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 Mouse in our new Mouse House 
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Nov 25, 2012 19:02
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New mouse house looks very comfy!
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Nov 25, 2012 19:30
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Your house looks really charming and cute. You need some bigger art!
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Nov 25, 2012 19:56
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Max decided to send me into a mild panic this morning. I'd kicked the dogs out of my room so I could sleep in after they got their breakfasts, then a bit later Pistol started crying at the door and my fiance decided to let him in because he's a big softy, so I called for Max too and he never showed up which is very unusual so I went looking for him. Went downstairs, couldn't find him ANYWHERE, went back upstairs to make sure we just didn't miss him being curled up in a corner and started mildly panicking that my dog had disappeared into thin air. Somehow he had opened the door to my spare room (closed all the time to keep Pistol out), went in, and shut the door behind him. He then decided he was trapped and quietly accepted his fate and curled up on the futon to go back to sleep so I didn't hear him moving around in there, so I didn't think to check that room until I had exhausted the rest of my options. I swear I'm going to have to start installing padlocks on every door in my house to keep these dogs where they're supposed to be.
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Nov 25, 2012 20:12
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notsoape posted:
What a cozy home for a wee Mouse We finally had some snow stick here and Major is thrilled.  He celebrated by harassing sheep.  This is Iph's first snow and she's not sure what to make of it. The goats are mostly just lurking in the barn wailing. 
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Nov 25, 2012 21:43
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She looks so happy!
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Nov 25, 2012 21:58
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:Somehow he had opened the door to my spare room (closed all the time to keep Pistol out), went in, and shut the door behind him. He then decided he was trapped and quietly accepted his fate and curled up on the futon to go back to sleep so I didn't hear him moving around in there, so I didn't think to check that room until I had exhausted the rest of my options. My parent's dog did this in the pantry when she was a puppy. Their pantry is a massive walk-in cupboard and sometimes the door creaks open a touch. Whoever walks past and notices just pushes it shut again. After a while they noticed she wasn't around, went looking and couldn't find her in/around the house. Eventually they went to get the dog treats from out of the pantry and discovered her curled up on the potatoes.
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Nov 25, 2012 23:00
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Man, Instant Jellyfish, I want to visit your farm some day. 
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Nov 25, 2012 23:10
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Skizzles posted:Man, Instant Jellyfish, I want to visit your farm some day. I'm always open to visitors, just come in April so you can squish babbies. Ohio isn't that big of a state to drive across!
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Nov 25, 2012 23:19
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Instant Jellyfish posted:I'm always open to visitors, just come in April so you can squish babbies. Ohio isn't that big of a state to drive across! Get husband stationed up that way and I will come muck out stalls for free  The new male mice the shop brought today are female and now they don't know what to do because they just fed off all but a few males (that are getting older and not producing particularly well, I've been told).  Shoulda let me keep some from that group I wanted to, huh, guys?
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Nov 25, 2012 23:53
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Instant Jellyfish posted:What a cozy home for a wee Mouse Sooo jealous. Send some snow out east! Also, that sheepie is too cute.
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Nov 26, 2012 00:01
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Is that Major's super-sparkly shirt he's wearing there? I love his freckles.
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Nov 26, 2012 00:49
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Kiri koli posted:Sooo jealous. Send some snow out east! She's a goat  Everyone thinks my sheep are goats and my goats are sheep. McDragon posted:Is that Major's super-sparkly shirt he's wearing there? I love his freckles. Nah, it's his thundershirt. It's hunting season so it sounds like cannons are going off all day and it keeps him from being terrified. He really doesn't like guns. vvv Maybe he has a sponsor that is taking care of part of his fee or he's neutered already so it's cheaper? vvv Instant Jellyfish fucked around with this message at 01:12 on Nov 26, 2012 |
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Nov 26, 2012 00:56
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Kind of an odd question, but does anyone on here happen to know if the Peoria Animal Welfare Shelter in IL is no-kill? Or at least, do they put time limits on dogs? I saw this guy, and it's kinda weird: http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/24670385 They list all dogs as being $100 for adoption, but for some reason this guy is only $25 (and he's awesome ) Says he's good with dogs, kids, and cats, but he's the ONLY dog listed as $25. I left a message for them about him on Facebook, but I'm all paranoid he's that cheap for a reason, like his time is going to be up.  Just LOOK at him! Some kinda GSD mix, maybe husky? Depends how big he is. It's a little ways from me, or else I'd go check out his personality to see if he'd be good for what I'm after, maybe even test him with Buddy. But I have a very specific personality we're looking for (plus, we're not planning on a dog for another year, yet) but I would feel TERRIBLE if I found out this guy had an expiration date. I want to try and help him out if he does, at least by contacting other rescues if I find out that place is a kill shelter.
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Nov 26, 2012 01:07
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Instant Jellyfish posted:She's a goat Thanks, PI. 
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Nov 26, 2012 01:12
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WolfensteinBag posted:Kind of an odd question, but does anyone on here happen to know if the Peoria Animal Welfare Shelter in IL is no-kill? Or at least, do they put time limits on dogs? I saw this guy, and it's kinda weird: PAWS is not no-kill and actually has a pretty high rate, although Spring is the really bad time of year according to this article.
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Nov 26, 2012 01:28
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It says the article isn't available, but oh no!!  Time to contact some rescues, I guess. 
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Nov 26, 2012 01:31
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man that article would have been sad if it weren't peppered with thinly veiled disdain for pit bulls + a little classism for good measuresome anal white person posted:Motteler mentioned a typical scene in the PAWS lobby: gang members loudly and profanely trying to re-claim a vicious pit bull, all while a family with small children attempts to fill out paperwork to claim a warm, fuzzy house pet. lol
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Nov 26, 2012 02:55
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Superconsndar posted:man that article would have been sad if it weren't peppered with thinly veiled disdain for pit bulls + a little classism for good measure My co-worker, "Who would even want a pit bull from a shelter? Only gangsters. So they can FIGHT them." I told her I wouldn't mind adopting or would be happy to adopt one if I had time and place where I could own one. She's sweet but misguided. Her sister adopted a lab mix that looks like it might be part GSD and she's terrified that because of that it will be vicious and bite people and attack them. I've given up on trying to tell her GSDs aren't vicious and instead I just say "Well it looks like a lab so it will act like one".
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Nov 26, 2012 04:32
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It is funny because no one would ever fight a shelter pit bull, what would be the point It would be like a show lady who has dedicated years to developing and testing (via showing) dogs bred a certain way going out and buying a mill puppy from Petland with the intention of showing it.
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Nov 26, 2012 05:15
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When I had the dogs at the dog park the other day there was a lady there who would get all worked up whenever a dog that looked vaguely like a pit bull came in, because they were "all vicious beasts" who'd attack her morbidly obese labs. Most of the dogs she was all AAH PIT BULL about were labs/hounds and not pitty at all.  Granted there is someone who brings their super dog aggressive pit bull to the dog park for some reason and just makes him sit there on a short leash the whole time. He also wears a shock collar. Poor thing looks miserable most of the time. I don't know why she keeps bringing him. Maybe it's a misguided attempt to socialize him?
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Nov 26, 2012 05:17
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:When I had the dogs at the dog park the other day there was a lady there who would get all worked up whenever a dog that looked vaguely like a pit bull came in, because they were "all vicious beasts" who'd attack her morbidly obese labs. Most of the dogs she was all AAH PIT BULL about were labs/hounds and not pitty at all. "zap it with a shock collar when it looks at another dog" is a common method of thoroughly shutting down and breaking rescued pit bulls among a couple of the rescue groups around here, so it wouldn't surprise me. Excuse me, it is a common method of "rehabilitating" them.
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Nov 26, 2012 05:22
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Superconsndar posted:It is funny because no one would ever fight a shelter pit bull, what would be the point Can you imagine how great a switheroo TV show would be? "We are here at the Westminster dog show, where we've secretly replaced the fine GSD they normally would judge with a Puppy Mill Frog-dog. Let's see if anyone can tell the difference!"
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Nov 26, 2012 06:02
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A thought about the direction show boxers are going in crossed my mind. I might be totally off here, but it looks like the breed is actually starting to develop a functional snout, verses some of the english bulldog looking ones that I've seen in years past. Maybe it's an optical illusion because they are breeding out the snout wrinkles? Specifically I'm talking about this:  verses this:  I don't know if it's exclusively my uneducated opinion. I saw some at the big dog show this year and their noses didn't seem to be quite so upturned either. (dog two is ugly as hell, and not because his ears and tail aren't done.) Shifty Pony posted:Can you imagine how great a switheroo TV show would be? "We are here at the Westminster dog show, where we've secretly replaced the fine GSD they normally would judge with a Puppy Mill Frog-dog. Let's see if anyone can tell the difference!" The puppy mill dog would have a more functional structure. The Big Whoop fucked around with this message at 06:49 on Nov 26, 2012 |
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Nov 26, 2012 06:36
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2tomorrow posted:So I haven't been posting much because these last few weeks have been insanely loving busy for me, but I just wanted to brag that George passed his first SAR certification test this morning. I'm so proud of him. Yaay George I'd be interested in hearing about the test too. A few of the GSD nerds I know have been really pushing me to get Vecna into SAR once he's older so any info about SAR training would be really appreciated. Vecna's really been enjoying the poo poo weather we've been having lately.  Doing some tracking work with my husband 
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Nov 26, 2012 13:28
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Superconsndar posted:It is funny because no one would ever fight a shelter pit bull, what would be the point I've considered getting a random shelter pit bull in the past but that would've been playing a doggy Russian Roulette considering Corbin had a really nervous temperament. Don't know if I'd consider it now or not. I was planning once I got a house to get a beagle since Corbin didn't seem to mind hounds or puppies at all. Now, I'm just like NO MORE DOGS EVER but I have a feeling in a year or two I'll reconsider since I don't really expect if I have my own house that poison will be on the property or something stupid like that (because as it turns out, the maintenance workers left some out there but didn't inform the property managers who in turn didn't inform pet owners, so it's turning into a legal thing now). e: I kind of just rambled off on that one whoops but yeah turns out that whole thing wasn't malicious which is great but it still sucks that no one informed anyone else HEY WE'RE GONNA PUT RAT POISON ON THIS REAL POPULAR WALKING TRAIL. Hardwood Floor fucked around with this message at 13:45 on Nov 26, 2012 |
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Nov 26, 2012 13:42
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Superconsndar posted:It is funny because no one would ever fight a shelter pit bull, what would be the point I tried explaining that multiple times. And by that I mean we end up having this conversation like once a week and I re-state that same point at least that often.
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Nov 26, 2012 14:43
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So, um, sorry for this novel in the random nonsense thread...but I figured I'd answer some questions. Wolfenstein, I will try to get some new pictures posted soon. George grew again and he's starting to look like a real dog now.  Triangulum posted:Yaay George Thanks for the congrats, guys.  Triangulum, I love SAR and heartily recommend it, but I think the important thing is to realize that it is a huge time commitment (seriously, I had no idea even after reading the team guidelines and training schedules), and if you're on an actual search and rescue team, you need to take it extremely seriously. People's lives will literally depend on you and your dog. That sounds dramatic but it really is true. You also need to have the flexibility and willingness to actually go on missions, which are never convenient--especially with the dogs, during the summer you're going to be going out late at night or at like 3 AM to clear an area before it gets too hot, you'll have to give up weekends, go out in the rain or freezing cold, etc. It's also pretty expensive--you need your search gear (including pricey things like GPSes and radios), dog training gear, time off work, driving all over the wilderness for training, etc. The nice thing is that on my team at least, we don't individually pay for clinics and training--the team handles that.If it's something you want to do casually, there are a lot of fun non-emergency response options that will let you do similar things. IRO rescue dog testing is one, and there are a lot of local tracking clubs and stuff around. I got into K9 SAR kind of on a whim, but I'd been on a ground pounder team before and so love that aspect of it. That I get to train my dog too is just a bonus. If you are still interested in SAR training, I'd recommend you go ahead and contact teams in your area. I don't know how old Vecna is but he looks maybe adolescent? Most teams have an age limit on when they'll accept dogs into training (generally 2-3 years) because it takes at least a year, often two, to develop a mission-ready dog. We start working with puppies from the time they're just a few months old, obviously very light work but laying the groundwork. Even if Vecna is too young to begin training, you can assist at trainings and learn the ropes yourself, which will help you immensely. I wish I'd done that, as I made a lot of mistakes with George that are still affecting our progress. A lot of SAR trainers I have met recommend being on a team for at least a year prior to training your own dog, though of course that isn't realistic for a lot of people. Onto testing...this stuff will vary from team to team, but the way my team does it, we have 3 tests. The first two are basically just checks to make sure the dog is progressing well in his training. The dogs have to pass them within a certain time frame from beginning their training (8 months is the first, 16 months is the second I believe). The reason is that a lot of team resources are devoted to each dog and since we're a state-recognized emergency response team, we don't want to spend a lot of time on a dog who won't make it, particularly when there are a lot of other for-fun search organizations out there (IRO rescue dog testing, recreational tracking groups, etc.). The final test is the mission ready certification, which tests the dog's ability to do a long blind search with an unknown subject, as well as the handler's ability to set up an effective search plan for the conditions, ask appropriate questions during the briefing, check the victim's status when the find is made, etc. Basically, we run it just like it was a real search mission, except obviously the rest of the team (not the handler or field support) knows where the victim is. The test George passed was very simple. It was a blind (for him, I knew where the subject was headed) runaway of about 100-150 yards (so he saw the person leave, but then I turned him away so he couldn't see where they went), with a 90-degree turn so they weren't just straight where he'd last seen them heading. He had to find them (there wasn't a time limit, but he wouldn't have passed if he'd been dinking around rather than working), then alert. Since he does a recall/refind, he had to come back to me, do a clean alert, then take me back to the subject. His was actually a bit unusual as he veered the wrong way (and I went, "Oh, poo poo!" internally), but he actually found some nearby hikers instead of the team member. However, he did his alert perfectly and that still counted because he is not scent specific, so any find is considered successful. My team also requires basic obedience testing, just to make sure they have basic manners for when we're at incident base or other high-traffic areas. George had to demonstrate a 10-second sit stay, loose leash walking, a short heel, and loading into my vehicle. He was also tested for dog and human aggression (having to walk near other dogs, being approached and led by someone other than me), but those are just kind of formalities since it would have been obvious in our training. I believe the second test is a cold start (so the dog doesn't see the person leave), and a distance of 200-250 yards between the start and the subject's location. I don't remember obedience offhand and don't have time to look it up, but I think it's the same except a longer stay and heel, as well as a recall command. The MRC is done in a 40-acre search area (more or less, it depends a bit on where the test is held and what the terrain is like). The subject can be anywhere in it, but the handler has to find them within 4 hours. Since you're working on a grid and usually in some rough terrain, that can be close. I don't think they do any obedience testing, but they do some more difficult dog and human aggression tests. Things that will fail you in any of those are: obviously the dog not finding the subject--or a subject, anyway, as George demonstrated; a failure to alert; the handler cueing the alert--there's a bit of leeway in the first test since the dogs are inexperienced, but none in the second or MRC; a total failure in the obedience portion--mistakes are okay, because these are working dogs, but you do have to successfully demonstrate your control; out-of-control dog aggression--again, here a little grumble or something is fine as long as the handler can demonstrate control; any human aggression. In the MRC the handler can also fail if they demonstrate a lack of readiness to handle a real search mission, like if they come up with a terrible search plan, or don't ask appropriate questions during the mission briefing (these are things like whether the victim has food/water, is likely to need medical help or has any conditions searchers need to know, how to handle media/family, etc.). The dog handler is basically the one running the search team once they get out of incident base, so they need to be fully trained and prepared on the human SAR aspect as well as the dog handling. I don't actually know about the tracking dog tests (George is air scent), my team has both and I know the obedience is the same but the search problems are different. I just haven't studied them and haven't seen any of the tracking dogs test in the time I've been on the team. edit: a friend who read this emailed me and asked me to clarify...IRO isn't strictly recreational, and I guess it is used as certifying standards in some countries. I'm speaking from a US-perspective, and from my understanding NASAR does not recognize it, and the clubs that train for IRO testing that I'm aware of are recreational (for lack of a better word; many breeders go for it, but they're not actually looking to be called out on SAR missions, just demonstrate their dogs' working abilities). I am not familiar with a NASAR- or state-recognized team that uses IRO standards in the US, though I very well could just be ignorant there. 2tomorrow fucked around with this message at 22:34 on Nov 26, 2012 |
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Nov 26, 2012 18:13
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Pew! Pew! posted:I've heard ~stories~ of idiots that want a badass dog getting a shelter pit or staffy and getting into "MY DOG COULD BEAT UP YOUR DOG" arguments but as for the organized stuff, of course not. Good luck dealing with all this, it's so lovely. At least it wasn't malicious, but negligence is nearly as infuriating. I'm also just boggling at putting rat poison OUTSIDE, where any other animal could ingest it too. Is it really worth that to kill some rats? 
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Nov 26, 2012 18:38
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Pew! Pew! posted:e: I kind of just rambled off on that one whoops but yeah turns out that whole thing wasn't malicious which is great but it still sucks that no one informed anyone else HEY WE'RE GONNA PUT RAT POISON ON THIS REAL POPULAR WALKING TRAIL.
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Nov 26, 2012 18:43
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The odd thing about the rats they have are that they're pet rats. Or at least I assume so; I've never seen a hooded wild rat before. They also have several stray cats and a duck pond so maybe they're just assuming that it will only effect rats? I have no idea. It's just frustrating that people would be so careless about something that could potentially harm not only pets, but people too. There's so many little kids who play in that area. e: But I'm just getting fed up with dealing with the mismanagement here so I'm just ranting a bit.
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Nov 26, 2012 18:46
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Neena posted:Good luck dealing with all this, it's so lovely. Depending on what wildlife is in the area, it can actually be illegal to do that too. Rats aren't protected but a lot of species are and leaving out poison they can get into is a big no-no. Pew! Pew! posted:I've heard ~stories~ of idiots that want a badass dog getting a shelter pit or staffy and getting into "MY DOG COULD BEAT UP YOUR DOG" arguments but as for the organized stuff, of course not. There was an actual problem with dog fighters adopting pits from the local shelter and fighting them in the area I used to live. It was documented because on a couple of occasions the fights were broken up by cops and the dogs were identified, as were the adopters. HOWEVER, I don't know if you'd really call it an organized ring (though it was the same group of people doing it repeatedly), so much as a bunch of macho losers looking for something to bet on at their drinking parties. The more organized rings that were busted in the same area did not use shelter dogs but rather had their own breeding programs. In general, yeah, fighting is not an issue with shelter pits either before they wind up there or after they're adopted. People are nuts about that. edit: Oh man, I somehow misread the rest of your post and thought that your dog had not gotten into the rat poison. I am so sorry that happened. What a horrible thing for them to have been careless about.
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Nov 26, 2012 18:47
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Got word back from that shelter, he's only $25 because he was already neutered. They don't put a time limit on dogs, but they do euth for space. Kinda tossing the idea at my husband, but I'm torn, myself. I wanted a girl next dog, and I wanted a dog I could use as a demo dog and work with tracking and obedience. I also wanted a known health history. While I COULD get the temperament I'm after, I have no way of knowing without meeting the guy, and the place is at least a couple hours away. I guess I need to decide if I'm ok with just having a companion for Buddy if the rest of it doesn't pan out, but I was really looking forward to a nice, biddable dog next time around. Plus, we're not set up for a second dog, yet. I just don't know! Edit: Well nevermind!! He's going to a rescue!!! 
WolfensteinBag fucked around with this message at 21:21 on Nov 26, 2012 |
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Nov 26, 2012 19:49
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Here's another picture I thought you guys would like. My grandparents' dog does this.
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Nov 26, 2012 21:29
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One of my parent's dogs does that too. The other one will go bury her whatever, then come back and try to steal his bone, which she will then eat while he looks so confused about things. She always knows exactly where she buried something because if you get within 100yds of the spot she will run over and stand on top of it trying to look nonchalant. People need to stop letting their cuddly super friendly cats just wander around. I mean, just look at this giant guy who keeps coming up to me at a specific spot on my bike ride!  WolfensteinBag posted:Edit: Well nevermind!! He's going to a rescue!!! Yay! He's going to have a happy ending!
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Nov 27, 2012 00:32
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2tomorrow posted:
This is correct, dog matching is a method of proving breeding stock out of specific bloodlines, so using shelter pits would be kind of pointless to anyone involved in "organized" dog fighting. I'm sure there are plenty of idiots in the world attempting to deathmatch shelter dogs, but *insert wall of text about how this is not dog fighting here*
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Nov 27, 2012 01:19
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Superconsndar posted:This is correct, dog matching is a method of proving breeding stock out of specific bloodlines, so using shelter pits would be kind of pointless to anyone involved in "organized" dog fighting. I'm sure there are plenty of idiots in the world attempting to deathmatch shelter dogs, but *insert wall of text about how this is not dog fighting here* yeah but it probably falls under the same laws and thus will get represented as such since 'dogs fighting' = 'dogfighting.'
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Nov 27, 2012 02:10
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Topoisomerase posted:yeah but it probably falls under the same laws and thus will get represented as such since 'dogs fighting' = 'dogfighting.' It does fall under the same laws, and the media (or at least our small town newspaper...) reported on the two situations exactly the same way. This was some years ago and I didn't realize there was a difference at the time myself. It's only in retrospect that I look back and see that the two groups didn't mix and were quite different in their methods.
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Nov 27, 2012 03:34
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Of course they fall under the same laws. There's not gonna be a law that says "fighting dogs is illegal, unless you do it in a manner deemed acceptable by something awful forums user superconsndar." The differences only matter if you care a whole lot about really dumb poo poo. (I do.)
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Nov 27, 2012 04:32
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Someone called today to ask if it was normal that her 5 month old GSD liked to run and mouth and jump and kept herding her children. She was shocked how different this puppy was than their cavalier king charles spaniel. Wildly different breeds act wildly differently, who knew? I'm always very sympathetic to people on the phone and I understand all about having a challenging sort of dog, but sometimes I'm just amazed at how little research people do before getting a puppy.
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Nov 27, 2012 05:35
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