[culturehandy]

I adore all those puppies!

[lucizoe]

awwwww, karianne...Yuki's so cute!

My baby girl

ETA- Ginger, he looks like he's being so coy. "Haroooo??"

[karianne]

let's try this...

Yuki

[karianne]

ginger! our dogs look so much alike. Mine is a cattledog, but mixed with something else. Not sure what.

I will try to post a pic. Actually, I think there is a tiny one in my profile.

[ginger_kitty]

This is my beautiful cattledog:
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/8793/p42200322jp.jpg

[lucizoe]

Ha! Zoe digs holes in the dirt when it's hot and sits her tummy right in them. MmmmMMMmmmMMMMmmm - cool dirt on tummy! Just like a pig, too.

[culturehandy]

There is no point in scolding her, she has such a thick coat, that when it hits more than 12 degrees here, she just likes to cool down. Plus when she was a puppy I wanted her to se swim, gosh look at what I have created.

[cloverbee]

sounds like my clover. if there is no water around but just mud, she'll wallow in the mud like a pig until she's brown all over!! it cracks people up but really gets me pissed. I don't even bother to scold her anymore though. she's just a dog and that's what doggies do.

[culturehandy]

We don't even bother putting Isabel on a leash anymore. If there are kids around we do, its just that she is so friendly, and very very very nosey and curious. I took her to the park today, and the little bugger, after swimming and lunching on frogs, was trying to chase some critters through the bushes, and she got even dirtier. *sigh*

[pollystyrene]

I've never tried a head harness type leash (the former owners of our dog warned us that he would yank right out of it!) but I tried one these and took him outside. There was a little dog out there and my dog wiggled out of this thing in about 4 seconds and play attacked the other dog...except to me and the other dog's owner, it looked like more attacked than play. It was awful, and I learned the all-important lesson of ALWAYS try out new leads/harnesses/whatever in an enclosed environment- never just out in public! My dog's been a real pain lately, and as much as I hate to do it, we may go to a prong collar. I can't take the pulling anymore.

Serves me right for taking on a "training-resistant" dog.

[cloverbee]

wow, you guys are really making me want to go down to the shelter and rescur a puppers. I just may do that. I wonder if my landlord would let me. I know my dad would kill me. Dogs are a huge responsibility and I don't know if clover would even want a sibling. hmmm....we'll see.

[lucizoe]

((msgoofball)) I'm sorry...I've been wanting a dog lately, too, and it's driving me nuts. Furbaby lust!

I've been torturing myself lately...my favorite radio show host just lost one of her doggies and her whole show on Tuesday was people calling in and sympathizing, sharing stories of pets, etc. It made me all globby and I sat on the couch holding the cat that made me his human weeping with guilt over the fact that I had to leave my dog with my parents when I moved.

It's best for her, I know. She's all bonded with her sister (Lucy and Zoe, my two stupid lovable pound puppies) and she's in the country with a big house and yard. Here she'd be stuck in a tiny tiny trailer-in-the-sky with two cats. I just miss her so badly, and it's not like we can get on the phone and chat. She's brought me through so much and I feel like I've abandoned her or something, like I should have stayed in my small town just so she can get all the walkies and treats she wants.

Here I go again...I've been so weepy lately. I think it's all the anxiety over the move.

The Gentle Leader collars are awesome. Lucy likes to pull, too, but you put her in her "orthopedic collar," as my mom likes to call it, and after some gnashing of teeth and attempts to pull it off her nose, she'll walk right next to me, with her leash slack.

Sometime I'll post the picture of the two of us with the exact same expression on our faces.

[msgoofball]

the animal shelter called me back yesterday...the other couple doesn't want the dog only because it turns out 'blackie' has an eye condition that will make him need $35 eyedrops once a month for the rest of his life. thats not a problem for me...but time is an issue. i paid way more for fred's meds. but upon talking it over with mom(my animal sidekick and backup feeder) and mr. gb..(who has only had our cat jake), they both agree that with my busy schedule, there's no way i could squeeze a dog into it. which in my mind makes no sense since we have a huge pen for him to roll in the grass, which is attached to a shed...and he's a senior so he would be less active...bleh..it made me teary eyed yesterday thinking about it. so it will be at least a year before i get a dog. poop...sorry about the rant.

[cloverbee]

I used the gently leader on Clover and she just found ways to pull. she would keep her neck really tight or something and pull anyway. I went to the pinch collar which works a little but she still pulls just not as much. It's the only really bad habit she has yet to break.

[turbojenn]

yup, raskel's got it....those Drs have the best stuff for our furrry friends....I adore "musher's secret" in the winter to keep salt outta turbo's paws.

Here's the site The Kind Drs.

[raskel]

damona, we got our Halti (aka gentle leader) from the Drs. Foster and Smith catalog. They work wonders.

[damona]

sorry for the double post but...clickieclickie i ran across this and thought i'd post it here.

jenn, where would i find this gentle leader leash?

[turbojenn]

Yup, turbo is reconvering nicely...full of piss and vinegar as my mum would say, since he's upset that he's not getting long walks and can't play with his buddies. I took him back to the dog park last night for the first time, and just kept him on leash, and he was moderately happy bossing them around from the sidelines, barking happily away.

damona - have you tried using a Gentle Leader on your pup? Its a harness that goes over their muzzle, around the back of the head, and the leash attaches to it...the dogs can still bark, and pant and sniff, its just nylon cord, but it teaches them not to pull as much, since its uncomfortable for them...I know the northern breeds are of their own mind much of the time, but it might help. The Gentle Leader has tamed many of the enthusiastic labs in our neighborhood.

[msgoofball]

super cute damona!!!

i went to the animal shelter the other day to see if i found a dog that wanted me...y'know...had a connection...and this little shy pooch walked up to me and leaned on my leg...how heartbreaking is that...?
turns out he was rescued from a neglected home and needed alot of TLC (the handler was really surprised that the dog came up to me) so me and 'blackie' sat with him in my lap for like 15 min. sooo cute even with his flaky skin and crusty eyes..but he had already been spoken for..i still put in a back up just in case the first one flaked. who knows what will happen. but i think its time for some puppy love.

[damona]

farmgirl, that is one adorable puppy!

jenn, i'm glad that turbo is recovering from his little "adventure" ok.

spazz-dog aka dakotah aka koda is becoming slightly less spazz-ish. i've been trying to spend a little more time with him, i take him in the car now and then and stuff. but i cannot take that dog for a walk on a leash. he pulls so damn hard i'm afraid he's choking himself, not to mention my arms aren't strong enough to fight with nearly 60 pounds of dog for long!!

he took off the other day when my sister left the back gate open just a few seconds too long... that was fun. had to go chase the pooch through 5 different yards before we caught up to him.

lookie the first pic, "kimara", looks almost exactly like my dakotah (since i'm a dork and can't seem to figure out how to post pics off my phone!) the only difference is that his ears flop over a bit at the tips.