OFFICIAL SKOOLIE PET THREAD

[Dog Rescuer]

[EastCoastCB]

I guess we may have a new old dog. He's SO friendly. He's never really spent much time outside AC so he's an inside dog.
We took him out to Shaun's and put him in one of his kennels. For anyone who's not been over here to visit Shaun has a NICE dog rescue facility on his property he doesn't even use.
I really like this dog. Gonna try to figure out its name.

Dixie went to the vet this week. According to them she's in excellent condition. She's really been the BEST dog ever. LOVE that dog. She got a new Celtic tartan collar and a Burberry pattern dog harness recently.

How do I get such amazing dogs? Oh, that's right- cause PEOPLE can suck!

[Mountain Gnome]

Originally Posted by Sleddgracer

I work with last chance dogs - if we can't fix them, then the likely hood is they will be euthanised - it isn't cheap to provide behavior therapy even though most of our helpers are volunteers - we still have to provide board and room for the volunteers, maintain a secure kennel, buy gas for the quad or snowmobile we use to exercise the dogs, repairs, etc, etc, the list of expenses goes on and on - people have brought dogs to us for help, telling us they love their dog so much, yadda yadda, yadda, make a deposit, then we never hear from them again - right now we have 8 or 9 dogs here receiving therapy that have no sponsor - we provide behavior therapy for shelters and rescues at less than our cost as a way of contributing to them for the good work they do - shelters aren't too bad at keeping up with their payments, but I think more rescues disappear than pay their bills - we have months where I have to scratch to pay the light bill, while there is enough past due on my books to pay cash for a couple of brand new big doolies with all the bells and whistles - collection agencies don't want to touch a collection for people that refuse to even pay for their dog's life saving training

I knew I loved you!


I found what looked like an Aussie Sheppard or Aussie Cattledog maybe mixed with Border Collie as a wee little pup...just weened size...at the end of a Jeep Trail next to a creek in the Mountains years ago. We would stop there to let our other dogs (my friend's labs and their offspring, my puppy) out to stretch and pee and drink on the way to/from from the better spots, as this spot was half-way. She could barely move from starvation, and had a broken leg. Took her home, and she sh*t wooden sticks; a vet put her leg in a cast.
Within a week she was running around my kitchen, sliding on the linoleum with her paw in the cast also, all feisty. When I reached down to rub her head, she would flip on her back and start screaming like I was beating her. I hadn't even touched her yet! Within another week or two she was used to me, but was still skittish with others. She fell in line real easy with the other dogs who were fully trained, so training her to go outside to pee and poo and ride in the truckbed without hassle, getting in and out of the vehicles on-demand, etc, was simple. But she remained skittish with strangers. I could walk with them anywhere without a leash, deep woods to inner-city streets with heavy traffic. Training them to "heel" took maybe 10 minutes one afternoon while we were on a walk one day. I could take them to Dead Shows at stadiums, open the door at noon and say "have fun," and they would be back right around the time for the show to start. Once I saw my lab playing "fetch the hackey sack" on the far-side of the lot! Or when Widespread Panic played a free show on the street in their hometown of Athens and a square mile was packed shoulder to shoulder, we went a-walking though that; I was actually worried I might loose them that day, because of the density of people.

So being with lots of people helped that pup I found, but if anyone approached her, she was outta there! And she was especially scared of kids. Then my nephew was born, and she got to watch him grow a bit from a swaddling to a toddler. The week he learned to walk I happen to visit. She was in the corner on the floor, and he stumbled across the room to her and fell on her. She jumped, screamed, and ran. He cried, and I kicked her out into the 20°F snow at night, alone. Making babies cry is never acceptable. She was heartbroken! I told him not to bother her, but he was still young. It happened again, and the same scenario. Then a few months later I could tell he was beginning to understand. When he ran over and fell on her, I scolded him and gently pet her head and told her it was OK. The look in her eyes was totally "you understand! I was not doing anything!" After that they could interact, and she was never scared of any kids or people again. Not the friendly socialite like my lab, but not scared.


She had the "black and white" tuxedo thing going on, but in the sunlight in the deep winter her fur had a deep-violet hue that would come out. In the summer, it was more ruddy, closer to the dark-brown of Marc's cat.


Man, I miss them.


Marc: taking your housecats in your bus will likely be a lot of stress for you both, if they are used to going in-and-out and being free to run the yard. Definately take them on some short trips to see how they like the moving vehicle. Every house-cat I've ever known hates them, but I've seen some travelin' kinda folks with cats (one girl had a black cat that would sit contently on her shoulder like a parrot as she walked though crouds). I'm waiting to actually hit-the-road to get a kitten that identifies the bus as home, not the yard it is parked in. Kitten first, let it get established and a bit grown (maybe 6 months), then a young puppy. The cat will always be the dominant one, so getting them in that order helps the dog understand that with merely one or two nose-swipes.



I am thinking of getting involved with search and rescue dogs, since I have no life right now (god, I'm writing memoirs to strangers on the internet right now!), and I have much experience with training dogs and, ahem, "fetching." I could be the guy dropping out of a helicopter with my dog on some remote mountainside to find a missing skier or hiker, so maybe I should.

[cadillackid]

the biggest thing i cant figure out is why people dump animals.. and more than that why cant they just admit in the beginningthat they arent pet people.. not everyone is.. but so many people get a dog only to dump it or worse yet euthanize it based on some BS.. or even worse they abuse it.. I know myself.. im Not a dog person.. so guess what I dont go get a dog.. i dont care if all of my friends have dogs.. i know myself..

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

the biggest thing i cant figure out is why people dump animals.. and more than that why cant they just admit in the beginningthat they arent pet people.. not everyone is.. but so many people get a dog only to dump it or worse yet euthanize it based on some BS.. or even worse they abuse it.. I know myself.. im Not a dog person.. so guess what I dont go get a dog.. i dont care if all of my friends have dogs.. i know myself..

a lot of people get a breed of dog that isn't suitable for their lifestyle - they see a beautiful big white Livestock Guardian dog, thinking that it will adapt to their life style, or that 'breed specific behavior' is just fiction or not important, then are shocked when the dog tries to fulfill it's needs developed through 100's or 1000's of years of selective breeding by inappropriately GUARDING everything in the yard or what passes by the fence - herding breeds and the northern breeds are another common mistake people make - boarder collies and other herding breeds absolutely need a job that physically and mentally engages them - if they don't get that, they will most likely create their own job of herding children, nipping ankles, etc - border collies especially can become quite obsessive about their habits - it's what makes them the best herd dogs and why they make the very top of the canine intelligence charts - the northern breeds have a history of running and pulling, and hunting small game, that science now says, may go back as much as 30,000 years - try dealing with those instincts without a proper confinement system or breed appropriate exercise! - if you ignore breed specific behavior when you get a dog, it will very likely come back to bite you in the ass, I tell people - lol

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

the biggest thing i cant figure out is why people dump animals.. and more than that why cant they just admit in the beginning that they aren't pet people.. not everyone is.. but so many people get a dog only to dump it or worse yet euthanize it based on some BS.. or even worse they abuse it.. I know myself.. im Not a dog person.. so guess what I dont go get a dog.. i dont care if all of my friends have dogs.. i know myself..

I have 2 beautiful Livestock Protection dogs I'm working with right now - neither dog was getting what it needed and were creating problems for their owners - one owner is sticking by his dog and paying my fees - the other owner wants me to find a home for his dog after therapy is completed, but has long since stopped paying - that dog has been here for a while now and has turned out to be a lovely dog - I'm hoping to find a home for him that perhaps has an autistic child he can look after, or perhaps someone with PTSD because he has such a wonderful caring energy about him directed towards the people he knows while still displaying his guarding instincts, but at least he isn't guarding inappropriately now

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Mountain Gnome

Marc: taking your housecats in your bus will likely be a lot of stress for you both, if they are used to going in-and-out and being free to run the yard. Definately take them on some short trips to see how they like the moving vehicle.

My cats have access to cat doors in the front door and one in the wall in my bedroom going out to a second floor deck. They come and go as they please. But I am super lucky that they are disciplined. They do not like any strangers, which means anyone but me, if you come near my yard, they bolt inside through their door. If they even hear a car coming up the street they bolt. I encourage them into the bus when ever I'm working on it, a few voluntarily come and walk around checking it out. I've taken the little one in the truck and he just climbs behind my feet and hangs out there. As long as they are near me they feel safe.

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by Mountain Gnome

I knew I loved you!


I found what looked like an Aussie Sheppard or Aussie Cattledog maybe mixed with Border Collie as a wee little pup...just weened size...at the end of a Jeep Trail next to a creek in the Mountains years ago. We would stop there to let our other dogs (my friend's labs and their offspring, my puppy) out to stretch and pee and drink on the way to/from from the better spots, as this spot was half-way. She could barely move from starvation, and had a broken leg. Took her home, and she sh*t wooden sticks; a vet put her leg in a cast.
Within a week she was running around my kitchen, sliding on the linoleum with her paw in the cast also, all feisty. When I reached down to rub her head, she would flip on her back and start screaming like I was beating her. I hadn't even touched her yet! Within another week or two she was used to me, but was still skittish with others. She fell in line real easy with the other dogs who were fully trained, so training her to go outside to pee and poo and ride in the truckbed without hassle, getting in and out of the vehicles on-demand, etc, was simple. But she remained skittish with strangers. I could walk with them anywhere without a leash, deep woods to inner-city streets with heavy traffic. Training them to "heel" took maybe 10 minutes one afternoon while we were on a walk one day. I could take them to Dead Shows at stadiums, open the door at noon and say "have fun," and they would be back right around the time for the show to start. Once I saw my lab playing "fetch the hackey sack" on the far-side of the lot! Or when Widespread Panic played a free show on the street in their hometown of Athens and a square mile was packed shoulder to shoulder, we went a-walking though that; I was actually worried I might loose them that day, because of the density of people.

So being with lots of people helped that pup I found, but if anyone approached her, she was outta there! And she was especially scared of kids. Then my nephew was born, and she got to watch him grow a bit from a swaddling to a toddler. The week he learned to walk I happen to visit. She was in the corner on the floor, and he stumbled across the room to her and fell on her. She jumped, screamed, and ran. He cried, and I kicked her out into the 20°F snow at night, alone. Making babies cry is never acceptable. She was heartbroken! I told him not to bother her, but he was still young. It happened again, and the same scenario. Then a few months later I could tell he was beginning to understand. When he ran over and fell on her, I scolded him and gently pet her head and told her it was OK. The look in her eyes was totally "you understand! I was not doing anything!" After that they could interact, and she was never scared of any kids or people again. Not the friendly socialite like my lab, but not scared.


She had the "black and white" tuxedo thing going on, but in the sunlight in the deep winter her fur had a deep-violet hue that would come out. In the summer, it was more ruddy, closer to the dark-brown of Marc's cat.


Man, I miss them.


Marc: taking your housecats in your bus will likely be a lot of stress for you both, if they are used to going in-and-out and being free to run the yard. Definately take them on some short trips to see how they like the moving vehicle. Every house-cat I've ever known hates them, but I've seen some travelin' kinda folks with cats (one girl had a black cat that would sit contently on her shoulder like a parrot as she walked though crouds). I'm waiting to actually hit-the-road to get a kitten that identifies the bus as home, not the yard it is parked in. Kitten first, let it get established and a bit grown (maybe 6 months), then a young puppy. The cat will always be the dominant one, so getting them in that order helps the dog understand that with merely one or two nose-swipes.



I am thinking of getting involved with search and rescue dogs, since I have no life right now (god, I'm writing memoirs to strangers on the internet right now!), and I have much experience with training dogs and, ahem, "fetching." I could be the guy dropping out of a helicopter with my dog on some remote mountainside to find a missing skier or hiker, so maybe I should.

yes, you should - animals give back so much, including health benefits for their owners - I adopted a border collie from the dog pound that was shy like yours at first - it was a good two weeks before I could touch her or call her to me, but she never took her eyes off me - she watched everything I did from 50 feet away throughout the day and she figured out on her own what she could do to help me - she took over the care, as best she could, of my sleddogs - it was her self imposed job to look after her 'sheep', only her sheep were racing alaskan huskies - every one of them was bigger, faster, higher energy, and feistier than she was, but she figured out a way to keep them in order because she was much smarter than the sleddogs - when one or several were acting up, she would run to them and start scolding them in no uncertain terms - she accomplished that by scolding while remaining in a submissive posture, and of course no self respecting sleddog was going to attack a submissive dog - - her behavior and black and white colouring put me in mind of 'Mother Teresa' - I couldn't imagine that Mother T never got into people's faces when the need arose, but that tiny little woman did it in a way that didn't draw resistance - I could write a book about 'Quick' - she taught me so much about what makes a dog tick, how highly involved the communication between dogs is( and humans if we stop and 'listen' to our instincts and intuition ) and what devotion to duty really means - she passed at 13 years old - never was a cuddler or seek affection - she considered herself, I think, as my partner - even when she first came, she slept on the floor by the head of my bed, refusing to sleep in bed with me even when offered - in the morning she would wait at the head of the stairs while I visited the throne, then walk side by side down the stairs with me and we would enter the kitchen together ready to start our day, for 12 1/2 years

[Mountain Gnome]

Originally Posted by Sleddgracer

- herding breeds and the northern breeds are another common mistake people make - boarder collies and other herding breeds absolutely need a job that physically and mentally engages them - if they don't get that, they will most likely create their own job of herding children, nipping ankles, etc - border collies especially can become quite obsessive about their habits - it's what makes them the best herd dogs and why they make the very top of the canine intelligence charts - the northern breeds have a history of running and pulling, and hunting small game, that science now says, may go back as much as 30,000 years - try dealing with those instincts without a proper confinement system or breed appropriate exercise! - if you ignore breed specific behavior when you get a dog, it will very likely come back to bite you in the ass, I tell people - lol

That dog I found was guilty of nipping a few ankles. A room full of people, with her under the table...someone would laugh loudly, and she would come like a flash, whine a "yip" with a scared look in her eye, nip their ankle, and disappear back under the table.
My Lab would jump off the 8' back deck, over the 6' high fence, and run around to the front and jump in my truck, or wait underneath if the windows were closed. That would aggravate the Sheppard/Collie. One day she dug her way under the fence, and kids were playing in the col-de-sac. I got the call at work, and went home to see her put in a kennel-truck and hauled off to the pound to be held for week or 10 days or whatever for rabies testing. I went to pick her up, and the woman at the window just dropped her pen got this look of horror when I told her who I was. "That is the wildest animal we have ever seen here." They opened the door from the lobby to the 100' long hallway leading to the back where the kennels are. They were dragging her by her leash around her neck, as she snarled and fought whined and growled..like a completely feral fox or coyote.


The moment she saw me, her attitude completely changed, and she walked on her leash proper like she'd been doing it all her life, calm, peaceful. The jaws of the folks at the pound nearly hit the floor. They handed me the leash, which I promptly and illegally removed from her neck right there in the lobby, told them "yea, she doesn't like prison or leashes," said "come on, lets go," and she walked by my side to the truck and we left.


After the incident with my nephew, she was a completely different dog with everyone, always.

[Mountain Gnome]

And smart? Whoa! So smart she wouldn't let you know how smart she was! Both my pups could understand plain English. It blew the mind of my mom's boyfriend. One day my mom and I were cooking in the kitchen, and the dogs were hanging around getting in the way of us walking. "Put them outside" my mom said. "If I can get them to stay out of the kitchen, can they stay inside?" I pleaded. "Yea right!" she said. I looked at them and said in plain English, "go in the living room and lay down and wait and stay out of the kitchen." Just like that. They immediately did so, patiently watching us from the next room. Blew her mind! Once you know how to connect with them.....


When I picked her up at the pound the first thing I said to her was "did you bite someone?" (the look of guilt in her eyes) "If you bite someone again, you're going back in here..." as I pointed to the back room down the hall. The look in her eye told me she understood, and she never nipped or bit anyone after that.

[cadillackid]

true that.. people see "that looks like a cool dog!".. OR " everyone is getting that breed i want it to".. befire doing alot of research.. and not lookimng at their own living arrangements.. get a dog that loves to run yet they live in a 600 sq ft downtown loft and the only "run" the dog sees is on a leash..


the main concern I would have with letting pets in and out on their own from a bus woukld be what else can get in... if you are parked in an urban environment you have to worry about cats getting hit by a car if they use a pet door.. out in the country what else can hop in that door.. a coon and a cat fighting isnt a happy place...

[Mountain Gnome]

This describes my Sheppard/Collie:




I bet your's also, Racer!

[Mountain Gnome]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

true that.. people see "that looks like a cool dog!".. OR " everyone is getting that breed i want it to".. befire doing alot of research.. and not lookimng at their own living arrangements.. get a dog that loves to run yet they live in a 600 sq ft downtown loft and the only "run" the dog sees is on a leash..


the main concern I would have with letting pets in and out on their own from a bus woukld be what else can get in... if you are parked in an urban environment you have to worry about cats getting hit by a car if they use a pet door.. out in the country what else can hop in that door.. a coon and a cat fighting isnt a happy place...

I haven't had a dog for 13 years now, since I didn't want to kennel it on plane flights to/from Hawai'i, and now I have no moving vehicle to get it out for real walks in the woods. But soon...very soon....



I'm really on the fence about a travelin' cat. I just love cats. A bus is a small apartment for a cat to call home territory. But I see people do it, and cats can be happy with a window, a pillow, and sunshine, a catnip toy, food, water, and love.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

true that.. people see "that looks like a cool dog!".. OR " everyone is getting that breed i want it to".. befire doing alot of research.. and not lookimng at their own living arrangements.. get a dog that loves to run yet they live in a 600 sq ft downtown loft and the only "run" the dog sees is on a leash..


the main concern I would have with letting pets in and out on their own from a bus woukld be what else can get in... if you are parked in an urban environment you have to worry about cats getting hit by a car if they use a pet door.. out in the country what else can hop in that door.. a coon and a cat fighting isnt a happy place...

When I was in Fla for 5 months in 2017, the last month the raccoons finally figured out I wasn't home and completely annihilated my kitchen. I can't find the pic, but it was a mess, took 2 days to clean it up. A couple times I've been watching TV and hear a cat come through the door behind me, wait a minute, all 4 cats are laying in front of the T V. Turn around, there's a raccoon staring at me and nonchalantly turns around and mosey back out the door.

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by Mountain Gnome

And smart? Whoa! So smart she wouldn't let you know how smart she was! Both my pups could understand plain English. It blew the mind of my mom's boyfriend. One day my mom and I were cooking in the kitchen, and the dogs were hanging around getting in the way of us walking. "Put them outside" my mom said. "If I can get them to stay out of the kitchen, can they stay inside?" I pleaded. "Yea right!" she said. I looked at them and said in plain English, "go in the living room and lay down and wait and stay out of the kitchen." Just like that. They immediately did so, patiently watching us from the next room. Blew her mind! Once you know how to connect with them.....


When I picked her up at the pound the first thing I said to her was "did you bite someone?" (the look of guilt in her eyes) "If you bite someone again, you're going back in here..." as I pointed to the back room down the hall. The look in her eye told me she understood, and she never nipped or bit anyone after that.

the trick is being able to picture in your mind what it is you are saying - that way the dog can use it's many times more powerful than a human's, intuition to understand what it is you are saying - your energy, as far as the dog is concerned has to remain calm - I've calmed 70+ very agitated dogs by standing in front of them, taking a deep breath and lowering my heart rate - it worked so well it put me in mind of the spout of water that happens when you throw a large rock into the water - the dog's angry energy quieted as quick as the spout of water fades back into the pond - we get bears that visit our crab apple trees in the fall - I like to go out after dark, armed with a very bright headlight, and talk to the bears - one night there were two sows in the trees, one with twin cubs, one with triplets, and a cranky old boar - all the bears could see was a bright light - I found I felt a very similar sense of communication with them as I do with my dogs - even telling the cranky old boar to stop growling at me and pull his head back into the densely branched trees, 'or I'll get my big gun and blow you away, these are MY trees, MY yard, and if you want to stay here, you have to behave' - I don't have a BIG gun, just an old single shot .22, but i did picture a British .303 which I was familiar with and certainly big enough to 'blow a bear away' - lol - be damned if the bear didn't pull his head back into the branches and go back to munching apples - tried 'talking' to 3 cow elk one time, even brought them to just across the road from where I was about 50' away, but didn't feel any sense of communication with them - I 'talked' for 5 or 10 minutes before they turned away and trotted down the road, unafraid, but from another planet as far as communicating goes - perhaps one of my biggest thrills was when a bear kissed me on the cheek, but that's another story requiring another chapter - lol

[cadillackid]

you just have to find the right match... the cat i had as a teen loved the car and to just go anywhere in general.. in the car he just hopped on the back deck and watched ewveryone wave at him... around the house I could put him on my shoulder and he wrapped around me like a neck pillow and would just chill... I could walk around, ride my bike .. and as long as I wore a thick enough shirt he could hang on he was happy..



the cat I have now absolutely hates anything to do with any vehicle... bus, car, truck,, he was homed twice in his 6 months of life before my roomie and I got him.. so even 10 years later I think he still feels like the car means new home

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by Mountain Gnome

This describes my Sheppard/Collie:




I bet your's also, Racer!

for sure - she never took her eyes off of me - I didn't have to say a thing when we left somewhere, she was by my side as soon as the thought of leaving entered my mind

[Mountain Gnome]

Originally Posted by Sleddgracer

the trick is being able to picture in your mind what it is you are saying - that way the dog can use it's many times more powerful than a human's, intuition to understand what it is you are saying - your energy, as far as the dog is concerned has to remain calm - I've calmed 70+ very agitated dogs by standing in front of them, taking a deep breath and lowering my heart rate - it worked so well it put me in mind of the spout of water that happens when you throw a large rock into the water - the dog's angry energy quieted as quick as the spout of water fades back into the pond - we get bears that visit our crab apple trees in the fall - I like to go out after dark, armed with a very bright headlight, and talk to the bears - one night there were two sows in the trees, one with twin cubs, one with triplets, and a cranky old boar - all the bears could see was a bright light - I found I felt a very similar sense of communication with them as I do with my dogs - even telling the cranky old boar to stop growling at me and pull his head back into the densely branched trees, 'or I'll get my big gun and blow you away, these are MY trees, MY yard, and if you want to stay here, you have to behave' - I don't have a BIG gun, just an old single shot .22, but i did picture a British .303 which I was familiar with and certainly big enough to 'blow a bear away' - lol - be damned if the bear didn't pull his head back into the branches and go back to munching apples - tried 'talking' to 3 cow elk one time, even brought them to just across the road from where I was about 50' away, but didn't feel any sense of communication with them - I 'talked' for 5 or 10 minutes before they turned away and trotted down the road, unafraid, but from another planet as far as communicating goes - perhaps one of my biggest thrills was when a bear kissed me on the cheek, but that's another story requiring another chapter - lol

Reminded me of this book that I have not yet found time to read. I picked it up looking for books relating linguistics to cognitive science, but it began to resonate with my experiences also, or so the preface leads me to believe.

[EastCoastCB]

I only have pets because other folks "love animals" so much.
I really hate when people get all obsessed with owning some specific inbred kind of dog because of how it looks. they go buy one off some sketchy people in a van at a flea market. Then they dump it once it craps in the house a few too many times and the kids have lost interest.
The dog breeding business is SO full of sketchy horrible people. If folks wouldn't patronize them they'd cease to exist for the most part.
Saw a puppy store the other day selling clear plastic backpacks for carrying around a teacup size dog. Free with purchase of any puppy. It was REALLY ghetto, and just heartbreaking seeing that dogs were being bred just to sell in "cute" little backpacks. Like the new isn't gonna wear off that real fast!!!

[Mountain Gnome]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

The dog breeding business is SO full of sketchy horrible people. If folks wouldn't patronize them they'd cease to exist for the most part.

The drug dealing business is SO full of sketchy horrible people. If folks wouldn't patronize them they'd cease to exist for the most part.



Just try to change human nature.


Gandhi or someone like that said the world will know peace only when every individual finds it within his or her self. And the wars go on, the junkies kill themselves, and the "pets" get abandoned.


My dogs taught me that having a "pet" is like having an entertainment slave. A court jester for all the kings of the castles.


They should be family, or left to be wild.