is US, German, FCI etc. If white is a fault, then yes, I'd say you would be compromising ethics to breed a white dog.

I'm very sorry for your loss and what a difficult decision that had been laid at your doorstep. I don't think there are any rights or wrongs in such a case and you just simply did the best that you could, some dogs just have so many problems that even perfection couldn't fix them. I'm glad that your heart is a bit lighter, even though it is terribly sad. My sympathies.

Oh Cassie, you don't want to get me started on what is happening to Newfoundlands. LOL What galls me the most is dogs being bred without the proper health titles. It simply drives me mad, and it seems that every second Newfoundland breeder couldn't care a less. I remember a breeder on Newf tech bragging that if such and such a dog were to show up at his door with flowers and an overnight bag for his girl, he wouldn't even check for healthy hips. What a travesty! I don't care how nice a dog (in any breed) is, if the health is not good, then the dog is not bred. Would you believe that I had a much harder time finding a Newfoundland breeder who routinely bred OVC cleared dogs than I would a GSD? That said, I'm not a fan of the floopy loose dogs that are being shown and doing the winning. I wouldn't want a dog that gaits like a 160lb puppy with no rear drive to pull a heavy load or attempt to save me from some nasty water. I want a dog that looks [i]square[/i], like the standard says not a long one. I don't need a 150lb dachshund! I want good angulation, the dog's hips shouldn't be higher than it's topline. But I don't want a Newf who's rear looks like a GSD because their stifles are so bent. A Newfoundland shouldn't have to be stretched like it's on the rack out to have four square on the floor. And the coats on some of these dogs, mind you, they're so scissored and sculpted it would be hard to tell if the coat was healthy. I don't want an open coat either, which a good number of dogs I've seen have, but again, they're so scissored. They're not meant to be big puffballs! I certainly wouldn't throw one of those dogs in the water, half of their overcoat is gone or open, they'd sink! I don't want [i]wrinkles[/i] on my dog, I'd get a Shar-pei if I wanted that, I don't want to see [i]haw[/i], it's a fault. Half of these dogs don't have a sweet expression, which to me is sooo important to this breed. A [i]clean[/i] muzzle, not a Mastiff, St. Bernard, Berner muzzle or head. A head is such an important crowing piece. One thing I have always admire about people on the east coast and Newfoundland is their good common sense and practicality. Many of the Newfoundlands out there do no justice to the design of that way of life or the purpose of this dog. Pant, pant, I think I ought to stop this rant short, I'm out of breath and my keyboard is crying out in pain. LOL Wouldn't you know I forgot something. I did mention Josh a couple of posts ago, but I just wanted to clarify that I was just specifically commenting on the showy dog in personality he exudes, he loved to be out there and it showed. On his other attributes, I'm afraid to say that he's not my cup of tea. :(

I'd love a Bloodhound, they are such gentle creatures. That said, they're not suitable for city living, well it's not so much the city, it's the annoyed neighbours should the hound be particularly noisy. *G* Someday when I live in the middle of nowhere...

Some of it comes from experience, some comes from knowing your dogs and some of it is just luck. I used to breed Shelties which has a very specific size standard, they had to be 13"-16" ATW anything larger or smaller is a DQ. That is a very small margin for error, and with a breed with so many backgrounds in larger and smaller dogs, it's very easy for a puppy to go over or undersized. A lot of breeders keep their choice puppies to grow out until they are about 6 months. A sheltie friend of mine kept her entire litter. One puppy had a difficult labour and was born with poor motor skills, so she kept her as a pet. The other two, she is growing out. It was a lovely litter and this is only her second breeding, so she's uncertain of who will turn out. Chances are, If I know her, she'll keep them all. :) This isn't all breed universal, just in the breeds I've been exposed to. You can tell some features are going to be solid on puppies when they are 8 weeks old. A good structure and angulation, it will go all wonky while they mature, but in my experience, if a puppy is of good structure when they're 7-9 weeks old, they'll go back after adolesence (keeping in mind the puppy has proper nutrition for the breed). You can usually get a good ideal of face structure at that age, again it will go all wonky while they are teens, but it usually comes back. Eye shape will usually keep. Eye colour might go, but I've never had that happen to me. I have this picture of my Newfoundland at 3 months, he's directly facing the camera, and another at 5, 7, 9, 15, 18 months. All of them look different. Then I have a picture of him at 2 1/2 years, and he looks like that 3 month old puppy, except a heck of a lot bigger and hairier. Temperament, I've found that I can tell whether a puppy has a good temperament at 8 weeks. Responsible breeders imo should be breeding for correct temperament as much as they should be breeding for healthy dogs. Ideally the pick puppy with all the wonderful physical attributes will have a great temperament, and for the lucky show person, even a showy personality (think of Josh at Westminster). And it's not just positive traits you can learn, but faults. You'll be able to see if puppies have bad fronts, toplines, heads, ear sets, tailsets, angulation or backs, if they are large, coarse, fine, doggy or bitchy and obviously colour. Those pups go straight into pet homes. Thankfully with the breeds I've been involved in, a lot of the faults are very specific and can be pinpointed from birth. More often than not, if a breeder fumbles with the pick puppy, it's usually themselves they are messing out of the pick, since most responsible breeders I know usually keep the pick puppy. And in the end, sometimes luck just throws a curve ball and that pick puppy falls apart and stays apart, or worse still, you raise one for 24 months, do some showing and they turn out dysplasic even though both parents are cleared. But usually, you can make some fairly good guestimates. Nothing in life is 100% and this is one of those fine examples.

I wouldn't bother really. I don't usually see much a point in other people training your dogs unless there is a serious problem and I still think you should be involved every step of the way. What I would do is get involved in a local obedience club. Not only to get that extra teenaged energy out, but also to reinforce your bond, have a set of objective eyes to lend support, pack positions and more advanced obedience or flyball or agility can boost a dog's confidence tenfold.