The dog musing/vent thread

This. Half in and half out of the APBT community, I really get that. Especially when the people who usually get in a twist about it do so because they're owners of, usually, older working/gamebred lines and you generally almost never find those in shelters because they keep such tight grip on them nowadays. And most mixes in shelters don't really compare to the working dog - I mean, their drive is EXTREME up the wall constantly so to call any standard bully looking dog a Pit Bull, like calling a Chessie a Lab (both retrievers but still not the same), it's really doing a disservice to the breed, especially considering the misconceptions and the gunk surrounding it with bad breedings where temperament isn't taken into consideration.

Cajun totally did the dogwalk and half of the teeter at agility today Our silly park shenanigans and jumping on objects paid off! She didn't fall or slip or look ridiculously clumsy at all. She just isn't so sure what to think about the teeter moving underneath her but that's okay. I feel like I accomplished something.

She also randomly decided my bed looked comfortable. Which, the way she sheds, this is the LAST dog I want on my bed.

I have the best dog in the world. She is so sweet. Tries so hard. Is so easy.

I'm so lucky to have her.

When Michael and I really drunk fake fight, Abrams gets very upset. Like, really upset. Poor guy didn't know who to bark at and who he was supposed to be defending.

So, there was a neighborhood party tonight.Someone made me in charge of 4 dogs,& 13 kids, all under 10 years of age. This was during dinner. It was chaos. The kids were feeding the dogs. The dogs were eating everything. They both weren't listening.

Never again.

Oh my gosh! I don't know how you got through that, knowing my anxiety I would have just said no lol.

I think I broke my dog, but in a good way. Hudson says a week of 2 toddlers, hiking, swimming, and then more hiking is too much for his wee little brain and he needs a few days to rest. Lazy slug.

In other news, he does know how to swim and liked playing retriever.

Dear rental agencies:

My dog is small to me. 40 pounds does not a giant make. He barks once a month if that for ten seconds, he is crated to prevent destruction when I'm not around, he is friendly and has his CGC. He has garnered zero complaints living in a NYC apartment. Why are you making this so difficult? I just want a place that's not in a crack den that allows dogs, I don't need anything fancy or remodeled.

Please, please work with me on this. Especially because I hope to get a second dog in the next year.

Love (not really though),
A frazzled dog owner

It's appalling to me how many renters /hotels / apartments allow kids but not dogs, IME kids are MUCH more destructive than dogs, even a "bad" dog.

I've never met a kid that ate doors, drywall, carpet, or went through glass windows.

And their hair doesn't tend to get in EVERYTHING lol.

And on the same train of thought, why rent to people who drink? Drunk people can be prone to belligerent and destructive behaviour.


In all fairness, kids are perfectly capable of causing a pile of damage. But kids are still human. Which have, and always will have rights above dogs.

That said, my apartment has a nice chunk out of the bathroom door corner from the last dog, AND the walls are all multicoloured scribblings through the paint job the landlord did. Makes me feel okay about the dogs shedding.

Do you have a 'resume' for Astro? I found it useful to lay out all the training my dogs had and I also included references - made renting a bit simpler for me, though that was in SC.

Quinzel,

You are totally perfect. You can listen, you can think for yourself but enjoy thinking and working with me instead of against me. You are insanely active and well built, I could gear you towards anything you wanted to do. You are driven, and if you aren't innately driven, it isn't hard to get your interest in something. You're pretty bombproof already, even if you are going through a bit of a fear period.

So why, oh why in the world, would you decide Zander is the best thing since sliced bread? He is the WORST DOG TO IMITATE. EVER. There is a whole reason you are a Border Collie, and not a Sibe puppy.

So kindly stop. kthx
Mom

PS. Also, the crate screaming and sharkiness can end anytime now. Just saying.

Ugh, I feel you. Sorry you're going through that.

I second the doggy resume/CV. Be sure to include basic stats, vaccination/reproductive status, training history, titles, references (vet/trainer/pet sitter/whatever) and cute pictures.

I also included a few bullets on why I am a conscientious and responsible tennant/pet owner (ex nails trimmed every week to make sure there are no scratches on floors, I take her down the street in winter so there aren't yellow marks all over the snow on the front walkway, etc) and the contact info of my current landlord/neighbours as a reference. That way they can rest easy knowing your dog doesn't bark all day, or you don't leave **** all over the common areas.

Yesterday my friend and I hiked a bit of the Long Trail. Meg and Gusto came along (if I'd realized how strenuous the hike was, Meg would have stayed home, but getting lost makes for unpredictable hikes).

As we are going up the steep, twisty, forested path, I heard barking up ahead. Heard my friend comment "Careful, I bite back" and then a warning to me that there was a dog coming. I put my two on leash (Meg does not take kindly to dogs running at her barking). An adolescent doodle-ish thing comes out ahead of the owners, doing the approach and bark and back away barking thing. Sketchy. It is off leash. It is coming close enough that I threw Meg behind me and let Gusto move forward, as he can often distract dogs from coming all the way to Meg. Dog is fine with him, Meg is still thinking it probably should die.

And the owners start arguing with me. "Dogs do better off leash. She won't hurt a flea. You should just drop the leashes. She's fine." And I do my usual "My dog is really protective of dogs coming near me, she's not going to be nice if your dog comes closer." And they keep lecturing me on letting the dogs work it out and holy cow how I wish I'd just let Meg take care of the situation. "Oh, you want her off-leash?! Hope that doodle can run fast." Zero attempt to catch their dog, put it on a leash, or even keep moving past. Because they can't lecture me if they are moving past.

And apparently they had some snide remark to my friend along the lines of "Well I guess she's a good judge of character". No, she's a sketchball, and you guys are idiots.

The Plague Dogs, is just....a really depressing movie. It was a great movie, just, really depressing.

Yep! The last time I watched I sobbed uncontrollably for hours. And I'm not one to really cry. Great movie. Heart-wrenching ending. It's one of my all time favourites.

I had never heard of it before today.
Just finished watching it...wow... Very well done, but incredibly sad.

Met a kid today who said to me, "y'know, pit bulls can turn any minute. I watched this show called Pit Bulls and Parolees, and that's what happens."

I used to watch that show sometimes... I think this kid and I were watching two totally different shows or something. 0.o just boggled.

Clumsiest Dog on Planet (aka Cajun) is now successfully lifting up her back feet - deliberately - and targeting with them. She thinks doing this on the wobble board is the most wonderfully fun thing ever because all she has to do is stand there and she gets jackpotted!

It's hilarious to me because Juno, who is SO ultra aware of all her body parts, has never been able to master any "tricks" involving using her back feet. She's very deliberate about not using her back feet!