The dog musing/vent thread

People that are like "x form of containment is cruel!"

Is the dog well cared for? Yes?
Is the dog at large? No?
Is the dog destroying things? No?
Is the dog always contained this way 24/7? No?

Then why the muffin butts does it matter? At least they ARE contained.

It's the little things that are so amazing - I took Sawyer outside, he peed. He then laid in the grass and was chewing on a stick, I went inside and stood at the door watching him and eventually got bored with that so I called him back in. He started coming toward me and then about halfway to me he stopped - paused for a moment - turned around and walked back to the grass and then pooped. GOOD BOY.

And Juno has just been so perfect and wonderful even though I've completely flipped her life around this past week. We get to go to a barbecue tomorrow with family, and then to a friend's for a bonfire later in the night, and I think both pups are going to be super happy about it all

That's a good idea, I know she runs 4 dogs in agility in VA so maybe I can find her that way.

One of the big Los Angeles municipal shelters was full already before this weekend, so they put out a call on Facebook asking people to foster a dog for four days to allow them to handle the major influx of lost-and-quickly-found dogs. They got 64 dogs adopted, fostered, or pulled by rescues yesterday so they didn't have to euthanize anyone for space.

I did something kind of smart the other day. The dogs have nice ID tags from Fetching Tags, but I got to thinking about making a separate one for Rhys. I've seen a lot of people make custom tags that say things like "Needs Medication", "I'm a Service Dog", etc.

Rhys is DA and not trustworthy around unknown dogs. So I made him a cheap tag that says "Not good with other dogs. Pls keep separate and contact ...."

I hope he never gets loose because he could cause some serious problems. But he does love people so hopefully if someone took him temporarily they could keep him and their animals safe.

I'm ridiculously proud of the dog today.

1)The last few times we've been to herding practice, Index was very frustrating to me. When he's focused he's pretty on-point, shows ability... but half the time he just seems to wander around with his head up his butt. It's been a mystery, to an extent - known contributing factors being my fault but difficult to correct in myself when I only practice on sheep two or three times a month.

Then the trainer decided to handle him last turn today, and with a more experienced person guiding him he did well, and she announced that he is ready to start working sheep off of the long line. She's of the opinion that his issues with inattention are due to boredom and confusion. He - like most Catahoulas - wants to be a tight-working dog, and keeping him on the line is turning him off because not allowing him closer to the stock is tantamount to telling him not to work. And to be honest, I'm too strict with him on the line, because I'm inexperienced and anxious myself. He gets mixed signals and then shuts down.

She's much more confident obviously and let him have a lot of line and even being allowed close to the sheep he didn't show signs of flipping into prey drive, so with some practice responding to directions with a shepherd's cane in the interim, we should be working sheep freely next session. It feels like a big step forward and I think it's going to help his progression a lot so I am very happy.

2) I was tired when we got home and forgot the ducks were out in the yard and let the dog out with them...

And he "down"ed perfectly for me even after one jumped on his head, and then helped me pen them again. No attempting to eat or even unnecessarily chase them. He's getting it.

Just... :hail: :cheers:

"Your dog is so well behaved! Is he a service dog?"

"Thanks! Actually, she's just a pet"

"Oh, did you take her to obedience class?"

"No, I trained her myself."

Initiate look of extreme disapproval.

And very confused me.

A friend of mind hinted that I'm kind of flakey...at first I was really offended, but then I realized that I don't think twice about cancelling plans with friends if I'm too tired, or just not feeling it. But if I promise Smiley we're going to the beach, we're going to the beach no matter what.

I'm just gonna complain about ridiculous rescue policies here one more time.

Foster puppy plans changed so I'm not going to take the cute brindle puppy today (the old foster decided she could keep her). But it looks like I'll take a different one this weekend.

This.

Ten working dogs and I'm off work for an injury for a week. Anyone want to borrow a dog or two??

You can pass the koolies and the mals over!

What's with all of you getting injured!? Stop!

Dibs on Taboo.

Edgar and Mighty, please.

I'll take Edgar and Zip Tie

I call Zuma!

I was going to say, poor Zuma!! She was heart broken for a bit.

So I actually wicketed Hank.

Annnnnnnd.... he's right at 16" tall. WTF. I've been WAY underestimating his height. I thought he was under 15"....

It's a toss whether he'll have to jump 18" USDAA.

COULD THIS PUPPY BE MORE PERFECT.

I had last week off work so today was my first day back since having him, and I worked 8a-7p with an hour for lunch. He's going to be coming to work with me at least until he's old enough to only need a lunch time potty break. He does not generally settle well in his crate unless he is tired and ready for a nap, so I thought this long day was going to be torture for him (and me, knowing he'd hate it).

I set him up with a toy and a little marrow bone, and I don't think he really touched either but HE DID NOT MAKE ONE PEEP ALL DAY. The vast majority of the time he was passed out asleep. Sometimes he was just quietly watching us go about our business. It was most impressive because there was another dog in the room with him who was getting neutered today and he barkbarkbarked alllllllll day and I thought for sure he would either bark back or be scared.

He went accident free during that whole time (different story once we got home) and was a good boy for his puppy wellness exam.

Juno also did well with her first time being alone for that amount of time. Well, aside from the fact that she got into a bag of Zukes I had sitting on the table. But that's pretty typical of her lol.