The Dog Thread

[swingdjted]

Oh my lord I want to be there! Maine is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. If I were there, I'd be in and out of that lake all the time too. In long enough to cool down, out long enough to catch fish from the side or from a boat.

[rockouthippie]

It was 85 degrees here today. Collared BB. Soaked BB with a hose. Soaked me with a hose. Usually "shrinking" from a bath, you could tell she thought "that was nice".

So did I

[rockouthippie]

Here's me flying a kite at the beach with giggle... a couple weeks ago.

[swingdjted]

That may be the first pic I have seen of you. It looks like the dog wants to be the one with the kite. I'll try to get some pics to post soon.

[rockouthippie]

BB wanted to be anywhere on a beach with a couple thousand people on it, rather than have me tell her to "STOP!". Earlier in the day, she came about as close to actually catching a gull, as any of my dogs has ever gotten.

She got her first dip in the sea. She got her butt kicked by a Weimeraner. I got the first razor clam I've had in years.

BB is very non violent. The Weimeraner was another bitch just showing BB her place for a quarter mile BB is a tease. Teased a dog that could actually match her speed.

I said "Stuck your nose where it dint belong huh".

LOL

[rockouthippie]

All grown up and 58 lbs. I must feed her too good or something.

[Widdykats]

She looks in TipTop Shape! ♥

[swingdjted]

There is a huge walnut tree at a family member's house. When I have Azor there, I like to take a big plastic ball-bat and hit those walnuts into the woods or into the hayfield so that their lawnmower doesn't break windows or dent cars with them. Azor crouches down until the bat makes contact with the walnut and then right then, he charges after it. It's pretty funny the way he looks when he's waiting for me to swing:





He collects the ones he catches or finds that I've hit and drops them all into a pile on the edge of the yard for some reason; I'm not quite sure why. Sometimes I'll go there and hit them again to the opposite side of the yard, but then again, he still brings them back to where ever he started the pile before. The pictures are blurry because I wasn't really paying attention to the camera, and it was zoomed all the way at 12x optical.

He gets tired after all of that since he's getting into his senior years.

[Widdykats]

^ 'Cuz it's HIS ballies! That's so cute.

[rockouthippie]

He gets tired after all of that since he's getting into his senior years.

Dogs sleep a lot anyway. They go all out for a bit, then they take a nap.

[Widdykats]

I friggin love that picture!♥

[rockouthippie]

Considering I used an iphone 3 and not a camera, I think I agree. The low light graininess almost helps. I did correct the white balance w/gimp.

[Widdykats]

^ It looks like a Painting! Vey nice.

[swingdjted]

I liked the photo, because it's less important to consider the quality of the photo and more important to consider the quality of the photography.

[rockouthippie]

You can take good photos with an inferior camera. The rules are the same. There have been a lot of times that a better camera would have gotten a great picture when the cheap camera fumbled.

Take this iphone 3. 3 megapixels. No zoom. The image sensor is pretty decent. It's pretty quick on the snap. You have it with you anyway. Reminds me of the 640 box brownie I had as a kid.



Sometimes I just pretend it's a camera......... One thing I noticed. When you don't have a zoom, you get closer. When you get closer, you can see better.

[Widdykats]

^ Oh, they're talking.....how cute....♥

[rockouthippie]

It's kinda funny. We run a lot with a bike, so I bought her a harness. Might as well take it easy on her neck sometimes. There was a conversation of sorts. BB was showing off her new blue thingy.

Somehow walkies get even better when we wear our blue thingy.......... We love the blue thingy....

She'll probably start demanding Valentino Garavani.

[swingdjted]

Originally Posted by rockouthippie

Reminds me of the 640 box brownie I had as a kid.

I had me a brownie when I was a kid, but she sure wasn't a 640 box...

[rockouthippie]

The one we had had used 620 film. It took pretty good pictures as long as they were black and white. The color correction sucked. The frame was 56X70mm, so you could contact print the negatives.

[Widdykats]

Originally Posted by swingdjted

I had me a brownie when I was a kid, but she sure wasn't a 640 box...

^ That's just wrong!
Dogs like new collars and such...But, I hate "dressed-up" doggies. You know what I mean. Ewww.
psst. BB, from Blomingdales....For all the chic doggies it's a Must Have

[BestAffiliate]

I currently have 3 cats, but giving some thought to getting a dog. A local puppy mill was shut down, and there are a lot of puppies that need good homes. The plan is to 'browse' though I know that means I'll probably be coming home with a pooch - I'm a softie.

[Widdykats]

^ Good for you. You might like to see This

[BestAffiliate]

Yeah, it's a fine line. A lot of people want particular breeds, but don't much think about where they come from.

Personally, I have found mixed breeds to be smarter - particularly German Shepherd mixes. As a kid, we had a German Shepherd/St. Bernard mix that was brilliant and particularly protective of most of the kids in the neighborhood (there was a bully she obviously didn't care for). We could tell her to do something, something we never taught her, and she would do it. If the shelter happens to have a German Shepherd/St Bernard mix I will definitely have a puppy come Monday.

[rockouthippie]

I've seen real animal abuse. I think "Madonna" needs to go back to college and get a job... This points out that most people are operating within the law. It's people that aren't operating within the law that are the problem, not people who make a buck raising puppies.

Most of the intentionally bred dogs I ever ran into were just fine.

It's rescues like my last three... Morgen, Daisy and BB, from private hands, that give a guy pause. Nothing screws up a dog like getting beaten a lot, being starved and being full of fleas and worms.

This would be outside the law. It doesn't need "Madonna".



This is my neighbors "puppy" (at least 120lbs and growing). He gets my vote for "Goof of the week". He's really a big wimp and sweet. He's also really loud.

I found this in my youtube account. It's Daisy about 3 years ago... sniffle

[Widdykats]

I would suggest you see the whole documentary before you judge her. The USDA decides what is legal for puppy mills. Their standards are lower than my bank account. She does great work. See the Whole Documentary before you say that, and if, a dog lover like yourself, sees the conditions of the "legal" mills you'll throw up.

[swingdjted]

Originally Posted by Widdykats

^ That's just wrong!

It felt right at the time! I was the naive one - it was her idea! I swear!

Anyway, Azor is sound asleep, and if he farts again in here I'm going to kick him out. I had to run a fan in one door and another fan out the other door to get rid of his last biological warfare attack. I don't know how the hell he does it - he just eats a mix of about 3/4 cheap dads and 1/4 expensive alpo. Despite this simple diet, he still can drop some real stink bombs while laying down every once in a while. Is it an old age thing? He's maybe 5-6 years old, so not overly old.

[fc*uk]

Dude, you ought to smell what my dog gives off on a daily basis. Sometimes it's so bad he move as well.

As for rescues and dogs getting beaten; mine is a poster child for that horror. Tonight I finally learned he trusts me with a vacuum hose attachment; he does not bark at me, which means he knows I am not going to beat him with it. Most stick like objects have fallen into that category anymore.

It's been 2.5 years since I got him. There is always hope. He's a Pitt too and was days from being gassed. Shame really. This breed really is little more than nanny dogs case in a bad shadow by the media at large. I don't think I ever going to own any other breed of dog after him and realizing the need of rescue this breed.

[Widdykats]

^ All great dogs fart. It's in their "Handbook"!

[rockouthippie]

3/4 cheap dads

That has happened to me a lot of times. I don't use canned dog food. I do use better grade dry food. Daisy would become Farto - the magnificent in the presence of chicken.... either chicken bones or in dry food. If I used Costco lamb and rice or Purina Dog chow, she would have no problems. Any dog food containing chicken and you'd get a biotoxic attack.

Farting a lot means they are eating something that doesn't agree with them. Feed them something else. I've never had this be a continuing problem. Hot wing bones were the only thing that would make Daisy raid a trash can. She knew too. I'd say "Are you FARTO?" She'd slink to the back door and wait for the storm to pass

The feed might not even have to be much more expensive. Just different. Try a different brand. I think sometimes dogs are allergic to something in a given food. Change the food, lose the farts. It's always worked for me.

One thing that can be helpful when you get a dog with a sour stomach is yogurt. Give them a cup of plain white yogurt with some oatmeal. The yogurt culture and oats settle their insides down.

He's a Pitt too

In the hands of decent people, a Staffordshire Terrier is just a good sturdy dog.

I would suggest you see the whole documentary before you judge her.

Like I said, I have not seen much problem with dogs people intentionally bred. She paints this as some terrible conspiracy by Pennsylvania Mennonites to be overtly cruel to dogs in total. I don't buy it.

[Widdykats]

^No, she doesn't. She presents Puppy Mills as awful, which they are. Her area happens to be that area where there are a huge amount. More from other sources Oddly from another source many articles on Amish and Puppy Mills and Dog abuse http://www.religioustolerance.org/amish8.htm
From one article
"Nine dogs in need of 'immediate care' were taken into SPCA custody as a result of the search, humane society officer Lawrence Woltz said. Some were matted with dried feces and urine while others had rashes and skin diseases, he said. Woltz showed a video recording of the farm taken on the day of the search. It showed dogs living in cramped wire cages, kennels overflowing with feces, urine and matted hair and drinking water that was bright green in color."

"Most of the cages did not have boards for the dogs to rest their feet from the wire and some dogs were chained outside with no shade, he said. 'It’s pretty clear what you’re operating is a factory — for dogs,' Butts told Lapp as she pronounced sentence. 'If you need to grow something to sell it, don’t grow animals, grow vegetables'. ... Woltz said that the 'stench was overwhelming' and the cages were 'overflowing' with feces and urine."
That's horrible
And From The Humane Society Of The United States]

[rockouthippie]

The courts seem willing enough to jail, fine and grant civil judgments against bad breeders. Most of these breeders have a license. Most of them haven't been jailed or fined. The ones that don't get busted as they are detected.

One proof that this is activist skulduggery is that an attempt has been made to change the zoning laws to prohibit breeding dogs. Not that you were breeding dogs illegally or inhumanely..... just that you were breeding dogs.

Get the bad guys without trampling innocent citizens. It's like breed banning. Some idiot always has to go flying off the deep end for a cause. I'll bet more than a few of those evil Mennonites do just fine by their dogs.

If you go to a pet store and buy a dog, if the puppy looks sick and like shit, don't buy it. DUH

I have a hard time believing that the Mennonites sold 200,000 puppies that looked like shit. You could probably point at a few hundred cases of severe abuse. You could point to people that went to jail too.

Problem solved. Go back to college and get a real job.

[Widdykats]

^ You just don't get it. You didn't read a dam thing from the Humane Society or ASPCA or anywhere...so this is pointless... And as for jobs, what she does is very worthwhile. Some of us do nothing .Nothing at all.
And these are not breeders, these are Puppy Mills

[rockouthippie]

I am all in favor of shutting down puppy mills. The cops do it every day. I draw the line at saying that every farmer in Pennsylvania that raises dogs is a monster. Puppy mills are a real problem. Let's deal with it as a real problem instead of grandstanding to make a political point.

It could be as high as 10% of the breeders that are a problem. It's not all of them. If you read anything about this you'd note that a lot of the serious problem breeders in Pennsylvania have been put out of business by law enforcement already.

This is about a 5 year old issue with a few now busted individuals at the crux of the matter.



"He said BATH..... I think I'll just hide in the bushes.... maybe he'll go away"

[rockouthippie]

Radar BB:

BB could get me a ticket. The local cops put up a radar speed sign, and the puppy in tow on my bicycle pulled me through it at 27mph. It's a 25 zone. I was waiting for the blue lights.

[swingdjted]

Usually I've had very good luck with dogs (and very bad luck with cats) when it comes to baths. Throughout my entire life, I've always had dogs that loved water of all temperatures, regardless of the season, meaning they'd swim in a pond, even if half of it was covered in ice. When bath or shower (hose&scrub) time came they'd love it. It's to the point where if you pre-fill the house bathtub for yourself, you have to keep the door latched or they'll either drink from it or jump in, splash around, then run all over the house shaking.

[swingdjted]

Thought this thread would be a good place for this:

[rockouthippie]

I think all dogs like baths when they are over. Cat's, not so much. A handy way to handle cats is to wrap them up in a heavy towel. Once they figure out a bath is not going to kill them, they mellow out. Handle kitties a lot. They get to trust you. At least enough to give em' a bath without bleeding. That's why a towel is handy. Once a cat decides to fight, you aren't gonna talk them out of it. Give up. If they are "squished", as in a towel, they don't get up to full blast.

I think for cats and dogs, a bath is an important thing. It sort of goes along with being able to handle them if they get hurt. I've had cats that would kill a nutria, ride a dog like it was the rodeo and then cuddle up on my lap for some love.

[swingdjted]

Most of the time I have never really had a big need to bathe a cat since they're so OCD about cleaning themselves. They seem to stay cleaner on their own than the dogs, even when I'm scrubbing the dogs down. About the only time I would fight a cat to give a bath is when they get into a fight with a skunk. That's only happened twice with a cat that I can remember. I've had at least three (maybe 4, can't remember) instances with dogs and skunks, and one instance with my last car and a skunk.

[rockouthippie]

I usually bathe and groom cats once a month, just to keep them used to getting handled.

I just gave BB a bath. She is even getting good about staying in the tub until I tell her to get out. If you can train your dog to do that, you'll save a gallon of water on the floor.

[swingdjted]

They (the dogs) don't mind staying in the bathtub, but when they get out they still seem to drop a gallon on the floor, even if I tried drying them while still in the tub. For that reason I usually just hose&scrub with a shampoo-water bucket outside, unless it's exceptionally cold.