Howl & Growl

[Rip's Girl]

Gaddy - I know what you mean.. Among ALL breeds, I believe Border Collies to be the most intense dogs.. I love them for it, but a lot of people just see a beautiful, soft-coated, sweet-eyed dog and figure that it will fit right into their household.
This is one instance where I wish there were LESS BC owners out there.. (Usually I find myself wishing that there were more owners of 'my' breeds)

In other news.. BIG SHOCKER HERE!
My mom and I have been talking about puppy-raising a guide dog (or a hearing dog or service dog) and she seriously wants me to do it before I graduate!
I was NOT prepared for that, I was prepared for a "FOUR dogs? Are you out of your freaking mind?" response, instead.. She actually said that once Dakota was trained reliably and both he and Ripley are neutered, that she wouldn't mind contacting GDA or a regional service dog training organization to talk to them about it. I don't know what brought on that sudden "oh yeah, let's do that someday!" response, but I hope it lasts for another 6-7 months or so, when I could actually consider it!

Barrett- LOL, I hate corn mazes. I went in one years ago, I think I was 8 or 9, and I got hopelessly lost.. My brother had to let Shiner the search dog find me, and it disrupted everyone in the maze to have this big ol' snarling black dog run between their legs.

[kjm]

Good morning everyone!! I had a great weekend. A friend of mine came into town and we partied like old times every night. Good thing I had yesterday off to recuperate! LOL!!

Barrett - That sounds like so much fun! I would love to go to a corn maze. I've never heard of one around here though. Maybe I'll look into it.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day. Oh, and this weather is absolutely fabulous! It won't get over 70 degrees today! Great, great, great!! LOL!

[gaddylovesdogs]

Originally Posted by Rip's Girl

Gaddy - I know what you mean.. Among ALL breeds, I believe Border Collies to be the most intense dogs.. I love them for it, but a lot of people just see a beautiful, soft-coated, sweet-eyed dog and figure that it will fit right into their household.
This is one instance where I wish there were LESS BC owners out there.. (Usually I find myself wishing that there were more owners of 'my' breeds)

Me too. One of the other members (owns a Dachshund/Border Collie and Border Collie) goes, "I have seven books on Border Collies so I know a lot!" Oh gosh, if you want entertainment these people are hilarious.
She also got a little upset because she thought I was acting like I know "everything" about dogs. "You aren't the ONLY one who knows about dogs, Gaddy!" lol, lol, lol.

Really, I get pretty crazy when I hear people going, "I want one!" Because most of those times people only say that because the dog is "cute" or "sweet" or "my aunt has one" (hey, they even want one because they amaze 'em!). And it just bugs me like crazy! I mean, one person told me, "I love Canaan Dogs! They're on my list of favorite dog breeds.....they're so CUTE!" You bet I was a little upset .

In other news.. BIG SHOCKER HERE!
My mom and I have been talking about puppy-raising a guide dog (or a hearing dog or service dog) and she seriously wants me to do it before I graduate!
I was NOT prepared for that, I was prepared for a "FOUR dogs? Are you out of your freaking mind?" response, instead.. She actually said that once Dakota was trained reliably and both he and Ripley are neutered, that she wouldn't mind contacting GDA or a regional service dog training organization to talk to them about it. I don't know what brought on that sudden "oh yeah, let's do that someday!" response, but I hope it lasts for another 6-7 months or so, when I could actually consider it!

Oh gosh, I would love to raise a service dog.....but its not really possible for me right now . The girls wouldn't be happy a bit and I really don't have enough time to bring a dog everywhere.


LOL, I've never gotten stuck in a corn maze.....I have gotten lost in the stupid mall though!

[flyndog]

Boy, Grace. You're going to have a full house pretty soon!
DFrost, will look for The Shed, but don't normally seek out Mexican food. That's "home cookin'" here. I think the one thing I miss most about the big city is Thai food! And Home Depot.
I'm off. Shutting down the computer. On the road again...
Kit

[fireworksinjuly]

Originally Posted by Lil'Paws

Firewords, Working on cars again Girl. I bought pumpkins Friday also.

Yup, we changed the valve covers on the truck, twice, cuz the second set didnt fit right, the first ones were leaking oil...but its fixed...

Then we put shocks in my fiances Mustang.

We sorta worked on his friends Mustang cuz his turbo and starter werent working right- wires were switched arround...

then we fianlly got to my Mustang- we just got the door pannels off, and it cleaned so that his brother can take it all appart to paint it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
But yea I bought 8 pumpkins. Im like a kid in a candy store when it comes to halloween. TONS of carved pumpkins!! We went to 4 different pumpkin farms, only bought at 2 though.
Ive done so much moving in the last 2 years that I dont have many decorations, yet...

[Rip's Girl]

Originally Posted by gaddylovesdogs

Me too. One of the other members (owns a Dachshund/Border Collie and Border Collie) goes, "I have seven books on Border Collies so I know a lot!" Oh gosh, if you want entertainment these people are hilarious.

I was like that before I got my dog. I thought that since I had read almost every dog encyclopedia, training book, and breed description available to me, that I knew a lot about dogs. *hahahaha*
When I got my dog finally, (after 4 years) he threw so many challenges at me, those books would have had a hard time covering HALF of them. (And I had a hard time covering half of them. ) You don't know DIDDLY SQUAT about a breed and its characteristics until you own one. You get an idea about their temperament and such, but you're in for a surprise if you assume that your dog will be just like the breed book says it will.

[Rip's Girl]

Good afternoon all! Hope you've had a good start to your day.

I haven't bought pumpkins yet. Fireworks your post just reminded me of that. I need to do that soon.

The part of my life that isn't occupied by dogs is the part that SUCKS. I ran into a guy yesterday that I was very good friends with about a year and a half ago. He recognized me, while I was waiting for my mom to get out of the mall, (I didn't go in because I had Dakota and Ripley with me) and we wound up talking for an hour.
He's changed so much..
When I knew him, he was in college, living on his own, he had two APBT's, and a black mustang.

Now, he's dropped out of college, moved in with his 18-year-old brother, and is working drugs. He sold his dogs (My guess is for drug money) and his car, and on top of all that, a seventeen year old is pregnant with his kid. He's lost a LOT of weight (which was probably all muscle, because he wasn't overweight when I left)
I'm so mad at him, he's being such an idiot. He talked about his girlfriend being pregnant like it was a good thing! I bet he isn't even thinking about supporting the kid. He's being such a fool, and I think he's too drugged to know it.
It's really surprising how some people change...

[kjm]

Rips - I know what you mean. It makes me so sad to think about the girls that I grew up with having two or three kids, no jobs, and spending what money that do have on drugs or alcohol. They were so smart and popular and good at everything they did and for them to choose a life like that is so incredibly disappointing.

And a part of me can't help but feel a little awkward when I do see them on occasion and they ask about my life. I have a college degree, a great job, and a place of my own. Everything they don't have. And then they have to tell me what they HAVEN'T done with their lives.

[Coldnose]

Originally Posted by Rip's Girl

I was like that before I got my dog. I thought that since I had read almost every dog encyclopedia, training book, and breed description available to me, that I knew a lot about dogs. *hahahaha*
When I got my dog finally, (after 4 years) he threw so many challenges at me, those books would have had a hard time covering HALF of them. (And I had a hard time covering half of them. ) You don't know DIDDLY SQUAT about a breed and its characteristics until you own one. You get an idea about their temperament and such, but you're in for a surprise if you assume that your dog will be just like the breed book says it will.

I wish I had done research before I had adopted a border collie/lab mix. She was sweet, but was very high strung and sensative. There were so many things, looking back now, that I wish I had known when I had her. I also should have done more research before adopting one that had been abused. My only thought when I got her was that I wanted to save a dog and since I grew up with dogs, it would be no problem to raise her. Boy was I wrong!! Needless to say, I did A LOT more reasearch before I got another dog and have done things so much differently with my new dog. My heart still aches though over my other dog and all the things I did wrong with her. My biggest regret was not being able to be there when she was pts.

[gaddylovesdogs]

Originally Posted by Rip's Girl

I was like that before I got my dog. I thought that since I had read almost every dog encyclopedia, training book, and breed description available to me, that I knew a lot about dogs. *hahahaha*
When I got my dog finally, (after 4 years) he threw so many challenges at me, those books would have had a hard time covering HALF of them. (And I had a hard time covering half of them. ) You don't know DIDDLY SQUAT about a breed and its characteristics until you own one. You get an idea about their temperament and such, but you're in for a surprise if you assume that your dog will be just like the breed book says it will.

LOL, yeah. For me, it used to be "Border Collies = Farm Dogs".

I wish I had done research before I had adopted a border collie/lab mix. She was sweet, but was very high strung and sensative. There were so many things, looking back now, that I wish I had known when I had her. I also should have done more research before adopting a one that had been abused. My only thought when I got her was that I wanted to save a dog and since I grew up with dogs, it would be no problem to raise her. Boy was I wrong!! Needless to say, I did A LOT more reasearch before I got another dog and have done things so much differently with my new dog. My heart still aches though over my other dog and all the things I did wrong with her. My biggest regret was not being able to be there when she was pts.

So sorry you had to put your dog down . That must've been so horrible for you.

[Coldnose]

It was hard putting her down, especially since she was only 6. I still wonder sometimes if I did the right thing or not. A long story short, she had severe behavior problems that we were unable to fix and she was biting my 2 year old son, to the point of leaving brusies and towards the end, the biting was unprovoked. No rescues would take her and legally we could not adopt her out. So, we were left with the only option of putting her down. That's been the most heart wrenching decision of my life. It's the one time in my life I actually went into hysterics in public. I sleep with her ashes next to my bed, mainly because I don't have the heart to bury her.

[Rip's Girl]

Oh what a beautiful dog..
We had our wolf/lab mix PTS for aggression as well.. It's a very, very long story, but he was not genetically stable, he supposedly had brain damage from being hit on the head by his previous owners (he had a large dent in his skull that we think was from being hit with a baseball bat or a stick) and he was very dominant, possessive and he HATED strangers with a passion.. He tried to attack my dad one day (unprovoked) and that was the last straw.. I think if I would have had him now, I would have been able to work with his dominance and be able to live with him, but we didn't know much back then, and I was young and had friends coming in and out of the house, and we didn't want our huge dog to maul or kill one of my friends, so we had him PTS. He was the only dog we've ever PTS, and it was so upsetting to know that we were deciding to kill our devoted dog.

[gaddylovesdogs]

I hate losing pets...... A few years ago I lost some lizards (Chamelions) that I absolutely loved, named M&Ms and Amanda . Such sweet little things.....

[Barrett]

The last animal we had to put down was my little dwarf hamster named Joey. He got cancer and had a huge tumor on his belly. I took him to the vet and they wanted over 100 dollars to put the little guy to sleep. That was the first argument I ever got into with my husband because he didn't want to pay the money to put him down since he was "only a hamster". I ended up paying for it anyway and he got mad since we didn't have very much money at the time. I didn't want my husband to put the little guy down and I know I couldn't do it myself. At least I know Joey didn't feel any pain when we went. This was the vet at pets mart that wanted that much money to put a 1 ounce hamster to sleep!!! GRRRRR

[kjm]

We had a German Rottie named Sugar for about 13 years when I was kid. She got breast cancer and had a tumor that was very visible. It made her look like she was pregnant, it was so big. We lived in the country and definitely couldn't afford taking her to the vet to be put down, so my dad took her out one day while we were at school and put her down himself. It was one of the hardest thing my dad ever had to do. He went to her grave everyday for weeks to talk to her. She's the only one we had to ever PTS ourselves.