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So Jackson, the dog I've been taking care of is going home Monday morning. I'm not super impressed with his owners since I wasn't able to get ahold of them until this morning "Oh sorry, totally thought we'd have internet access!" Is there seriously zero internet access on the Jersey shore? He's had some pretty bad separation anxiety, and isn't crate-trained. We were able to work around that for most of the time, but Friday my boyfriend took the day off work in order to be with him. If he hadn't, we'd have come home to a torn-up bedroom and everyone in my apartment building hating us. Is it reasonable to ask them to compensate my boyfriend for the lost wages? It's $88, which isn't much compared to what they might have paid had they put him in a boarding kennel. I hate to sound preachy and all, but if I were out of the country for 10 days I'd try to check in to make sure everything is alright with my animals. If he'd had some sort of medical emergency they wouldn't have known.
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Jun 30, 2012 20:05
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adventure in the sandbox posted:I don't even know! I hope daddy was a corgi and mommy was a very willing shepherd. Because if it was the other way, oh my! You know, I thought that when we kept Ires. 3, 4, who's counting?  And now Ires weighs like 35-40 pounds and eats like a very small horse who is just so happy all the time.
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Jun 30, 2012 20:22
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Apidae posted:Boxer damages POM NEWS: I got the promotion and pay raise I wanted at work and now I work from home at a very decent rate! I need to pay off some debts but after that I have permission from Pardalis and our landlord to get FINALLY GET a puppy.  Only now I'm beating myself up for wanting to start contacting breeders about a waitlist for a well-bred Pom or Papillon...when I could just go out right now and save a random Chi/mix from euthanasia from any shelter.
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Jun 30, 2012 20:27
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My friend's girlfriend really wants a beagle/corgi mix. I don't think she's the type to buy a BYB or puppy mill dog, so I'm wondering if that's something that shows up in rescues a lot. It seems like a very odd mix.
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Jun 30, 2012 20:36
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Captain Foxy posted:Dude, absolutely. Petsitting is all about making a profit for you, not doing someone else a favor, no matter how much you may like the clients and/or their pets. If you lowball your rates and don't value your time or your home, you'll be treated like poo poo because they automatically assume 'I'm a pet person' means 'I don't mind when your untrained animal wrecks my life' which is not the same. Value your time, value your boyfriend's time and put your foot down without being mean. I do the tried and tested 'I'm friendly but this is what's happening and I don't care how you feel about it' approach. If they whine and stammer and get awkward about the extra money, I just keep smiling and restating my point until they hand it over. No one can argue with that. We're actually taking care of him for free. The separation anxiety is the only problem, otherwise he is the perfect dog (if my friend hadn't adopted Jackson I'd likely have been dragging my boyfriend over to meet him). It's been really great having him with us, I just wanted some confirmation I'm not being irrational in asking for money V:)V Is there any reason you can't both look into breeders and keep an eye on shelter dogs? Edit: Speaking of dogs for adoption, WTF Fat Dio fucked around with this message at 20:58 on Jun 30, 2012 |
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Jun 30, 2012 20:53
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Apidae posted:I hate to sound preachy and all, but if I were out of the country for 10 days I'd try to check in to make sure everything is alright with my animals. If he'd had some sort of medical emergency they wouldn't have known.
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Jun 30, 2012 21:03
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I thought Ceaser Milan's (the gently caress do you spell it?) show was canceled? Why am I being bombarded with previews for the new season? And why is he in the UK?
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Jun 30, 2012 21:30
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spixxor posted:I thought Ceaser Milan's (the gently caress do you spell it?) show was canceled? Why am I being bombarded with previews for the new season? And why is he in the UK? He's making a new show. Apidae, have you never seen a chinese crested? That's a pretty standard looking dog for that mutt mix.
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Jun 30, 2012 21:32
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spixxor posted:And why is he in the UK? Oh god not again  At least Brad Pattison remains in America. I don't even want to share a country with that guy. E: VVV My bad! I knew he was Canadian, but for some reason thought he was in America currently. Fraction fucked around with this message at 23:31 on Jun 30, 2012 |
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Jun 30, 2012 21:35
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Fraction posted:Oh god not again He remains in Canada  We have enough terribleness, don't give us credit for that idiot too.
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Jun 30, 2012 22:11
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:He's making a new show. One lives down the street from me, it's the fact that it's a Chinese Crested + Bulldog that I thought was interesting. The ad seems pretty certain on the parentage so I wonder if the cross was done on purpose. The one down the street from me wears the canine version of longjohns in the winter, complete with a hole in the crotch.
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Jun 30, 2012 22:47
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Apidae posted:We're actually taking care of him for free. The separation anxiety is the only problem, otherwise he is the perfect dog (if my friend hadn't adopted Jackson I'd likely have been dragging my boyfriend over to meet him). It's been really great having him with us, I just wanted some confirmation I'm not being irrational in asking for money V:)V I can and I already am doing the petfinder/local shelter trawl, but honestly I think I'm doing that out of guilt rather than a desire to adopt one of the dogs. I don't really WANT a little randomly-bred Chi. Or a randomly bred Pom. I know exactly what I want, and I want a dog that's true to the type that I admire. I want a spunky, feisty, diffident little female, and I know I can find that in rescue, and I'm absolutely looking, but there's not a thing wrong with me choosing to support a breeder so that I can get exactly the personality and breed that I want. It's just an internal moral dilemma that is more about guilt than rationality.
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Jul 1, 2012 00:56
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Captain Foxy posted:I can and I already am doing the petfinder/local shelter trawl, but honestly I think I'm doing that out of guilt rather than a desire to adopt one of the dogs. I don't really WANT a little randomly-bred Chi. Or a randomly bred Pom. I know exactly what I want, and I want a dog that's true to the type that I admire. I want a spunky, feisty, diffident little female, and I know I can find that in rescue, and I'm absolutely looking, but there's not a thing wrong with me choosing to support a breeder so that I can get exactly the personality and breed that I want. I SO hope you end up with a papillon. They were my favorite breed for years and years – my elderly neighbors had one named Teddy, and he was just a great little guy.
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Jul 1, 2012 01:10
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Apidae posted:One lives down the street from me, it's the fact that it's a Chinese Crested + Bulldog that I thought was interesting. The ad seems pretty certain on the parentage so I wonder if the cross was done on purpose. Oh no man, I wasn't trying to shut you down or anything. I was just checkin'. Oh my god dog longjohns.  I didn't even know they made them so they didn't have to take them off.But looking at few lists of hybrid dogs, I don't see a mixing of that anywhere. They might be trying to make something new, though. Hopefully not.  Also, while looking I found Powderpaps ( http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/powderpap.htm ), Crusties ( http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/c/crustie.htm ), and hey Foxy? The median between Spice and Keeper (sorta. Mini Spice and Keeper) : http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/p/poshies.htm Poshies.
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Jul 1, 2012 01:11
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Invalid Octopus posted:I SO hope you end up with a papillon. They were my favorite breed for years and years – my elderly neighbors had one named Teddy, and he was just a great little guy. A pap is a strong possibility. The pom breeder I like isn't as active anymore, and there is a plethora of really nice agility-based pap breeders in the area, so who knows. 
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Jul 1, 2012 01:17
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I thought "hybrid" names were supposed to be cutesy. Who the gently caress wants something called a "crustie"? It just sounds like a dog with a skin condition, which given the type of people who are breeding them is probably pretty accurate.
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Jul 1, 2012 01:20
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Instant Jellyfish posted:I thought "hybrid" names were supposed to be cutesy. Who the gently caress wants something called a "crustie"? It just sounds like a dog with a skin condition, which given the type of people who are breeding them is probably pretty accurate. Ironically, those are the cutest out of the monstrosities posted. "Crusties" Shave it and name it Uncrustable. Constable Uncrustable.
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Jul 1, 2012 01:35
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Pardalis posted:Ironically, those are the cutest out of the monstrosities posted. "Crusties"  Help me goons
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Jul 1, 2012 01:36
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Captain Foxy posted:
Why. You know what you want, get it. People wring their hands so much because I ~bought a pit bull~ when there are ~so many in shelters~ and lol, guess what, I'm gonna buy a million more forever and I give 0 gently caress. Some people want something too specific to get from a shelter or rescue.
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Jul 1, 2012 01:42
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Captain Foxy posted:
v  v Who says you can't have four?
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Jul 1, 2012 01:45
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ButWhatIf posted:I highly recommend the Dogs and Babies blog. It's a little outside of the norm, in that it doesn't talk as much about "introducing" as it does having an ongoing lifestyle of not magnetizing your kids to dogs. She goes over some really useful stuff about small children of all ages, including babies, and including them in activities with and around your dog without making the dog the main awesome thing. It's very worth a look. Thanks! I feel like I'll know how each pet will react, but at the same time I expect them to the complete opposite, too  Great site - thanks for the resource!
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Jul 1, 2012 01:51
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Superconsndar posted:Why. You know what you want, get it. People wring their hands so much because I ~bought a pit bull~ when there are ~so many in shelters~ and lol, guess what, I'm gonna buy a million more forever and I give 0 gently caress. Some people want something too specific to get from a shelter or rescue. A couple of weeks ago, for kicks, I asked petfinder if there were any Clumbers in the whole of the USA. Of the dozen or so that came up, two were purebred, one or two were possible mixes, and the rest were lab/pit/terrier/whatever mixes that people decided to name as Clumbers. And, of course, the two Clumbers that did come up probably have horrible hips and PDP1, and definitely have poo poo eyes/build in general.
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Jul 1, 2012 02:03
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Superconsndar posted:Why. You know what you want, get it. People wring their hands so much because I ~bought a pit bull~ when there are ~so many in shelters~ and lol, guess what, I'm gonna buy a million more forever and I give 0 gently caress. Some people want something too specific to get from a shelter or rescue.
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Jul 1, 2012 02:04
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A shelter dog or not, as long as the dog isn't from a mill and you don't abuse the poo poo out of it, kill it, or abandon it, then who cares?
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Jul 1, 2012 02:08
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Bash Ironfist posted:A shelter dog or not, as long as the dog isn't from a mill and you don't abuse the poo poo out of it, kill it, or abandon it, then who cares? I really don't care. I don't judge anyone for buying a dog from a breeder or even a byb dog as long as, like you said, it isn't from a puppy mill. Even then, I don't judge them, though I do get angry if someone refuses to admit or believe that it's a lovely thing to do. If you take care of your dog, then that's all that matters. But there's nothing wrong with feeling some guilt when choosing to buy from a breeder over adopting. Good breeders don't add to the population problem, and they help to preserve breeds as they are meant to be. Good breeders are a great thing, and I don't want them to go away nor do I want people to stop buying from them. Now I'm probably a bit too soft, but I've met so many amazing dogs who were just rotting away in shelters and I'd like to change that situation for as many of them as possible. As awesome as well-bred, correct APBTs are, realistically, I don't need one. I don't want to go hogging, I don't want to be a breeder. I could get the same satisfaction from a shelter Pit Bull as I could from a correct one. For me to buy one of those dogs would be a waste, because I wouldn't be helping them live up to their full potential and I could have pulled a dog off of death row instead.
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Jul 1, 2012 02:24
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Azrael Alexander posted:There's nothing wrong with having a conscience about shelter pets, either. Most of the pets in my house would probably be dead right now if we hadn't adopted them. I definitely agree that sometimes an owners wants/needs are too specific for a shelter dog to fill, but I typically reserve that opinion for working dogs/service dogs/police dogs etc. If you want an animal purely as a companion and don't plan on doing any serious work with it, why not get a shelter dog? I know that you "don't care" about shelter dogs, Super, and I understand somewhat why you have that opinion. But a lot of people do care, and it IS hard to think about purchasing a puppy when there are no doubt several equally deserving puppies on death row in local shelters. I wanted an OFRN pitbull like Moses for a long time, and I would still love to have one, buy my opinions have really changed regarding shelter dogs and breeding and I just don't see myself buying a Pit Bull in good conscience, at least not any time soon. Okay. So don't. I was specifically responding to Captain Foxy's guilt over possibly not getting a shelter dog + people sperging out when people decide to buy rather than rescue, not people's choices TO get a shelter dog?
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Jul 1, 2012 02:26
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Superconsndar posted:Okay. So don't. I was specifically responding to Captain Foxy's guilt over possibly not getting a shelter dog + people sperging out when people decide to buy rather than rescue, not people's choices TO get a shelter dog?
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Jul 1, 2012 02:39
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I think the guilt can go all the way down. I mean, I felt guilty for adopting a highly adoptable shelter cat (young, tortie, ok with other cats) as opposed to a hard-luck case (old, black, bad with other cats, special needs, etc). For a while I was of the opinion that unless you were specifically getting a dog for service work of some kind you should adopt a companion-type dog from a shelter, and didn't really get the "need to get this type of dog from a breeder only" mentality. But after being here a while I think I've come to understand that there's a difference between those who buy from breeders because they want a fancy-looking, non-mutt and believe that shelter dogs are "used" or "broken" or even just don't really consider rescue dogs, and those who buy from breeders because they want a dog that has a specific set of traits and can be relatively assured the dog they get will be able to live up to those expectations. Personally, a lot of my family members have fallen into the first category - they all have these expensive purebred dogs for no apparent reason other than "I wanted a nice dog, and <dogbreed x> are nice." For people in that situation, I really do think you should be adopting a rescue dog whose temperament has been evaluated in a foster situation or something. They're getting dogs from breeders on the basis that they think it'll ensure a "good pet". I think as long as you're firmly in the latter category and have really weighed the pros and cons of adopting from a shelter vs buying from a responsible breeder, then you're fine. And of course the vast majority of those on PI fall into that category (and those who don't get yelled at). You may still feel guilty but that probably just demonstrates you're being responsible and not rash in your decision.
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Jul 1, 2012 03:06
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Robo Kitty posted:I think the guilt can go all the way down. I mean, I felt guilty for adopting a highly adoptable shelter cat (young, tortie, ok with other cats) as opposed to a hard-luck case (old, black, bad with other cats, special needs, etc). I think this pretty much sums up how I feel. I am very passionately pro-rescue when it comes to interacting with others, and I'm always going to foster, volunteer and donate in any capacity that I can, but I'm very 'meh' about my prospects adopting because I know I am a picky bitch with a picky bitch list of things in mind for my next dog. Being well-behaved, reasonably friendly and able to get along with Keeper isn't all I'm looking for, in other words. Keeper is unable to compete in agility because it aggravated his patella, and it's a hobby I enjoy, so I'd like a dog that I can do sports with, that will also gel well with my mellow, low-energy household. To get that, I think I need the right blend of breed and individual personality; I need an energetic, active little dog that has an 'off switch', which Papillons are known for, but again, I know I could also find that in rescue and i'm not ruling it out. If I were to get a second Pom it would be for no reason other than that I like the breed, because a Pom could also compete in agility but will be more of a handful, temperament-wise, and I must be crazy because I actually like the idea of that. Poms are dicks and I love a well-bred, rear end in a top hat Pom that's a true throwback to his LGD roots. Tiny puffballs ftw~ That being said, I'm actually not all that picky. I want a female and I want a specific breed, but I'm a huge pushover and if a dog falls into my lap I have no ability to say no, so we'll see. It's going to happen soon, at any rate. I want to be talking serious with breeders by January. I've waited a long time to get Keeper a companion and I have no more patience. PUPPY NOW.
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Jul 1, 2012 03:40
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Azrael Alexander posted:I know you were. I just think you dismiss their guilt too easily, when it really can be a big mental struggle for some people. Nah, it was for me at one point too so I definitely get it. My first 3 "pit bulls" consisted of a neurotic trainwreck of a shelter dog, an overbred red almost-hippo that looked more like a dogue de bordeaux than an apbt that I basically stole from a neighbor (wandered into my yard as a neglected puppy,) and the most  apbt/bmc hawg dog mix that ever yodeled at a hog. I loved those dogs. Prior to that, I spent several years working at a shelter and regularly crying myself to sleep over mounds of dead pit bulls in dumpsters. It took a whole lot of e/n drama for me to get to the point where I decided not to get another shelter dog and when I was looking at breeders I agonized over the decision and constantly pulled up petfinder and guilted myself over all of the shelter pits I wasn't saving. I knew what I wanted though, and I stuck to my guns and got it, and now having a dog that's exactly what it's supposed to be has convinced me that I really don't want anything else. Doesn't mean that I'll NEVER EVER rescue another pit bull in my entire life, but it certainly won't be my first choice knowing what I know now and wanting what I happen to want in a dog. I do get it, and I immediately point 99.99999999999% of the people I know who want a dog to the nearest shelter and tell them to pic out their favorite mutt and go home.
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Jul 1, 2012 03:46
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Captain Foxy posted:It's going to happen soon, at any rate. I want to be talking serious with breeders by January. I've waited a long time to get Keeper a companion and I have no more patience. PUPPY NOW. This is what I love about PI folks. Puppy now=in the next 6 months to a year after I contact reputable breeders who I have already been researching for ages and have thoroughly evaluated. It means I can actually get excited for people instead of internally cringing. I fully expect to see tiny dog agility pictures! Papillons are especially prone to PES due to the giant ridiculous ears.
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Jul 1, 2012 03:48
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 A Good Dog
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Jul 1, 2012 08:37
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Yes, yes I will take one (1) Mouse, thank you. How's Dan? Is he still overweight? 
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Jul 1, 2012 09:14
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Fraction posted:How's Dan? Is he still overweight? He sure is I could make a thousand excuses about the weather and stuff, but the truth is I need to sack up and double his exercise. I still exercise Mouse separately from Dan, as well as with them both together (for training purposes) so basically that means three times as much exercise as when I had one testosterone-fueled Dandy. Oh well, it'll be good for all of us!  Two Good Dogs
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Jul 1, 2012 09:26
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Mouse and Dan are great.
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Jul 1, 2012 14:59
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To everyone else with multiple dogs: do you think it's possible to be completely impartial with your dogs and not have a/any favourites? People accuse me of favouritism with my dogs, which I feel bad about. But Jess is very, very easy compared to Lola - she needs like half an hour of exercise a day, and actively prefers to sleep on the armchair in the front room. Lola, on the other hand, demands exercise and stimulation and likes to be close to me pretty much always. Plus Lola actually listens to me, which is certainly nice. Also, out of curiousity notsoape, where do you walk your dogs? It always looks like you're walking in really nice areas.
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Jul 1, 2012 15:01
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Fraction posted:To everyone else with multiple dogs: do you think it's possible to be completely impartial with your dogs and not have a/any favourites? I kid a lot about Amy being incredibly retarded, but she's just really, really explosive about literally everything. You know that old chain email that's got a dog's favorite things? Yeah. That's Amy. And god help you if she gets scared because it's time to nearly piss herself and hunker and be way dramatic. On the other hand, she really is incredibly trainable and intelligent for a dane and she's so happy to please anyone. She tries harder than any of the other three dogs and, while it takes her a bit longer to get it than say Kaydee sometimes, she is just so happy once she gets it that poo poo tends to stay in her crazy little head. I try to avoid the whole favoritism thing. Everyone gets a cookie because everyone has to do a thing for it. Everyone gets rubs because everyone gets called over for them. I even rotate days as to who can be on the couch and who can't be, or who gets to go to the dog park, etc, etc. I try my damnedest to be super duper fair. But I do notice I tend to lean just a little bit toward Kaydee and Balen because they're calmer than Amy and Ires and just more manageable when I have a bunch to do or whatever.
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Jul 1, 2012 15:56
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Moses gets way more attention and effort because he needs it and would go insane without enough to do. Frankie can pretty much go either way; he likes to do stuff if you offer but he's not bothered about just laying around all day either. They both get the same treats and affection and goodies, but I definitely dedicate way more time to Moses just because I have to. Frankie doesn't really care as long as I remember to shove treats in his mouth and have a barkbark competition with him a couple times a day. Moses would turn to a life of crime if I didn't keep his schedule packed full of stupid bullshit activities 24/7.
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Jul 1, 2012 16:35
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There's favoritism in my house but it's more like others have said - some of the animals just need more time than the others and spending more time = developing more of a bond, I guess. Obviously Pippa needs the most time out of my clan (her and three cats), but one of my cats, Yeti, is higher maintenance than the others because he is a young Bengal. If I don't set aside time for interactive play and training with him every day, he's destroying poo poo and being annoying. So he's the favorite of the cats, probably. They all need to be around me every second that I'm home though.
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Jul 1, 2012 16:52
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With my dogs it's not so much my favouritism towards them as it is their favouritism towards me. Cairns, as a rule, are *not* one-person dogs, and they're affectionate when they want to be but not crawl-into-your-lap dogs. When you come through the door they'll come and say hi, but if you don't have anything interesting to give them they'll shrug and go back to whatever they were doing before you interrupted them. They are also notorious escape artists, and one of those breeds that don't always do well offlead, because the outside world can seem way more interesting to them than boring old you. Mouse, on the other hand, is definitely a one-person dog, and she is way more emotionally demanding than Dan. If I'm pottering about the house and there's a door between me and Dan he could give two shits (I doubt he even notices) whereas Mouse follows me around gazing with adoration and gets mild separation anxiety if there is a door between us (working on this). If I have Dan in the room where I'm sleeping he may sleep at the foot of the bed or he may sleep in his basket, it depends on his mood. Mouse prefers to sleep right next to me, under the covers with her nose sticking out . On walks, Mouse walks *with* me, always keeping an eye on me, checking back in with me frequently and listening when I tell her to stop or come back. Cairns do not do this, as a rule. Dan actually isn't *my* dog, he's the family dog who was bought when we realised Meg was sick, and will probably be staying in the family home if I move further out into the country (I live really close to the family home right now, and do all the Dog Stuff currently). This is only *maybe* because he's a sweetheart and I love him and he's super bonded with Mouse, we'll have to see what happens when my sister finishes Uni. I could quite happily have another three or four more cairns in the house because they are all so '....eh' and chill about human relationships. On the other hand, I can't imagine introducing another more human-oriented dog into the household until Mouse is way more mature and a little less about me being Her Person. If someone offered me a puppy tomorrow I would literally say 'no', and this has never happened to me in 25 years of being a dog nerd  .FTR I love the easygoing cairn temperament most of the time, but gosh is it ever nice to have a dog whose bond with you overrides their desire for treats, toys or freedom .
notsoape fucked around with this message at 17:24 on Jul 1, 2012 |
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Jul 1, 2012 17:22
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