The Hobbit Hole III - Journey to the Cross-roads!

[HairOfTheDog]

Welcome to The Hobbit Hole!

Journey to the Cross-roads
The Two Towers Edition

Come on! Come in! -if you would like to have some seedcakes and a pint and relax a while. (If it is a special occasion, we still have a few bottles of the old wineyards left!)

Our first thread ( New Zealander builds Hobbit hole ) reached 4,100 posts, and we thought that was big. Our second thread (The New Hobbit Hole ) held us for over 48,000 posts, and we loved it dearly. We talked about moving to a new thread for the last 38,000 posts, but we are really slow to muster! Finally, the time has come. Tomorrow (at 12:01 am, to be precise!) The Two Towers comes out, and we start a new chapter.

[Scott from the Left Coast]

she loved me

Dalmatians are quite extreme in their attachment to their people. They simply cannot bear separation very well. They are tremendously loving to their people, but sometimes a little cooler to outsiders (and sometimes not!)

Because of that you just have to include them in most everything you do!

[Lil'freeper]

Sweet- another snaig!

[Wneighbor]

Unfortunately the rest of the neighborhood didn't find it as amusing and pressed them out of business. Beautiful animals!

That was mainly my problem. They are really a handful and the two that I came into were both females and both had been purchased by someone wanting a "cool" animal but then were terrified of them when they were grown. The first one, I had years and years ago when I lived in Austin. The county ended up saying they were going to confiscate her and I gave her to a couple I knew just over the county line.

The second one was the one I bred. I got her about 12 years ago. I got a call from a breeder I know who knew how much I loved them. I wanted one but didn't have money to buy one. She called one day because she'd discovered that one of her cubs had been passed around through 2 other families and ended up with someone who didn't know what she was when they got her. Just thought she was pretty. So, this guy finds out she's 7/8 wolf and freaks. Puts her in an 8 X 10 covered run and is even afraid when he's putting the food in. He freaked when I came to get her. She was about 18 months old. I wore my leathers in case I needed protection There was good eye contact with her so I opened the gate to the run - while he's warning me that I didn't know what I was doing. Slipped in the gate and Lady rolled over on her back - paws up and sighed. I rubbed her belly, she sniffed me gently and it was love for both of us.

[Scott from the Left Coast]

One of the big problems with 101 Dalmatians is that all the very young children see -- children too young for a Dalmatian. They are the perfect dog for 12+ year old highly active child, but anything younger than that will probably be overwhelmed (and knocked down a lot in roughhouse play -- the only kind of play Dalmatians know).

[RosieCotton]

Dalmatians are quite extreme in their attachment to their people. They simply cannot bear separation very well. They are tremendously loving to their people, but sometimes a little cooler to outsiders (and sometimes not!)

Do they tend to attach themselves to a small number?

A family near me has a beautiful Dal (Christy). She doesn't dislike strangers, but she's not a Golden, either. ;-) They have a son who's probably in his early twenties at this point who has some learning disabilities...and he and that dog are just inseperable. I see them together all the time, and half the time when we visit, Christy is in Ben's lap, at his heels or being carried around (kind of a big dog to be carried, but she likes it!) They're such a sweet pair...really makes Ben's life complete, I think.

[Wneighbor]

Because of that you just have to include them in most everything you do!

I like doing that! :-) She was my frin!

dogs are so much better than husbands. sorry guys. i'm just too weird.

[RMDupree]

Australian Shepherds a/k/a Aussies.
They have their tails docked or bobbed so just a little nub is there.

Australian Cattle Dogs a/k/a Heelers
They have tails to use as rudders for quick turns when heeling cattle.

Australian Kelpies
They appear to be a completely different breed.

[Lil'freeper]

I loved going to visit those dogs- the owners would take them inside a lot during the summer. They named them various Indian names for wolf or variations thereof: Kita, Kona, Kaya... Oh happy memories- thanks for reminding me!

[Lil'freeper]

Wonderful pics- thanks!

[Scott from the Left Coast]

Dals are certainly BIG SHOW types of dogs -- they are mostly just big fakers! They'd much rather posture than fight with other dogs -- the big secret is that they really LIKE other dogs, they just don't want to admit it.

My male does need to be gotten after at times -- the males are SO dominant.

They also can be loud. I never have to turn on my home alarm system when the dogs are there. Their barking if someone unknown approaches the house is so loud you couldn't hear the alarm if it went off. Heck, you couldn't hear a shotgun go off when they're in "full voice".

[Wneighbor]

They're such a sweet pair...really makes Ben's life complete, I think.

See, I can just see that! I was really needing a dog at that time that just wanted to be attached to me. I didn't even know it at the time but that was exactly what I needed. Bear had just died, my oldest daughter married and moved off the face of the earth to FLORIDA! And I needed somebody.

[RMDupree]

I always tell people who are interested in Dals to be aware that they are not automatic "Pongos". LOL!

Dalmatians are very wonderful dogs, but as in any breed, they can only shine under the right roof!

[Wneighbor]

They named them various Indian names for wolf or variations thereof: Kita, Kona, Kaya

Those are cool names. In the summer mine liked to play in the water. In Austin I lived by the lake and she swam. Then, with the second one we lived in a place without AC and always had a kiddie pool in the yard. Had to have 2 because Lady got her's so messy.

[HairOfTheDog]

I suppose the loud part comes from the hound ancestry. Something related to Foxhounds I think!

[Scott from the Left Coast]

Dalmatians have the reputation of being aloof to anyone outside their personal "pack". And, yes, they can form intensely strong bonds with individual members of their "pack". And I mean intense! The dog would never recover if something happened to that particular "friend".

Mine have been well socialized and are very friendly with children (they're used to the kids coming up to them for pets), even if the male is a little too exuberant for young kids. But often, Dalmatians will ignore people that aren't the "special" ones that are their own pack members. They won't threaten these people or guard their own people from them -- they'll just kind of act like a British Butler around the "strangers".

[Overtaxed]

Still waiting......

Stupid Post Office!

[Scott from the Left Coast]

My male will both howl a bit and point -- both of which are hound characteristics from way back somewhere in his genes.

[HairOfTheDog]

Yeah.... I knew someone that had a kelpie.... they have the similar upright ears to cattle dogs, but they are really tall and light in build like a sight hound, cattle dogs are pretty low and stocky.

[ksen]

Quiz #15 Sam

1. Give Sam’s full name.

2. Sam followed in his father’s footsteps. What profession did they share?

3. Where did Sam and his father, Ham Gamgee, live?

4. How did Sam become involved in Frodo’s journey?

5. Whom did Sam very much want to see?

6. What did Sam call Gollum?

7. What did Sam decide to do when he thought that Frodo had been killed by Shelob?

8. Why was Sam able to rescue Frodo single-handed from Cirith Ungol?

9. Whom did Sam marry?

10. How many times did Sam become Mayor of the Shire after the War of the Ring?

Enjoy……..

[HairOfTheDog]

And you are still waiting for me to even SEND the check.... sorry about that. My checks still haven't arrived, and I am expecting a call from my landlord any day.

I may get evicted and have to move myself and the livestock up into the hills with the militia dudes after all! Eeeeeeek!