[EndOfSewers]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('drew', 'P')S my arm is her chew toy-for hours every day!

[threadbear]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('crapattack', 'A')nyone who's wondering if they should get a dog I would highly recommend it, just choose the right breed for you and your personality - it makes all the difference.

[crapattack]

HA!!
It's amazing how dogs become like their people or visa versa!

[BlisteredWhippet]

I wonder how much a carbon offset you need to rectify a dog's impact on environment?

Displacement of Prozac prescriptions for the depressed? The irritation of one's neighbors by its incessant barking? Fecal coliform runoff? Pesticide residues from flea infestation vectors? Disease vectors from dog biology? Clogged vacuum filters and electricity? Industrial agricultural impact from dog food industries? The acid rain and pollution from factories making your metal dog food cans? Bureaucracies dedicated to tagging and licensing?

I would submit that perhaps its your own self-centered myopia that prevents your complex human psyche from finding creative avenues of rectifying serotonin imbalances without fleecing an animal and offloading environment costs on the rest of the planet.

The dog is a band-aid, a palliative for your symptoms but not a cure. A crutch, in fact. A red herring that will lead you farther away from any real fix for your mental problems. You have devolved into a poop-scooper. Ignorance is bliss isn't it?

[crapattack]

BlisteredWhippet thanks so much for the laugh!

You've got a big case of dog-hating my friend, I'll postulate that you're as blinded by this as I am in love with my pup. It's obvious neither of us is objective, but in answer to your points.

My dog has practically nill direct impact on the environment aside from eating ground beef and veggies and the farming practices involved with that. I try to buy organic and local as much as possible and have her on raw food which means at least I'm not contributing to the mining and metal canning practices. She doesn't bark hardly at all and my neighbors are several acres away. My vaccum cleaner is fine - I've yet to get it clogged and while she does shed a little bit it's certainly not an issue. Her poops are quite tidy - off the lawn in the long grasses on top of the septic field in fact - something she does on her own amazingly. I leave it there as fertilizer for the flowers that grow there, the only time I have to poop scoop is at the dog park. My "complex human psyche" doesn't feel de-evolved (nice) at those times in any way, just as much as yours isn't when you clean your toilet bowl. Do the dirty dead then move on to your math problem.

As a working breed my dog has something extra to contribute to the world aside from her sparkling personality, and actually will be able to bring in the herd or gather a stray - very handy post-PO. She'll earn her keep by helping me on the farm, and when you watch these dogs you learn that they actually do "work" and take their jobs quite seriously. Not that the little dogs are any less valuable as I think they bring their owners a lot of love and joy.

As for my "seritonin imbalances", and you made me smile here, my PO depression wan't bad enough for Prozac or any other medication and hardly could be described as "mental illness", but even if it were I'd much rather cure my blues with a loving dog than a Eli-Lilly or Phizer product. I'm sure many people would agree with me. Dogs and cats are being used in hospitals and nursing homes for precisely that, their ability to cheer folks up. Now it may be true we're using them as "crutches" but they are also using us. My dog comes to me for comfort and cuddling, runs between my knees at the park when scared and is sad when I'm gone. I willingly cuddle her back. It's a very beneficial/symbiotic relationship that has lasted thousands of years.

Now you've obviously got a very negative opinion of dogs and owners BWhippet and not knowing the reasons for this I'd say that it might be you that needs to do some mental work overcoming this if it matters to you. I have a feeling it doesn't really and perhaps you're just having some fun taking some potshots. Practicing your impressive elocutional and argumentative skills in the relative safety of the doggie thread where we're all lined up like cans on posts. I have no problem with this as it is providing some counter-point in the thread and I do find your posts amusing!

[lateralus]

BlisteredWhippet is still upset over that great dane humping his leg in kindergarden.

[drew]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EndOfSewers', 'M')outhing your arm is absolutely not acceptable behaviour, especially in a nervous dog with an unknown history. Get some love and discipline happening right now to fix it or you could have big trouble down the road. A dog like that is a fear-biter waiting to happen and teaching her she placate herself by chewing on people is damn near the worst thing you could be doing. Shit, how can you think "mouthing" and "frightened of people" isn't a god damn time bomb no matter how cute she is?

Get her some real chew toys and when she puts teeth on you, no matter how gently, you make it clear it isn't acceptable, then give her something she's supposed to chew on and make it clear she's a good girl for doing so. Learn the kind of social cues a dog looks for, be a good pack leader and she'll start to lose that nervousness as she gains confidence in you.

[threadbear]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('crapattack', 'H')A!!
It's amazing how dogs become like their people or visa versa!

[mercurygirl]

There is more to domestic animals than the merely practical and biological, I'm sure.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he more I think of that Spot, the more I am convinced that there are things in this world that go beyond science.

[crapattack]

Threadbear, thanks for the nice words about River and yes, she's fine with kids now, but wasn't for a couple months. You're right that it's a breed trait but I think it's mostly because they are so velcroed to one or two people they're not too interested in anything else frankly. That and I suppose it's because we really didn't expose her to any truly little kids when quite young and she was a bit afraid of them when she saw them - barking and growing at them. We had some dinner guests who had kids over and she really surprised us with her carrying on. So we decided to use desenitization and leave her with a friend who has four boys and they played ball and fed her lots of treats, generally being boys with a young dog. She really responded to them now I have no problems with her, even when she see's a really young one running across the field.

We're lucky to have an awsome trainer who uses only gentle reward based methods which are best for cattle dogs who don't do well with punishment based training. I'd heard that and have learned since that it's true. They don't cower or respond like other dogs and I can see how people could really go wrong with this breed. Afterall they're bred to boss 500lb cattle around if the cow gives them any attitude they push back even harder. With these dogs you also have to be clever and outthink them because they will try to outthink you and they have very strong wills. I find I have to constantly vary her training and toys and have new stimulating exercises for her. I'm not kidding about the 2 hours solid exercise a day. I do thank God she loves learning and we got the basics down early. She's got an excellent down-stay and recall that has saved my butt on more than a few occasions.

[crapattack]

mercurygirl, I loved that story, thanks so much for sharing it. That Spot seems very uncanny - I would have liked to have met that dog.

[davep]

I got a new dog last week (at nine weels old). It's an Italian breed, Pastore Maremmano Abruzzese (a shepherd dog). She's already grown in the week we've had her (12 kg and counting).

Apparently they're one of the oldest dog breeds, and are used for guarding goats. I saw a story on t'interweb about a couple of them saving a wolf from certain death. Not a dog to be messed with apparently.

Anyway, here's ours:

<a href="snowball"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/173/411305829_cc85911ddd_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="" /></a>

Gah! I'll link to it instead:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/173/4113 ... dd.jpg?v=0

[crapattack]

Aw, very cute! She sorta looks like a white newfie.

[BlisteredWhippet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('crapattack', '[')b]BlisteredWhippet thanks so much for the laugh!

[BlisteredWhippet]

Ancient Dog-Man hybrid with poop-scooper:



Say hello to their little friends:

Fleas, feasters on human blood



Ticks, bloodsucking transmitters of disease:



Worms:



Mmm, fecal coliform:



Toxoplasma, from *tasty* cat shit:



$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')i]There has been speculation that human behaviour may also be affected in some ways, and correlations have been found between latent Toxoplasma infections and various characteristics such as increased risk taking behavior, slower reactions, feelings of insecurity, and neuroticism. [3]

[dinopello]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', 'I') don't "Hate" dogs, I enjoy them.

[crapattack]

BWhippet, what can one say in response to such a well brought-forward and obviously well considered position against the evils of doggie ownership. I’m truly impressed and appreciate all the work you put into your posts! I could respond by arguing for all the merits, however, I still think your position is a fundamentally emotional one, as is mine, and that for all your melodrama, you aren't fundamentally wrong, just one-sided. SO? What are the practical implications of your position? Are you advocating we give up our dogs? Take them behind the shed? Set them free from their subjugation and let them loose to form natural packs roaming suburbia eating cats and small children? Perhaps they'd like us to give them their own autonomous areas, turn the doggie parks into reservations and offer some form of self-governance? Stock these areas with rabbits and rats, but they’d still be caged, and what about the ones who need jobs? Perhaps it would be better to set them free in the Rockies to learn how to hunt mountain goats and elk. Now some small doggies would perish right away, the little pugs and Pomeranians, but at least they'd die free! Viva la resistance! F-R-E-E-D-O-M!

I just don't see how you're going to change the fact that we love doogie company and doggies love our company. For all we know they must tolerate our crazy notions, silly commands, collars, coats, leashes, little booties, our smells, poops and bugs, because they fundamentally adore us too. Now just as we are misplacing our emotions onto them, as you say, perhaps they too are confused and are replacing their pack with humans and we are surrogate doggies. In the end it doesn't really matter. We want to spend time together for whatever reasons and we’ll probably continue to enjoy each other’s company for long into the future no matter what that future is.

[BlisteredWhippet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('crapattack', '[')b]BWhippet, what can one say in response to such a well brought-forward and obviously well considered position against the evils of doggie ownership. I’m truly impressed and appreciate all the work you put into your posts! I could respond by arguing for all the merits, however, I still think your position is a fundamentally emotional one, as is mine, and that for all your melodrama, you aren't fundamentally wrong, just one-sided. SO? What are the practical implications of your position? Are you advocating we give up our dogs? Take them behind the shed? Set them free from their subjugation and let them loose to form natural packs roaming suburbia eating cats and small children? Perhaps they'd like us to give them their own autonomous areas, turn the doggie parks into reservations and offer some form of self-governance? Stock these areas with rabbits and rats, but they’d still be caged, and what about the ones who need jobs? Perhaps it would be better to set them free in the Rockies to learn how to hunt mountain goats and elk. Now some small doggies would perish right away, the little pugs and Pomeranians, but at least they'd die free! Viva la resistance! F-R-E-E-D-O-M!

I just don't see how you're going to change the fact that we love doogie company and doggies love our company. For all we know they must tolerate our crazy notions, silly commands, collars, coats, leashes, little booties, our smells, poops and bugs, because they fundamentally adore us too. Now just as we are misplacing our emotions onto them, as you say, perhaps they too are confused and are replacing their pack with humans and we are surrogate doggies. In the end it doesn't really matter. We want to spend time together for whatever reasons and we’ll probably continue to enjoy each other’s company for long into the future no matter what that future is.

[crapattack]

BWhippet:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'C')ull the animal, eat its flesh, and celebrate your position in the web of life. Skin it and make a keepsake or some shoe leather and bury its remains to push up daises and mushrooms. Then pat yourself on the back and embrace your necessarily human condition.

[BlisteredWhippet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('crapattack', '
')Ah, so you want us to kill our dogs and eat them, skin them and then make a keepsakes from their flesh ... and you're saying I'm mentally unbalanced? Well once again your post is a good laugh!