dogs

caucasian mountain dog

one of my favorites, the white german shepherd.

considered more and more to be a different breed than the regular germ shep.  but only cuz they get disqualified due to their color which i think rather unfair.

weimaraners




hope this doesnt offend, i think it's comical

Rhodisean Ridgeback developed in southern africa, not sure what country.  maybe zimbawe.  used for chasing and holding lions.


http://www.dogsindepth.com/hound_dog_breeds/rhodesian_ridgeback.html


www.whycantwepostlinks.com

had a really bad experience the other day.  i volunteer as a dog walker at an animal shelter.

there is a beautiful sweet sensitive huge husky dog that likes to "play bite" people.  she is by far the most energetic dog i have ever seen.  huskies are known for extreme endurance and energy for they have been known to pull sleds 100's of miles.

this dog, Duchess, was being walked by me when she suddenly decided to start play biting at my shoes and arms.  it started to get harder and harder.  (my arm is bruised and she broke the skin.)  i yanked on the leash pretty hard and the choker chain snapped, now she was loose with a dozen kids playing in the vicinity.  instead of going after the kids she went after me.  i out weigh her 180lbs to about 90lbs. 

it was like she was attacking me yet to her it was play -- extremely rough play and it escalated.  my arm took a good bite so i started to kick her in the head but she deflected the kicks well.  i gave up on trying to knock her unconscious and made a lunge for her instead.  (she was so gung ho on attacking me that the only thing i could think of was to knock the hell out of her despite the fact that i am really attached to her)

this worked.

i somehow or another was able to lunge and grab and tackle all at the same time.  i ended up with a giant handful of her flesh at the back of her neck and pinned this flesh to the ground.

however she was so strong that i had to pin her neck to the ground with my right forearm and use my chest to pin her chest to the ground to keep her from wriggling free.

she made several attempts to break free but i had her pinned too well and eventually she gave up.

i had some of the boys who were playing basketball run back to the shelter to get a new choker.  in the meantime another volunteer came by with a dog and he also went back for more equipment.


all in all i had to stay on the ground with the dog for at least 8 minutes with a whole 'nother group of kids circled around me.  it was very embarrassing.

i was covered in mud and it took an hour for me to settle down.

i was extremely upset about the whole situation.  i look at it as a failure on my part that i could not control the dog.

back at the kennel i went up to Duchess as i  always do and stuck my finger through the cage to pet her.  normally she pushes her entire body up against the fence so that she can be touched.  she is the only dog that has ever done this.  she desperately wants to be loved.  that is so obvious.

well when i did it this time she sunk to the ground and avoided eye contact with me yet still came near my finger for a rub.

one thing i forgot to mention is that she has the most beautiful blue eyes.

i wish i knew if her former owner was an idiot and taught her to do this biting thing.

the people who run the shelter are trying to get her in a prison dog training school.

good luck to the prisoner who gets this dog.

Originally posted by Kaviraj Astro, What an adventure! Holy Sh*t! You know there is a way to unlearn such behaviour? Each time she does it, keep her very short and speak to her in a stern voice. Each time she listens pet her and give her some reward. Dogs really want to please their masters and once she knows what pleases you it will stop. I was given a Staffie once to take care of while the owner went on holiday to Australia for 6 months. I did no know this dog had been trained to fight other staffies. He attacked another dog and once they get a hold, you need a hardwood stick to open their jaws. So i got really p'd off with him and gave punishment as described above. 6 weeks later, i could let him run loose, without him tryimg to kill other dogs.

excellent advice, live and learn.

i made the mistake of trying to control her by yanking her.

the short leash method is what i should have been doing.  a pro dog trainer used that method and had excellent control over her.

i think my mistake was that halfway through the walk i stopped her, made eye contact and petted her.  she misinterprets that as a sign that i want to play. 

it's a no kill shelter otherwise she'd be 6 ft under by now for all the trouble she has caused.  i'm not the first with bruises and cuts.


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this is what her eyes look like