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Instant Jellyfish posted:
 That... that topline... How much of that is grooming versus the actual conformation of the sheep?
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May 24, 2012 02:24
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Fraction posted:Some pictures from yesterday's biking trip with Lola. I only tried to drown her once (not shown: drenched, sad dog).  What equipment do you use in terms of harnesses/bike attachments etc?
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May 24, 2012 02:50
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Instant Jellyfish posted:That is a top winning senior Suffolk ram in my state so I'm sure the people showing it have done a bit of corrective grooming and standing him at an angle because he's worth a fortune in IA fees. That said Suffolks are shown sheared pretty short so the topline really pretty drat flat. They are supposed to "have a straight spine from the base of the neck to the tail head" and generally be built like a table. Jeez. So, are they considered a meat breed or fleece or just ~fancy~?
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May 24, 2012 03:51
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a life less posted:I'll start this off by saying that I'm NOT getting a puppy. Whenever I get the puppy rabies I remind myself that any dogs I get now will (hopefully!) still be with me when I'm 40. 40. Then I pour myself a triple Jameson and QQ about how old I'm getting 
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May 24, 2012 14:03
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Out of interest, what size 'pack' are the PI dog people eventually aiming for? I'm keeping one spot open for another small lurcher in the next few years- hopefully a Mouse daughter, if she does well in the field - but three dogs (two being my very own, Dan is really a family dog) will be my limit for the foreseeable future.
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May 24, 2012 19:11
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Fraction posted:On that note, what breeds are people interested in owning at some point in their lives? I would like to always have a lurcher, though I'm only interested in bedlington, collie and whippet blends (with the occasional grey or deerhound thrown in for good measure). After Dan passes on I will probably acquire some kind of bratty rescue toy atrocity to replace him. Lifetime goals are, at some stage, own and train 1)a sheepdog, 2)a gundog and 3) afghan or saluki. Lurchers will be my focus for now, though.
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May 24, 2012 20:05
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Now let's talk about breeds we would never in a million years own For me, one dealbreaker is the long, double coat that you see with Spitz and such. Another is extreme brachycephaly. Also I have no interest in most of the A/KC terrier breeds. American Cocker Spaniels creep me out a little, as do Affenpinschers Now you 
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May 25, 2012 00:14
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Serella posted:Why does everyone want so many dogs, ugh. Dogs are gross and needy. If I could have like two or three more ferrets though, that would be great. Just like a pile of ferrets. Speaking of such things, do you have an email address 
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May 25, 2012 02:27
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El Gar posted:Why do you give your dogs such larger-than-life names from ancient mythological gods of old? Is it because they're so boring in real life that you have to compensate through their names? Now psycho-analyse my choice of the name 'Mouse' tia
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May 28, 2012 19:03
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May 29, 2012 18:08
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 Bulrush has had 7 pups! 
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May 29, 2012 20:28
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Fraction posted:I swear that Dan looks darker in every photo. Do all brindle Cairns do this, or is it just a possible outcome as they get older? Your dogs look as cute as ever though I'm not 100% sure on the brindle question, but I think there are some brindle cairns who don't darken. Interestingly enough, Mouse has inherited coat lightening from the bedlington quarter of her heritage, so she's gotten paler as she's aged (especially on her mask). Rainbow dawgs. And I'll be going to visit the pups some time in the next month - the final tally is actually 8! Apparently there are more lemon pups than tricolour, and the tris are mostly flashy (lots of white). Rufus En Fuego posted:Dude. That really is a beautiful dog. All whippets/whippet mixes are beautiful
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May 30, 2012 02:41
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Double postin', but the discussion about 'ideal pack sizes' got me thinking. Most people just get dogs as family pets, but some nerds like to do competitive activities with their dogs too. Something I've noticed is that in the show/sport/working world it seems fairly common for people to 'move dogs on' for one reason or another. Sometimes dogs just don't make the grade, other times dogs have careers but get 'retired' out to pet homes at the end. It seems particularly common for people to end up rehoming the first dog(s) they purchased as novices - I guess because they made all their mistakes on those dogs, and once they gain experience and become more serious about the sport, they want to 'start over' and apply everything they've learned to a new blank slate. I'm not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, it seems a little unfair to the dogs - especially if they're perfectly good pets, and bonded to you already. On the other hand, if you're committed to a particular sport it makes sense that you wouldn't want to keep a third wheel hanging around - especially if the sport/hobby takes up most of your free time, and a non-competitive dog would end up being comparatively neglected. I guess I can see both sides, but I'm wondering how PI feels about it?
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May 30, 2012 02:58
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Kudos for all you've done for him so far  . I never judge people for not opting for expensive surgeries and treatments if they can't afford it, but I have a lot of respect and admiration for those who do go the extra mile for their dogs.
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May 31, 2012 19:59
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Is there any formal data correlating the shaving of double coated breeds with skin cancer?
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Jun 3, 2012 22:27
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I can't speak for the spitzy-type double coats, but some harsh terrier coats (like those of cairns) definitely get 'spoiled' by clipping, in that if you clip the coat enough times, the hair will grow back silky instead of wirey. I kept our family's old cairn, Meg, clipped (with scissors) when she was in her older years and her coat became very silky. I strip Dan down to his undercoat about twice a year, and he still has a good harsh coat - except where I trim him (lower legs, chest and belly), where it's beginning to grow back silky. I don't have enough experience with the soft double coated breeds to know whether clipping is really as awful as it's made out to be, but I've always been a little skeptical about the skin cancer claim. I guess when it comes to medical claims I always want to see peer reviewed data v  v
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Jun 4, 2012 16:53
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wtftastic posted:Because people are getting silly over something fairly trivial. petisland.txt
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Jun 4, 2012 16:55
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El Gar posted:I do care and thanks for the clarification. I'd only seen people talking about the cosmetic differences so that's why I asked. You obviously did not read the posts very closely! 
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Jun 4, 2012 20:54
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All cats are basically the same (except for abominations like Trophy) so we don't need a million threads for each individual cat because as I just said all cats are basically the same (except for abominations like Trophy). Dogs on the other hand are special snowflakes, each and every one! 
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Jun 4, 2012 21:56
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Skizzles posted:For those who follow Kikopup and care, her girlfriend's adopting an abandoned lurcher puppy, which means lurcher training videos soon. 
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Jun 5, 2012 16:26
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Speaking of lurchers... 13 months
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Jun 5, 2012 16:50
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 The split face you see in tortoiseshell cats, harlequin rabbits and dogs such as the above is due to the way pigment migrates in the developing embryo. Imagine a little guy walking down a rabbit's spine dealing cards left and right as he goes. There will be a random pattern of red and black cards on either side. Now imagine the cards are replaced with tins of red and black paint, which the little guy then kicks over. The red and black paint will drizzle down the side of the rabbit, and they'll form bands of colour which aren't exactly perfect because paint doesn't drizzle in perfectly straight lines. That's pretty simplified, but hopefully you get the picture. All the pigment cells are initially stored in the 'neural crest' (proto-spine) of the embryo, and gradually they migrate over the body. In some cases, there will be both red and black pigment cells in the neural crest and they will align themselves pretty randomly. The exact markings of (for example) a tortoiseshell cat are also influenced by environmental factors as the pigment migrates. If you cloned a tortoiseshell cat, the two clones would not have identical markings. SO, a split face dawg has a split face because in the tiny developing embryo, there was a red pigment cell on one side of the proto-head and a black pigment cell on the other
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Jun 8, 2012 17:38
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wtftastic posted:I figured the explanation had to be something akin to that. Do you know what gene is responsible for that kind of patterning? I'm being lazy, but I amsure the internet knows! In rabbitlady code it is part of the 'E' series ('E' stands for 'extension'). 'E' stands for normal extension and is dominant over both 'ej' (harlequin/magpie) and 'e' (red). 'ej' is also dominant over 'e'. 'Extension' basically refers to the distribution of red and black pigment in individual hairs. Normal agouti hairs are banded red and black. In 'e' rabbits there is no black pigment, so every hair is red (tho there is an exception, but we won't complicate things). In harlequin rabbits, some hairs are completely red and others are completely black. I can throw up some pictures to illustrate this if anyone is interested
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Jun 8, 2012 20:18
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a life less posted:She did, for anyone who has archives. It was cool while it lasted! Ha; that one fizzled out because one of my two bucks broke his leg in a freak accident and had to be euthed. And then I had to reconstruct my entire breeding programme 'K, I'll put up some pictures a little later. For now, here is a conformation pop quiz. Here are two pictures of Mouse; one at 11 1/2 months old and one at 12 1/2 months old. I am generally pleased with her conformation, but there are a couple of things I would change. One is height, another is underjaw. However, there is one other more major fault that keeps annoying me. What do you think it is? And what do you think I am pleased with about her structure? N.b. Please don't hold back on your opinions because you think I'll be offended - it will not injure my self esteem in the slightest if you critique my dog!  
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Jun 8, 2012 21:01
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Yup, her shoulder kinda sucks. The scapula is too short/small and also too upright. It's what I would call a 'stuffy' shoulder, and it's the cause of her short and low set neck too. It definitely affects her gait (she walks a bit downhill), and she has to work a little harder to lower her head for a take. Luckily, she's so small and close to the ground anyway it doesn't matter in the same way that it would for a larger dog. Also, scapulas are one of the last bones to finish growing, and she's started to muscle up and honestly looks better every day . She is a Bedlington mix, and even the working line Beds are pretty bizarre structurally. I don't think it will be a huge impediment to her performance in the field, but if I were ever to breed from her down the line, I would obviously be looking to improve on that shoulder when looking for a sire. I'm glad nobody said 'butt high' because she really isn't; she's just arched over the loin with flatter withers. That outline is pretty common in racing/coursing whippets. If I were to critique her further I would say her croup is a little too upright, and as a puppy she was quite herring gutted (even for a whippet), but she is really beginning to fill out a lot as she matures .There's a ton about her I really like, though - love those rear angles, powerful loin, straight legs, arched toes and nicely sloped pasterns. Overall she's pretty moderate, which is what I was looking for in a puppy.
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Jun 8, 2012 22:27
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Instant Jellyfish posted:I would give it its own post to be safe. I dunno man, I'd like to think it was possible to discuss this issue without drama. My opinions are pretty straightforward; I don't really care what people breed so long as they 1) aren't abusing, neglecting or torturing their animals, 2) can care for their bitch and their puppies well, including being able to afford veterinary expenses if poo poo goes wrong 3) do their best to produce dogs which are sound and healthy, and aren't dumb about inbreeding and 4) have decent, responsible homes lined up, and are willing to take any puppies they produce back for the duration of their lifespan. I don't care if people want to breed dobes with lab temperaments, I don't care if people want to breed labradoodles and I don't care if they want to breed driveless English Springer Spaniels with enormous side gait and too much coat, who go on to be a multi BIS winning ~grand champion~. What I do care about is when breeders misrepresent/lie about the extent to which they are or are not preserving their breed of choice. I only care about this because I am a sperg, and I don't think it does or should matter to the majority of people looking for pets. My beef is with the typical show breeder who has a totally romanticised view of their breed's history, who thinks that in breeding for the show ring they are preserving 1) type and 2) function, and who sneers at those involved with their breed(s)' working counterparts. I also have beef with the tendency for show breeders to breed for extremes in conformation/type which actually hurt the dogs they are producing. So yeah I don't care about people breeding labby dobes, I just get buttmad if they dress it up and claim to be ~breed custodians~. I also think it's pretty impossible to truly preserve a breed unless you are actually involved in the context/culture of origin, so even those who breed for the field outside of that need to be, again, aware and honest about the extent to which they are (or are not) preserving their breed of choice. Question for ButWhatIf; what do you think about breeders of maltipoos and labradoodles and whatnot? Assuming they health test and all that good stuff.
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Jun 15, 2012 20:00
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ButWhatIf posted:"Well no, the AVERAGE person shouldn't do that, but it's fine if WE do, because WE're educated about it." Well that's a lot of  which I'll come back to later if I have time, but just quickly on this. I've seen this kind of sentiment thrown around a bit when PI starts debating dog issues, and I just - don't understand where people are coming from. What's wrong with saying that there are some breeds/activites/ways of doing things that we, as dog nerds, might be better equipped to do than Joe Suburb? If you're an experienced hill climber, there are some peaks you can tackle which someone who wasn't into hill climbing probably couldn't manage safely. If you're an experienced long distance runner, you can run marathons which people who jog round the block a few times a month couldn't manage. Why is it suddenly  arrogant to suggest that there are breeds, activities and ways of doing things that might be more appropriate for an experienced dog person to handle than the ~average~ person who, as you say, just wants a nice family pet and a quiet life? Would you feel the same way if this were any other hobby?
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Jun 18, 2012 18:21
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Levitate posted:The real crime is how overused that loving emote is in PI and how loving annoying it is Mansplaining itt
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Jun 18, 2012 18:45
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El Gar posted:Because they're just loving pets and the default state of some people here is to look at every other person on earth as inept bumbling de-facto animal abusers. Well, hills are just loving hills, and probably physically able bodied person could go climb hills if they wanted to, but not everyone is obsessive about hill-climbing and I don't go through life assuming everyone I meet is a big nerd about hill-climbing because that would be kind of crazy. I don't assume most people *can't* do more advanced stuff with their dogs, that would be dumb. I just assume that they probably aren't interested because statistically they are unlikely to be nerdily obsessed with dogs to the point that they have clocked up thousands of posts on internet pet forums. Most regular dog owners also do not know the names and preferred methods of every single dog behaviourist, nor do they sperg incessantly about dog food ingredients, nor do they spend literally all of their spare time and money on agility or schutzhound training or dog showing. This is because, for most people, dogs are not their main hobby and their dog's job is to be a loved family pet. It doesn't mean that they are "inept bumbling de-facto animal abusers" it just means that they have a regular relationship with their dogs. This is pretty basic and I don't understand why people don't get it!
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Jun 18, 2012 19:58
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ButWhatIf posted:I would rather live in a world where Tosa Inus have a completely different desire to do another kind of work than a world where they don't exist at all. Again, I don't really care if you breed lab-tempered Dobes or Tosas or what have you - but don't kid yourself that you're preserving the breed itself. If you breed drive out of historically driven breeds (such as Tosas), then you *have* destroyed the breed, as it existed for decades/centuries/millenia or whatever. Don't dress it up as preservationist breeding; it's not. A 50 pound beagle with prick ears and a fluffy coat is no longer a beagle; an aesthetically 'typey' beagle who cannot follow scent or baroo is also no longer a beagle. You aren't ~saving the breed~ by breeding out drive, you're extinguishing it.
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Jun 18, 2012 23:23
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ButWhatIf posted:I see what you're getting at. I guess I don't really know what the solution is, then. I don't agree that we need household protection breeds (and to be honest, I'd rather that people didn't have dogs for that purpose at all), but I really would hate to see them vanish altogether. I'm the kind of loser who cries when I hear that the western Black Rhino is officially extinct, so this sort of thing gets to me. Maybe there isn't really a way to make my opinions mesh, but I'm getting used to that. My entire worldview is basically a contradiction in terms most of the time. Hah, no problem . The dog gaits are; walk, trot, flying trot, pace, canter, single suspension (or transverse) gallop and double suspension (or rotary) gallop. Pacing is a two beat gait where the lateral (same side) limbs move in unison. So, left fore and hind will move together, then right fore and hind. I think some horse breeds are also known for pacing - I'm thinking Icelandic ponies and tolting? In the regular trot, two feet are on the ground at all times - in the flying trot, there is a moment of suspension. Many non-sighthounds can achieve the double suspension gallop if given the opportunity to run fast enough on levelish ground - you'll see it a lot in all kinds of breeds at lure coursing 'fun runs'. Achondroplastic breeds like corgis are a special case! They naturally gallop with two moments of suspension much of the time - it's some technical reason due to their short legs/long back. At least one author (Robert Cole) doesn't consider it the same thing as the double suspension gallop in longer legged breeds - I think he calls it the 'glide gallop' or something, but I'm away from my spergshelves right now so I can't check. I'll let you know after I get back though http://vanat.cvm.umn.edu/gaits/walk.html <- a pretty cool website showing the various gaits!
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Jun 19, 2012 00:19
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Rixatrix posted:In your opinion, is pacing something a dog will do out of personal preference or whatever innocent reason, or is it an indication of an underlying musculoskeletal problem, pain or structural flaws in the dog? A lot of people I know worry if they see their dog pacing instead of trotting and the PT I took my dogs to last time also seemed to think pacing may indicate a problem. I'm a bit skeptical myself. Pi is a pacer, whereas I don't think I've seen Rho pace pretty much ever, he trots instead. Rho is better built, but he's also smaller so it's easier for him to trot along to my walking (or even jogging!) speed. Pi will switch to trotting when we bike and if he doesn't, there's usually a problem. Pacing can totally be innocent. It's a lazy, comfortable gait which many dogs will fall into from time to time (especially at slower speeds). Longer legged breeds like sighthounds and danes are particularly prone to pacing. From what I know, pacing is only a problem if i) the dog does not seem willing break out of the pace into a trot as you increase speed, or ii) an dog suddenly begins to pace, or paces more often than normal, especially when coupled with bunny hopping and/or general discomfort in the hindquarters. The first could indicate structural problems (the dog is trying to avoid interference between front and hind feet), the second could indicate health problems and would need to get checked out by a vet. Basically, most pacing dogs just from time to time because its comfy for them and this is no big deal - but it can also indicate structural and/or medical problems in some cases, so you should always keep an eye on it .
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Jun 20, 2012 20:50
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a life less posted:
I've known two dogs who sit like that. One is a beagle of ours name Tiercel, and the other is Dandy. I don't know the exact answer, because I've never seen it addressed in my nerd books, so I can only go on inference. Both Dan and Tiercel are very solid dogs, even when Tiercel is in hunting condition and before Dandy got neutered and turned into a landwhale (still working on this ftr). Dan also has a verrrry straight rear, which *might* be the case with Tiercel, but I can't honestly recall off hand. If I had to guess, I'd say it was a rear angulation thing combined with bulk. I'd be interested to hear other opinons though!
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Jun 23, 2012 16:20
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 lmao they think this is a glen of imaal
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Jun 25, 2012 17:32
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I always smile about the 'dogs mustn't go in front of you!!!' thing, because my uncle is an actual 'pack leader' of an actual pack of hounds, and when hunting and sometimes while exercising they work/walk in front of him. The key thing is control, so when he says the word out exercising they will fall in behind him. I think having a dog that will walk to heel is totally awesome, but being dogmatic about "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!! (my feet)" is really dumb.
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Jun 30, 2012 09:01
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 A Good Dog
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Jul 1, 2012 08:37
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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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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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Tee-hee I just did an experiment, calling both Mouse and Dan (I'm in the garden and they were in the kitchen). Mouse came FLYING over for cuddles, Dan trotted out looking hopeful, paused, assessed that I did not appear to be offering food, then mulled over his options for a second before turning and trotting grumpily back into the kitchen .
notsoape fucked around with this message at 17:46 on Jul 1, 2012 |
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Jul 1, 2012 17:27
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 19:05 |
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Mouse did good today! We were walking in the evening and there was a deer and her fawn in the field. They started running, and Mouse pricked her ears up and watched them but wasn't 'switched on' to them in a prey sense at all. This is excellent because foremost on the list of things Mouse needs not to chase = large ungulates  .
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Jul 3, 2012 03:51
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