Just thinking

[01XJLIMITED]

Very interesting post. I have known many of the breeds refered to, and have seen them all act both gently and aggresively. The Wmrnr is a big puppy, and will launch himself off of the dock into freezing water to chase a tennis ball, and will swim till exhausted. I grew up with many different Shepards and all were trained by beating - not something I agree with. One of my favorite dogs was a West Highland White Terrier - one of the funniest little dogs I ever knew. Had free reign of an acre or so of fenced property. Make no mistake about it, this was his turf. I found fresh kill on an almost daily basis. Rabbits, geese, squirrels, burried up to their necks, or just their hind quarters sticking out of the ground. I guess he was saving them for some future meal. I actually watched him catch and ring the neck of the biggest squirrel I have ever seen, face covered in blood, walking around with his trophy firmly hanging (still very much alive) from his muzzle, until he was satisfied that my brother and I acknowledged him. He then shook his head so violently that the squirrel was dispatched in about 2 seconds. Yet, he was so attached to his squeeky toy that he would wander around soft mouthing it all day. He cleaned and treasured that rubber toy for 15 years! I never had to replace it once. He was quite at home on my boat also. He would patrol the gunwales around my boat constantly, even when under way, until a fish came aboard, then he wanted his piece. Pie was one tough little dog.



Gorgeous dogs...

[/QUOTE]

This is defiitely one of the most handsome dogs I have ever seen.

 

[XJ Dreamin']

OMG....If I only knew then what I know now :doh:


About 3 years ago, my wife and I picked up a Basenji from a rescue. We THOUGHT we did our homework and knew what we were getting into.
The Basenji (meaning "little deer"), also known as the African barkless dog, is quite possibly one of the oldest known breeds of dog. They are the fathers of Egyptian Pharaoh Hounds, and many other smaller sight hounds (greyhound, whippet, etc..)
The breed had almost died out here in the states and in the seventies, owners groups began to trap wild Basenjis and import them to strengthen the breed stock. Kirby, our basenji, is a descendant of one of those wild dogs.
While we absolutely love Kirby, trying to train him has an uphill, losing battle. If its small and white...its eaten. Paper, TP, socks, underwear, birds, and insects. All fair game for him. I've seen pictures of peoples homes when they left a Basenji alone, some examples have over $10,000 in damages.
Thank God, Kirby is not one of those those ultra destructive dogs, but then again we NEVER leave him loose in the house alone. Now days he's calmed down a bit and I think he treats us as members of his pack. But, the one thing I can NEVER do is let him off leash.

Here's one of his sleepier moments..

After I rescued my SE Texas cur from the woods I had to up my apartment deposit to $450. I walked away with $125 and considered myself lucky to keep that. She chewed three holes in the carpet (one time pulling a masonry nail out of the concrete floor!!!) and four holes in the walls. That on top of chewing nearly everything I own, including my $250 Rx, polarized sun glasses.

I have a theory that mine is very close to wild. One of a remnant of a native breed like the Carolina cur. The tendency to chew is a drive to exercise and maintain the jaws for killing and eating. It's perfectly natural in all pups, but I have a theory that it is stronger the closer you are to their wild ancestors. I bought her a large breed rawhide bone once, thinking it would distract her for a while. She ate it in a record time of under 8 hours. I'm talking one of those big ones. Then she commenced to poop the damn thing all over the place. It took longer to get it out of her than it did for her to eat it. I never made that mistake again.

She has a strong drive to stalk and eats anything that moves in her yard. Her greatest joy is when I come out to help with the hunt. That's usually at 2:00am when she won't shut up because she has a toad or something cornered under the patio slab.

 

[8Mud]

OMG....If I only knew then what I know now :doh:


About 3 years ago, my wife and I picked up a Basenji from a rescue. We THOUGHT we did our homework and knew what we were getting into.
The Basenji (meaning "little deer"), also known as the African barkless dog, is quite possibly one of the oldest known breeds of dog. They are the fathers of Egyptian Pharaoh Hounds, and many other smaller sight hounds (greyhound, wippet, ect..)
The breed had almost died out here in the states and in the seventies, owners groups began to trap wild Basenjis and import them to strengthen the breed stock. Kirby, our basenji, is a descendant of one of those wild dogs.
While we absolutely love Kirby, trying to train him has an uphill, losing battle. If its small and white...its eaten. Paper, TP, socks, underwear, birds, and insects. All fair game for him. I've seen pictures of peoples homes when they left a Basenji alone, some examples have over $10,000 in damages.
Thank God, Kirby is not one of those those ultra destuctive dogs, but then again we NEVER leave him loose in the house alone. Now days he's calmed down a bit and I think he treats us as members of his pack. But, the one thing I can NEVER do is let him off leash.

Here's one of his sleepier moments..

I can really see the relationship looking at your Basenji and a picture of our Pharaoh. If you let our Pharaoh off the leash, it was iffy if you'd get her back again, anytime soon. I got her at about five years old, her master had died.
I've heard the Pharaoh called many names, which may be sub breeds, but darned if I can really tell the difference, Spanish Hunting dogs look almost identical. Here they call them Ibiza Bichinco (SP?), because there is a core of almost pure stock on a Mediterranean island called Ibiza. She was a good pooch, but stand offish, not really a people dog, most of the other Pharaohs I'd seen were the same way. She was a joy to watch chase rabbits, that dog could really move. She had a heart attack at around 11 years, which is typical for the breed.
I had a mix, a boxer and a Pharaoh (or maybe a Basenji), in the States, which was one of the best eye hunters I've ever had. She would run 25-30 yards at a stretch on her hind legs in tall grass and really had some stamina. She ran many Foxes and Coyotes to ground (or until there heart and oxygen debt caused them to collapse). She had a boxer muzzle and the jaw muscles to do some damage, when she caught one. I was always sorry, I didn't try to breed her true and keep the mix going.
I taught her to respond to different whistles, she would work wild game just like a Scottish Sheep dog works a flock, by the whistles of the Shepard or in this case hunter.
I really enjoy watching a dog work, whether it's chasing, flushing, tracking or retrieving. One of those warm fuzzy feelings, I think is in the genes of both of us.
I just finished a paper written by a chemist, which postulated the affinity between dogs and man, had a lot to do with shared pheromones (don't even ask me how to spell that) basically shared (or close) hormones. Which may be one of the differences between Dog and Wolf. Don't really know about the fact of it, but the hypothesis explains many things.
I had a friend who put in a claim for $8000 with his insurance company, his Jack Russel had destroyed his house. The insurance agent was skeptical such a small dog could do so much damage. My friend told the agent he could take the dog home with him for a few days and give it a try. :laugh3:

 

[Gil BullyKatz]

Just got home from work....

We did a cervical distraction (C6-C7) for wobblers disease on a 175# Great Dane...

$4k for the surgery alone...

That did not include the pre and post op myelogram, CT and MRI...

It's what happens when that big long neck has to support that massive head...

It involves distracting the vertabrae in the neck, filling the gap with bone cement and fusing the joint with screws...

The Dane is 1 year old...

After working in the Vet field for a while...

There's a few breeds I shudder at the thought of medical problems...

My neurologist sees about 8 pugs a week!

but...

It does pay my bills!

 

[8Mud]

One of the reasons I find this thread so interesting, is being close to a local military base. I get to see many examples of the American version of popular breeds and the differences in there European counter parts.
There is some apparent differences in physiology and temperament in many breeds, on opposite sides of the pond.
I look at a typical saddle back German Shepard (American flavor) and compare it to the European counter part and think the Germans have pretty much ruined the breed, with there striving to breed it to a standard (or ideal). The Germans pretty much refuse to go to America in an attempt to improve the breed. I don't even think they recognize the American Kennel Club. But they do some things well, there hunters are world class.

 

[xjcrawlr]

I bought her a large breed rawhide bone once, thinking it would distract her for a while. She ate it in a record time of under 8 hours. I'm talking one of those big ones.

Ever heard of a "Bully Stick"? Its a dried up 1.5" dia. piece of a cow about 12" long. I get them whole, almost 3 ft long on ebay and I have to use tree pruners to cut them down. Kirby will consume one in less than 2 hours. Can you say "Power Chewer"!

 

[XJ Dreamin']

Ever heard of a "Bully Stick"? Its a dried up 1.5" dia. piece of a cow about 12" long. I get them whole, almost 3 ft long on ebay and I have to use tree pruners to cut them down. Kirby will consume one in less than 2 hours. Can you say "Power Chewer"!

I don't know if she's up to it these days at 13 1/2, but in her time she would get a corner of that bone between those cutting molars and work it until she'd sheared off a chuck, then swallow that whole and go back at it. Her temporal muscle would bulge so large that it would partially close the eye on that side. It's not like she has a big pitbull head (I shudder to think of the force generated by those muscles) but, if you take a stack of paper too thick for your scissors and just keep working them into the cut, you get an idea of what she was doing. She simply would not stop until the whole thing was inside her. After that, it was a real mess...whoa momma! A whole lot a mess all over the friggin' place :laugh3:. Nothing like stepping on chuck of rawhide that's had the full tour on the way to the head at 3:30 in the morning.

 

[8Mud]

Things get a lot easier if you have one good dog and when they get about halfway through there life, you get another. A good dog, training a pup, makes the whole process much easier. Besides many dogs prefer the company of another dog, more than human. Often when you have two, they keep each other company and many of the destructive binges and acting out never develops.
IMO rather than two dogs being twice the problem, many times they are half as much trouble.
Maybe it's just me, but I've also found in general, that females make the better dog and are easier to train. Get along better in a family.

 

[XJ Dreamin']

Things get a lot easier if you have one good dog and when they get about halfway through there life, you get another. A good dog, training a pup, makes the whole process much easier. Besides many dogs prefer the company of another dog, more than human. Often when you have two, they keep each other company and many of the destructive binges and acting out never develops.
IMO rather than two dogs being twice the problem, many times they are half as much trouble.
Maybe it's just me, but I've also found in general, that females make the better dog and are easier to train. Get along better in a family.

I agree completely. Trouble is, as good as Seri has been, we're just not committed enough to give anymore pets the full and proper attention they would deserve. In all likelyhood, once Seri passes (which may be never, judging by the charmed life she's had so far) we'll probably replace her with a fish tank.

 

[8Mud]

I agree completely. Trouble is, we're just not committed enough. In all likelihood, I'll probably replace her with a fish tank.

I thought we were talking about dogs and there you go bringing up women. Women get jealous and can't stand the competition.
Your idea of a fish is a good one though, you sure won't have many arguments. :laugh3:
You let a woman, chip away at your lifestyle and before you know it, your the one on the leash.

 

[XJ Dreamin']

I thought we were talking about dogs and there you go bringing up women. Women get jealous and can't stand the competition.
Your idea of a fish is a good one though, you sure won't have many arguments. :laugh3:
You let a woman, chip away at your lifestyle and before you know it, your the one on the leash.

Dog on a leash gets petted more often (ancient Confucian saying) :laugh3:

The fish are for the 10yo. Althought he likes the dog, and pets her once in a while, he's way more interested in fish. We've only had those little 2gal filterless starter tanks so far. For this Christmas we're going to set him up with a 20gal with a real filter system. He's going to use his Bday/Xmas money to stock it.

The dumb dog stuck her head in a fire ant nest last week. Best I can figure, she likes to bury her food and dig it up later when it's seasoned a bit. I figure some ants got to one of her caches and she wasn't going to give it up without a fight. The damn ants almost won. I've been painting her mussel, head and ears with antibiotic cream for days now. It's finally almost cleared up. At 13 1/2 she can't take much more stress like that.

 

[8Mud]

You have to walk around all day bad mouthing the dog, the better half will insist you get another.
I had one that had a thing about Hornets, she walked around most of the summer with her lips looking pretty strange and often a swollen tongue. She taught her apprentice the same trick and he taught his apprentice.
Darned fire ants are bad news.

 

[Fergie]

Don't know what it is, but I really like hearing dog stories.

Funniest incident with out old Springer was snow. you could toss a snowball into the snow, and she would be out there for hours trying to find it. Then she'd come in with her feathers full of snow, about 20 pounds heavier.

Our family friends had a dog named Barney(daughter's dog). Cross between a Dane and a Mastiff of some kind. This thing looked like the Hound of the Baskervilles from Sherlock Holmes. Gracey could ride Barney around all day, and he would put up with it, but you took a wrong step toward her, and you'd faced with one mean dog. never growled, just lowered his head with the ears back, and stared you down. Awesome dog.

It must be this particular dog, but our neighbor's field spaniel has got to be the stupidest damn dog I have ever met. She chews rocks all day, and occasionaly finds a ball to paly with.

Fergie

 

[8Mud]

It must be this particular dog, but our neighbor's field spaniel has got to be the stupidest damn dog I have ever met. She chews rocks all day, and occasionaly finds a ball to play with.

Fergie

Pretty common actually, we saw a lot of that when I worked for a Vet. Irish Setters and other retrievers. They would wear there teeth down to nubs. people used to ask me what to do about it. Officially I'd tell them to scold the dog every time it started chewing on rocks and make sure the dog had a chew toy (or bone or something) and give them a mineral supplement. Unofficially every time you caught him chewing a rock, find a big one and tape it in there mouth (for four or five hours), then kick them in the rear end. And give them a mineral supplement.
A bunch of hunters got together with there dogs, like twenty pooches all together, working Pheasant, rabbits, ducks and Fox. We had hiked like 10 miles (through the mud) from thicket to thicket all day long. Just about the end of the day and we just kind of came together in a circle, everybody was tired. Everybody facing in, swapping some stories before we headed back to the 4X's. I was one of the monitors, so my daughter was working my dog. All of a sudden everybody started laughing, my daughter looks around and starts laughing also, it was kind of contagious. Took her a second or two to figure out my dog had hiked his leg and was watering her pants. :laugh3: Talk about the ultimate disrespect, she had been yelling at him all day, I think he had enough, an decided to get even.

 

[Fergie]

What irritates me is the neighborhood dogs keep crapping in our driveway.

I caught one doing it yesterday and bounced a raquetball off of it's head right in the middle of it taking a crap. Good thing it was taking a crap otherwise it would have lost control it was so startled.

I think it is going to be the pellet rifle again. We used that to keep the strays out of our trash, but havent had that problem in a long time.

Our old Springer was funny when you told her to do something she didnt like. She'd go ahead and do it, but then turn around and give a snort to you. Just a "pffftttt", almost like a sneeze, but you knew she wasnt pleased at you.

Fergie

 

[8Mud]

What irritates me is the neighborhood dogs keep crapping in our driveway.

I caught one doing it yesterday and bounced a raquetball off of it's head right in the middle of it taking a crap. Good thing it was taking a crap otherwise it would have lost control it was so startled.

I think it is going to be the pellet rifle again. We used that to keep the strays out of our trash, but havent had that problem in a long time.

Our old Springer was funny when you told her to do something she didnt like. She'd go ahead and do it, but then turn around and give a snort to you. Just a "pffftttt", almost like a sneeze, but you knew she wasnt pleased at you.

Fergie

Get a super soaker and fill it with Ammonia. You don't have to spray it on the dog, just within a few yards. It doesn't take much, don't spray there eyes.
Dogs have receptors for ammonia in there nose and cam smell like one part per million. It's called olfactory overload.
Don't use the pellet rifle, you want to discourage them, not damage them.

 

[RTicUL8]

The BEST dog for kids is a Golden::thumbup:

He's licking his chops because he wants to clean the rest of the food off of my daughter's face:

.

 

[Fergie]

Flat head pellet from 50 yards won't damage them, especially since I only aim for hind quarters area.

I hadn't thought of the ammonia trick, used to use that for a paper route to keep the dogs away.

Fergie

 

[8Mud]

The BEST dog for kids is a Golden::thumbup:


.

I agree, they are usually pretty mellow. Münsterländer are also good family dogs, a bit more active, but really affectionate as a rule.

 

[Fergie]

So just got back from the garage(seperate from house). As I am walking down there, some big black dog comes barking and running up towards me something fierce. I don't recognize the dog so I charge him back, and the thing starts coming at me.

Put my size 14 to left side of its head when it got close enough, and about layed it out. Thing took off after that.

Freakin weird...never seen the dog in our area before.

Fergie