Spooky peepers.
It looks like he's looking straight into your soul.....;))
Posted on 04/15/2005 4:36:46 AM PDT by Salamander
EMERGENCY!
THERE ARE 20 IBIZAN HOUNDS IN OMAHA NEBRASKA
IN IMMEDIATE NEED OF HOMES!
Our "hierarchy" here changes more frequently than the guards at Buckingham Palace...:))
Izzy, being the Queen Bitch is really the alpha but little Phoebe, due to her stubborn tenacity and ability to switch on her "I'm just a puppy, don't get mad" act rules the roost as far as who sits on the sofa with "mom".
Poor Jack, being the only guy in a house full of literal bitches is at the bottom of the totem pole most always.
Pwca [Pookie] is the new addition and she tries to establish some sort of ranking *somewhere*.
Izzy bullies her one day and plays with her the next.
Even lowly Jack chases Pookie around the yard [which she instigates, by the way] and tiny Phoebe runs along behind Jack nipping him on the neck because she thinks he's "hurting" her littermate.
I never interfere with their jostling for position.
They're pack dogs and they must work it out for themselves.
They're smart, alright, but not like a "trainable" Doberman or German Shepherd.
All of their intellect is geared toward the Almighty Hunt *or* conniving and manipulating their alleged "owner"....:))
They are *not* "doggy" dogs.
There's no groveling, cowering or averted eyes.
They look you straight in the face as an equal.
Many is the time I've come back into the room to find my pillows or other possessions "rearranged" to suit their tastes.
With learned futility, I yell "Look at what you've done here!" and I always get the same response; an arrogant look that I swear says "Yeah. So?".
And I -love- it.
They are just so utterly *themselves*.
I could never live without one again.....:)
Just the otherworldly, hair-raising sound of their "hunting bay" is reason enough to love them.
They're definitely not a breed for the domineering "power over" type of person.
they look like very intelligent and alert doggies.
I don't know.
Right now, it's a miracle that the shelter is working with the rescue groups as much as they are.
The dogs are now "property" of the shelter and I reckon whatever they say goes.
Hannah, Bear and Big would be the greatest loss to the breed but all 3 are between 6-8 years old and it probably woldn't be a great idea to breed them after all they've been through, already.
Truth be told, I don't even know which dogs are still alive.
Some of the rescue people are saying that a number of dogs died before the HS got there.
The "owner" is telling people she kept only one and the HS is saying she has 10.
If she has 10 with her, they'll be the champion ones.
If those dogs are lucky, she'll do the right thing and give them to other breeders.
Pookie was show quality and cost her new owners close to $1000.
They beat her so badly they broke her rib and never had it treated by a vet.
She's been run through glass and screen doors, hit with some sort of short stick. [judging by her reaction to various items in my house, such as a dust pan with a 3 foot handle]
When those owners "tired of her" they gave her to another family with a son who thought it was "funny" to spook her into a blind panic.
Her "fear of men" approaches an irrational phobic horror.
She is a good dog and I love her dearly but she is and may always be "a problem child".
Sometimes it's *very* difficult to live with a broken dog who just doesn't seem to understand simple things such as "love", "play" and "safety" but you'd have to kill me to get her away from me.
Ibizans are -very- sensitive and can't abide yelling and must -never- be struck.
She's had worse than that.
She is currently "broken" but is getting a *little* better every day and her relapses into mindless panic are getting fewer and farther between.
It's not the cost of the dog that makes people treat them one way or another; it's the innate -mind- of the person.
Bad people are bad owners and vice versa, simple as that.....:(
What they did GSD hindquarters was sin.
They did the same thing to Dobermans in the 70s.
Their back legs were angulated and elongated that the poor dogs sidetracked when moving just to keep from stepping on their own front feet.
My first 2 Dobes were perfect "squares", like they were supposed to be.
The next 2 were "Americanized" and very long in the rear.
The last 2 were "squares" again because in the early 80s, *some* Doberman breeders rebelled.
They still have bizarre and exotic health problems though which is a shame because they are wonderful dogs.
Two of my dogs could be shown successfully but I have refused to do it because of those "cliques".
They'll just have to content themselves with being worshipped by an "applauding crowd" of two fans....:)
Even the most famous Ibizan right now moves "wrong" for the breed.
Their gait is *supposed* to a panther-like long-strided trot; *not* the "hackney pony" gait you see at Westminster.
The judges are partly to blame for they prefer the "flash and style" of a high-stepping trot over the endurance of the untiring, ground-covering "real" trot.
Then you found a "good" breeder.
With the tendency towards seizures, it was for the best.
*And* he'll live a -lot- longer.....:)
Oh yeah...big time.
They drive me nuts if they even *think* they hear something outside.
They bark at the night-feeding deer that they can't even see.
I have no idea how they know they're out there, but they do...at 3 am, every night....LOL!
How did one person wind up with so MANY of such a rare breed?
Check your FReepmail....:)
And the eyes are much more human looking that other breeds. None of this enormous black blob of a pupil. You do need to tell visitors and strangers not to get into a staring contest, if they value their faces.
Big litters.
Nyet! One Pippin is enough dog for any house!
My dogs routinely scare the bejeebers outta me when they're playing "tag" in the yard.
It's hard to believe that the canine body could contort and twist at 40 mph like theirs can but it's obviously not only possible, it's *fun*.....:))
Pookie, evil genius that she is, frequently runs hell bent for leather straight at the backyard fish pond with Phoebe in hot pursuit.
At the very last possible second, she simply jumps in midstride and turns 90 degrees to the right or left.
Once, Phoebe couldn't complete her own maneuver.
She had to hit the showers to get her new algae-green highlights washed off.
The poor little thing always turns well ahead of the pond now....:))
If Pookie weren't such a social phobic I'd consider letting her lure course.
She outruns the rest of the pack with no effort and turns like a corkscrew just for the sheer joy of showing off....:)
[and bless Pookie's heart, she "holds back" so the rest of them can keep up]
Their amber eyes are often unnerving.
[Sometimes they look at me strangely, like they're wondering if I'd "taste like chicken"]....:))
I gave up trying to "stare them down" years ago....LOL!
Spooky peepers.
It looks like he's looking straight into your soul.....;))
My room-mate runs a horse rescue, and she does basically the same thing with horses, except that she hardly ever lets them go after she gets them, since most people won't stick to her strict standards for adoption. So we have a lot of horses who stay at her barn for a long period of time. They're a part of the family. :-)
Our horses almost all have issues, so they're not terrific candidates for adoption, except to very special homes.
Thanks for all your hard work with these Ibizan Hounds. Doggs are the best friends one can have, imho.
Thanks Spooky.
I just wish I were geograpically closer to where this is all happening.
There's not much I can do physically from here....:(
[and I often call Pookie "Spooky" because she is].....;))
placemarker
I can help!! I have emailed the 2 contacts as indicated - just in case my assistance is needed.
I run a tiny little Sighthound rescue group in WA State & could most likely come up with a half dozen foster homes for these hounds, if that is needed or even logistically possible.
I am here if need be - with sighthound-savvy foster homes!!
Sincerely,
Jenya Campbell
www.sighthounds.petfinder.com
sighthound@gmail.com
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