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I grew up with labs and lost my last two to old age a few years ago. I am done with them you get to attached to a dog that is so in tune with people. I switched to a Border Collie. Perfect blend of a great companion and a working dog. Smartest animal i have ever owned. With working breeds like herding doags you have to be very particular about which individual dog you choose if you want a pet more than a working dog. On trick i have found for any type of dog is to lay flat about 15' in front fo their kennel. have them turned loose. the beterr pets will come to you first. They will express less dominant in the pecking order characteristics like licking uor lips etc. The more dominant dogs will lay back and act like dominant dogs.
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I have a Black Lab cross that is just the best. We got her from a shelter, and think she was abused-she was 6 months old and afraid of men. (But she loves my husband and son now) Not dominant in the house with us, but won't let any other dog get out of line. The neighbor's dog tried to take a bite out of our daughter a few years ago, and she intercepted it and disciplined it good. She is getting old now, and we will soon have to put her down. The kids want another one, but I'm not sure.
The trick though is to make them part of the family. Like kids, a firm hand is needed. Our dog wasn't allowed on the furniture, but she does it at "Grandpa's House" all the time. She doesn't leave the yard without us. Never used to even tie her, she knew where the borders were, but now her brain is a little fuzzy, so we have to tie her out.
Dogs are social animals, and when we choose to keep one, we are it's pack. If you tie them to a chain or kennel them, and don't spend time with them, they never learn the boundaries, kinda like children.
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A couple years back we adopted what turned out to be (we didn't realize it at the time) a Boykin Spaniel. He was easy to train, loves to go pheasant hunting. (after hunting we me a few times, he suggested my name should be Rusty, not his) He is a sweet gentle dog around the house. No too big, not too small, this guy has completely won our hearts.
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>They will express less dominant in the pecking order characteristics like licking your lips etc. The more dominant dogs will lay back and act like dominant dogs.<
When you live and work with dogs you learn a whole new way of communicating. I learned about pack instincts. When a dog licks your face especially your lips and mouth he/she is looking to you to fulfill a basic need...FOOD weather he/she is just trying to get a treat or is really hungry takes a little investigation. This behavior comes from the mother wolf eating food for the pups and carrying it home and regurgitating it for them to eat, of course it was a competition at the mouth of mom. With domestic pets its just instinct coming thru, not an attempt at dominance.
>a firm hand is needed.<
A firm hand is never needed, what is needed is called the three tenants of dog training: Patience, practice and knowledge. IÂ’ve learned more about my job from the dog than I did the instructors in K-9 school. You canÂ’t listen to them so you have to learn how to read their body language.
Did you know if you have dog that crosses itÂ’s front paws when it lays down thatÂ’s a sign of intelligence.
If you really want to see some of the most incredible dogs in the world rent or buy the video WAR DOGS itÂ’s a documentary about the dogs that have served this country in the military.
I was part of the fight to get these wonderful animals the memorial they deserve and participated in the demo that dedicated the one at Ft Benning GA. Here is a link to the memorial web site. http://www.war-dogs.com/ this is another http://www.uswardogs.org/ http://www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/backspace/1818/
Sorry for rambling but this my soft spot and if you get a chance to watch the video make sure you have a box or two of tissues around I know Marines who could not watch it.
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Procrastination is the assination of inspiration.
Gary
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Cerberus. Just toss him a piece of cake and he calms right down.
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Well...........
I have two Rat Terriers (purebred w/papers, if I ever send them in). I am ready to sell them. They are brothers. Good enough dogs, I guess. But one is a sissy and unfortunately is the one who seems to want to hunt. The other is the Alpha and shows very little interest in hunting. I don't really have the time they need to become well disciplined dogs.
I am getting rid of my rabbits too. I will stick with my bees and my chickens.
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It's Not The Destination, It's The Journey. We Cannot Change The Wind, But We CAN Trim The Sails.
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We took in a 13 year old Husky about a year ago, figuring she'd be old enough to have lost some of that sled dog energy, if she has we can't tell. She's nice, but I will not have one as a house dog again. The "talking", the drifts of hair... But, even coming into our house in her teens, she's learned the boundaries of the yard(we live in town) well enough that we can take her out without the leash and not worry.
We also took in a 140# Rott.(maybe some Mastiff or Newfoundland?) about 9 months ago, he's definitely a lifestyle more than a pet. One of the first changes was a child lock on the refrigerator. He never showed any interest in it when we were home, but the first day we were gone for a few hours, there was an empty ground beef package on the floor when we got home. Also some lettuce, but he just opened that and left it lay. Then there was the time I went to brush my teeth before work, and came back in the kitchen to see him staring at the ceiling, halo glowing for all to see, then I noticed the plate on the kitchen table was missing half a pizza! I swear I had it back from the edge a good two feet... And even though he came in at the age of 8, after his owner locked him in the garage and skipped town, he's bonded tightly to the two of us, when his snoring gets to me at night and I try to sneak out to the couch, I can't even doze off before that big bowling ball of a head is plopped down on my chest, and if I stay on the couch, he won't leave to go to his bed, arthritic hip be danged!
[This message has been edited by dcross (edited December 08, 2004).]
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Dalmations Just love all the spots http://www.beesource.com/ubb/smile.gif There great dogs but you have to stay with them or they can get out of controll.
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cockapoo ,no shedding, smart as poodle ,goodlooks from cockerspanial, about 25 lbs,very trainable
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miki is that war dog memorial next to "iron mike" at benning ? there is a chance we might go through benning when we demobilize and if so i will try to check it out.
watched that kid's movie "babe" over leave and the 2 sheep dogs in the movie where great. amazing how well they worked but the pig took the show.
i always thought a sheep dog was that "mop" looking dog?
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I have beagle,lab,terrier cross she is a little hyper but smart and can climb any fence. great dog. had full blood lab puppy given to us, he is huge not 1 year yet and already pushing 100lb, very mellow though still a little bit puppy. you should see the mix about 50 lb but still the boss.
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Ok, have to throw in my 2 cents on this one. It has to be a yellow lab. Lost my old girl a year ago Dec. 6th. She had more love and affection to give than you could imagine. Smarter than most of my friends. She was 12 years and 2 months old when she died.Have her daughter, also a great dog but a bit short of all that her mother was. Labs are just the best!! Karl
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i consider my dog about as good as they get,she's smart,loyal,good guard dog,tuff,good tempered.she's 1/2 great pyrenesse and 1/2 golden retriever,got her from the pound.
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If I had to choose, the bees would go LONG before ANY of my dogs. They ARE family!!
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I have a Golden Retriever, Jack Russell, and a Red Bone Hound. The best has to be the redbone. She has very short hair, is low key, great with kids, and eager to please.
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Had two goldens out of field stock (breeder was out of Longmont Co) We hunted pheasant throughout the mid-western states.. If I were to do it all over again, I would take a good look at the vzslia
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If you want a good companion dog, get a Golden Retriever. I have a 6 year-old female that I got as a 10 week-old puppy, and she is the smartest, most loving dog I have ever seen. She was raised outdoors, but is thunderphobic, so now she stays indoors. She has never had an "accident" inside and has housebroken herself. She loves to perform her tricks for people.
She will not kill anything on purpose (she has killed a quail once and a rat once, playing with them) but is definitely NOT a good protective watchdog. She greets all people, strangers and friends alike, at the door with her tennis ball in her mouth. She simply loves everyone, and is a great companion. She loves to ride in an automobile, and 'pouts' if I leave and don't take her with me.
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The war dog memorial is right across from the museum. Was a long hard fight to get it led by a Vietnam war vet Jesse Mendez and some of his old scout dog handlers. These dogs saved thousands of lives and were credited for finding many a downed pilot. Today they are known as "The Guardians Of The Night". Sorry for the delay I have not checked here latley.
