courtnek

Thank you Spirit -

no. 7 wont help you, since it's a personal opinion. No. 5 MIGHT [quote]5. A pregnant dog needs constant care and attention. If the mated pair were not similar in size, the whelping itself could kill the mother, or cause serious harm to the puppies thru having to be extracted by C-section. Once the puppies are born, there is no guarantee that the mother will care for them. That means YOU have to... bottle feeding, warming bins, continual rub downs; with all of that, if the mother wont feed them, they will not inherit the necessary disease fighting cells that are transmitted thru mothers milk. The small fee associated with spaying/neutering is much less expensive than the C-section that could be required, and the care necessary to help them survive. [/quote] THIS is the info we need to make them aware of...LEAN on the expense of "caring" vs. "neutering" tug on their heart strings....

In Angels defense, although I dont agree with breeding unless you are truly a professional at it, alot of those "labs" on Petfinder are mixes - I'm been looking thru them trying to find a companion for Freebee...There seems to be a tendency to list any dog that looks even slightly like a lab as a "lab mix" - Unfortunately, they also have a number of dogs there that are Pit Bull/lab mixes, and they mostly listed as lab mixes...(depending on the shelter keeping them)Which is dangerous if the adopter doesnt understand the dog-aggressive possibilities of a Pit. This goes back to my continual rant about breed standards. They list the dog as a lab mix, because more people will be interested since Labs are such "good family dogs"....it just makes me crazy.... However, they are leaving out the possible side affects of the "other" (non-lab) dog, which is NOT safe under any circumstances. AND the side-affects in general of a mostly lab - they arent perfect by any means. I own a lab mix - she is a handful sometimes.

Once you get the ticks under control - look into Frontline - ticks carry other diseases besides Lyme, and you may need to have your garden fumigated to get rid of them. Once they are in place, they are hard to get rid of, but a professional "bug zapper" (like here in the states, we have Orkin) should get rid of them for you. Good luck! Poor Rowie, ticks are just HORRIBLE :cry:

Not a web site - but life experiences 1. Unaltered males bite, roam and have a higher incidence of testicular cancers. Also, harder to train because of dominance issues, especially in the larger "guarding" breeds. 2. Unaltered females have a higher incidence of uterine-type cancers, which increase with each heat. Also tend to roam, bite more frequently, and are at times harder to train because of dominance issues. 3. puppies often have a higher incidence of illness, since the mated dogs are often not checked out for breed specific issues. This is more common in mixed breed matings, but also happens in purebreds. Temperament problems is often quite common. 4. There are already too many dogs in shelters, desperately in need of homes; we dont need any more unwanted puppies when there are so many out there already. 5. A pregnant dog needs constant care and attention. If the mated pair were not similar in size, the whelping itself could kill the mother, or cause serious harm to the puppies thru having to be extracted by C-section. Once the puppies are born, there is no guarantee that the mother will care for them. That means YOU have to... bottle feeding, warming bins, continual rub downs; with all of that, if the mother wont feed them, they will not inherit the necessary disease fighting cells that are transmitted thru mothers milk. The small fee associated with spaying/neutering is much less expensive than the C-section that could be required, and the care necessary to help them survive. 6. Breeding is not simply putting two dogs together and hoping they make puppies. It requires training, skill, mindset, a willingness to breed out the bad characterisitcs and leave in the good. It's not something the non-professional should tackle, there are too many risks. 7. These are LIVING CREATURES - not stuffed toys that can be discarded when no longer wanted. That's MY rant, hope it helps you. :D

Freebee was the lead Alpha in a wolf pack (I'm convinced of that - she is so outrageously arrogant) Pushycat, he was a shark....lol

Angel, I too think you should have her spayed, but if you decide to breed, you absolutely MUST do a thorough check on her and the male's eyes. Labs have a slew of eye problems that are genetic, including juvenile cataracts and retinal separation. I suspect Freebee may have juvenile cataracts, and she is a lab mix.

Hazel, he's going thru the first of three hormone surges he will have until adulthood. usually around 3, 6 and 9 months, as they grow, they have these surges. Providing you make him stop (gently, of course) he'll be fine. he's testing his waters around his people, and the hormone surges arent helping, but he'll be fine. :D He looks JUST like Freebee did when she was a puppy....

JC!!! did anyone read the list of dogs that they have issues with? About the only ones NOT on it are Goldens and Labs!!!!! They even foudn fault with the Papillion, which is about as sweet and gentle as they come!! I reallt hope the AKC and the BKC (sorry, dont know the official name in Britain) throw their top guns at this. That's ridiculous - what do they care what the animal looks like??? If people like wrinkly faced dogs, and dogs with docked tails (there is a purpose for that) and dogs without dew claws (they dont need dew claws anymore, they dont have to run at top speed to catch prey and dig into the ground for traction) SO WHAT????? God, these people are nuts....do they even understand why these breeding characteristics were done in the first place? :evil:

aqreed. I dont follow my own rules half the time, because Freebee is not aggressive towards me. In fact. most people dont. The only reason I made this suggestion is because this is an aggressive dog, and needs to be trained and put back in place. Once he has been demoted properly, you can relax the rules a little as long as he keeps his place. Most dogs are ok with the rules being bent, it's only when they're not that you have to be strict about it. Sorry. I didnt mean to make it seem that this is a life sentence for the poor pup, just a retraining exercise.... :oops:

Thanks Daisy, I was thinking the same thing. Maybe I'll wake up one morning and find someone has dumped a dog in my yard, and they'll be best friends forevermore... :D People have put things in my yard before without telling me, just so far no anumals....

just a thought, and an odd one at that. Check with the power company and find out what time at night they switch out the grids. We cant hear it or see it, but it causes an electromagnetic charge to come down the power lines, and animals (especially small ones, like mice) can hear it. Both dogs and cats can feel electromagnetic shifts. There might also be some company in the area (or a house maybe) that emits a high frquency tone at that time that the dog can hear, but you cant. Quite a puzzle you have here - let us know if yu figure it out. :)

Freebee runs in her sleep, and wimpers and whines. I woke her up, ONCE.....Just like you're not supposed to wake a sleepwalker, I learned not to wake a dog running in her sleep - she jumped up off the floor teeth bared and hackles up, until she realized it was me, and settled down... now I prod her awake with a back scratcher....lol :o

does he do it when you're asleep, or only when you're awake? Somethin on the TV may be setting him off (my old dog used to howl at Empire Carpet commercials) or maybe something on the PC. My old dog used to howl at night, too, although not at the same times, because he could hear coyotes in the forest preserves.... He could be hearing something you.re not, and that's setting him off, maybe a clock chiming far enough away that you cant hear it but he can. There could be a clock tower somewhere nearby that chimes at midnight, and the chimes usually last about 5 minutes....

Y'know what? He's been adopted.....I wonder if someone at the shelter knew someone who wanted him, and they kinda turned me down so someone else could have him. I called today to try to reschedule, without saying who I was at first, and they said he's been adopted. Sad for me, but at least he has a home....Their policy (in writing) is that they can refuse adoption to anyone, for whatever reason they see fit, basically..... although they put it more politically correct than that.... I'm not giving up though. thanks everyone.

could be stress from the move - new surroundings, new vet... It may take her a while to become accustomed to all the new stuff - dont judge her as bad until the next visit, ok? :D

GET RID OF THE BABY????? ARE YOU KIDDING? OOOHHHHHH....I'm going to HAVE to get online there and start raising REAL hell....I've been raising hell for 46 years, gotten quite good at it - I may enjoy this....... :evilbat: :evilbat:

actually Gooey, I was thinking the same thing. As terrible as it sounds, if she is a small terrier and carrying GSD puppies, the birth will probably be very difficult....she may end up needing a c-section early in the pregnancy before the puppies are ready.....You could end up losing both the puppies and the mother....God, what a rotten choice.....That may be why the vet wanted an x-ray...Sometimes I hate people - let her get into that condition, and then basically DUMP her? Grrrrrrr...... :evil:

Work is out - they dont allow animals in the building. I was thinking about classifieds Daisy, but I really wanted a shelter dog because they need homes so badly. I thought I was doing a good thing, and I think they are only hurting themselves by being so strict about it. I dont know anyone who doesnt have a two-working household, and I only have a one working household. How were they expecting me to pay for his medical costs and food without working? Besides, he wouldnt have been alone - he would have Freebee and the cat to keep him company all day.... Alex was fine here with her and the cat. I thought Theo would adjust too, I was even going to take a few days off to settle them in, but they flat-out said no..... I did find another shelter that has a really nice foxhound up for adoption, and I'm trying to get an appointment to see him. These are foster dogs, they live with people in homes and not in the shlter, so maybe that would work out better. He's really cute.... thanks for all your kindness about this.

couple of questions - was it the same vet from before? and assistant? did anything painful have to occur at the last vet visit - (not just shots) and how did the checkup go? is your lab sick, or ok? My lab only likes one of the vets at the clinic. She never snaps or tries to bite, but she will grumble pretty loud....And when she gets her shots I hold her head in my arms. She never reacts this way to anyone else, except the mailman....if she's not sick, the easiest solution is to muzzle her after she gets there. Some dogs just dont like the vet - It brings bad conotations of shots, blood drawing, whatever else may have happened there. And some dogs just dont like some people.... you are not a bad owner because your dog doesnt like the vet. I bet a lot of peoples dogs dont like the vet. I dont like dentists.... :D

I did some of that tonight. She doesnt like the BC mix across the way, or the mix in the next yard, I took her out for a walk and we ran into "spot", the dog int he next yard - they did a lot fo barking at each other, but nothing serious. We were in Spots yard, so thats understandable. I asked my neighbor to arrange a meet with "M illie", the other yard, under owner supervision and on lead. He agreed. Maybe this will help...I hope so. She is very dominant, so her best friend will need to be subservient...

I guess I have to explain Freebee - she was adopted from a place where the puppies were "unwanted" - most of them ended up at Shelters. My Ex did not believe that she should be around other dogs, she needed to be "only loyal to the family" (he is as arrogant as they come). As much as I argued this point, he wouldnt budge. He also wouldnt let ne take her on neighborhood walks, except during the day "because its dangerous for you to be out after dark" - I AM WALKING WITH A 70 LB. DOG - HOW DANGEROUS CAN IT BE????? Since I work all day, that left socialization to a standstill. He also found reasons to not walk her or take her to dog parks on weekends...."what if she gets in a fight or runs off?" We divorced, thankfully, but now Freebee is not dog socialized So it is hard for me to find a friend for her. Alex was brought in after he left, and they had their moments, but they learned to get along inside pack rules, and loved each other. The rescue societies are not helping me... :(

They would NOT let me adopt Theo!!! "you work full time, we only place dogs in homes where there is someone there during the day to look after them...." Theo and Freebee got along ok - Freebee was hackles up at first (as she is towards all strange dogs) but then settled down and they played! just fine!! I think the hackels threw then off, and the work thing was an excuse...I told them going in that Freebee is not real socialized with dogs (the only one she ever knew was Alex, and she loved him after getting to know him). She just needs some time to get to know them and get over her own fears.... I am SOOO upset. If all the kennels are like this, I may never get a playmate for her.... I am so sad.... :evil: :cry:

Thank you Angel - we are not a bashing board, we try to help each other whenever possible - I am surprised that petfinder would be bashing, since their charter is to find homes for animals....but thank you for letting us know. :D

Labbies are wonderful!! I have one! (a mix) the flashlight is a great game! I play it with Freebee. They need some kind of work, and this is like herding, or retrieving,...... Have fun with your Lab!!