Carolk9s

Oh you reminded me of that, after an agility trial I would stop at McDonalds. Get myself something and each dog a plain burger. I'd even share my fries with them.

Yes and promised he would call but I bet he hasn't! He'll see her again next week, if she gives him the cold shoulder I'll know.

I am part of a Just For Fun agility league, both girls get to participate. I always take all 3 dogs with me, Jesse stays in the van and watches us through the window. We do this outside with fairly adequate lighting. Last night one of the teams was short a handler/dog combo. Due to the way scoring is done, their team would not have gotten one because they did not have enough people. Anyway, I thought about it for a minute, then offered to bring Jesse out and sub for the combo that was absent. I'm gonna dip into the 'attributing human emotions to dogs pool' here, I felt I was seeing some sadness and lack of understanding from him when I took the girls out and not him. He always loved doing agility and I loved doing it with him. Geez I do miss those days. Oh I digress... You pick the jump height you want in this league so I asked for the jumps to be set at 12 inches. He jumped 24 in AKC as a younger dog. I chose not to ask him to do the dogwalk as in the dimmer lighting he would be too scared to even try. He always did think the dogwalk was a scary thing and with dimming eyesight, its far worse. We did not set any speed records but he had a clean round and truly seemed to be having a blast. I did think he was going to jump off the teeter sideways for a moment but thankfully he elected to move forward when I asked him to. I was also tickled to hear all around that no one would have guessed he was 11 if I had not told them. As soon as our run was over and he was done with me telling him how wonderful he was, he trotted over to a lovely golden bitch and flirted, no doubt sure she was impressed with his jumping style. He truly did act like a happy dog. After we got home and they all had their dinner, I was glad to see he was feeling pretty good as he rolled over on his back and had himself a good scratch and snort session. I won't ask him to do much jumping as physically this is not in his best interest, mentally however this was a huge boost for him.

doberdawn is the site I used to learn about dremeling the nails, its wonderful! Since I do not dremel frequently enough, I now clip a bit and dremel a bit. I'll clip the very tip off then dremel it some.

You might have seen this already, but it's cute.... PUPPY'S 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS: On the first day of Christmas my puppy gave to me The angel from the top of the tree. On the second day of Christmas my puppy gave to me Two broken bulbs And the angel from the top of the tree. On the third day of Christmas my puppy gave to me Three opened presents Two broken bulbs And the angel from the top of the tree. On the fourth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me Four crumpled cards Three opened presents Two broken bulbs And the angel from the top of the tree. On the fifth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me Five shredded stockings Four crumpled cards Three opened presents Two broken bulbs And the angel from the top of the tree. On the sixth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me Six wreaths a-fraying Five shredded stockings Four crumpled cards Three opened presents Two broken bulbs And the angel from the top of the tree. On the seventh day of Christmas my puppy gave to me Seven yards of ribbon Six wreaths a-fraying Five shredded stockings Four crumpled cards Three opened presents Two broken bulbs And the angel from the top of the tree. On the eighth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me Eight slept-on silk things Seven yards of ribbon Six wreaths a-fraying Five shredded stockings Four crumpled cards Three opened presents Two broken bulbs And the angel from the top of the tree. On the ninth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me Nine chewed up candles Eight slept-on silk things Seven yards of ribbon Six wreaths a-fraying Five shredded stockings Four crumpled cards Three opened presents Two broken bulbs And the angel from the top of the tree. On the tenth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me Ten bubble lights a-leaking Nine chewed up candles Eight slept-on silk things Seven yards of ribbon Six wreaths a-fraying Five shredded stockings Four crumpled cards Three opened presents Two broken bulbs And the angel from the top of the tree. On the eleventh day of Christmas my puppy gave to me Eleven strands of wiring Ten bubble lights a-leaking Nine chewed up candles Eight slept-on silk things Seven yards of ribbon Six wreaths a-fraying Five shredded stockings Four crumpled cards Three opened presents Two broken bulbs And the angel from the top of the tree. On the twelfth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me Twelve puppy kisses and I forgot all about the other eleven days.

Corgilady, I'm so sorry to hear of your neighbor troubles. I agree with YOU, sounds like you are trying very hard indeed to be a good responsible dog owner and your neighbor simply would not be happy if they did not have SOMETHING to complain about. I firmly believe that dogs MUST bark a little and should have the right to. Hold on before anyone gets their dander up, by a little I mean a LITTLE! Not 5 minutes straight, not throughout the day, certainly not at night. My dogs go racing out the door because they heard (or imagined they heard) something worth checking out. If they start barking, I go to see if there is anything I should be concerned with. If the barking is light and stopping on its own, I say nothing. If they continue to holler, I tell them to knock it off. Brittany RARELY barks so when I hear her I hotfoot it outside to see what has gotten her fired up. Noise pollution is a fact of life no matter where we live. Cars driving down my street with radio blaring, the neighbors leaf blower, lawn mower, chainsaw, power tools, etc. Neighbor behind me has frequent parties in the summer, music playing all day in their backyard. It bothers me but they have a right to enjoy their yard and their friends. Kids playing down the street yelling and screaming in fun, that too grates on my ears but hey, they are kids right? I too try very hard to be responsible especially regarding my dogs, I know that not everyone shares the love and joy I feel for them. I miss the neighbor I used to have, when we first moved in, Jesse barked at him EVERY SINGLE TIME the guy walked out into his back yard. Acted like he wanted to tear him up. I fussed at Jesse to no avail. This man had good sense, he talked to Jesse. Each time he came out, Jesse would hit the fence hollering. The man would say 'Hello Jesse, how are you today'. He kept this up. Jesse started calming down and looking forward to seeing his new friend. Finally got to the point that Jesse would give a single bark, stay reared up on the fence with his tail wagging. My neighbor would say hello to him and goodbye. If the man was out front and Jesse was out front, Jesse would run to visit his new buddy. Too bad Corgilady's neighbor is not interested in 'making pals' with Koda tho it does not sound to me like Koda is that extreme of a barker. Now I also tell my neighbors to feel free to tell my dogs to shut up if I am not right there to stop them from barking too long. Corgilady, wish I had some ideas to help, I can just offer my sympathy and understanding.

Love da face! What an expression! Bet she keeps you on your toes. Very pretty girl.

Um, don't you all do what I do? Set aside some quiet time, sit down with the dog who strayed from the straight and narrow, explain to them calmly and lovingly how their behaviour made me FEEL and that I know they want their mommy to always feel good so I wish they would not do it again. It may help to have flash cards or a flowchart at times, you can draw a picture of the misbehaviour using your 'bad dog' sticky photo and magic markers and then show them the desired behaviour with your 'good dog' sticky photo and magic markers. Now of course dogs secretly DO understand EVERY SINGLE WORD we say, they are just fooling with us, giving us that blank stare, wagging their tails, grining their doggie grins.

The first dog of my own was my sheltie Dawna. She was given to me by my aunt who showed and bred shelties at the time. Dawna's registered name was Rilla-J's Golden Aroura. She was a very pretty, typey little girl, won as a puppy then hit a growth spurt and forgot to stop. She hit 18 inches at the shoulder, my aunt called her the collie that snuck in the litter. After Dawna, I waited a couple of years. When I was ready, I started looking for my next dog. I went to shows, watched dogs in the conformation and obedience rings, talked to breeders and handlers. I knew I wanted to show in obedience so an AKC dog was what I wanted. Keep in mind this was about 12 years ago, AKC was IT if you wanted to show in obedience. I decided I wanted a big black hairy dog. I saw some Flatcoated Retrievers and thought they were quite handsome. I even wrote a breeder but got no reply. Luck stepped in. The family had gone out to dinner, the above mentioned aunt was there along with a family friend of hers. My aunt asked me how the search for a pup was going, I said not too well. Her friend and his wife had formerly bred Belgian Sheepdogs, he knew of a breeder who was looking specifically for a pet home for a pup. He gave me her number. I called Gloria and Albert Bray and made arrangements to drive up and see the pup. He was a little boy pup, he was destined for a pet home as he was monorchid, one testicle did not descend. He was sold under a strict neuter contract which was fine with me. I was fully expecting and could afford to spend about $300 for a pup, I was hoping a pet quality pup would not be more than that. Imagine my surprise when they sold me Jesse for $50. Thats all. As Gloria and Albert told me, their only concern was him going to a proper pet home. They only asked that whatever name I chose for him that it be preceded with C'EST SI BON, their kennel name. Jesse was promptly neutered at 6 months and Gloria then transferred his AKC papers over to me. Jesse's story is at: [url]http://members.toast.net/agilk9s/Jess_puppy_page.html[/url] When Jesse was almost 3 years old, I saw Brittany at an adoption stand in Petsmart. I fell in love with her wild coloring and the challenge I saw in her eyes. She was 8 months old at the time. The cost to adopt her was $50, she was (thankfully) already spayed. Little did I know that the 'challenge' I saw in her eyes was to bring about some of the most frustrating times I ever had with a dog, and ultimately some of the most rewarding. Her story is at: [url]http://members.toast.net/agilk9s/Brittany_Page2.html[/url] On April 28th, 2001, I found Candy on the side of the road. Had NO intention of keeping her, didn't think I was 'ready' for a 3rd dog, planned on taking a break from agility training and trialing. Took her to the SPCA and dropped her off. Went on vacation. After 2.5 weeks, figured surely she had been adopted! I was still volunteering at the SPCA, went in one day, of course I had to look for her. She was still there. I remember that she would not look me in the eye that day. I left in tears. A day or two later, the SPCA called me. Said they were VERY overcrowded, the summer dropoffs by owners going on vacation had started. I offered to foster Candy but oh no I could not keep her! Hahaha, silly me. More details of her story are at: [url]http://members.toast.net/agilk9s/Candy_Story.html[/url] Since I had done vet care for Candy, I was only charged the cost of her spay operation when I adopted her, at the time it was $40.

Sounds like you have the time, the desire, and the understanding that this dog might take some patience and work. I am inclined to say yes, give it your best shot. When you first introduce the dog and cats, make sure the dog is on a secure collar and lead. Keep the intro very low key. Take it very slow. Tell the dog that the cats belong to YOU. Say 'they are MINE' leave em alone! Now if the cats bolt the dogs natural instinct is gonna be to chase, careful there. Being that you said the dog has generally a sweet temperament, I think its worth trying. Unless the dog just settles in immediately and minds his manners I'd expect to need a lot of patience, restricted access until trust is established and a positive reward system. Good luck with your decision.

Marble, I've been hearing more about switching to adult food at younger ages than was previously suggested, I think you would be just fine doing so. A good quality adult food will still give Dresden the needed nutrition without the excesses of puppy formula. I have heard from a few souces that Diamond is a good food. I would have given it a hard look myself had it been available locally to me. Here's a link to more info if you'd like to browse from the comfort of your computer chair: [url]http://www.diamondpet.com/default.html[/url]

I too agree with Corgilady and Newfiemom, get some little bitty pieces of her favorite treat, even use something that she does not normally get to make it even more desirable. See if someone will help you, carry Duck 3/4 of the way up or 2-3 steps from the top. Set her down, have the helper hold her in place so she cannot fall or anything. Go up the few steps, encourage her to come to you. Praise and treat. Then go for 4-5 steps and so on. At first I might be more excited with my praise then tone it down once she seems to be getting the message. You want her to know you are happy about her progress but not so much that she gets overly wound up and tries to race the steps. Make sure she is not leaping out of control or lunging around and keep her leash on her. Work on teaching her to safely negotiate the stairs at a MODERATE pace. Do the same as above to teach her to come down. Especially going down, you don't want her flinging herself down the stairs to where she might crash or even pull you down! This will probably take some time to teach correctly, have patience, best of luck and let us know of your progress.

I personally am not a big believer in pet insurance. Perhaps partly because I have never had to face huge vet bills-yet. I did explore the possibility many years ago, even signed up for a trial offer. Then I had a question. I could never get a straight clear answer to my question which was simply: If I am traveling with my dog, does the insurance cover him in any state? Any emergency vet no matter where they are located? As I said, no one with this company ever answered my question so I canceled. A particular concern in the case of Willow, the ins. co. might consider ANYTHING that comes along as part of a pre-exisiting condition due to his medical history, including the spider bite. Based on that, they might not pay for treatment. I have also read, and this was just someones opinion, that if pet insurance became widespread, it would drive UP the cost of animal/vet care as it has with people. May be true, I don't know. I believe Newfiemom has insurance, perhaps there are pros to pet insurance that I am not aware of.

[quote name='Hobbit'] Just a question for Trinity and some others: Why would Aroura want to reestablish Tessa as the alpha dog over Lilly?[/quote][b][/b] Hobbit, I too have been wondering about this. I am a believer in (for the most part) of letting the dogs sort out who is alpha and who is not. I do insist on the alpha being a benevolent dictator. Jesse has always been alpha BUT if he did get too rough with Brittany she could and would whip around and drive him into a corner. With the addtion of Candy to the little pack, I see that she REALLY wants to be top dog. Its a good thing she is smaller than Brittany or I'm afraid she would totally dominate her. I generally let them sort it out as long as no one is being terrorized or hurt. I do remind them all from time to time that [size=6][b]I[/b][/size] am the top bitch in this house. 8) I would also be very concerned that at some point Lily will turn on Willem. She might just growl, she might bite, she might attack. All justified under the circumstances BUT will your mother see it that way? Would the authorities? Or will Lily be branded a 'Dangerous Dog'? Aurora MUST put Lily's needs and safety ahead of her own needs. If Lily's safety CANNOT be guaranteed, then this is like a time bomb ticking away. Either Willem will hurt Lily or Lily will hurt him.

Glad to hear Perry made it through surgery, hope he is on the mend and the mystery is solved soon. He looks so sweet in the photo, I just want to cuddle him!

"Can't most dogs swim???" Well, yes most can. However, like Mei-Mei said, the body of water is a factor, also the age of the dog, condition of the dog, length of time in the water etc etc. Jesse BSD can swim, but at age 11 in rough cold water, how long would he last? Hard to say. He used to give me fits when I took him to the ocean, he would wade out so far, a wave would sweep him up and he'd be swimming like mad, I was so afraid of him getting swept out! Of course I also worried that a shark would get him :( OK, slim chance of that but still a chance! I would holler for him to come back to shore because my heart just could not take the worry! :-?

Tis funny, some of my coworkers refer to the dogs as my 'kids'. I call them my furkids. I also call them the reason I have to work so hard so I can buy them things. I just about fell over the first time my own mother said they were my 'family'. It took her a couple of years to get used the doggie grandma moniker.

Quote:'Quick to lie, shamelessly manipulate, injure over a triviality and steal without remorse. ' Actually, with a generous interpretation of the above, I can say I have seen 3 of the 4 behaviours above in EACH of my dogs. Lying is the only one I have not seen. Jesse would manipulate Brittany, if she was in my lap, he would first glare at her. If that did not work, he would grab a stuffed toy and prance around until she took the bait and jumped down to play. He did not want to play! Quick as a flash he would be in my lap leaving her alone on the floor with the toy. Brittany will manipulate people, she puts on a face that just screams 'NO ONE LOVES ME'. She's fairly successful in getting sympathy and kisses. Both girls would STEAL each others food in an instant. Heck they would steal mine if I ate down at floor level with them. Injure over a triviality? Maybe not actually injure but certainly threaten to, over a perceived slight, a bump from an overly exuberant youngster, another dog approaching for attention while first dog is getting attention. Now perhaps these behaviours are a DIRECT result of our domestication of them. Perhaps WE have introduced the unnatural circumstances that have caused dogs to adopt behaviours not seen in wild canids. Having said this, I still think dogs exhibit behaviours we should ALL strive to emulate. Instant forgiveness, not holding a grudge, total joy at being reunited with a loved one etc etc. On another note, if I had a malamute, and someone confused him for a husky, I don't think I would get terribly put out. Many people think of a husky as a big sled pulling dog, they don't necessarily think of the Sibe. Heck my belgian has been called everything from a wolf to a black collie to a lab mix to a just plain mutt. Sometimes when I am asked what kinda dawg you got there I just say spoiled, smile and then tell the truth. I am glad for a chance to educate people whether they are 'dog' people or not.

I too don't care for the word 'it' but try to remember these are most likely non dog and non pet type people. As far as gender, Jesse BSD is called she and her all the time, I used to say it's because he's a pretty boy. He's matured into more of a 'handsome' dog but he still gets the girly talk now and then. These don't bother me as much as someone reacting with fear or dislike, what would steam me is for anyone to call any of my dogs 'filthy beasts' or 'nasty' or dog forbid, 'vicious'. I have to smile when Jesse is called a wolf, usually I correct them but every now and then... The dogs all say just remember to call us for dinner!

Just an addition to the vet wrap idea, great idea by the way, you must be absolutely sure there is NO infection present before wrapping it up nice and snug. Ugly situation in the brew then.

Shara, I did not mean to imply that Hazel is vicious, hearing that she will be on lead the entire time does make it a bit easier for me to see her in the ring but the dog that attacked Candy was also on lead. I'm sure you will be diligent about keeping a firm grip on Hazels leash at all times. I found out later that the same dog that attacked Candy had earlier jumped the fence between the two agility rings and completely terrorized a pug that was unable to compete the rest of the day due to its fear. The owner was spoken to, I presume they were not asked to leave because the husky never got his teeth on the pug, not for lack of trying but the pug was in the tunnel when it happened and the husky could not quite figure out how to get to him. My main point was that you are aware of the potential for trouble and lawsuits should Hazel take a hunk outta someone. The agility trials I go to, people AND dogs are somewhat jazzed up as it is, a dog with some aggression issues might be subdued in this environment or might be further agitated.

[quote name='Hobbit']You know -- men are just like male dogs when it comes to fighting!! And women are just female dogs when it comes to fighting! If I had to chose, I'd rather fight a man anyday than a woman. Because a man will posture around, bump chests, then go have a beer with you ---- a woman will torture you, then beat the tar out of you and you'll never get a beer! :lol:[/quote] Oops, meant to add, this is cause females hold grudges longer than males 8)

I'm curious, is Hazel aggressive only to people? Or people AND other dogs? The Canadian agility folk must be more lenient than in the states, an aggressive dog is NOT tolerated or given a bandana to warn people off. I want to be fair-minded but as one whose dog was attacked at a trial, I personally think aggressive dogs SHOULD NOT be allowed on the grounds. The dog that attacked Candy was a large husky mix, his owner was barely effective in holding onto him as he was going after Candy. My sis-in-law was (silly her) putting herself between the dogs and dragging Candy away as Candy thought she could take the husky on. Woe be to the owner of that dog had he done any damage to mine. You will need to be concerned about lawsuits should Hazel find and take the opportunity to bite anyone, human or dog. More so because you KNOW she has aggression issues. Also, if Hazel is aggressive to other dogs, I can tell you that I personally will do WHATEVER is needed to stop a dog that is attacking mine, up to and including killing that dog. I am actually not trying to be a hardass here, just telling you how I feel and I know there are others who would do the same. I would, like gooey said, focus on the aggression before even considering taking Hazel out and about where she might injure someone OR put herself in danger of being destroyed as a vicious dog.

[quote name='Hobbit']Male dogs usually do lots of posturing, chest bumping, name calling, making faces, circling, tails up, ears up, head up, very rigid appearance. Females on the other hand, will just get after it. They are worse to fight than the males. They don't waste energy threatening each other, they just fight. [/quote] Hobbit, you are so right on this. Jesse BSD has NEVER been in an actual fight. Posturing and name calling sure. Both girls have indeed been in fights. When Brittany was younger she liked to start fights I swear just for the fun of it. There was a period of a few years that she never was in a fight. Candy is getting scrappier as she matures, gonna have to keep a close eye and leash on her. The girls will once in a while fight with each other and will fight with other dogs, male or female. Candy will also rush between Jesse and another dog who gets in his face, I've seen her do this twice so far. She will snap and drive the other dog away from Jesse. Guess he's her boy toy and no one better mess with him.

[quote name='mouseatthebusstop']water if it is outside. If it is inside throw a coat over them. :o[/quote] haha, just hope the thrower of said water is accurate. Some years ago, I was visiting my friend Sarah. Her dog, Lady, and my Brittany used to scrap every now and then, both thought they should be top dog. Sure enough the girls took to fighting, Sarah picked up a bucket of water and threw in their 'general' direction. Trouble is, I was right behind them and got most of the contents of the bucket. All worked out well tho, my shriek of surprise stopped the girls from fighting so they could laugh at me. To this day I maintain that I WAS NOT FIGHTING I WAS AN INNOCENT BYSTANDER!