Posted on 08/27/2011 2:44:20 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
And very intently paying attention to cricket hunting lessons, I see. :-)
He’s a doll. :)
We adopted a gorgeous little Sheltie at eight weeks. He was uber-healthy, but he plunged into a deep pit of depression after we brought him home. He refused to eat or even get up and walk around for three days. Finally he snapped out of it, and became the best dog we ever had. At the time I just thought he was unusually attached to his mother and siblings. Later, when I read that most dog experts recommend nine weeks, and I read their reasons, it all fell into place. I’ve advocated nine weeks ever since, but as you illustrated, there are plenty of exceptions.
I got my pup at eight weeks and felt it might have been too young. He is a little fearful.
But two of his sibs were kept by the breeder and they act similarly.
We coursed our greyhound once. She sustained some ugly injuries to her lower legs, with multiple trips to the vet, so we didn’t continue with her. Greys have such fragile skin. Joey has a couple of superficial faults although his conformation is excellent, and he is small. He loves to run and we’ve discussed lure coursing for him.
Gypsy is the 18” Velociraptor amongst 4 *much* taller Ibizans and 1 Dobermann and she can out-run *all* of them with barely any effort.
[we call her the rocket rat]....;D
She’s also The Merciless Slayer Of Vermin, hence her Velociraptor nickname but she’s the sweetest little snuggly-bug you’d ever meet.
I love Basenjis.
They’re such little characters.
You’re totally right about “primitive” breeds....:)
I once met 2 NGSDs.
The guy just let them run loose in this huge, fenced in pasture.
Even though they had a perfectly nice, fancy dog ‘barn’, they had dug themselves a good and proper den in the dirt and would come out and sit on top of it and “sing” at dusk.
It was just the coolest thing, ever.
He fed, tended and petted them but allowed them to live as they would in their natural environment.
Yes, please do nag!
:)
We adopted a Catahoula mix puppy from a shelter about 4 years ago, I’m sure she was taken too young from her mother. She just didn’t seem to know how to be a “dog” those next few months. We then adopted a Chihuahua puppy who was about 4-5 months old, and that helped her out some. About 6 months later we adopted another shelter dog, one that was about a year old and seemed pretty calm, that helped her out more. Eventually, I think being around other dogs has helped her alot....
She didn’t seem to liked to be touched much at first, didn’t play much, was a nipper of pant legs, never licked my hand or anything. She seems pretty normal now, (we have another Chihuahua now too, long story), our little pack in not perfect, but our big dog, the Catahoula is much happier and better behaved than I thought she was going to be as a puppy....
Awesome, fearless, powerful dogs, are Ridgebacks.
Just magnificent creatures.
:)
Thank you!
Dogs can be such clowns. :)
Oh, yes..he was a *very* attentive pupil....;]
There is a series of “cricket hunting” pics here, if you’d like to see.
They’re down toward the bottom.
http://ibizan-hound.com/odin.htm
I will. :)
He used to be...now he’s a big moose...LOL
[I sure miss being able to carry him around like a doll but that was *lots* of pounds ago]
I know people with Greys who carry _sewing kits_ with them on walks because a Grey can tear their thin skin on just about anything.
[Ibizans are almost as bad but generally have a little more hair for better protection]
The one coursing we went to was total chaos.
A big Deerhound was running after the bag and spied a bunch of little tikes playing soccer in the field next to the lure course and *jumped* the hedge and claimed the ball as his prize.
He came back over the hedge with his new toy and the little boys couldn’t make him give it back.
His owner was screaming, the kids were screaming, the coach was bellowing, the Deerhound was having a ball with the now-deflated ball, avoiding everybody who wanted to take it back.
[and that was just in the first 10 minutes we were there]...LOL
OMG...maybe that’s why I’ve got my current tagline...LOL
Holy mackerel. That must have been something. :)
We found out after she was bleeding all over the place that we should have wrapped her legs.
LOLOLOL!
Awww....poor baby!
Yes, that was one wild afternoon.
Every kind of sight hound you could imagine, all barking at once and the excitement of them running was almost too much.
You’ll *love* this..perfect soundtrack!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNhPJqSRGb4
Why they *don’t* usually lure course Dobes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWTwbOBNq5I
[it just doesn’t work right without that double-flexing spine thingy]...LOL
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.