raineth

what about an Italian Spinone?

I don't think you need to stick to little dogs only. If there's a bigger breed you have in mind I think it could certainly work out

Aw thanks Aiden2 I guess no-one likes being called a weirdo outsider just because of what they do for a portion of their day It's a bit like being called emotional and biased because your observations are based on experience, not data. ;) well ofcourse you're biased, we're all biased. What I was getting at was that its beneficial to be aware of them

They already exist to some degree Weasels - they called universities. ;) Some young folk go in to one end and never re-emerge. And they spend their lives learning more and more about less and less and lose the ability to engage with anyone other than scientists. Hell, they've even developed a sitcom about it. In many ways science is like a big jig-saw puzzle. What looks to you like learning more and more about less and less is often actually people filling in pieces of the puzzle. Sometimes these pieces of the puzzle can have effects far beyond what you would think and you've probably benefitted from many of them in your life time

do you really think people avoid your Bully because of studies?

nah don't blame corvus for that, that was me. But I genuinely just meant that maybe people didn't take much notice of the survey because they don't believe science has much scope to offer insights on anything 'dog'. I think I could be forgiven for thinking that people here are very scpetical that science can offer insights on anything "dog" from reading this thread. I know if I see a thread on something that doesn't interest me I don't read it and therefore I probably don't remember it either.

except Corvus actually thanked everyone and told them their input was valuable I think it goes more like... Dog people: we chuck tantrums when we're told stuff we don't like You really ARE trying to stir. Yay for you. :rolleyes: I'm sure Corvus is just thrilled. I don't enjoy seeing very limited data interpreted to generalise about different dog breeds. That's not "chucking a tanty". The only tanty chucking I've observed is from the author of the study in her last post in this thread. Corvus admitted most of the respondents to the survey owned Greyhounds. Seems she either didn't ask or didn't note their origins. What that's got to do with OTHER sighthounds beats me. But I'm sure that won't stop findings being published based on very little data. She hasn't "told" us anything. well if what I wrote classes as stirring, what you wrote most definitely does ;) - or doesn't it because you are echoing the majority of opinions here? I will articulate what I find disappointing about many of the reactions in this thread: I think it is always useful to consider the other point of view. We all have biases, and these biases often prevent us from seeing things as they really are. Part of challenging your bias is to neither outrightly reject or adopt an idea, but to stop and consider it. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see much of that going on here. It seems to me that the reactions have been on an emotional level. I don't see how this sort of group think does anything to benefit our knowledge about dogs.

except Corvus actually thanked everyone and told them their input was valuable I think it goes more like... Dog people: we chuck tantrums when we're told stuff we don't like

I saw it and filled it in. Maybe you peeps didn't bother with it because you don't value science. If you didn't bother with it then you wouldn't remember it.

Oh I'm excited to hear that you have a dog called Digby because My dog's name is Digby too :D I think your Digby would be an excellent candidate for food dispensing toys and clicker training

Given that some sighthound breeds weren't included in that study, most of us had issues with the generalisation. Ex racing greyhounds aren't what I'd call indicative the temperament of all sighthounds. What was the 'test'.. if it required approaching the tester for a treat.. quite a few ex-racers probably don't know what a treat is. And failure to approach may indicate disinterest, not timidity. I think Corvus had already said the majority were not ex racing greys? Corvus: The number of pet greyhounds from non-racing backgrounds is not likely to be significant IMO.

Sorry, but what research do you have to back up that statement? Reichler. I. M. (2009). Gondaectomy in cats and dogs: A review of the risks and benefits. Reproduction Domestic Animals, 44, 29-35

lol yes

Given that some sighthound breeds weren't included in that study, most of us had issues with the generalisation. Ex racing greyhounds aren't what I'd call indicative the temperament of all sighthounds. What was the 'test'.. if it required approaching the tester for a treat.. quite a few ex-racers probably don't know what a treat is. And failure to approach may indicate disinterest, not timidity. I think Corvus had already said the majority were not ex racing greys?

And if nearly all the sighthound people on here answered with - they're not - then where to from there? Does the research continue stubbornly along those lines anyway in the face of such overwhelming doubt cast over the initial question? but you can always find people who disagree with research - should researcher's throw out their work when someone disagrees? Maybe when the paper is all written and finished Corvus could give people a copy, then when you have all the information that is in the report you will be able to make a judgement on the validity of the research.

Another excellent post Aloysha Corvus, I guess if the question had been worded "Do sighthound owners find their breeds have a tendency to timidity" It would not have felt like you had reached a forgone conclusion based on a generalition. fifi well not really... because it was an exploratory question taht was based on research she had done that showed sighthounds to be lower on the scale of "boldness" having found that, why would she come on here and ask that question? She wanted to see if anyone had ideas on why they might be lower on the boldness scale - not people opinions on whether they were or not.

poor Earl How is he today?

On the positive side, neutering male dogs • eliminates the small risk (probably <1%) of dying from testicular cancer • reduces the risk of non-cancerous prostate disorders • reduces the risk of perianal fistulas • may possibly reduce the risk of diabetes (data inconclusive) On the negative side, neutering male dogs • if done before 1 year of age, significantly increases the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer); this is a common cancer in medium/large and larger breeds with a poor prognosis. • increases the risk of cardiac hemangiosarcoma by a factor of 1.6 • triples the risk of hypothyroidism • increases the risk of progressive geriatric cognitive impairment • triples the risk of obesity, a common health problem in dogs with many associated health problems • quadruples the small risk (<0.6%) of prostate cancer • doubles the small risk (<1%) of urinary tract cancers • increases the risk of orthopedic disorders • increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations This is the advantage. lol yes but desxed dogs actually have a longer life-expectancy than entire dogs and alot of the increased incidence of the diseases you have listed could be down to this fact.

hey corvus when you say guardian breeds do you mean mastiffs, rottis, dobes etc? what about Danes do you class them as a guardian breed? just curious I have seen a quite a few timid whippets and a very timid Iggy. I think Temple Grandin said there was a correlation across many species of animals in which the fine-boned ones were more highly strung, and the big solid ones were more steady.

dju I don't think there's much advantage to having them entire once they've done their growing? unless of course you want puppies, the entire ones are at an advantage in that department

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Not sure - we fed all of them out of identical ice cream containers. And Boon was always the last to be sent to his food as he was the quickest eater and then would go on to whoever hadn't finished. But they always seemed to head for the Eukanuba. I even did a swap around of positions one night and same result. Boon has always loved Eukanuba and I can use it as treats he likes it so much. I've tried Boon on Raw and he didn't seem to have the same oomph come dinner time. They were all labs so they wouldn't have had an issue eating anything to be honets. I don't think it came across as snooty. oh yeah you just have to do what works. One of my pups just didn't do well on kibble (grain issues) but the other one would be fine on kibble but its just easier doing the same thing for both that interesting that he doesn't like raw though, that's usually a favourite!

I wonder if the enticement was more about having Boonie's food Fatsofatsoman, because Eukanuba has a reputation for being unpalatable. My two are on raw but i buy a little bit of kibble for the kong wobbler and they seem to like Nutro and Holistic select very much hmm that came across as snooty, but I didn't mean it to

well I didn't comfort my dog who had a problem with storms and he now has no problem with storms. I used a Thundershirt and we took extra care to act all chilled out.

thanks for all the photos and the infor too they look and sound absolutely gorgeous!