hortfurball

I never used to visit this forum so I'm sorry I didn't see this thread until now Ruffles. I'm so sorry you lost your beautiful girl. I know how it feels and I'm crying with you. She was absolutely gorgeous, I just love the photo you posted of her with her face on her paws. for your loss and heartbreak.

So sorry Kirty, you've had a bad time of it lately, losing Phoebe and Rex so close together. Huge hugs to you. Run free beautiful Phoebe

That was my guess too. Haha! You are SOOO dreaming! Oh don't they just love the towelling! Their whole bodies just waggle with joy and they shove their faces into the towel after they've wriggled their way out of it. Kuges used to actually knock me over he'd push his face so hard into the towel! I would be crouched on my heels so easy to knock off balance - I learned to kneel instead! Ella talks in moans and groans when she's being towel dried and I've never seen her smile so wide, although she detests being bathed with a passion! That supports the tension/stress relief theory - if he loves them, no need for zoomies. They've probably had time to calm down by the time you've finished blow drying them, either that or Clyde's follicle idea has merit. Maybe it's a combination of tingly follicle feeling and stress release?

Faytiges, regarding most of your post, in particular the bit I bolded above, this is such an emotive issue that it's hard to see the wood for the trees sometimes. I understand your passion, but your idea is only part of the solution. Puppy farms and unethical 'suppliers' (the big puppy distribution warehouses like PP and some pet shops) are the main reason for the thousands of unwanted dogs that end up PTS every year. Accidental BYB litters and breeders selling pets without a desexing certificate would be such a small drop in the ocean as to be almost irrelevant. The real culprits are the puppy farms and INTENTIONAL BYB's, and these people will never willingly desex their dogs. Getting responsible owners to desex their male dog is somewhat pointless when it comes to lessening the numbers of unwanted dogs but it can help with three things - behaviour (in some cases), accidental litters and it will make the chances of testicular cancer impossible.

That was hilarious, what gorgeous and very patient dogs! Nice 'golden retriever' I was a little worried a couple of times that the Broholmer was going to lose an eye to the fork though.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? I'd say the majority of dogs that end up in rescue are entire because the sort of people who don't train their dog, and give up on it as soon as it shows one or two common puppy traits are the sort of people who wouldn't take the responsibility of desexing their dog. I know what you are saying, and yes it is possible, but the same argument could be used for vaccinating a dog. Most rescue dogs are not vaccinated, therefore not vaccinating must contribute to making them the sort of dog likely to end in rescue. Unfortunately I think it is the nature of the humans, rather than the dogs, which is the problem when dogs end up abandoned at the pound. Except for the unwanted litters of puppies, and the dumped pregnant female (like that was SO her fault) most are 6 months to 2 years, that age the rest of us tear our hair out as we attempt to shape our dog into what we want. The people who dump seem to think that a dog should be perfect from the day they get it and behavioural problems are solely the dog's fault.

I'm another who hates extenda leads with a vengeance. The problem with them is that they are like a part time leash. If your dog takes you by surprise and runs, they have no effectiveness whatsoever until you click the lock, and I have heard so many reports from people of the locking mechanism not working. There is an elderly gentleman who walks his grumpy little sh!t of a dog every day at our local park, on an extenda leash. The first time I saw him (from a distance) IElla and I were walking with another park regular who warned me that his dog was not friendly. The first time we actually encountered him, Ella and I were jogging on the path and he was sitting on a bench with his dog on the extenda leash. I presumed he'd lock it when he saw us coming...silly me His dog lunged, Ella veered left, yanking me sideways and jarring my back, I gave the man a filthy look and we continued on our way. Second lap I slowed to a walk as we approached the old man on his bench and we did a VERY wide arc around him (giving him a filthy look the whole time.) Since then when he sees us coming he gathers in his dog if they are on a bench close to the path but I'm still always wary and never go past him at a jog, only a walk.

You have misunderstood me(as I think you have the rest of the world) the way you hate is unhealthy, it is quite sad really, as I'm sure at some stage in your life you were a child. What happened dear, what makes you hate the child within? If you don't talk to kids, how are they supposed to learn the right way to approach a dog. Wow, who died and made you the all seeing one? I thought your therapy comment was bad, but this post is incredibly rude and judgmental. You have absolutely no clue about what Fuzzy thinks, so where do you get off suggesting s/he has misunderstood the rest of the world? So many times we use the word 'hate' when what we actually mean is 'don't like'. I have said that I hate kids in the past, but I don't mean that I HATE kids, it's just a way of letting people know that there's no point in persisting in trying to get me to appreciate their wonderful/cute/funny child anecdote. You are in no position to call Fuzzy's attitude unhealthy or sad, and this sentence: "What happened dear, what makes you hate the child within?" is extremely patronising, and it's Fuzzy's business whether s/he chooses to educate other people's children. You ask "How are they supposed to learn?" Perhaps if the parents did their job, the children would know the right way to approach a dog. Well done for being one of the responsible parents, but I have to question your last few comments. I'm sorry but I think that people have the right to respond as they wish, not as everyone else wants them too. Sorry if the best outcome for the education of the child is not at the forefront of my mind. As a dog owner, my only responsibility and concern is my dog, and making sure my dog is happy, comfortable and not placed in a position where he/she might do damage to someone. Ok Ella would probably only lick a child, but I don't want her to ever be scared by a fast approaching, badly behaved child and change to a timid dog that may snap. Kuges was approached full pelt by a toddler when he was about 18 months old and when the child flung both arms around his neck he delighted the child (and me) by licking him from chin to forehead! The horrified parent was not so delighted! The toddler was too quick for me, I'd had little experience with children and didn't know they could move so fast nor could judge his intentions so just as well Kuges handled it well. However, fast forward 5 years after him being tormented by a neighbour's children and there may have been a VERY different outcome. Thankfully by then I was better prepared, but in a worst case scenario it could have been quite nasty, so IMO the child should have been a) taught by his parents and b) under parental control. It was at an animal expo, there were dogs everywhere, and Kuges was 40 kilos! No wonder the parent nearly went white when they saw what their child was up to. This is not a fair ask from a stranger who may not like or understand children. I don't have kids. I don't even know at what age they begin to walk or talk, let alone at what age they understand. We 'non-child people' don't know that if a child is old enough to ask, it's old enough to understand. I can see this scenario going horribly wrong, with the 'but WHY?' response coming out, and all this going on with the child a mere lunge away from the dog's space, or the child perhaps understanding part of the answer, but not all, because I have used words it has not yet learned. Just because a child can ask "Can I pat the doggie?" does NOT indicate that it will understand all the implications of your "No, he's scared of people he doesn't know" To me, this says "He might bite if you do" but the child won't necessarily be old enough to make the connection between 'scared' and 'bite' and I am in no position to judge the development level of your child or anyone else's. Having said that, I did usually address the child, whilst body blocking and glancing at the parent to make sure they were listening and would interpret if necessary, and drag their child out of reach the second they got the implication that it may have ended in a snap if pushed. Kuges was actually fine so long as the children were calm, but I have seen children get overexcited in a millisecond so I preferred not to let them pat him just in case they unaccountably started waving their arms around and yelling. With Ella, if we're approached the right way I'll encourage interaction with children, because she likes them, but if I can't be bothered, I can't be bothered, sorry parents - it's kinda like non-dog people. If only they were all like that! I think you handled the situation just fine, and were completely entitled to your rant! As you said before, show the same respect we give them, and everyone is happy. Edited for clarity

x2 If the guy refuses to back off, either walk in the opposite direction if possible or drive Echo a block or two away and walk him from there. This has the double benefit of getting him used to short trips in the car. Mix it up a bit though so he doesn't always associate a drive with walks or he could become excitable in the car - not a desirable outcome. Sometimes walk the other way, sometimes drive a few blocks, park and walk, and maybe sometimes just go for a half hour drive with Echo, it will stimulate his mind rather than his body...fresh smells and sights!

Poodlefan, I don't think prey drive can be considered in the case of this dog as he is a large boy. He may indeed have trouble with other entire males if he stays entire himself. Dog shows are a different world. Your average owner doesn't have a perfect example of their breed, most of them are probably byb and there are a lot of mutts around. A realistic estimate of those who know how to correctly train their dog? Who knows? I think DOL represents a small portion of dog owners, and even some of us struggle. In my experience, having had a large entire male, if I could do it over, I would have had him desexed. 1. Other large entire males seemed to always go for him, to the point where he ended up reactive/fear aggressive. This probably had a lot to do with body language. It could be nasty for an elderly man to have a fight on the end of his leash but if Browny's body language is good and he seems to get on well with other dogs this may not be an issue in this case. 2. Bitches in heat did affect him. Sometimes he would howl and he always moped and went off his food. This was a real issue for me in his later years when I needed him to eat so he didn't throw up his heart pill. 3. On the few occasions he did get out of the yard, he was off! I don't know enough to say whether this was directly a result of being entire but it's likely. 4. He developed testicular cancer in his later years. It didn't kill him, but it was too late in life to desex as he already had the heart condition, In addition to causing him some discomfort, it was unsightly. 5. As Spotthedog pointed out, registration cost about 5 times the amount for an entire dog compared to a desexed dog. I have no experience with pound collection fees.

Ella has a dobe coat and is a complete wuss in the cold. She wears one of her coats almost all winter, even during the day, has a doggy futon with fluffy blankets on it, then I tuck her in with a soft baby blanket and throw rug over the top. If she gets up during the night and leaves her blankies somewhere else in the house, I'm woken by a shivering dog trying to climb into bed with me. Sometimes it's easier to just lift the quilt rather than get up and try to find her blankets. I buy second hand human quilted vests and then amend them to fit. Have also made a polar fleece one for her (first one I made and a bit of a failure) and have another couple to make for this winter.

What a great friend! I sense a cute, single DOLer in his future. :p

Kyliegirl, you haven't mentioned pats, stroking Echo or cuddling. How is the physical connection between you? (That sounds so wrong but you know what I mean :p ) The studies on dogs reducing stress in humans (and also the dog) are based on patting/stroking the dog. I bonded instantly with Kuges but it took a while with Ella, it was a slow burn connection that only made it to 100% when she was about 5 years old. Very similar to Jacqui835's experience - she would retreat from cuddles (which always confused me as Kuges was always a snugglepot) or wriggle so that it was impossible to cuddle her. She has been called the doggy equivalent of an ADHD child by one vet and so many times I just wanted to say to her "Chill out you silly cow." Instead of being a calming influence, her restlessness exhausted me and put me on edge. We joke that she's 9 going on 2, not much of a joke as everyone who meets her thinks she's 2 or 3 and can't believe she's 9. She was a bit of a daddy's girl which also didn't help, she always seemed pleased when I came home, but was overjoyed when he did, whereas Kuges was the opposite. I personally think she believed there wasn't room for her, that she wasn't really 'mine'. When the relationship ended and there was no 'daddy', just me, it was almost instantaneous. A few weeks after he moved out her devotion switched to me and I felt the change. It was like the penny dropped and she went "Oh, I'm yours!" The bond between us is quite different to the calm, placid, strong and unfaltering connection with Kuges, it is powerful and vibrant, much like the dog! When I met Kuga's eyes, it made me smile and I could feel my expression soften. When I meet Ella's eyes I want to laugh and jump for joy. BTW, she cuddles now, with the same mad exuberance as everything else, so it's more grinding her forehead into you than snuggling.

Ummm, that argument only works if you are not the first to give a 'smack to the head', otherwise I hate to tell you this, but you are the antagonist, yelling or no yelling, which was kinda my point when I asked "Are you for real?" Escalating to physical violence just because someone yells at you is NOT ok.

I grew up with an English shepherd, then a mutt, then a cocker spaniel. Always adored Irish wolfhounds and great danes, somehow very attracted to most of the giant breeds for some reason, perhaps because as a toddler the English shepherd seemed like a huge cuddly bear of a dog. I researched the breeds that would suit, poring through dog breed books but ended up with crossbreeds in the range I'd been looking at, both lovely dogs but very different to each other, which has taught me that I'm quite flexible when it comes to what kind of dog I can handle energy-wise. Many, many breeds appeal to me based on looks - borzoi, afghan, siberian husky, Finnish lapphund, aussie shepherd, BC, newfoundland, gordon and Irish setter, pharoah hound and no doubt a few more I've forgotten. The fluffy/silky breeds unfortunately I will never own, much as I love them, I'm just not a dedicated groomer. I also love rotties and pretty much all of the mastiff group but am not sure if I'm the right owner for all of them. I have since gone off wolfhounds and deerhounds slightly since meeting a few and discovering their fur is a bit harsh/wiry to touch - kind of spoils it for me. Still love the look of them though. One day I will have a big lovable doofus Great Dane, that's an absolute certainty, and after my falling for my nutso kelpie x dobe, would also love a dobe or two. Really adore the sleek glossy coat and the temperament, while a little crazy, is absolutely adorable. I also find black and tan or red and tan dogs very appealing. OH likes black labs so might have to squeeze one of them in somewhere along the line. Lately I've been finding the greyhound appealing too...maybe my retirement dog? I might be less active by then and suit a grey better.

Dogue de Bordeux - the French Mastiff

;) ;) "If I can't see it, it's not really there..." Cute pics. Silentchild I also find it really cute. I wasn't sure what response I would get to this thread - whether all dogs wink or whether I had the only weirdo winking dog but it seems to be something that some do and some don't. Sometimes they time it SO well! "Now you be good while I'm out Ella" *wink* WOOF WOOF WOOF "Quiet!" WOOF "I said quiet!" woof "You always have to have the last word don't you?" woof *wink*

I'd rather be thought of as paranoid and breedist than put my dog in danger. Hey do you think if we try hard enough we can include every possible scenario in this one thread?

The first few times it happened I thought I must have been seeing things, but Ella definitely winks! This photo isn't a fluke (puff of air/sun in eyes). Just occasionally she winks.

Can I just point out that the OP has admitted to not realising her dog should have been on leash, has responsibly called the council and found out the rules and is now fully intending to leash her dog from now on unless it is a designated off leash area. It is a different poster who called certain breeds horrible and doesn't see why her dog should be leashed. Nice post Poodlefan!

So what you are saying is that you are too lazy to obey the law. You have three alternatives that fall within the confines of the law: 1. Walk her for 40 minutes and then find some other activity you can do at home such as fetch so that she can self exercise while you simply throw the ball. 2. Walk her to an off leash area and let her run around there. 3. Drive her to an off leash area and let her run around there. I'm not sure there are many dogs that need four hours of exercise per day on top of what they do themselves though. Perhaps you need to exercise her brain more than her body, or are feeding her too much. A very good point, it's a risk that's simply not worth taking. So you are assuming that the man was of sound mind and assuming that he had an alternative route. There is a saying about assuming, and I always remember it before I make judgement calls. You are so missing the point! You know the history because I just told it to you. Nobody knows this man's history so who are we to determine whether he had a right to be upset or not? My history was merely an example of people appearing angry when scared. Nicely put Megan I feel the same, even though Ella is 25 kilos and Kuges was around 40. The size of the dog doesn't make a difference, I don't want to have to deal with a fight, and I don't want my dog hurt. Edited for clarity.

Those who are saying "It's ok to have the leash off so long as the dog is under control", can we define 'under control'? Because I'll guarantee we end up with a whole array of different interpretations, some of which would horrify those of us that don't like to be approached by off leash dogs when walking our own responsibly on leash. There have also been comments along the line of walking dogs on leash because we have to as we have no control over our dogs. Ever think that this may be due to a string of circumstances that all started with an off leash dog? I'll be the first to admit that I can't let Ella off leash because I can't 100% trust her around other dogs, but the initial cause of this was another dog that the owner swore would be 'absolutely fine'. I'm sure they thought they had adequate control over their dog, after all it was a working farm dog so highly obedient, didn't stop it having a go when it met a strange dog though, and the result, unfortunately, is that I can't even take Ella to off leash parks and I get shirty when I see an off leash dog approach in the on leash areas we are limited to. Once when Kuges was set upon by a large black blur that hurtled suddenly out of the dusk, when the owner arrived, grabbed his dog and dragged it off Kuges I yelled and screamed and swore and abused him for having his dog off leash because yes I was scared, I hadn't seen it coming. Nothing the owner said was getting through until my BFF yelled my name and managed to get my attention long enough to explain that the owner was apologising and that his dog had broken it's chain, and that I should calm down and we should move on because the owner looked like he was starting to get angry with me for abusing him and she suspected if I continued that he'd let go of his dog's collar. Oops. I managed to apologise for ranting and we moved on. So yes, people yell, scream and swear when they are scared, whether it's warranted or not.

Yep, he was completely over the top, but some people here are claiming to have intimate knowledge as to what was going on in his head, and I'm just trying to point out how completely silly that is. This thread has brought up everybody's issues with off lead dogs and I don't know whether you've noticed, Kels, but threads on DOL have a tendency to run away with themselves. I'm not suggesting his behaviour was ok or acceptable, but that we have to allow for people overreacting when we don't do exactly the right thing and we don't have all the facts or know their history. For all we know this may have been their very first dog walk after a long rehabilitation following a previous attack on his dog. Would you look at his behaviour differently if you thought that might be the case? Would you then think "Well ok I didn't realise I was doing anything wrong but in hindsight I can see how traumatic that must have seemed to you"? We don't even know if the fellow has some mental/intellectual disability that affects his behaviour. My point was that we don't know enough to judge the man or his state of mind at all, only his behaviour.

To me it's irrelevant. People whose dogs would kill another given the opportunity are so far at the end of the spectrum that they don't even come into consideration in this kind of situation as it is an absolute given that they should never ever be allowed off leash under any circumstances. They are not the ones who ruin it for everyone, the ones who ruin it for everyone are the ones who don't respect the law, and don't respect other people's right to walk without being harassed or worried by other people's dogs. This was completely uncalled for. Simply saying 'no offense to people who own them' is NEVER going to remove the offensiveness from such a comment. If I owned one of these breeds I'd have the serious Sh!ts on over this comment and would be extremely offended. Well said! Nobody has said that it is acceptable. Most of us agree that it was over the top and could have been handled better, but that he would not have felt a need for it if the law had been followed in the first place. Were you there? Did you witness the situation? Did you ask the man how he felt? Clearly, you are in no position to make a call on whether the guy was scared or not - perhaps he had to walk past quite close to them to get home.

Off leash dog - overreaction - yelling - overreaction - smack to the head. Are you for real?