courtnek

that's outrageous and that scene needs to be pulled immediatley. I called the nimber K, and got basically the same response you did - "Our advertising techs are looking into it. We never perceived it would be an issue" WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN THE PAST 10 YEARS????? You cant turn on the news without hearing of an APBT or a Rott being "confiscated" due to fighting or biting or whatever!! In Chicago there is a law that you have to have a special license to own "dangerous" dogs - APBT, Rotts, even German Shepherds fall into that category. A guy there had a Rott and a Pit, and NEVER ALLOWED THEM IN THE HOUSE!! They stayed outside all the time, regardless of weather (it was 9 derees here last weekend for God's sake. DURING THE DAY!!) Somehow they both managed to escape their yard and get in the house, and one of them bit the little girl. Badly. They dont know which dog did it yet, both were confiscated and the man was arrested for not having the Dangerous Dog License (what, a $100.00 fine?) My guess is both dogs will be put down now. And NO ONE seems to think it's because this guy never socialized these dogs with people? Never let them in, left them out in the cold, and the blistering Chicago heat? I have heard nothing on the story since the arrest. It's being swept under the carpet. If I was a dog, I'd probably feel like biting someone too, after being treated like that! Winters (and summers) here are BRUTAL.... Spring and Fall are the only decent seasons, and these poor animlas were left outside all the time....if just makes me SO ANGRY!! OK, sorry....I'm done ranting now....

Mouse was just teasing ya! We tease each other alot in here.... The "autologin" doesnt always work. I dont know why....Like K said just check your status before you post. And Rott, I agree completely. IMO, the reason to have a dog is to be friend, family, protector and protected....there is a responsibility here that needs addressing. Mine would love to stay out all day, but because it isnt safe and the weather precludes it they stay inside. In the spring/fall they often stay outside for 5 hours at a time (in a fenced yard) UNLESS I have to go somewhere. Then they are borught in until I come back. They LOVE their outside time, but I dont trust some neighborhood kid not to open the gate and let them out. Most of it is spent out there on weekends. Also, if they start to bark excessively or something starts to bother them, I bring them in. So yes, you are absolutely correct that this is a responsibility, not just a yard ornament. I still feel that with long outside time (I consider their 5 hours long) that a fenced yard is the best solution. AND supervision. I dont, and never will, agree that they should "live outside"...

Thanks everybody that really does help alot. My Golden Retriever was male, but very sensitive to mood. His response was to practically sit on you and stare at you until you busted out laughing! Head to the side, eyes wide, quizzical look - his expression was so funny it would cheer you up. Most people I know with Goldens say they are like that in one way or another. Alex does that too, but only Freebee has been so incessantly "attentive"....and while she wants to lick my feet, she doesnt like to have hers washed.... I work in a building with 400 people, so you can imagine the size...and I do a lot of walking to and from all day. When I get home my feet are usually very "tired"...Is it possible she knows that somehow? Their internal senses amaze me.... Thanks for all the stories. She is very lovey inside her home, and protects me, and Kyle and even Alex (He outweighs her by 15 lbs but she'll take on anyone who tries anything....lol) I just never had a dog with a "split personality" like that before. :D

Because they smell like YOU and the people she loves. I had a dog that used to steal stuff, and wouldnt give it up without showing teeth.... She is insecure, and steals stuff that smells like the people she loves. Maybe take something that smells like you, a towel, a tee-shirt, and put it in her bed. Make sure she has a bed of her own, and then give her something to keep in it that smells like you.... She just wants to know that you're there... She may be feeling insecure when you're gone.... A doggie bed with a "smell" will help her. She wont feel so alone...

yea, she's a lab mix - we're just not sure MIXED with what..LOL None of my male dogs have ever been so "motherly" - if she was sweet under normal circumstances I would say that's just her nature, but she's NOT... SHE is the dog I would rely on to protect me from an invader..... She is not real "lovey" to strangers, or anyone she doesnt know. SHE would take out a burglar... but inside her family, her tendencies are to love, lick and heal.... Maybe she is mixed with a dog type that is very loyal? Her loyalty seems to take the form of a "mommie dog" who wants to take care of everybody in her family....I wish I knew what other kinds of dogs went into her makeup - I believe she has some German Shorthair Pointer in her , because of her coat, and her pointing tendencies..are they very "lovey" - I've never had one....I love to rescue dogs, but it makes it harder to figure out how they behave.... It's really weird having a dog that will show her teeth, get angry, take out an invader. and then 5 minutes later want to "fix" any problems you have..... she (and Alex) will attack the window when the mailman comes by....and then she will be licking your hand if you hurt it.... A friend of mine at work once said "I wouldnt want to meet HER in a dark alley...." and he was correct. So I'm still confused about her loveiness... I think her loveyness is just towards us... but I'm still curious.

Freebee is my first female dog. She does things i DONT really understand... dont know if it's her, or female-dog related... She is like a MOM...she gets upset when people argue, she tries to calm everyone in a tense situation, she LICKS WOUNDS!!! on her people. You have a pain, you rub your back, she's there trying to lick it to make it better.... You raise your voice, and she whines and gets between the combatants (my male does that too) You cut yourself, and she wants to lick it to make it better. Is this just her, or is it typical of females? I cut my finger slicing chicken, she insisted on smelling it and then tried to lick it better.... I said "DAMN!" after it happened and she was there in a heartbeat, wanting to lick it better.... She licks my feet whenever she can. She seems to want everything clean, no wounds, no stress... Is this typical???

Good Job!! some dogs react fine to regular carbs (mine have cast-iron stomachs, nothing seems to bother them) but others dont. My post was just to educate people who may not be familiar with the symptoms of high or low blood sugars, that's all. A lot of people I know werent even aware that a dog could become a diabetic. So I was just suggesting watching for the symptoms because of that. Do you feed your dog all people food alicat? I have a friedn who raises bloodhounds and gives them his own special mixture of people food only, so I was curious..... :)

I dont know about that one....I have given mine Provologne and Fontinella (very "smelly" italian cheeses) and it didnt seem to hurt them....

p.s. excessive urination is also a bad sign, along with excessive thirst. If your pup has to drink/pee constantly, take her to the vet and have a blood work done up.

Hope this helps. You were discussing starch vs. anti-starch, and saying it made your dog spacy and hyper.... This is a not-so-good response to carbohydrates. I'm diabetic, and dogs can become diabetics too. It has to do with what carbs do to your blood sugar levels. When you (or your dogs!) eat sweets, or carbs, the blood sugar levels rise VERY quickly. If the pancreas is not reacting quite normally, they can go too high, which will cause the spacy and/or hyper activity. After the carbs have been broken down, the blood sugar suddenly drops like a rock and the person/dog may become sleepy or lethargic. Some people the carbs have no bad affects on (except weight gain) and in others just a little too much can push them over the edge. If your pup is responding better to a no-carb diet than I would leave it that way. There could be a pancreatic/insulin issue going on. I'm not saying that a carb diet is good, or bad, it just depends on the dog. My doctor's nurse had a diabetic dog in the office all the time. They had to give her (the dog) three shots a day. I'm not saying your dog is diabetic, but the possibility of borderline is always there. The no-carb diet could prevent any issues from happening, if your pup responds better that way. Just keep an eye out for the above symptoms. :)

She'll be ok. My freebee girl actde just like that. She was kinda dazed and lazy the first night, then stiff the second day. I think in some dogs the anesthesia has different affects. Check her stitch site every day, make sure it's not getting "angry looking", (redder than it was when she came home) or swollen. Other than that, dont let her chew on it. I let Freebee lick hers a little, but no teeth. If you let her set her own pace, she'll be fine. If the site starts to look redder tho get in touch with the vet. Alex acted like nothing had happened! He was bouncing off the walls an hour after he got home, but that's not as major of a surgery as spaying is.

so does my son!! LOL :D what's with that?

RACING? SNOW RACING? OK, I HAVE to know all about it! I watch the snow race they have on TV every year... Interon? Interbod? I cant remember the name, but I watch it anyway!! I feel stupid, but I HAVE to know! That is SO phenomenal!!! I keep thinking of the story of the Alaskan snow dogs that ran the cure for a bacterial disease to the outposts of Alaska and saved kids lives... PLEASE tell me what you are doing!! Iberon? grrrrrr.... I cant remember the name!!!

You are welcome, Daisymom! Hope that helps. Dogs are different than us, and respond to different training - she'll be OK once past her fears..

Alicat is actually correct. The things that soothe human babies (kisses, cuddles, "everythings fine") dont work on a dog. When they hear that, they assume that you are saying they are "good" for the behaviour you want to stop. It kinda reinforces itself. And becomes a vicious circle. It's in our natures to soothe when someone/something is upset. The best bet was the earlier suggestion of distracting the pup with something it likes, and then making the noise. Does she like to play ball? throw a ball and move the chair. It will probably fail the first few times, but over time she will come to associate the noise with good things, and then they wont bother her anymore. There was a story I read once about a dog that simply stopped eating - period. Would not take any food from her bowl. But if you put her outside she would eat ravenously. It turned out that a baby gate left lying against a wall had fallen on her while she was eating, and now she was afraid of her food bowl being in that spot. They fed her outisde for a while, then brought her bowl in and put it in a different spot. While she was eating, they dropped the baby gate ont he floor. The first few times she startled and wouldnt finish eating, but after a while she got used to it and then things returned to normal. They made sure to leave the baby gate in the closet after that! It;s usually the little things that cause the most trouble... So if you find something pleasant for her to do while making the noises she doesnt like, you can train her with "positive reinforcement" to not be afraid anymore....Hope that helps. :D

I got Freebee as a puppy shortly after Jarvis died. I did wait a month or so, because I wasnt sure what kind of dog I wanted, but for me the healing process was much faster with another pet. I am so accustomed to the sound of dog tags jangling that the silence was really bothering me. I went to shelters, saw a lot of dogs I liked, but none of them "clinched" When I went to see Freebee she was already doomed to be a resuce dog. The owner was trying to sell the puppies as "purebred German Shepherds (with long floppy ears???) and I laid it on the line that I knew they were NOT. She gave me the pup for free, which is how she got her name. 5 or 6 of the 9 pups ended up on shelters. I managed to get three of them adopted out to people who wanted a dog. And all of us who got them love them dearly. I'm rambling, I know, but my point is for some people another dog soon after a loss helps the healing process. I hope your dad finds the "perfect pup" for him and your family.

Thank you for the update!! WE dont eat well either, obviously... I give my dogs rice and lamb formula, which guarantees real rice and lamb, and I also give them some leftover people food, whicn I prepared and know what's in it. the canned food they get (a small amount in each meal) is only to "spice" the dry food, and to give them some fat which makes their coats glossy and weather resistance... They are labs and have no real "winter fur" - so keeping the coat glossy helps protect them from Chicago winters....

They are remarkably silly, arent they? My golden used to round the corner, head into the kitchen, slide on the tiled floor and slam into the stove... Watch her head for any swelling - Also, if she'll let you, push on her head in various places and see if she has any pain. (gently of course) If you notice any pain, let the vet know right away. She may be disorientated because it hurts, but she doesnt know how to tell you that. My thoughts ajnd best wishes are with you!! :D

:o What IS it about cheese? It makes my dogs insane too, and every dog I've ever had or known will just slobber for it! Did we create a bunch of culinary monsters? - LOL they wouldnt get cheese in the wild.... I would go with the "watch"concentration too. I had to stop rewarding mine with cheese for the same reason. Now they get it only if they do something super-special-good, like snarl at phony Animal Control Agents....

this is a poem I wrote for my golden long ago I hope everyoe likes it. TO TAURUS Are you orange or are you gold? Are you new or are you old? Eyea of brown, smile so wide, love of all, no divide... Runaway, and soon return, lies on porch, "When WILL you learn?" I just want to run and play! I will never go away! Feed me! Love me! Give me treats! Pet me! Rub me! I like sweets! All I want is to be me and know that you wil always be... Here with me! Here by me! Loving me as I love YOU! Friends Forever, always true! You and me, Me and You!!

RAW, but GOOD! says alot about the state of some poor pups. I hate to see them in that state, so maybe posting will make a difference. I wish I could adopt them all!!

I have plenty I can give you - what are you looking for? specifics please...

Male beagles are okie dokie together - like stated earlierl they are pack dogs and actuallly like having each other around. They were bred originally to live together in large quantities. I got this info from a friedn who breeds bloodhounds - all of his males get along just "peachy". (sometimes Mark is so strange...lol) You cant neuter the sire due to contract, but if "issues" arise you can alter the other male, and any issues will disappear. There usually arent any though. The sire will take the place as "pack lead" and unless something really odd happens, the pup will accept it. Just look for untoward aggression from the pup, if that happens have him neutered. But Mark sayd "not likely"...and he both breeds and shows his dogs.

PICTURES! If you can get them - like when he's left outsode - take a picture witht he time you took it and then another of the yard if you can catch them takgin him in. On the back of most new camera photo's theres a date and time stamp. can you see him crated up in the house - through a window or something? If so, get a picture. When you have enough evidence, turn it over to the police - you can do that anonymously - and they will contact animal control. It's not much, but it's about the best you can do under the circumstances. and you're right - a Jack Russel is not the dog to have if you want him to lay around and be quiet all the time!!

Definitely three times a day for a puppy, but be VERY careful about following the "recommended" guidelines - if the dog is very active he'll need more - it not, then less. I would give him 2 1/2-3 cups day for now, and watch his weight. Increase or cut back as needed. As he gets older he'll need less, of course, but he needs "growing" food now. A puppy should not be allowed to be too thin - (or too fat, for that matter) everything they're eating now is going into muscle and bone development His weight will be your biggest guideline in how you feed him watch his coat as well. If it starts to dull or fall out excessively, that's a tell-tale sign that the food is wrong for him. (taking into consideration the spring and fall shedding seasons) Hope that helps!