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WolfensteinBag posted:HA! You mean put the most minimal amount of effort to at least appear current? I guarantee you she had no idea what those acronyms even meant before I told her, and she still probably doesn't even know. My years and years of personal research and education are just chatting with people online, you see. gently caress that. If someone threw a brush at my frightened dog to shut him up I would completely hulk out. Much less someone I was paying to do A Thing with my dog. I know you can't just quit, but ugh. So, Moses alerted me to a rat in an old grill we never use today. He wouldn't stop wigging out at it so I pulled the cover off and opened it to show him there was nothing inside, and as soon as I opened it, suddenly there was a rat. I went inside and got my camera and came back out and we gottim.   if ratdeath bothers you I guess. It was under the grate and tried to escape from a vent in the bottom, and Moses was waiting for him when he jumped out. He got it over with quick like a good boy, it was dead by the time my camera was down there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs07n498Wag I am not sorry for sounding like an idiot, we were having A Really Good Time. Might want to turn the volume down some though.  We have been ratting a couple of times a month at a couple of acquaintances barns, and he really loves it. He's not built for it and he obviously can't get into small spaces, but he is very good at finding them and letting you know where they are, and if you'll move stuff/flush things out he almost never loses them. We got 17 rats in a couple of hours a few weeks ago, and it would have been more if he weren't a big huge 50lbs and unable to get to ones that wedged themselves under tight areas and refused to bolt. It's a great outlet for him though and if we do it every other weekend or so it really helps him burn off steam + pent up dog rage. edit: can not spell Supercondescending fucked around with this message at 04:50 on Sep 15, 2012 |
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Sep 15, 2012 04:30
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Holy crap my dogs would love to go ratting. They're not built for it either but I bet they could gettit some rats.
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Sep 15, 2012 04:38
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He looks SO PLEASED with himself. What a good dog.
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Sep 15, 2012 04:40
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That's a good sized rat! I'd love to do some vermin/ rodent hunting with Bailey, but given his level of training and desire to eat what he kills, I'm not sure it'd be a good idea at the moment.
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Sep 15, 2012 05:05
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What a good rattin' man We started getting rats in my barn for the first time this summer and despite being comically oversized Major really helped keep the numbers down. Even when he couldn't get to the spots where the rats were hiding he let me know where they were so I could set traps in the right areas. I really wanted to take him to a local barn hunt trial next month but I'm stuck taking the poodlegoat out for an educational booth at a festival instead. Maj was going to show those watered down show terriers how a real farm dog does things (by going over hay bales instead of through them and having to be dragged screaming away from rat-tubes). I have hay bales and it would be easy enough to put a f/t feeder rat in a pvc tube so I may have my own mini practices to see if he can stay in a maze and if I can teach him to distinguish between a rat and rat bedding in tubes. Maybe some day he'll be a RATCh and if not he'll at least get better at clearing my barn. Instant Jellyfish fucked around with this message at 05:13 on Sep 15, 2012 |
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Sep 15, 2012 05:11
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wtftastic posted:That's a good sized rat. I'd love to do some vermin hunting with Bailey, but given his level of training and desire to eat what he kills, I'm not sure it'd be a good idea at the moment. Honestly, he does really want to eat what he gets and we're working on that. He often tries to bolt down smaller ones as soon as they're dead, and that terrifies me given the risk of something being poisoned. My solution right now is to replace what he gets with prekilled mice (and only because I have those on hand anyway,) and he ONLY gets those if he gives me what he's killed and is good about it. If he tries to swallow something before I can take it away, I will cram my hand down his throat to get it back if I have to because NOPE. Then, from there, I'll coax him into putting it down and leaving it alone/letting me take it and reward him with a prekilled mouse or two. I wouldn't mind him eating what he killed if I weren't scared of poison/diseases, but this way he at least get something comparable for all his hard work. He still gets grabby with what he's killed, as you can see in the video, but he is getting better. Instant Jellyfish posted:We started getting rats in my barn for the first time this summer and despite being comically oversized Major really helped keep the numbers down. Even when he couldn't get to the spots where the rats were hiding he let me know where they were so I could set traps in the right areas. I really wanted to take him to a local barn hunt trial next month but I'm stuck taking the poodlegoat out for an educational booth at a festival instead. Maj was going to show those watered down show terriers how a real farm dog does things (by going over hay bales instead of through them and having to be dragged screaming away from rat-tubes).  oversized rattin' buddy. I'm very impressed with Moses because he seems to be very smart about things and works around his size, rather than just screaming through hay bales until a rodent ends up in his mouth in all the confusion. It's really cool to see a big ol' dog doin little dog work.
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Sep 15, 2012 05:19
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If you put some corrogated iron/a large board balanced on a couple of bricks out in the open a few feet away from rat runs, then scatter chicken feed under it every couple of days for a couple of weeks, eventually you'll be able to head out at night (a little after dusk is good), flip up the sheet/board and have some fun with your Chomping Dawgs, especially if you  ly block off the entrance points to their escape runs first. Two or more dogs is definitely best for hardcore ratting and remember to tuck your trousers into your boots before you head out.If you want to get intense about it, a smoker is also helpful (or a werkin bred ferret, although they def. have to have the right temperament for the job, unlike rabbits rats will bite back). I know it's upsetting for some animally folks, but ratting is honestly great mental stimulation for prey driven breeds, though you have to put some work into their training if you don't want them to be unmanageable assholes around other livestock and pets. I think you have to live out in the country to really grasp how important it is to keep rat populations under control. The alternative to dogs is air rifles or poison, both of which have the potential to be way more painful/traumatic for the rat. Out walking the other day we passed a pigeon who had been wounded but not killed by a shot, you could smell the necrotizing tissue as it impotently fluttered away. Live or snap traps will work, but they only go so far if you have issues with rats. It was really interesting to see the difference between Dan and Mouse on rats. Dan had a decent nose but zero drive to shake or kill. He'd still bark like a moron if he saw them in the yard. Mouse was totally locked onto them and fast and efficient when it came to the kill. Many different kinds of dawgs will rat and rat well, our cousins had a bc who was amazingly proficient. It's the sort of skill that you could luck out with from a lot of breeds, but if you definitely want a dog for rat control it's best to go to proven lines. Rats.
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Sep 15, 2012 08:36
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Man I wish my dog wasn't too wussy to kill things. She goes into total drive when she sees rabbits but just got kind of upset about the wild mouse. I guess I did too good of a job teaching her not to eat my pets  Moses is a very good boy!
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Sep 15, 2012 11:04
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Skylar is gone now. She had a very good morning, and when it was time, she was lying in the sun outside the house with the whole family and Beck there with her. She went easily. I'll be busy grieving and taking care of Beck for a couple of days. Thanks to everyone in this thread for giving me a place to talk about Skylar and ask for advice. It made her death a lot less difficult for me. Do something dumb and fun with your dogs today.
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Sep 15, 2012 17:34
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 You were an awesome caregiver to Skylar in her twilight days. I love that she went not only with her friends and family with her, but in her back yard.I'll be picking up my own old lady dog (foster) today, and I will try to spoil her the time she is with me the way you spoiled Skylar.
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Sep 15, 2012 17:39
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You did a great thing for Skylar and your friend. Thanks for sharing her last days with us.
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Sep 15, 2012 17:48
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I never really know what to say at times like this, but from your posts about what you've been doing for Skylar, I'm sure you made her last few days as nice as possible for her.
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Sep 15, 2012 18:01
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Wheats, I'm sorry. I loved reading your Skylar updates and I hoped the end wouldn't have to come so soon, but you did exactly what you needed to do, and I hope it gets easier for you.  notsoape posted:I know it's upsetting for some animally folks, but ratting is honestly great mental stimulation for prey driven breeds, though you have to put some work into their training if you don't want them to be unmanageable assholes around other livestock and pets. I think you have to live out in the country to really grasp how important it is to keep rat populations under control. The alternative to dogs is air rifles or poison, both of which have the potential to be way more painful/traumatic for the rat. Out walking the other day we passed a pigeon who had been wounded but not killed by a shot, you could smell the necrotizing tissue as it impotently fluttered away. Live or snap traps will work, but they only go so far if you have issues with rats. I wholeheartedly agree with this, and would emphasize that rats are smart animals, and if you're consistently and effectively ratting them out, they're eventually going to be less inclined to scavenge an area. They may even choose to move colonies to a safer place, rather than be eradicated every time they go out to steal chicken feed, and future colonies will smell dead rats and be disinclined to move in where the old one left off. A single ratting terrier on a farm can be a huge deterrent for rats, particularly if that dog is constantly on patrol, with and without you. All of our ratting dogs have been JRTs, so I can't speak to specific lines of drive and efficiency, but they all seemed confident and quick on the kill, even to the point of sheer madness. And all our dogs have both hunted with and without us; the ideal farm dog for us would be one that can both do a directed hunt when my uncle wants to root out the chicken coop and hunt at night, self-directed, without disturbing/hurting the other livestock or neighboring animals. Zoot, like Buster, Bandy and Danny before him, goes out through the dog door every night and 'patrols' for varmints, be they rats, raccoons or coyotes. He frequently comes home covered in blood that is not his own, and is happier than any dog has a right to be. He would never harm another dog, another farm's livestock or anything that wasn't a pest animal, either, and I really have no idea how we've been so lucky with that, not only with him but with all the other boys. They've never really been 'trained' either, so god knows why we haven't come across a crazy neurotic lovely JRT yet, but pretty much every one that's ever been brought to the farm has gone 'Welp, time to get to work' and that was that. Has made me really biased towards the breed as a working dog, on the whole.
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Sep 15, 2012 18:45
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What an awesome way to go for Skylar.  I... think Shadow might be really good at ratting, if we tried, despite his size. If he finds a chipmunk inside of something, he does not give up unless I call him off or it becomes clear there's no way to get it out. He usually kills them with a crunch or two in his jaws and then he is no longer interested in them. He may be almost 11 but when he's found a chipmunk you'd think he's more like 2. It is his Absolute Favorite Thing.Also, when he hears mice skittering around under some brush, he does this goofy thing where he'll stomp his back feet a bit, stand still and listen to see if he flushed any out, stomp feet a bit, repeat, etc. It's so dorky.
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Sep 15, 2012 19:32
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Wheats posted:Skylar is gone now. She had a very good morning, and when it was time, she was lying in the sun outside the house with the whole family and Beck there with her. She went easily. I'll be busy grieving and taking care of Beck for a couple of days. Thanks to everyone in this thread for giving me a place to talk about Skylar and ask for advice. It made her death a lot less difficult for me. Do something dumb and fun with your dogs today. You did awesome for Skylar and I guess as a Random Stranger on the Internet, I feel like you did an awesome job and that you made Skylar as happy and comfy as possible.
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Sep 15, 2012 19:37
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Captain Foxy posted:Zoot, like Buster, Bandy and Danny before him, goes out through the dog door every night and 'patrols' for varmints, be they rats, raccoons or coyotes. He frequently comes home covered in blood that is not his own, and is happier than any dog has a right to be. He would never harm another dog, another farm's livestock or anything that wasn't a pest animal, either, and I really have no idea how we've been so lucky with that, not only with him but with all the other boys. Compared to most of the dog people in this thread I know next to nothing, but I think maybe you just answered your own question? It seems possible that when a very drivey, intelligent breed like a JRT is given the freedom to do Its Job to its heart's content, it doesn't necessarily need a lot of training. Your uncle's dogs basically have the ideal life- unlimited exercise and mental stimulation, along with the comforts of home, food, and vet care. I think most working breed dogs, even if a tad neurotic or poorly bred, would thrive under those conditions.
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Sep 15, 2012 19:46
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mickeymickey posted:Compared to most of the dog people in this thread I know next to nothing, but I think maybe you just answered your own question? It seems possible that when a very drivey, intelligent breed like a JRT is given the freedom to do Its Job to its heart's content, it doesn't necessarily need a lot of training. Your uncle's dogs basically have the ideal life- unlimited exercise and mental stimulation, along with the comforts of home, food, and vet care. I think most working breed dogs, even if a tad neurotic or poorly bred, would thrive under those conditions. I agree, somewhat, but there are exceptions. Boots, my uncle's dog, is a JRT/corgi mix he picked up from the local shelter, where most of the farm dogs have originated (that or a drop off at the top of the drive) and she's nippy, barky, and sensitive, even with acres to roam and tons of things to herd. I imagine that has something to do with the conflicting urges from her mixed heritage, but not all dogs go well on the farm. I think I've told this story once before, but my uncle once bought an Irish terrier from a catalog and had it shipped out to us, sight unseen. It killed a few chickens, one cat, harassed the horses and just basically went insane for the week it was there. Different level of drive, sure, but I think it's mostly been a combination of luck and my uncle picking out good puppies. He didn't meet the litter that the Irish came from, and he credits that as the reason why it wasn't a good fit. Then there was Cooper, an odd-eyed husky mix that someone dropped off at the top of the drive as a gangly puppy. I loved him, he was beautiful and fluffy and I was 8, so I begged my parents to keep him. Cooper couldn't deal with quietly finding his own stimulation, though; like most high energy dogs, he found the wrong kinds of stimulation when we didn't provide the right ones for him and reveled in those, like chasing horses, eating ducks and wrecking the duck house. He needed a home where he could be more supervised and encouraged in the right direction, and he eventually got that with a friend of the family, afaik. We had a few other bad fits too, along the years, because farm life can actually be pretty laid-back, and some high energy dogs need a more high energy farm. We don't do all that much, it's mostly just a hobby farm in a nice bit of country, although the evening walks around the property are long and fun for dogs. The ratting is the primary activity, and it's mostly at night/early morning.
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Sep 15, 2012 20:01
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A nice little video to brighten everyone's day (found at the pedigree dogs exposed blog) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1LjkGP091g 
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Sep 15, 2012 20:44
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They are straight up walking on their hocks.  Somehow that looks even more hosed up than english bulldogs to me.
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Sep 15, 2012 20:45
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I think that's the first time the comments on a YouTube video had some drat sense. But holy gently caress, how does someone watch that and think, "yep, I done bred a good dawg, lookit dat flyin' trawt."?
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Sep 15, 2012 21:12
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Wheats I'm very sorry to hear about your lovely Skylar, but from what you've posted here I know you did the best anyone could have done for her.
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Sep 15, 2012 21:22
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That video. How does it get to that point without someone going, "Hey do you think that thing could actually do its original job looking like that?" Because watching those things herd would be like watching a train wreck.
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Sep 15, 2012 21:26
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Look at little Flopsy over there. Just...floppin' around.
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Sep 15, 2012 21:40
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Captain Foxy posted:Look at little Flopsy over there. Just...floppin' around. Also all the dogs are pacing.  How is this in any way shape or form a good breeder/ outfit? Those runs are unstimulating and the dogs look like poo poo.
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Sep 15, 2012 22:30
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notsoape posted:A nice little video to brighten everyone's day (found at the pedigree dogs exposed blog) Oh god   vs  (Delta isn't the gold standard, but at least she looks functional! She looks like such a lanky teenager in this picture )Went hunting today, shot a squirrel that the dogs treed. Sigma didn't know what to do with it, so I told him to "bring it here" and held out my hand. He brought it over, carrying it very gently. Then he tested it - crunch! Started eating' that squirrel headfirst. We were going to chop the squirrel in half and let both dogs have brekkie, but when my hubby tried to take the back end away Sigma horked it down like a snake. Greedy little jerk, Delta didn't get any But she got the head of the grouse we took after lunch.
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Sep 15, 2012 22:50
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notsoape posted:A nice little video to brighten everyone's day (found at the pedigree dogs exposed blog) I couldn't resist posting this in the comments: What's wrong with that puppy? I don't know much about dogs, but was it hit by a car or something? Poor thing has a hard time walking . I hope you do some rehab and see if you can fix the puppy.moralgriever 1 second ago
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Sep 15, 2012 23:39
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WolfensteinBag posted:
Grooming can be a majorly stressful job, especially if you have someone like that who just amplifies everything and makes it 10x worse. A barking dog is stressful enough, but a barking dog + someone who loses their cool at that dog is horrible. I hope you find somewhere else to work Superconsndar, Moses looks like he had so much fun! You too, I wish my terrier had more drive for mice to do something like that with me. And was better at voice commands, for that matter! (only have myself to blame there though)Wheats, Sorry to hear about Skylar, it sounds like she went as nicely as any of us could dream to, peacefully and surrounded by loved ones. You did something very special for her these past weeks.
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Sep 16, 2012 01:01
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notsoape posted:A nice little video to brighten everyone's day (found at the pedigree dogs exposed blog) Ugh. Youtube suggested a bunch of videos of Tennessee Walking Horse big lick videos on the sidebar. I think they may be even worse than the GSD. The dogs don't have acid and chains put on their legs to make them walk like that (that I know of  ) and no one is riding them.For those not familiar with the breed, here's a video of one in normal shoes with normal gaits competing against a bunch of horses in massive stacked shoes with big lick gaits. It lost of course. Apparently having a horse that looks like it is trying to escape its own legs is what it takes to win.
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Sep 16, 2012 01:02
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Instant Jellyfish posted:Ugh. That video is horrible. The one horse looks so happy to just trot around like a normal horse. The others look like they're in pain  .
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Sep 16, 2012 02:35
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Those horses are creepy. I think I've said before that they look like if aliens came to earth and tried to make horses based on what they saw, but didn't get it quite right. It's like a horse version of uncanny valley.
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Sep 16, 2012 02:54
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Wheats, I am so sorry for your loss. You gave Skylar the best possible last few weeks of her life. She left this world surrounded by people who love her. My heart goes out to you, Becks, and all who loved her.
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Sep 16, 2012 03:24
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Instant Jellyfish posted:Ugh. Ugggh. Why did you have to remind me of these even that relatively normal one looks like he has his tail set. Screw gaited horse shows, seriously.
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Sep 16, 2012 04:17
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Springly posted:Ugggh. Why did you have to remind me of these Oh for fucks sake, I have never heard of tail setting. I am not remotely the kind of person who is squeamish about docking/cropping/insert-thing here when it serves a valid purpose, but the concept of intentionally breaking bones to create a cosmetic effect to earn ribbons in a show ring makes me want to leave this gay earth.
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Sep 16, 2012 04:27
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Springly posted:Ugggh. Why did you have to remind me of these The show rules required a tail that is or looks set. That horse had his tail in a brace that humanely made it appear to be set. You can read more about that horse and the owner fighting to allow him to compete in a humane manner here. I'm not sure if tail setting or tail blocking sounds worse to me. Having the tail broken and then put back together "fancier" has got to hurt but injecting alcohol into the tail nerves to make the tail not swish when the horse is uncomfortable due to its trainer/rider being terrible seems worse to me. Show people need to calm the gently caress down.
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Sep 16, 2012 04:42
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Instant Jellyfish posted:The show rules required a tail that is or looks set. That horse had his tail in a brace that humanely made it appear to be set. You can read more about that horse and the owner fighting to allow him to compete in a humane manner here. I also liked how the not so covert racism of some riding people reared its ugly head on top of everything else. I knew someone who did training with an African-American girl for dressage riding and when she used to watch her compete people in the stands would call her a "n*****" when she rode past and make comments about how a girl like her shouldn't be riding a fancy horse.
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Sep 16, 2012 05:02
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^^: I hate how little this surprises me.  Instant Jellyfish posted:The show rules required a tail that is or looks set. That horse had his tail in a brace that humanely made it appear to be set. You can read more about that horse and the owner fighting to allow him to compete in a humane manner here.
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Sep 16, 2012 05:03
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Kerfuffle posted:^^: I hate how little this surprises me. Moses breeder is a former ADBA judge. He walked out of his last show because everything is reduced to a choice between hippos and whippet-bulls. When I got Moses, I was much less anti-showing than I am now, and we had a very long talk about conformation showing before he would agree to give me a puppy. At the time I thought it was dumb and really wanted to show my dawg, but in retrospect, I'm really glad I didn't. Everything about conformation showing is just insert-horror-here.
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Sep 16, 2012 05:19
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The psychotic lady with 23 cats I got my goats from used to show Burmese cats but she refused to breed them with flat enough faces to win so she gave it up. This lady is out of her drat mind, insists all goats she sells get petted for at least 15 minutes a day, and once called me 9 times in 2 days about paperwork she had already filled out for me and cat shows were too crazy even for her.
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Sep 16, 2012 05:37
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The thing that has always baffled me about people who go to those lengths to win is that they're essentially admitting failure - breeding alone can't get what they're aiming for, so they have to resort to extraordinary means to get the look they want. Why would anyone want to breed from an animal whose physical appearance was surgically or otherwise altered? It can't be passed on to offspring.
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Sep 16, 2012 05:51
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^ show is show.. im not anywhere close to a show crazy person, but Ill admit that I have my visual preferences for some critters like cropped ears on dobes, danes, etc. And heck, those dog breeds that can't even breed naturally anymore... Asked a customer what kind of dog she owned today and she said American Bully. "It kinda looks like a pit bull, but shorter and wider' Seeing more people distinctly mention they have bullies and not pit bulls, which... is better than calling them apbts right!?
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Sep 16, 2012 05:59
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