Dogs

[Lucille]

I have, among the zoo I call home, a dog and a cat. The cat was a rescue, brought into my clinic last summer while 3 or 4 weeks old, someone dumped a litter near the school. It came home 'for just a day (sure).
The cat, ruler of the universe, does as she damn well pleases and rules the roost.
My dog on the other hand adores me and lies at my feet wherever I sit, and is a little shih tzu. I have had, in years past, bigger dogs, dogs I loved such as German Shepherds and Labs, but now, the Shih Tzu, Mr. Muffin, is my only dog.
They say you grow to look like your dog. Muffin is foofy. I never thought of myself as foofy, but ya never know.
You can tell a lot about a person by how they treat their dog. If you want to date someone, look at how they treat their mom, and how they treat their dog. I do not cook foofy little meals for Muffin, but if I have something nice for dinner he gets a bit. He is a companion dog, but not an outdoor sport dog, if you throw a ball he will look at you like you have just dropped a whole lot of IQ points, lol. But he is my dog now and I love him.

How do you treat your dog, if you have one?

 

[thecobrakid]

I'm a dog person. Mine is spoiled rotten. You could say, "I'm his bitch". He rides w/ me everywhere i go. Sleeps in the same bed w/ me and talks to me by yipping directly to me to something of interest. He's really bright. I can't even shut the door to go to the bathroom w/o him following me trying to open it. He keeps tabs on me 24/7 (lol) .One time (not at band camp-lol) my savannah climbed out of a temporary cage I had him in. I was cleaning, and the phone rang. I ended up ranting for an hour or so on the phone and forgot. He came up and "beaked me" in the back, and made an expression that after 13 years.......well.....i can read my dog...i know my dog and I knew something was up. I looked around and sure enough......the savannah had gotten out. One of those "Lassie" moments, i guess. He's such a good boy. Dogs are great animals. I think people could take a few pointers from dogs.

I dunno......there was some story about an old legend long ago. It's one of those stories that gets told in a smokey room as everyone's shooting the breeze listening to Pink Floyd. I am only probably getting some of the story right, but anyway it goes something like this.......At the beginning of time, man and all beast were divided by a large bottomless crack in the earth seperating them. The dog left all other beasts jumping across to join his companion... man. And so we have it. Man's best friend.

 

[MR_Jungle_Mist]

You could say, "I'm his bitch".

Muahaha!

Well, we have two dogs in the house. One is 'mine' the other is terese's. Moose is just a big ol' goof. He's a sweet dog and all but I'll be the second to admit (terese has always said it first..) he's a bit of a dork. His mom died at birth and all his siblings but him and his sister died shortly after. A friend of ours that is part of a humane society took him in and did all the bottle feedings and nursing and all for both Moose and his sister until they were old enough to make it on their own. So Moose is HUGE on the seperation anxiety thing. He's torn up more than his share of furniture and other items in the house for the first little while of being here alone with Harley (terese's dog). Once we found out he was going to be a problem being left alone they were built their own little room that they go into when we have to leave the house.

Mostly because of the seperation anxiety he is constantly at my feet. If I go into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee he gets up and follows. If I go to the bathroom he's right there. God forbit I get into the bathtub or shower with the doog closed - he'll scratch the heck out of that door just so he can come in and lay next to the bath/shower. (actually this is an improvement from the days of him having to be held by the collar so he didn't jump in the tub with you - I am not making this up!)

We were told he was Boxer/Bulldog. The mom was bulldog and her owner told the society ppl that she'd gotten pregnant by a Boxer. Looking at Moose you can kind of see that but we're leaning more towards Mastiff. Who knows.

As far as the dogs looking like their owners and vice-versa, I'll have to have terese take a picture of me (ugh) and Moose together to see if there's any resemblance.

As a matter of fact, as I type this, he is laying on the bed not three feet from me. *clicks* a digi-pic...

 

[ms_terese]

As a matter of fact, as I type this, he is laying on the bed not three feet from me. *clicks* a digi-pic...

Awww, what a sweet looking little doggy!

He's torn up more than his share of furniture and other items in the house for the first little while of being here alone

Ya think? Let's take a quick peek, shall we?

 

[MR_Jungle_Mist]

Live and learn?

BTW - I've come to learn why dogs tear up your stuff when left alone. Many people think it is because the dog is upset and trying to get even with you having left him/her. So you come home to find your favourite shoes are torn up. Or your blanket is torn to shreds.

What your dog is showing you though is that he misses you and has been trying to look for you. They use their sense of smell and take at anything that smells like you the most. So the sweater you love and wear a lot...or your shoes...or other items that are 'you' get destroyed because your dog is taking the closest thing s/he can find and tears it apart looking for you.

Also, making a big fuss when you leave and come home just goes to show your dog that you missed him/her as well and that you much prefer to be there with him/her than be apart. So when you are apart s/he'll try that much harder to find you because now not only does s/he want to be with you but s/he knows you much prefer to be there as well.

Just thought I'd share that.

As for the picture above...well...what can I say. We were missed! I feel so loved....

 

[sirenofthestorm]

LOL oh my god, that is some serious damage. I've never had any dogs with separation anxiety, thank goodness, and I hope I never get one.

 

[Lucille]

Wow y'all must be great people if he misses you that much....or have great scent, lol.

Could we have a full pic of the fine snake cage in the lower left?

 

[ms_terese]

Sure.

 

[Lucille]

That is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!

 

[BallPyFan]

What your dog is showing you though is that he misses you and has been trying to look for you. They use their sense of smell and take at anything that smells like you the most. So the sweater you love and wear a lot...or your shoes...or other items that are 'you' get destroyed because your dog is taking the closest thing s/he can find and tears it apart looking for you.

Yes, but she should leave my laundry in the hamper! I'm only in the next room! I have a spoiled rotten house Rottie, and her favorite thing is to get into the dirty clothes hamper then come strolling through the living room or den (preferrably when I have company!) with either one of my bras or a pair of my underwear hanging from her mouth! Which ranks her right up there with a dog I had growing up who used to tear open my gym bag and pull out the socks so she could eat the toes off of them. And this was after a full week of gym class.

 

[MR_Jungle_Mist]

Have you maybe thought to stop getting your dogs from the "special needs" program?

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Rotties are my love

I have 6 rotties right now and have had up to 8 at a time, all resuces, I keep them at least 3 months to acclimate them to a true home life then place them in new homes. I cry alot when they are placed but I make sure I get to visit all placements as much as I can.

My neighbor asked a few months ago, why don't you keep just 1 and stop all this work, and I do have 1 that I have kept now for 3 years, she is too insecure to place so she is my pillow. The others I have to place to be able to rescue more.

Some of these dogs are so mistreated before I get them it takes them weeks to even let me watch them eat and come in the house without hiding so I feel the work I do is worth it even though I hate to see them go once they are ready.

Id love to keep all of my rescues but its just not something I can afford to do with all the vet bills they often have and all the space needed to care for them properly.

 

[sirenofthestorm]

*sigh* I miss my rottie. He was a great footwarmer in the winter, and so sweet and funny, his prey response to a flashlight was hysterical.

 

[Lucille]

Whitney, there are rescue networks across the US that help relocate dogs to good homes. I bet Wendy could find you a pal that would be very grateful to have you....

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Whitney, there are rescue networks across the US that help relocate dogs to good homes. I bet Wendy could find you a pal that would be very grateful to have you....

There are tons of rescure esp for Rotties, the one closest to Whitney is probably:
http://www.mmrr.org/whyrescue.htm

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

*sigh* I miss my rottie. He was a great footwarmer in the winter, and so sweet and funny, his prey response to a flashlight was hysterical.

If you ever decide you want a new pal you can even foster a Rottie, thats how I got started, I did some foster mom work for quite a while and I decided to go with the rescue on my own so I could have the rights to visit them after placed and be the one who decided on placements.

 

[sirenofthestorm]

I would LOVE to have another rottie, I can't think of many things that would make me happier, but I can't have a rott or any mix thereof at my current apt due to breed restrictions. When I get older and have finished school and have a real job that gives me the $$ to get a big place, I'd love to have a pack of dogs with rotties, dobs, boxers, a snake room or two...

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

I would LOVE to have another rottie, I can't think of many things that would make me happier, but I can't have a rott or any mix thereof at my current apt due to breed restrictions. When I get older and have finished school and have a real job that gives me the $$ to get a big place, I'd love to have a pack of dogs with rotties, dobs, boxers, a snake room or two...

Whitney, that is the most amazing show of responsibilty!!!!!!!

Id say over 60% of the Rotties I have rescued in the last 10 years have been due to owners having them and trying to hide them, then one day they get caught or it gets to be too much to try to hide and well, here they come to me.....

That is really good of you to know when you will be ready to own a new rottie and know what kind of space and attention they need!

 

[sirenofthestorm]

LOL ty but you're making me out to be a much better person than I really am. I have strongly considered getting a lab rottie or lab pit bull mix and just say I don't know what the other breeds are, because I really really miss having a dog like that. That I havent done it is one thing, but if I fall in love with one at a shelter I don't know what I'll do. I sincerely hope that doesn't happen because I'm not financially able to pay the fee to break my lease and feed a dog as well as pay my bills.

But yes, I would love to have a place with a few acres and lots of animals in a few years.

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

LOL ty but you're making me out to be a much better person than I really am. I have strongly considered getting a lab rottie or lab pit bull mix and just say I don't know what the other breeds are, because I really really miss having a dog like that. That I havent done it is one thing, but if I fall in love with one at a shelter I don't know what I'll do. I sincerely hope that doesn't happen because I'm not financially able to pay the fee to break my lease and feed a dog as well as pay my bills.

But yes, I would love to have a place with a few acres and lots of animals in a few years.

That is still very repsonsible to think about it and know what you can and can't afford, I have more than I can afford as a stay home mom and I do not take donations so the burden is all on me, that was one reason I wanted to breed reptiles.

A lot of people do not even check the rules where they live, I hear all the time, well I bought a rottie a few months ago and now I haev to get rid of the dog or move and they have to let the dog go which is sad.

I don't personally see any problem with the mix breed and playing stupid lol and before you know it you will have a better job and a bigger place to do what you want!