Nice People 12: Nice in Nice

lostinrates

LydiaJ wrote: »

When we get a dog we will be getting a rescue dog and looking for:

Good with children and other dogs
Temperamentally suited to be a household pet
Likes to play fetch - so that if I'm too tired to go for a proper walk (or just can't be bothered ) I can stand/sit still in the park and throw a ball until the dog has had lots of running time
Short-medium fur - doesn't need more grooming than I've got time for

And my only 2 looks-based criteria:
"Sensible" ears - I don't like long ears that trail in the food bowl and on the ground
Straight or straightish tail - I have a thing about very curly tails (ie up over the dog's back all the time) and don't like them.

I would add non reactive to other dogs ( I.e, safe to walk off the lead even if another dog is a bit cheeky to him/ her).

Reactive is a big issue now. So much more so than even recent years, lots of people feel dogs should not be allowed off lead to run. Obviously, as a sight hound owner, with dogs BRED to run, this is an anathema to me. But for all dogs who have not 'got problems ' ( shorthand, shorthand ) I think running and socialising is really important.

GDB2222

Doglet wanted to go out, so I let her out of the back door. It's been ten minutes now, and she hasn't returned. I'm off to bed for an early night. I expect she'll be okay in her furry coat, even though it's a bit chilly.

Night night Doglet.

lostinrates

vivatifosi wrote: »

Out of interest, what breeds would you recommend as family dogs?

I've lived around collies, a golden retriever/lab cross, a dalmatian, two dobermans, lurchers of differing mix/temperaments, a corgi/collie cross, and a pekinese. The pekinese was by far the snappiest, most ill tempered. The golden retriever/lab was ideal as a family dog. The others were all lovely in their own way. But if I was able to have my own dog I would undoubtedly go for a collie. They are such brilliant intelligent dogs, but because of that I'd never put them through the separation anxiety they get from their owners being out all day. Plus as NDG says they need constant exercise as well as mental stimulaiton.

Um, too big a question for me to think of without serious thought.

I guess you mean taking on the big lists and challenging them?

Could be fun. :D. But would need to put in some serious research into some breeds i don't know so well.


My first dog was a Doberman. We loved each other to hell and back. I wastiny, and he wouldn't allow my parents to argue near me without him standing between us, and he was just amazing. As a family dog, not so much, he undermined my parents, growled at them for punishing me, ( even bit when I was slapped ). He was run over.

Labs / retrievers are in top lists for a reason. :)They cope remarkably well with less exercise than they should get is the best reason I think.

Peaked, not known as family dogs.....I geese you saw why...there will be exceptions to the rule I. Every breed though.......

Dogs bred in homes where there are children and other pets will allways be better with other pets and children. But breeders cannot keep having kids into their sixties so that pups are acclimatised.


Fwiw, good breeders often do not breed to sell puppies. They breed for a match they want a puppy from. The puppies they don't want to keep are for sale. They may or may not be show quality. Sometimes it might take a couple of litters to get the pup they want from a match.

So etimes they might breed for other reasons, but making good crosses is the best. Too few crosses and the gene pool gets too tight again though. So etimes its worth a good cross over the ideal cross for various reasons.

:
Of our three I'd say big dogs were amazing g family pets. But they aren't inexpensive, at all . The cost disparity is significant. And I would not recommend them to some one on average income on that basis alone. In all other respects they are pretty fabulous tbh. Easy to excercise, amazing with kids, non reactive. But expensive.

I just checked kennel club and they reckon kiwi wants up to an hour of exercise.

He gets more than that most days, ok, not with me, but pottering alone, or pottering with RP. All weekend helping with us. Plus his more formal sprints.

I cannt imagine how he'd cope on just an hour mainly lead walking. He's into everything.

GDB2222

Just heard her bark, and DS is letting her in.

Yorkie1

vivatifosi wrote: »

Out of interest, what breeds would you recommend as family dogs?

... But if I was able to have my own dog I would undoubtedly go for a collie. They are such brilliant intelligent dogs, but because of that I'd never put them through the separation anxiety they get from their owners being out all day. Plus as NDG says they need constant exercise as well as mental stimulaiton.

We had a Shetland Sheepdog (a mini Lassie). They have the collie look but need far less exercise / stimulation (they'll take it if you give it, but don't get neurotic if you don't give it) than the border collie.

SingleSue

Think my stress levels and exhaustion has caught up with me...pranged the car this evening. Luckily nothing too serious, just a couple of small scrapes and a broken headlight protector (not the actualy headlight) and it was only an inanimate item, my mum and dad's brick pillar going into their driveway.

Going to have weeks of ribbing about being spatially impaired now!

SingleSue

GDB2222 wrote: »

I'm going to get into trouble for saying this, but I blame the breeders. Seriously, a six month old dog with hip dysplasia should be put down, so that he cannot pass on his defective genes. Or at least neutered.

My cat has double severe hip dysplasia. He has one operated side (£3k operation, luckily I had the foresight to have him insured the day I got him) which is now just a muscular joint (it was too severe to do anything with the actual bone) but they are unable to operate on the other side as the operated side is not strong enough to cope during recovery.

As a result, he is not allowed to go outside on his own in case the unoperated side comes out, so I have to take him for walks on his lead, just like you would with a dog! If his hip does come out, I have been shown how to gently massage it back in place and we have a handy stock of pain killers for when he needs it...which luckily, is not that often.

When I got him, we had no idea there was any problems, it was only discovered when he was about 5 or 6 months old when I could feel clunking (I remembered the symptoms of clicky hips in human babies). I do have to make sure he doesn't become overweight and has plenty of safe exercise but other than that, the vet is very happy with him and his pain levels/progress and sees no reason for him not to be here.

No chance of him passing on his dysplasia, those bits were taken care of at the same time as his big op.

Nikkster

Look after yourself Sue. hope you've got some quieter days coming up?

SingleSue

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

My parents' border collies are great - they are fun, not delicate at all, great at fetching, look sensible - but I certainly wouldn't choose them with young children (like Kermie) around. Isaac-aged kids would be fine, but I don't think collies are great with babies and toddlers. I'm very careful with Kermie and the collies when we visit.

Collies are only sensible for people who walk a lot, or have land for the collies to run on, I think. They need serious exercise, and would get miserable wihtout it.

My parents had a collie lab cross, they got her when my sister was very young....she was the most wonderful, gentle dog you could ever imagine and she even learnt to soft bark so she didn't wake the baby!

She died when she was almost 20 years old.

Saying that though, she was never left alone with my sister, neither was their following dog (a collie, lab and something else cross dog) left with any of the grandchildren unsupervised...although they were both lovely, gentle dogs, you just can never be too sure.

SingleSue

Nikkster wrote: »

Look after yourself Sue. hope you've got some quieter days coming up?

Nope!

Clearing the loft tomorrow in preparation for getting a new heating system...although they (housing association manager and heating engineer manager) are now arguing about whether I am getting one or not.

After that, I have to completely clear my kitchen ready for getting a new kitchen, except they can't tell me when the new kitchen is going in and seem to expect me to live out of boxes for my kitchen stuff for what could be in a couple of weeks, a couple of months or even a year, no idea at all...if we had taken them at their word all those years ago, we would have been living out of boxes for cooking for the last 16 years!

Then a joint 18th and 21st birthday party.

Youngest's resit and his normal stress levels.

Hassles with middle son and his courses...he has become very aspergic in recent weeks.

Should calm down a little by Christmas hopefully :rotfl: