I love Dogs

[tuned4life]

The reason I like dogs is a very real one. Primarily it is because dogs are such grateful animals. You rub them behind the ears, and they grovel with gratitude at your feet. You bring them food and they run to you, barking their appreciation and frisking about you with a friendliness that warms even the most forlorn heart. However hungry the dog may be, he takes time out to first look up at you with a misty thank you in his eyes which is unmistakable even before he gulps his food down. When, on a cold winter day, you let him come into the house he repays you his thanks by his tail wagging which seems endless. And when you are gone for awhile, and return home even after a brief absence, he welcomes you with an enthusiasm that makes your return seem to have been a very special favor to him.

Dogs are continually conscious of what is and what moves about them.

Dogs are loyal and show a loyal gratitude to a master irrespective of the type of master he or she may be. It is because of this that a dog will follow his master, even though such master might be indifferant or even cruel, and he will follow that master into poverty, walk at his heels over the most uncomfortable roads, leave a cozy home for a miserable cabin, and then act all the while as if he were privileged to be accompanying his master.

To a dog you are his world, you are everything. And his tail is continually wagging in sonnets of gratitude. His bark, and even his playful growl-yes,even his snapping is usually a song of thanksgiving. And when he cavorts before you, he flings himself about with gestures of worship which no pagen ever accorded to his idol. He loves you for the scraps from the table no matter how meager, and he is likewise appreciative for even an idle stroking of his head which you at times may do in absent-mindedness. and above all he NEVER fails to let you know it.

[Coytee]

How right you are... clearly you ARE Tuned In!!

As for this comment "And when you are gone for awhile, and return home even after a brief absence, he welcomes you with an enthusiasm that makes your return seem to have been a very special favor to him"

How ironic you say that. Just yesterday, my sister in law was over (with her dog). When my wife got home at 7, of course, all the dogs got all excited to see her. What was noticed and commented about was even Maggies dog (Maggie is sis in law) got all excited again about seeing MAGGIE who had never left!

They even made a comment about it laughing. Seems Maggie went outside to help my wife carry something in and when they walked back in the door, Fannie (her dog) was giving her the "hi, boy am I glad to see you.... about time you got home" kind of action.

Just prior to that, Maggie & Fannie were sitting in the living room.

Ya, dogs are kinda cool.

Say... if anyone wants to SAVE an abused dog (abused in my opinion), let me know.

Situation:

Some punk has a derelict of a boat on the lake. He had two dogs with it. One dog was tied to a tree with a 4' lead. The other dog was tied to the bow of this boat (more like a flat decked houseboat, but smaller). This dog is a Rotweiler. He's got about 5' of rope and that 5' circle is his bedroom, kitchen AND bathroom.

The abuse?

The owner was gone for TWO stinking WEEKS not tending his dogs a BIT. We were the ones going down to the lake and feeding them. Not knowing if the Rottie was friendly or not, I was a bit nervous getting within his reach.

Finally, with food, found out he was pretty sweet. Upon knowing that, I jumped in the water and walked to far side of boat so I could give him some fresh water. His water bucket, though near full, was full of chalkish white water. As though someone had wrung out a white paint brush in it. It wasn't think & paint like, just milky. Clearly the dog wasn't enjoying the taste.

A bit of relife for me... the Rottie was using the bathroom all over the deck on this boat. He had no choice. The idiot owner had a dingy or raft on the front deck and the rottie used THAT for his "tree".

To cut to the chase, the other dog disappeared. We think he got off his leash and took off. In fact, we know that as a neighbor saw him down the road, running away.

The Rottie was still stuck on my last notice.

TVA (a pathetic neighbor but that's a different story) has been chasing this guy all over the lake this summer. He's been illegally moored several times and places. He and his kids were both trespassing on our dock.

He's been cited by TVA for some of his violations, but we can't get the animal shelter people out. They mistook the food they saw as him being fed by the idiot owner. By the time we cleared it up that WE were feeding the dog, the idiot had moved the boat down the lake a bit.

So, if anyone wants to try to save a Rottie, let me know. I know the pain of losing a loved pet so I don't wish THAT on this idiot. However, I also know that if you LOVE your pet, you're not going to leave it unattended on a boat for 2 weeks at a time without any visit, fresh food or fresh water.

gads, makes me mad just thinking about this idiot again.

[whamo]

Yeah! Dogs rule (especially mine). While we're on that subject I would

like to ask if you have any special songs or sounds that make your dogs

do that rca/victor thing with their heads? One that works well for my

dog is a Zappa tune called "Little Green Rosetta". On the intro to the

song there's like this fly buzzing type sound that really freaks my dog

out. What have you got?? Mark

[oldbuckster]

Dogs are your best friends, they love you unconditionally, they are always glad to see you, and they are not always reaching in your wallet................EH !!!!!

I will always have a dog...........I like my dog better than most people.........[:$]

[whamo]

Dogs are your best friends, they love you

unconditionally, they are always glad to see you, and they are not

always reaching in your wallet................EH !!!!!

I will always have a dog...........I like my dog better than most people.........[:$]

yeah, your dog is always happy to see ya when you get home no matter

what. If your dog doesn't greet you when you get home you know

there something amiss.

[Coytee]

..I like my dog better than most people.........[:$]

Tis because you live up in Yankee land!!

[:$] Oops... I didn't say that...[]

[oldbuckster]

..I like my dog better than most people.........[:$]

Tis because you live up in Yankee land!!

[:$] Oops... I didn't say that...[]

You certainly like to throw Jabs.......Keep it up Jubie....I throw Knock-outs.....Don't make me come down there and hunt you down..........Ah Shucks, I forgive you....Bengal Boy....[]

[PhilMays]

Yep...I'm a dog man for sure. Only thing that looks at me like I'm NOT crazy!

As for the abused dog, it happens far too often. I do Pug rescue and it kills me to see some of these creatures when they leave their abused environment. The worst are the puppy farms and the sewn up females so they can produce just "one more litter".

[Cal Blacksmith]

Dogs are indeed GREAT. I / we have had dogs for most of my life except for when I was in the army living on post and for 4 years when we owned an appartment building and there wasn't any place for a dog.

They are pack anamals. That is why they are so happy to see you when you return. They don't like having the pack broken up and when you come home you are completing the pack again. A good pack leader sets rules, boundrys and limitations. It is not "cruel' to not allow them on the bed or funiture. Our dogs are not allowed into our bedroom without us asking them in. They take comfort in knowing that the pack leader is taking care of business and has some "perks" that they don't have. In the pack, this is a normal situation.

I must comment on the "snipping" remark though. This is a sign of agression and the dog is puting himself ABOVE you, giving YOU limits, boundries and telling YOU the rules. This is not a good situation.

[J.4knee]

Dog aggression, basically there is two types: One is mostly harmless and the other leads to problems. When dogs exhibits aggression in a pack they are testing their limits and pack order, unless a dog is severely overdriven this is usually in the form of open mouthing and a growl maybe a bark or so and almost always ends when one dog or pack member yields to the other much like a puppy mouths its owner and then capitulates to the owners admonishment to stop. There is no bite given in this behavior unless it is an accident. The second is aggression driven by fear this almost always results in a bite or threat of bite situation. The Dog growls and barks and the sound made is a distinct warning and if tested the dog will bite. This occurs because the dog is in fear mode and unsure of his/her situation and becomes defensive. This is oversimplified but applies to most of what we encounter in our dog/human interaction. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Now back on point. I am an adamant dog person. I love my dogs. As <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Wayne alluded to dogs are thrilled to see us when we get home because the pack is reunited and more importantly its leader(s) have returned. There is no more ostracized separation of pack members. They also exhibit some perhaps unnoticed trepidation as they are initially unsure how to greet the leader who left and has now returned, this can be observed when the dog paces as you approach. Is perhaps a little hesitant or maybe they bark or whine some. The behavior varies but all dogs experience it to some degree. They are in a stressful moment and your touch and voice are what indicates whether things are good or otherwise. A good patting or rubbing and friendly greeting from their master/pack leader let them know all is good and to proceed as normal.

[neo33]

Dog aggression, basically there is two types: One is mostly harmless and the other leads to problems. When dogs exhibits aggression in a pack they are testing their limits and pack order, unless a dog is severely overdriven this is usually in the form of open mouthing and a growl maybe a bark or so and almost always ends when one dog or pack member yields to the other much like a puppy mouths its owner and then capitulates to the owners admonishment to stop. There is no bite given in this behavior unless it is an accident. The second is aggression driven by fear this almost always results in a bite or threat of bite situation. The Dog growls and barks and the sound made is a distinct warning and if tested the dog will bite. This occurs because the dog is in fear mode and unsure of his/her situation and becomes defensive. This is oversimplified but applies to most of what we encounter in our dog/human interaction.

I'll have to disagree with you J. I have been living with a dog for 6 months now. I see him every day. And yet he's always in an agression mode and ready to attack me for no reason. Everytime he sees me, he barks loudly and me holds the position ready to lunge at me at unsuspecting moment. This is a well trained chihuahua. So much for dogs being friendly and man's best friend.

[Cal Blacksmith]

Neo, it is good to see you back.

Your dog can be trained out of the agression he is displaying. See a good dog trainer and spend a few $ you both will be much happier.

Then again, things may be different ..... in the matrix.

[oldbuckster]

NEO....There is nothing more terrifying than a Chihuahua in an Attack mode....[]...

[J.4knee]

NEO good to see ya back around again. Are there other people involved when he see's you? Are you the original owner? Is he in his mind protecting something? What posture do you adopt to approach the dog. I would still submit his aggreession is fear driven whether it is a reason a human can understand or not. If it is agression born from confidence you would not get much a warning you'd get bit. But Wayne is correct you can work to teach/train the dog some bite inhibition!

[neo33]

J, the dog is not mine. It belongs to my landlord who I share the house with. He's a well trained dog to begin with! And six month seeing me every day is not enough for him to get use to me? What kind of a dog is that?

[Daddy Dee]

neo,

Great to see you back. This chihuahua is obviously a matrix generated dog. It will never get used to you. It is simply functioning as it was designed. However, maybe the oracle could give you some better advice. You might be the one.

BTW, welcome back. It's good to see you posting.

[rcarlton]

Peaceable Paws is a wonderful site with information on positive dog training. I recommend it highly.

[J.4knee]

Neo, he is guarding and he like a lot of very small dogs has "nerve" or what is more commonly referred to as an unstable temperament. Does it happen when he is with your landlord and sees you or does he just do when he sees you period? If you can extract the landlord from the picture and he calms some you can train it out of him if not he is just a "nervy little dog and he is acting out of fear for sure.

[Cal Blacksmith]

Peaceable Paws is a wonderful site with information on positive dog training. I recommend it highly.

News flash, dog training has now gone PC!

Quote from their website! "And here we

positive-reinforcement oriented dog trainers are now telling everyone

they have to be nice and politically correct to the dog? Well, yes."

The people at this sight Peaceable Paws need to get a life! Lets

not upset our little furry friends now, just talk to them in a respectful voice

so that they will feel good about themselves! HONESTLY! I put these words in

their mouth but that is the flavor of their website! They can't stand the fact

that someone who teaches a different method of dog training (Caesar Milan) is

having success!! What he teaches IN NO WAY harms dogs or threatens them in any

way! Slight corrections early in a bad behavior cycle seem to be TOO MUCH for

these people to handle! Of Course they are based in San Francisco, the west coast hub of loony

ideas and some less than normal people. This is not intended to offend any NORMAL people who may be reading this that live there; you are not

included in my comments!

[neo33]

Neo, he is guarding and he like a lot of very small dogs has "nerve" or what is more commonly referred to as an unstable temperament. Does it happen when he is with your landlord and sees you or does he just do when he sees you period? If you can extract the landlord from the picture and he calms some you can train it out of him if not he is just a "nervy little dog and he is acting out of fear for sure.

J, when his owner is at home but not holding him he will do the same thing to me. But once she's holding him, he stop barking but will growl at me every now and then. When he's alone at home, the owner put him in a cage right by the front door; he never ever barks at me. Strange dog to say the least!