Postings by Josie

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Josie Happy to work     Barked: Mon Jun 17, '13 5:27pm PST  wow ....poor dog is probably just scared to death...he is only 6 months old and dumped at a shelter. is the shelter personel giving any info on the personality when the pup first came to the shelter. Its a shame this young dog cant find a hero. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Josie Happy to work     Barked: Fri Jun 14, '13 6:27pm PST  I dont think you are a terrible person for kenneling him!! We all know how much you love them!! He is just to smart for his own good!! I went through this with Josie a few of years ago. She had an upset stomach much like your boy...after everything went back to normal she would still wake me up and go out just to lay on the deck. I eventually figured out she was playing me and the next night when she woke me up I put her out of the room...this happened for 2 or 3 more nights and then everything went back to normal. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > My dog bit my son - is it time..........

Josie Happy to work     Barked: Fri May 31, '13 7:05pm PST  I do not know what you are going through but I can relate to your son. When I was 5 years old my family dog Scruffy, a 70 lb terrier type mix, bit me in the face. I had to have stitches and have a small scar (it has shrunk as I have gotten older). I do not remember the incident but from what my mom has told me i was playing with a toy and it touched Scruffy, he freaked and bit me. I can tell you that I did not blame the dog, even being so young I did not want anything bad to happen to Scruffy. I can identify you and do not blame you. Sampson is an older dog with emotional issues (that is the best way I can put what you have described). He has always been good with your son and every professional you had contacted said that he would be fine. I personally would never trust any dog with a bite history around any child just because kids are kids and move fast and dogs with bite histories have triggers and a child could easily provoke and attack. I would consider this attack a provoked attack, Sampson wanted to be left alone, your son was being his normal self and Sampson reacted. I have 2 dogs who are fear aggressive and I will never trust then with a child, even though one of them has not bitten since I got her 4 years ago I would never trust her. She acts like she loves kids but given she has a bite history she can never be fully trusted. If my mom would have put Scruffy down I would have been extremely upset, I LOVED him with all my heart. I know that my mom blamed herself and when she asked me if I wanted Scruffy to stay I said yes...making the decision even harder on her. We did end up keeping him but I rarely had interaction with him until I was about 6 and he was around 10 and even then it was always supervised. I loved that dog with all my heart and learned so much from that experience. You have to make the decision for yourself and your family, you CANNOT let what anyone says and do not let that influence your decision. If you listen to everyone else you will be constantly second guessing your decision and will, in a probability, not be happy with what you decide. Make a list of the problems if you keep him and then write down the possible solutions to each of those possible problems. You know the situation better then any of us and you know what is practical for your family. I really hope that you find a rescue or decide to keep him but if you dont just know in your heart that it is the best decision for your family. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Choosing the Right Dog > Question; Am I an Ethical Breeder If.....?

Josie Happy to work     Barked: Wed May 29, '13 6:33pm PST  Josie still would have failed at flyball, she has no interest in tugging on anything..the most interest she has in any toys is to carry around a toy and to sleep with it...she does not tug, she does not rip it up, she will not even touch a ball...she only likes soft stuffed animal like toys. I showed her in OB and i stopped because I could not get her to do anything with the dumbbell even with multiple experienced trainers helping. She has no interest in retrieving so i really do not think she would have done anything with flyball. I tried to get her into it (the lady who bred her tried to help) but Josie had no interest in doing anything but running around, she would even hit the box but would not touch the ball, nothing we tried worked. She failed even with great genetics behind her. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Choosing the Right Dog > Question; Am I an Ethical Breeder If.....?

Josie Happy to work     Barked: Wed May 29, '13 9:44am PST  I just do not see the market for multiple litters of mixed breed dogs for a sport, it is a totally different thing then outcrossing for health reasons but for a sport...how many people in the specific sport the puppies are being created for would take them. People keep saying just a few in pet homes well in Josie's litter only 2 puppies went to "sport" homes...there were 14 puppies in the litter! That means that 12 went to pet homes because they were not what the sport people wanted, the sport people wanted short dogs with short hair and lots of drive so all the taller puppies and the coated puppies went to pet homes. When combining 2 dogs just because they are good at a sport you have no idea what you will end up with. For example, Josie was bred from 2 amazing flyball dogs but she will not touch a ball and has no interest in them (hence another reason why it is so hard to drain her energy). She would have failed at flyball! So how did this breeding work out, 2 out of 14 ended up doing the sport they were bred for.... Im not saying all the dogs will be f1 crosses but the first litter will be and there is no telling what you could end up with, some great at the sport and some fails, by default some if not most of the puppies would end up in pet homes with people who are not ready for the unlimited amount of energy the dog will have or the possible health problems that could appear. I also wanted to repeat Savannah's shout out to some of the MD shelters, not all of them do it but some are great about tagging dogs for working homes and will wait til they can find the perfect home. There are lots of dogs who are in shelters and have crazy drive and would be great in sports. Also, maybe its just me but isn't the point of sports to have fun with your dog? I dont understand how focusing so much on how fast or great the dog is at a certain sport and disregarding all the possible health issues and unpredictability of the temperament is fun...it seems like the idea of having fun with the dog in the sport is falling by the wayside and that it is all about winning no matter what. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Josie Happy to work     Barked: Mon May 27, '13 6:43pm PST  I usually try to stay away from these type of questions but I know lots of flyball people and Josie is a "designer" puppy (no i did not buy her, she was on her way to the shelter and I could not let her end up there so my family took her) from one of them who thought she knew what she was doing...She bred a PB border collie female to a jack russel/greyhound mix male (she wanted a PB jack to result in "borderjacks" but could not find one with a temperament she liked and the sire was a GREAT success in flyball). I ended up with Josie because she could not find homes for all the puppies...she got crazy combos in the litter..some short, some tall. all types of coats, crazy temperaments and LOTS of health issues. For example, i know Josie and 2 siblings are epileptic and 1 died from bone cancer at 2 yrs old. Dont get me wrong, i LOVE josie with all my heart and am SO happy I got her while she was on the way to the shelter BUT she was crazy for the first 7 years of her life, there was NO Way to express her energy and she is to smart for her own good. We did agility, obedience, and rally through my 4H club and she would still be ready for more. There were many times my mother wanted to take her to the shelter because we could not handle her. She is now 14 and we still have to take her for a mile walk 3 times a day to keep her calm. I know a lot of people would not have been able to handle Josie and 4 of the other puppies ended up back with the breeder before they were a year old due to their unlimited energy. The problem with breeding combos strictly for a sport is that any puppies placed in "pet" homes have a LARGE chance of ending up homeless due to their unlimited energy or their drive. Just my experience....why not improve on a breed that is already excelling in the sport that you want? my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Choosing the Right Dog > Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs

Josie Happy to work     Barked: Sun May 19, '13 3:18pm PST  I know they have cancer issues, not sure how commmon it is in the breed but my vet had one and it died at 4 years old from cancer...very sad. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > DAP collars and plug ins?

Josie Happy to work     Barked: Thu May 9, '13 4:40pm PST  I know the feline version works (i have the wall plug in), we use it when our cats start throwing fits and we can tell when it is empty as they start up again. Some one gave me the DAP spray for my fosters, i have not used it as I have not really had a reason to. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Rescue, Adoption & Happy Endings > Is it ever possible to foster if you own an intact dog?

Josie Happy to work     Barked: Fri Apr 26, '13 4:42pm PST  A lot of rescues dont understand that people who have intact dogs and show them love the breed and are interested in fostering in order to help the breed...I know a good amount of rescues who would not let me foster for them simply because they saw me with an intact dog I was showing (he did not live with me but to them that did not matter). I finally found the shelter and since then i have been in with many rescues who are great and understand that intact dogs do not always equal irresponsible people. I would try contacting some all breed rescues about fostering also, if there are any in a reasonable distance. From what I have seen some breed specific rescue people are so biased while the all breed people can be more understanding. Although that is not always the case (doxie rescue is great with fosters who have intact dogs in my area while one all breed rescue I know of is extremely strict) Also I dont know if it just my area but GSD rescue people around me seem extremely judgmental of everyone. I dealt with the local groups when I was at the county shelter and a purebred (with papers) came in and the breeder did not want it back because she had some issues (fearful) I called the local GSD rescues and they immediately started quizzing me and asked why i had not taken the dog if I was so concerned and that I was being irresponsible by not taking the dog out of that environment!! I was so turned off, i was just trying to help and they were acting like i was the one that abandoned the dog. On another occasion I was helping to train a GSD who came into the shelter and my neighbor had taken an interest in him and was arranging to take him home (he is a police officer and wanted to use this dog not only as a personal pet but as a drug sniffing/whatever dog..it was a young dog at about 6 months old and LOTS of drove). The local GSD rescue was appalled that I was bringing this dog out in public and he might be going to a police officer as a forever home, in their words "a police officer is the worst person to own a GSD, they only abuse them and dump them"...While this might be true about some PD officers I know my neighbor and he has kept every K9 dog he has ever had for its whole life. (Side note this dog is now 7 yrs old and made a great drug dog and is now retired living with my neighbor). Like i said it might just be the people in my area but i have not had good experiences with GSD rescues...i hope you end up fostering and that everything works out...the rescue would benefit from you being involved with them my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Josie Happy to work     Barked: Fri Apr 19, '13 3:52am PST  okay, thanks my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

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