Chris Robinson Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 I know there are many dog lovers lurking here. My dog, Max, is an Aussie Shepherd mix that we got from the shelter about a year ago. He was about a year old then, the vet guessed, and since we've adopted him, he's really muscled out. Aussies were originally raised as working dogs, herding cattle by nipping at their heels. When he wants somebody off "his" property, he'll bark and nip at their heels until they flee for the property line. He loves women and children, is distrustful of men in general (esp. ones wearing hats), HATES UPS drivers but is OK with FedEx guys. He makes me laugh everyday with his crazy habits. For instance, when I feed him his dry food, he'll carefully pick out about 5 kibbles and walk off to a different part of the room and lay down and dine on them. Only after that ritual will he return to his bowl to eat the rest. After he finishes, he always finds me in the house and will sit next to me waiting for a good, loving head-pet and an "atta boy!". Then he's off to chase squirrels or hunt moles in the yard. He can carry a quart of water in his jowls. After he finishes a good drink, he'll walk off and leave a healthy trail of water for 20 feet. We thought about naming him Dribbles. There is always a beach towel not far from his water for us to mop the floor with when he's done. He loves the beach and will just run to the shallow water and plop his butt down and watch the shrimp boats. Like most of us, we'd love to know what goes on in the minds of our dogs on most days. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 I too, took my Female Brindle Boxer Hallie from a dog pound, she was about 2 1/2 when I took her, alittle older than I wanted, but Home she came, she has been with us for over 2 years, and I am so happy we got her. I had a Brindle Male Boxer for 13 years, had to put him down, the hardest thing I have ever had to do, was never going to have a dog again, Yeah Right................anyway, the Female is such a much nicier dog than the male, but when you let her out to do her business, you can tell it was a sucess because she grab a toy and shake the hell out of it...........everytime,without fail,...it's funny to watch.......I didn't really respond to tell of habits, I responded more to say, If you are thinking of getting a dog or cat, PLEASE think about taking one from a shelter or pound......There are so many unwanted animals out there, and many in shelters are great pets, good long term friends. I didn't want to deal with The Puppy Stage again....you know what I'm saying....It's a shame we treat animals like throw away items when they are not wanted....Everyone loves puppies, but they grow up, and many don't find them cute anymore, so ship them off to the pound....It's sad.........So if your thinking about a pet, think about adopting one from the shelter....save an animal...........and maybe, just maybe you'll find a new friend, and it will make you feel good inside........................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 Chris, Thanks for the great post. Glad to know about the breed and your dog in particular. What an interesting and delightful character he is. Guess he knows the FedEx guys bring what you really like. That is too funny. Yeh, interesting to wonder what they actually think about. Tell you what, I'm continually amazed at their attitude of gratitude. That has to be for real, not even a dog could fake that all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boom3 Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 That part about taking food away from the bowl to eat it...he's dragging off "the kill" to a safe spot. I've had cats that did that too, very deeply programmed into them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted November 12, 2006 Author Share Posted November 12, 2006 That part about taking food away from the bowl to eat it...he's dragging off "the kill" to a safe spot. I've had cats that did that too, very deeply programmed into them. That's really interesting. Never would have thought of that ... When we were "interviewing" Max at the pound, Jack, our 7 year old, would run around and Max would nip at his heels and pant legs. We didn't understand why he was doing that. The shelter said he was a Golden mix and we took their word for it. Our last dog was a Golden/Border mix and we had liked her disposition greatly. After Max took a small bit from the calf of a visiting contractor, we took him to "Polite Paws", a local dog trainer. We asked her about this particular behavior and she said we had an Aussie, not a Golden (in retrospect, "duh ..."), and this was how they behaved around cattle and livestock. We also learned that he need a LOT of exercise or would become bored and show frustration in his behavior. We got a Dogtra training collar and worked on his behavior. It's much better and we can keep him off the leash and take him to the beach, yet still have voice control over him, up to a 1/4 mile. What a liberating experience. Two hours at the beach and he'll sleep for a day. He knows when it's Saturday because we sleep in. He also knows that it's a potential beach day. He go outside, and sit below the tailgate of the truck and just look at us. If we open the truck, he'll jump and just sit there until we load up the beach toys and towels. Too funny. Ditto on the pound thing. Last two dogs were pound puppies and they were wonderful. Our shelter is a no-kill shelter and there are some dogs who've been there for 10 years. After a year or so, it's really hard to socialize them back into a home environment although it's been done. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 Have you considered taking Max to Herding training? Sounds like he has the drive and natural instinct to work. AKC has competitive herding trials/classes and Max may enjoy it. If you do not have AKC registration papers for him you can get ILP papers from AKC which will exclude him from "showing" but will allow you to participate in AKC sports and title in them as well. I think dog sports are a great way to build a relationship with and have a lot of fun with your dog, although some take it to the extreme. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> We have two Belgian Malinois and 11½-year-old female and a 5-month-old male. Our older gal was a pound pup, she was advertised and a GSD/Lab mix. She has no GSD or Lab in her and is pure Malinois. She is titled in Agility and I am working at training our pup in Schutzhund. Schutzhund is a bit stressful and a very different methodology to training your dog as you really dont have a week to week paradigm to go by, in other words you are not working on sit and stay this week and then move to down /stay the next and so on. The first year is really more about building drive and a spirit of cooperation as handler/dog team. Obedience and tracking also figure into it but not in the conventional way. Our older girl is and always has been a very dainty eater, it is like she almost waits for cutlery and a place setting or something and our young boy would kill a pit viper if it got in the way of his food. We feed RAW to both dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarence Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 my dog hides her bone, indoors. she usually picks sheets, towels, or corners and gently nuzzels her prize untill she is satisfied that it's out of site, her site. it is usually pretty out in the open still, but she thinks its hidden. makes for some comedy, following her around sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarence Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 pic two; where'd it go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarence Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 nuzzle nuzzle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted November 12, 2006 Author Share Posted November 12, 2006 my dog hides her bone, indoors. she usually picks sheets, towels, or corners and gently nuzzels her prize untill she is satisfied that it's out of site, her site. it is usually pretty out in the open still, but she thinks its hidden. makes for some comedy, following her around sometimes. That is so funny ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted November 12, 2006 Author Share Posted November 12, 2006 Have you considered taking Max to Herding training? \ Jim, wanted to get back to you on this one ... Yes, we've thought about that and it is a great suggestion. Problem is we're up to our eyeballs with a new first-year business and a seven year old ... I would LOVE to have some time to do something for both Max and Jack but this year has been self-dictating. We have time to play "cops and robbers" in the yard and "find the alligator" but it will be a year or so before we can take on a doggie-extracurrilura activity. I feel badly about it so we try to get him to the beach when we can wiggle it into the schedule. Better than nothing but still feeling badly about all the short-changed folks in the family [] Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 I have a pure breed yorkie terrier that about six years old. I got him when he was about 1 year old. Since day one, when ever someone heads for the door with a full trash bag, he barks and chases his tail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 Have you considered taking Max to Herding training? \ Jim, wanted to get back to you on this one ... Yes, we've thought about that and it is a great suggestion. Problem is we're up to our eyeballs with a new first-year business and a seven year old ... I would LOVE to have some time to do something for both Max and Jack but this year has been self-dictating. We have time to play "cops and robbers" in the yard and "find the alligator" but it will be a year or so before we can take on a doggie-extracurrilura activity. I feel badly about it so we try to get him to the beach when we can wiggle it into the schedule. Better than nothing but still feeling badly about all the short-changed folks in the family [] Chris Yep I completely understand that, sounds like you are keeping Max et al active that is great!!!!! Cool thing is the dog will wait for us to acclimate and make that choice if it is right for us. It took us about three and a half years to get our older Mal Alex into a sport. I just generically recommend it to folks who have working/herding breeds because these are truly special breeds of dogs and are capable of soooo much. Our Malinois continue to amaze me every day from the pup to the old gal they really are a treat to have around. We actually tried a second rescue but the two dogs just were not compatible so we opted to go with a new puppy and it has worked great for us. The pup has rejuvenated our older girl and she pretty much has adopted him to teach him dog to dog manners, older dogs are great for that especially older b!tches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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