Elbie, Hoover, Dodge & Friends!

[dandybrush]

raz's mouth is all pink, yet he got right into it the 1 time he's been put near sheep/goats

[Max#1]

Well there you go! That theory blown straight up!

[KumaAkita]

Kuma has a black spot on his tongue, does that count?

He won't retreive in public, only at home. He herded the cows at OH's Pop's Farm, but had no idea what to do with them next

[koalathebear]

First the posts. Yes ouch. You can't help but read some things and get worked up to reply. Til I saw the thing about Riewolt. He's a handsome devil, and does stand out as an exemplary example of the species. All I can do is shake my head. But KTB, I empathise with your sentiments. I actually wrote out a longer post, then deleted it. Hmph.

Sigh. There are so many times I bite my tonguepaw and tell myself not to respond to certain posts that get me heated up. Then I normally inflict my frustration on my poor OH as he has to hear me discuss a topic in which he has no interest. I guess all people want different things from their dogs. For some, they are a status symbol, for some a beautiful work of art, for sort a companion, for some a watchdog, for some a substitute child blah blah. The list goes on. I think I am just frustrated by the inconsistent logic that the same people will jump up and down and say that it's ok to breed a dog for appearance and conformance to standard and be harsh on flaws (when you wouldn't do that to humans) because it's wrong to compare a dog to a human but will also say that they see a dog as a beautiful piece of artwork because in my mind, a dog is more human than artwork because it's a living, breathing creature. Because it is a living creature, in MY view, what truly makes it beautiful is the personality that inhabits it - flaws and virtues all mixed in together as one whole being that I love. For me having a dog is about love and love looks through the heart (and chemicals) and not through the breed conformation and when you trot a dog down the road, unless you're a hard core Dog Person, chances are the appeal of a dog will be an emotional one rather than a rational: "Ooh, excellent withers and gait" response ...

At the end of the day, this is a purebreed forum and I and my doggies are only here under sufferance so for the most part I should just pull my head in and shut up.

But! If there was an example of an excellent specimen of the species - Niques those photos of James are very striking. He looks good. To put it bluntly. (And I am not an expert, but still). Like an energetic, fit, shiny little puppy!

Awesome, awesome segue from an unpleasant topic to a much more pleasant topic. James is adorable and clearly enjoys possessing the Power of Flight.

Don't be humiliated about Max's offlead bolt. At the BBQ on Sunday, Elbie was by far the noisiest mutt in the bunch. He sort of settled down but while everyone else's dogs were tethered up quite nicely, Elbie was barking and whinging. Not the whole time, thank goodness but enough to be conspicuous. Also, I set my cup of Fanta down on the edge and Hoover trotted along and knocked it over with his snout. My fault for putting it close to the edge but Hoover's fault for then trying to lick it up :p

Luckily for me, one of my park friends is oh so good. He's so helpful, and while his methods are definitely not dol-approved (I leave it to all your imaginations!), they do work. God help us for the next few months.

Alpha-rolling or hat-swatting? Farmers swat their dogs with their hats.

Hoover also does fly catching. He sprawls out on the lawn and snaps at the air. It's hilarious to watch. It heightens his Snapping Turtle impersonations which are already a hoot.

betsy: That is such a shame you don't have fenced dog parks. Elbie and Hoover have very good recall of late but I haven't really tested it and would never, ever trust either of them offlead in a public area. I've just known of far too many dogs killed by cars or running after kangaroos and never being found again I met a guy walking a mini poodle the other day and he said that his friend had a dog with excellent recall. They went to the bush, the dog had never seen a kangaroo before so was fascinated and took off like a shot - never to be seen again. :D

dandybrush: I love those photos of raz - particularly the last photo where his thoughtbubble seems to read: "Woe. My human has put me in a novelty t-shirt."

I think because Kuma has such a neutral temperament, many dogs try to push him one way or the other to see how he'll react. Then if they don't get the reaction they were after, they keep pushing. That's why we put him back on lead, I don't want it to escalate to the point where he becomes aggressive.

He and Satch certainly had a lot of harassment from smaller dogs on Sunday although I think he's always very easy-going around Hoover and Elbie even though they can be little brats sometimes. OH was very impressed with Satch's efficiency - a raised lip and a tiny growl - that was enough to tell Elbie to back-off

We also had a Keeshond when I was little. We moved from the country to the suburbs and she wasn't adapting well. My parents sent her to live on a farm. I always thought that was the usual code for her dying or them having her put down. It was only a few years ago that the subject came up at dinner with my parents and I discovered that she really DID go and live on a farm :D and she lived until she was 15!

This is actually a very, very beautiful story! How gorgeous that she went to real farm instead of the Great Kennel in the Sky Farm.

wuffles: I have never heard that story. Poor you! Evil Koala wishes that she could have witnessed it, (1) because it would have been so funny; and (2) because I can't imagine Satch being that active! He's just so good with his 'stands'. ;)

I've seen a few dogs bolt at dog school and no one seems to mind or write the owner's name in a Book of Shame ... Even when dogs growl or seem quite snappy, OH and I figure that the owner is doing the best he/she can and is being responsible by bringing them to class. I'm always sure that every owner there has something about their dog that makes them feel a bit sheepish

A small dog had a go at her a little while back and she actually retaliated for the first time (just by raising the lip and a little growl), and she's also raised the lip at a few dogs if they get in her face. And she tried to run away from one of the dogs at the reserve this morning! Not sure if it's a fear period as I think they can go through one at around 12 months. Or it may just be that she is maturing and doesn't want to tolerate as much anymore... she is definitely acting more like an adult than a puppy these days

Weirdly enough I was thinking about this last night/this morning. Ava's always been such a bouncy, happy dog and I've never seen her growl/show lip or actually even bark. It must have been a bit startling when it happened the first time.

Last night, I had a similar experience because Hoover is extremely quiet - he rarely makes noise. The dogs were eating lamb flaps - which we feed at the same time but separately i.e. the OH stands watch over one dog and I watch the other to make sure of no food fights. Elbie finished his first and started heading towards Hoover. Hoover growled at him twice - proper growls. I had never heard him growl before and it was quite bizarre. I reached down and picked up the lamb flap and Hoover let it go and looked at me with his usual placid expression. I gave it back and OH apparently held it for Hoover while he ate it and was sitting and stroking him as he ate. Normally Hoover's quite kittenish and affectionate and hearing a growl was very weird albeit normal.

*

It occurs to me that as dog owners we deal with a lot of gross things. I already find it weird that dogs get fed pig's ears and I had a pang of guilt as I fed roo tails to the doggies. The dogs love these little liver lickable treats - sort of crispy jerky. I mistakenly bought this pack the other day:

I assumed it was just the pig version of the jerky. When I got home from walking Elbie, a bemused OH was standing there holding a soggy thing in his hand that Hoover had been gnawing on for the last 15 minutes.

Pig snouts. Poor pigs. Not only are they eaten and their trotters and ears cut off, they also have their snouts cut off!!! I could barely bring myself to touch them because I kept thinking of the poor noseless pig.

Finally, putting a collar on Elbie used to be a pain because we had a buckle up leather collar that sometimes took forever to do up and he'd get bored and restless and then not want it on. We switched to these great utility collars for both monsters by Rogz. Elbie has a red one and Hoover has an orange one and they're so great and quick to put on. No more hassles putting a collar on Elbie anymore.

OH and I have a running joke that Hoover is evil, especially when OH is holding Hoover in his lap i.e. if this was a movie, Hoover would be giving me evil looks from OH's lap that OH couldn't see and brainwashing him because he looks so cute and puppyish.

ETA: Not being naughty and posting from work. Am home today. Slept horribly last night and work up feeling really awful so stayed home :p

Edited November 29, 2010 by koalathebear

[dandybrush]

ktb:

[Niques]

Are we talking just the tongue or the whole mouth? Fully pink tonuge but I think (I feel guilty making him open his mouth for me and try to make it as brief as possible for him ) that he has lots of black/grey discolouration on the roof of his mouth. Pretty sure he'd be a useless herder - "Sheep. Sheep!! Come play with me, Mr Sheep!! Pleeeeeeeease?!?!".

But! If there was an example of an excellent specimen of the species - Niques those photos of James are very striking. He looks good. To put it bluntly. (And I am not an expert, but still). Like an energetic, fit, shiny little puppy!

Awesome, awesome segue from an unpleasant topic to a much more pleasant topic. James is adorable and clearly enjoys possessing the Power of Flight.

Aww, thanks, both of you. James is quite convinced that one day he will take flight. There's a little bit of Dumbo in him.

Also, I set my cup of Fanta down on the edge and Hoover trotted along and knocked it over with his snout. My fault for putting it close to the edge but Hoover's fault for then trying to lick it up :p

Resourceful puppy! James likes to curl his head around and surreptiously lick glasses left on the coffee table - heaven forbid he learn to actually tip them over!

Pig snouts. Poor pigs. Not only are they eaten and their trotters and ears cut off, they also have their snouts cut off!!! I could barely bring myself to touch them because I kept thinking of the poor noseless pig.

That's certainly interesting! I figure that by feeding the dogs these things we're just improving the efficiency of the meat industry - the whole animal is being put to use (what with lamb ribs and other strange bones, ears, snouts, hooves, tails, etc.) rather than just what's fit for human consumption.

Did Hoover like the snout? James never seems to enjoy dried things like that so much - he's had a pig ear and dried roo tail once or twice and he eats them (Duh - he's a lab ;)), but it never seems to be with enthusiasm.

Hope you're feeling tip-top soon, KTB!

[koalathebear]

Did Hoover like the snout? James never seems to enjoy dried things like that so much - he's had a pig ear and dried roo tail once or twice and he eats them (Duh - he's a lab ), but it never seems to be with enthusiasm.

Hoover liked it but he didn't have time to eat it - just licked it until he was soggy. Then it was Hoover's turn for a walk and so OH gave the soggy pig's ear to Elbie, turned around for a moment, turned back and Elbie appeared to have inhaled it. Our two love dried food but we have never given Elbie a second pig's ear because when he was a young puppy, we gave him one and the dog farts were not only toxic, they seemed to last for hours!!!

In other news, OH called me to the kitchen and I was bemused to see that while Elbie was waiting by the kitchen door, Hoover seemed at almost eye level at the window. Turns out he was sitting on top of his outdoor crate which we are using as his kennel.

Through the screendoor:

Through the window. We have called him a kangaroo before, this is proof!

Although it's raining, the puppies were outside for part of the rain - to toughen them up. They have shelter but still whinge a bit.

[Max#1]

Although it's raining, the puppies were outside for part of the rain - to toughen them up.

What? The hat-swatting didn't work?

But I like the way that you think! Someone has mischievous written all over their face!

[Clastic]

Through the window. We have called him a kangaroo before, this is proof!

"Ew.. the ground is cold and wet"

[ravenau1]

Niques Yes, we are all prepared! I think there are only a couple of things left to do, but I can't remember what they are! OH has a list :D

Love those pics of James, he's just gorgeous. My OH is a Lab man, he drools over black labs constantly

The whole puppy food vs adult food thing confuses the heck out of me too, and I don't even have the dog get :D

KTB My OH is the same about the dryer. He comes from almost Canada ( :p ) - Michigan and it's the same there. The only things I ever saw on a line to dry were towels after people had gone swimming. They use dryers for everything, though at his house it was a gas dryer, not electric. I think it's a habit because of the fierce winters there, anything on a line in winter would be snap frozen. He's been here 4 years and he's still getting used to the fact our winters aren't the same. At the beginning of the month we went away for a weekend to somewhere it was quite hilly and the place we were staying was at the bottom of a very steep road. He remarked that the road would be hell when it was all iced up :D Not much chance of that in WA!

Hope you're feeling better

Clastic Did you get the shirts from Threadless? I love them just bought the fox shirt and The Horde ('cause I have a thing about Zombies ) the other day

http://www.threadless.com/product/828/Foxy/style,shirt

http://www.threadless.com/product/2059/The...rls/style,shirt

I also love their hoodies, but I couldn't justify a new one when it's currently 40 degrees outside

Max#1 I think they all go through that terrible, 'run away and never listen to a word you say' phase! I remember my Mal went through a stage and he was so horrible I began to wonder what awful thing I'd done in a previous life to deserve this sort of punishment

My cat, Jinx has a black spot on her tongue, I wonder how she'd be with sheep? :D

Dandybrush If I knew how to make the emoticon with the lovehearts in it's eyes I would! What an amazing looking dog!

[koalathebear]

Dandybrush If I knew how to make the emoticon with the lovehearts in it's eyes I would! What an amazing looking dog!

Aha! I can help with that one. It's this one - i.e. the love emoticon :D

[Clastic]

Clastic Did you get the shirts from Threadless? I love them just bought the fox shirt and The Horde ('cause I have a thing about Zombies ) the other day

http://www.threadless.com/product/828/Foxy/style,shirt

http://www.threadless.com/product/2059/The...rls/style,shirt

That fox tee is awesome! If only it came in a different shirt..

Haven't gotten any yet.. I am currently trying to decide which ones I like the most! I have 12 shirts and 1 hoodie in my cart at the moment!! Need to narrow it down, my budget is not allowing for $435 worth of shirts. LOL.

[lilli_star]

Although it's raining, the puppies were outside for part of the rain - to toughen them up. They have shelter but still whinge a bit.

It poured rain here today all day. I woke up at 6:20am and it wasn't raining, got changed to take Roo for a walk, and it started to pour, and pretty much stayed the same for the rest of the day. As you know, Roo has a garden shed that has her kennel in it as well, but I felt so guilty this morning because the rain was blowing right into it :D I moved her kennel over a bit, gave her her frozen Kong, Buster cube and bone (half of a half of a shin bone, but with most of the marrow scooped out) and had to go to work Since she's destroyed all of her outside soft toys except for her beloved Cow, I was hoping she wouldn't turn on Cow. Thankfully, she managed to keep herself occupied. I stopped at the supermarket on the way home to buy a tarp to rig up somehow at the entrance of the shed to shield it from the rain a bit, but the only tarps they had were MEGA! As in 6 m long! I bought it anyway (not realising at the time how big it really was!) and when I got home, my next door neighbour stuck his head out the window to say hello and to tell me that his beloved older dog (she who guards the fence) now has cancer in her jaw :D She had a growth removed near her bottom a few months ago too. So sad. He loves her so much. I think they lost their other dog earlier this year too. Their boy GSD (Ruby's best dog friend) is helping to heal that hurt, but it is going to get worse again.

I then went to try and be all handy-girl like, and, well, failed miserably! At least by this stage the rain had slowed, but (what fun!) the wind picked up, so here I am wrestling with the biggest blue tarp in the world with Ruby running around me. Then I decide (after cursing myself for not even owning a ladder!) that I should cut it, so I lay it out, and Ruby comes flying past and takes off with it! So there I am, standing in the middle of the backyad, not sure whether to laugh, cry, swear or throw something at the dog. I managed to wrestle it off her and went back to try again- lather rinse repeat a few times, and I'm stomping my foot in frustration, but at least I have some of the tarp on the roof of the shed with bricks on top. My neighbour must have been watching me (and no doubt pissing himself laughing! :p ) struggle and bless him, came over with his doglet to help me out. Ruby and GSD boy had a great time wrestling and playing bitey face, and NDN attached the tarp for me. I hope it works. Of course, now we've done it, I bet there's no more rain! :D

Ruby loves pigs ears and deer ears. Shame they don't last as long as they did when she was only a baby puppy though! I don't think I'd buy her pig snouts though... :D

[ravenau1]

Dandybrush If I knew how to make the emoticon with the lovehearts in it's eyes I would! What an amazing looking dog!

Aha! I can help with that one. It's this one - :p i.e. the love emoticon :D

Yay! :D (hope that works!)

Thanks KTB

Clastic Did you get the shirts from Threadless? I love them just bought the fox shirt and The Horde ('cause I have a thing about Zombies ) the other day

http://www.threadless.com/product/828/Foxy/style,shirt

http://www.threadless.com/product/2059/The...rls/style,shirt

That fox tee is awesome! If only it came in a different shirt..

Haven't gotten any yet.. I am currently trying to decide which ones I like the most! I have 12 shirts and 1 hoodie in my cart at the moment!! Need to narrow it down, my budget is not allowing for $435 worth of shirts. LOL.

I got the fox shirt in a lower neck in a lighter shade of orange I also have a hat with fox ears that I wear when it's cold, and a headband with fox ears that I sometimes wear around the house when the mood takes me :D

lilli_star Glad you got it all sorted eventually! Sounds like Ruby had an awesome time :D

[koalathebear]

Learn from my mistakes fellow DOL-ers and do not feed your puppies pig snouts (photo above) or pork pate liver crisps

Hoover has been letting out the most silent and deadly of farts all evening and OH and I are in severe discomfort.

I am not kidding. The stench is horrifying.

The sweet little doe-eyed puppy loves them so but he's not getting another one for the sake of our noses. :D

Edited November 29, 2010 by koalathebear

[Primedogs]

Dandybrush Razzle is so handsome, did you get that shirt from a doler

KTB Hoover looks so calm and cute all tucked in, and elbie just as cute in his santa outfit. Poor abused dog having to sit on his kennel just to keep his little paws dry

Hering about those smelly farts made me think of my first dog, he was fedded the dredded supermarket sometimes pal food canned and dry. While he looked good on it no skin issues though looking back at photos when he was older he could have mabey ost a little weight, But what came out of him at night after dinner was just horrifying he could clear a room in seconds so I can sympathise and hope hoover stops soon.

Max#1 what fun he must have had running off lead in the rain, hope the rest of the christmas party was fun otherwise. And don't worry about the running off a lot of people have to experiance it.

least once a class or if not more when we were repeating transition in the 2nd half of the term I semmed to have to try and to get deakin to come back to me, this was when he discovered that if I wasn't holding the leash that ment he could run off. Luckily we were the only class in our paddock so we weren't interrupting other classes. Like max he didn't come when called even though he can do it fairly well in a dog park and when we are doing recalls in obediance. Also on the day of the test he decided to provide a little bit of comic relief and celebrate with the dog in the next ring on finishing the test (I am just glad they had finished other wise I would have felt even worse for interrupting what would have been their stays) It happened when I had to take off his lead to complete the second half of the individual test and got told to put the lead on the ground, I lined him up at the start peg and was about to leave him when he made a break for it and grabbed his lead and off he ran, and when he has his lead in his mouth he knows that I don't have it and so can't control him. I ended up catching him after a while when I threw some food at him then pounced on the lead to the cheer of the crowd, luckily he is a bit dim so he kept on trying to grab at it so he could run off rather then just running off. I felt better as the guy in the class above me with the celerbrating dog couldn't simply call his either and after the hilarious actions of last terms transition test it was held in one of the proper fenced in padocks so it was only me and deakin and the remains of the other class packing up after the stay and he couldn't get to far.

lilli_star

Of course, now we've done it, I bet there's no more rain! laugh.gif

isn't that always the way, sound like ruby had a fun time, and how kind of your NDN to come over and help

ravenau1 ooh how exciting that there is less then 12 days till you get your puppy, sorry can't remember if you said do you know which puppy is yours yet and have decided on a name, or is the breeder still choosing

About black in the mouth deakin has a fairly black mouth, he occasionally has black spots on his tounge, and black above his teeth and is fairly dark on the roof of his mouth. He has never been given a chance to herd and probably never will as I'm not sure about how he would react with the sheep, if would attack or herd. He does occaionally point though which is fairly funny to see.

Watson on the other hand is the one I would like to test with herding once his a bit older to see if he can do what his breed was bred to do, has a practicly all pink mouth.

[dandybrush]

thanx guys yeah i got it from wagsalot - I think thats their name im biased :D but i think my boy is gorgeous too

[koalathebear]

lilli_star: I know that Renegade Ruby and Big Blue Tarp is a Serious Story and must have been frustrating at the time but gosh it would have been funny to watch a cute, squishy lab racing around like a pork chop with a blue tarp sailing out behind her like some sort of doggy super hero. Also, we didn't buy the pig snouts on purpose! They misled me by calling it a 'chew'

Today is rainy and it is having its usual effect on the monsters. Neither of them really want to go outside and they definitely don't want to toilet This morning I had to drag Hoover out of his crate and he makes these little grumpy Tauntaun noises as I haul him out of his crate. Then he dashed back towards the crate so I had to pick him up (and he's getting heavy!) Then in the kitchen he tried to bolt back up the stairs. ;) After we got outside, he bolted into his outdoor crate so I had to haul him out of that. The crazy thing was that the little monster was busting judging by the duration of his Mega Wee!!!! OH has been having similar Toileting Woes with them all day!!

On a random note, I am so, so, so happy that the this thread has never gone the way of this thread.

[ravenau1]

KTB: I'm very wary of dried chew treats now after reading all the dog fart info seems a lot of people have the same problem!

We are going to visit my parents for a week in January, and there are a couple who own a farm that have a holiday house across the road. Whenever they are there they bring their two farm dogs, working Kelpies with them. They are both lovely dogs and very well behaved! They get walked for 2 hours twice a day when at the house though :D I will get some pics for you when we go down, being that you are a Kelpie person. You talking about the hat swatting reminded me of them

I meant to ask a while ago, I am curious about something if you don't mind me asking. I remember you talking about Elbie not really liking to play with other dogs, and that you were really pleased that he liked playing with Hoover. Has the experience of playing with Hoover made him happier to play with other dogs now? Or is Hoover a special case?

I don't blame the dogs for not wanting to go out in the rain hehehe! Not much of a problem here at the moment, or anytime really, as it doesn't seem to rain in Perth anymore.

Primedogs: The breeder is choosing our puppy . Though I did grow up around a couple of Dobes that belonged to family members I don't have experience with working line Dobermanns, which our girl is (though I do have experience with 'difficult' high drive dogs) so I am perfectly happy with the breeders choice The only preference we had was for a female black and tan, though our breeder had no problems with giving us a male as she believes we could handle one, just we wanted to start off a little 'easier' for want of a better way to describe it ;) We haven't decided 100% on a name yet, but Astrid and Kandosii are the two front runners. I think it will probably be Astrid though

[Primedogs]

I feel sorry for her and Hugo, a nice thread turned into an argument.

Now some photo's for the photo thread. As its holidays and I aam still getting over my cold I have been working on a puzzle thanks to reading KTB's puzzle thread.

yesterday - the poor abused souls

Today - deakin sleeping on helping with the puzzle

And just to show its done, the finished puzzle well mostly finished as its missing around 15 peices