"escapee" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 25 Jun 2004 22:11:30 GMT, "Vox Humana"
opined:


"Ann" wrote in message
.. .
expounded:

here are the pictures of Rose.
http://puregold.aquaria.net/mad/sweetrose.htm


What a thoughtful, wonderful, loving thing to do, giving webspace for
this tribute. Thank you.

I met Rose this spring. She was a wonderful dog. I've just buried
my Molly Dohawg Babydoll, just a month ago. It's so sad that they
don't last as long as we do (



Make me wonder how people can be abusive or simply get rid of a dog
because
it doesn't fit their lifestyle.


Because most people are assholes?

That's one theory. I work with some rescue organizations doing home visits
and transports. I can't tell you how many great dogs I have seen that
people simply got rid of because of minor issues. The most given reason is
that they decided to have a baby and the dog MIGHT be a problem. Some dogs
are dumped because of marriages, divorces, new furniture, health issues.
The list is endless. I found my male in a rural area where I was working.
I took a short-cut and found this 6 mo. old dog along side the road. He was
very sick and dirty. I though maybe he escaped from somewhere, so I went up
and down the road knocking on door but no one claimed him. When I realized
what bad shape he was in, I knew that it was better that he wasn't returned
home even if he was lost (which I'm sure isn't the case.)

well just talked to neighbor who in past conversations talked about her family having
springers (she likes my Pap) and said her husband would only consider a springer...
he wants to train one for hunting. Harry is from hunting stock. she said she would
ask him when he comes home tomorrow. indication of a very good home ....she is a
gardener!!!
Ingrid


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

The message
from contains these words:

The two smaller dogs are both neutered already. We had planned on
neutering, but I
really cant take a chance on another attack.
Contrary to what is being said by vets, castration most certainly can
result in a dog
becoming fat ... if they are springers and on the free food system.


"Free food system" for dogs? Is that an American notion?

According to our vet dogs' digestive system is designed for a hearty
scoff followed by a fast during which they fully digest what's in their
belly. For healthy active adult dogs, that means one substantial,
appropriate meal a day.

It is extremely easy to get a dogs weight down when humans control
what is in their
food dish of course.

Which is part of the human responsibility of owning one.

However, if your other dogs are neutered, perhaps that's even more
reason to even up the pack dominance issue by neutering Harry too? You
could muzzle him to prevent any biting until you see if castration had
the desired effect. I'd also feed the dogs with a closed door between
them, and remove all empty food dishes as soon as they have eaten, as
aggression and over-assertiveness often start round even empty dishes.
Janet

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from contains these words:

"Vox Humana" wrote:
Make me wonder how people can be abusive or simply get rid of a dog
because
it doesn't fit their lifestyle.

well... Tonight Harry our 1+ year old springer and Sims my 7+ year old
Pap got into a
fight and we had to take Sims to emergency to make sure none of the
wounds needed
stitches (none did). This is the second time Harry has nailed Sims
and on the way
home we decided Harry needs a new home as the next time we are
unlikely to get this
lucky. Sims is undoubtedly "in your face" but the fact is, he was
here first and big
dogs are always wrong just because of size.

We had that problem, when a normally goodnatured male youngster pup
reached puberty and adult-size/strength, and twice attacked our smaller,
weaker older male with serious intent. There's another solution.

Dogs are pack animals, so have a social pecking order. When a male pup
moves into a household he accepts his role as lowest-status dog, and
accepts an older male as his superior. At one year old Harry is maturing
sexually and male hormones cause him to challenge the status quo, and
try to establish himself as top male. Have the young dog castrated, and
the dominance-assertion behaviour will fade away as his testosterone
level drops. The older, entire dog will retain his top-dog status
unchallenged, even though he's smaller, and peace will result.

That was the advice our vet gave us in the same situation, and it
worked. The aggressive dominance by the young dog stopped. He did not
become fat, lethargic or dull..those are old wives tales.. and remained
boundingly healthy, athletic, energetic, and a wonderful companion until
he died of old age at 16.

I agree. Also, you can give yourself an edge by avoiding having dogs of the
same sex (two females can be just as problematic as two males). Also being
careful with your choice of large breed will help as many are typically not
dominant. For years we had a female collie and a male shih-tzu. There were
no serious problems. The little guy was the boss and our girl accepted
that.

Jim

I dont know if it is american. most canids scrounge and eat all day long, insects,
mice, etc. they dont actually rely on the "big kills" which are actually not that
frequent. until our dogs were neutered they would eat a mouthful every now and then
all day long and were fit. there were no "food fights", no guarding their food bowl.
actually the free food system works for most animals.
Large dogs may get by on one large meal... ours do, but many people with small active
dogs find they must have a couple or even 3 small meals a day to keep glucose levels
up. with a single large meal the dogs seem to be looking/begging for food the rest
of the day unlike when they were on the free food system.
Harry is a very high energy dog. neutering him will not make that kind of a
difference. I will find a suitable home for him. I wont risk Sims being killed.
Ingrid

Janet Baraclough wrote:
"Free food system" for dogs? Is that an American notion?

According to our vet dogs' digestive system is designed for a hearty
scoff followed by a fast during which they fully digest what's in their
belly. For healthy active adult dogs, that means one substantial,
appropriate meal a day.

However, if your other dogs are neutered, perhaps that's even more
reason to even up the pack dominance issue by neutering Harry too? You
could muzzle him to prevent any biting until you see if castration had
the desired effect. I'd also feed the dogs with a closed door between
them, and remove all empty food dishes as soon as they have eaten, as
aggression and over-assertiveness often start round even empty dishes.
Janet





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

escapee wrote:
On Wed, 23 Jun 2004 12:48:14 -0400, "madgardener" opined:

I wanted to apologize for posting the picture of Rose on the garden
newsgroup this morning. My grief was and still is so overwhelming that I
didn't think. My sincere apologies for doing that. I should have put it over
on the alt.binaries.pictures.gardens
madgardener too sad to cry anymore

So sorry for your loss. If sharing photos and stories helps cut the grief
just a little bit, share away. No one that has ever been lucky enough to
have that special animal in their life will do anything but feel for you.

-- Karen with cats and horses

The Garden Gate http://garden-gate.prairienet.org
================================================== =================
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."
^and cats -- Cicero
================================================== =================
On the Web since 1994 Forbes Best of Web 2002

Janet Baraclough expounded:

According to our vet dogs' digestive system is designed for a hearty
scoff followed by a fast during which they fully digest what's in their
belly. For healthy active adult dogs, that means one substantial,
appropriate meal a day.

I had to feed Molly twice a day, but only half the day's rations.
That kept her a healthy, active adult dog for many years. She had a
touchy digestive system, and only ate her special food mixed with
rice. I still hesitate at the supermarket, wondering if I've got
enough rice at home..............

--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************