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Dogs are freaking AWESOME. (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter matttyl
- Start date
Tackling Dummies
Footballguy
EYLive
Footballguy
Borden
Footballguy
DogGuys I need you advice on breed selection. Here are my requirements:
- look menacing to scare away all the home invaders while I am gone *This is the missus’s request*
- good with kids, dogs, cats
- able to deal to Canadian weather (outside dogs with dog doors into a heated shop and heated garage though)
- won’t wander off or chase squirrels into the next county (stays on the 5 acres)
- can defend themselves against coyotes
I am about to purchase a home on 5 acres with another 40 acres of marshy public land on the west border. It’s an acreage community so there is other people around. My uncle will be one of these “neighbors” in the area and has told me there’s a problem with a growing pack of coyotes. They’ve snatched a bunch of cats and have got a couple of small dogs that gotten grabbed when they were let out to go to the bathroom. They there’s also usually a bear or two that will wander through the area every year so hopefully they are smart enough not to go after him.
I understand the whole “it’s how you raise them” but some dogs will be prone wander others will require more (extensive) training and reinforcement to behave well with other animals and/or people.
From what I’ve looked up Bullmastiff and Saint Bernard seem to be the top options. Any and all thoughts, opinions and options are greatly welcomed.
- look menacing to scare away all the home invaders while I am gone *This is the missus’s request*
- good with kids, dogs, cats
- able to deal to Canadian weather (outside dogs with dog doors into a heated shop and heated garage though)
- won’t wander off or chase squirrels into the next county (stays on the 5 acres)
- can defend themselves against coyotes
I am about to purchase a home on 5 acres with another 40 acres of marshy public land on the west border. It’s an acreage community so there is other people around. My uncle will be one of these “neighbors” in the area and has told me there’s a problem with a growing pack of coyotes. They’ve snatched a bunch of cats and have got a couple of small dogs that gotten grabbed when they were let out to go to the bathroom. They there’s also usually a bear or two that will wander through the area every year so hopefully they are smart enough not to go after him.
I understand the whole “it’s how you raise them” but some dogs will be prone wander others will require more (extensive) training and reinforcement to behave well with other animals and/or people.
From what I’ve looked up Bullmastiff and Saint Bernard seem to be the top options. Any and all thoughts, opinions and options are greatly welcomed.
mr. furley
Footballguy
mine seems to only be able to fall asleep by curling in to a position such that her breathing is so restricted that she passes out from lack of oxygen
and then she snores, like an obese alcoholic with sleep apnea, all night long.
dogs are awesome?
and then she snores, like an obese alcoholic with sleep apnea, all night long.
dogs are awesome?
whoknew
Footballguy
I'm not sure a site, but the dog I have is my first. Five things I did that I think worked (I found these recommendations online somewhere) -
- As soon as the dog starts to go to the bathroom inside, run and pick him/her up and carry her outside. I never disciplined - instead encouraged to go outside. And, like I said, that involved carrying him outside as he was about to go. I know some people advocate disciplining for going inside, but I don't think that helps and its just mean.
- When outside, use the same word or couple of words to teach them to go. I said "bathroom" but you can use whatever word you want. But once you are outside, repeatedly say it over and over. i.e., "Bathroom? Bathroom buddy. Bathroom. Bathroom...etc."
- Then once he goes outside, overly praise him. "YEA! GOOD JOB BUDDY! WAY TO GO!"
Also -
- If you don't want him to bark, if he starts to, just leave the room. I did this a lot and now he's a pretty quit dog overall. I would just go to the bathroom or something and close the door. Just until he stopped barking.
- Finally, sit him on your lap and play thunderstorm and fireworks videos on youtube. Pretty loud. I did this and now my dog barely notices when either of these things are going on outside.
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GregR
Footballguy
RC94
Footballguy
Henry Ford
Footballguy
Samoyeds. They're highly pack-oriented, herding dogs, and their howl will ward off coyotes - they sound like wolves. But if there's a pack of coyotes, you should have more than one dog.
Edit: and they're AMAZING with kids and other animals. Minor drawback - they look like a giant cotton ball with a wolf snout.
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EYLive
Footballguy
Borden
Footballguy
@RC94 @Bucky86 @Henry Ford
Thank you all the great responses.
I agree about the multiple dogs (two was my thinking). I had that in my post but when I edited it down from the novel I had written. I also had the question of should I go with the same breed/litter or maybe offsetting traits like a Corso and St. Bernard?
The German Shepherd and Cane Corso were both on my list but both dogs have a history that stems from being war dogs. Which gives me a pair of concerns. 1) How will they be with staying on the property and with other animals. They will see lots of other dogs and cats their entire lives but will they take off after a squirrel or something? 2) Which is kind of the same as 1, is will they “guard” the property by barking and only attacking if something comes into the place or are they going to attack coyotes/bears they see on the tree line?
One other thing with those breeds is finding a good breeder.
I will check out the Samoyeds. I’ve never heard of them.
Thank you all the great responses.
I agree about the multiple dogs (two was my thinking). I had that in my post but when I edited it down from the novel I had written. I also had the question of should I go with the same breed/litter or maybe offsetting traits like a Corso and St. Bernard?
The German Shepherd and Cane Corso were both on my list but both dogs have a history that stems from being war dogs. Which gives me a pair of concerns. 1) How will they be with staying on the property and with other animals. They will see lots of other dogs and cats their entire lives but will they take off after a squirrel or something? 2) Which is kind of the same as 1, is will they “guard” the property by barking and only attacking if something comes into the place or are they going to attack coyotes/bears they see on the tree line?
One other thing with those breeds is finding a good breeder.
I will check out the Samoyeds. I’ve never heard of them.
Henry Ford
Footballguy
I highly recommend a boy and girl pair. If they're siblings, awesome. If they're not, get one and then match it with another dog. Take as much time as you need. Last thing you need are two dogs who beat the heck out of each other constantly.
Most aggressive Samoyed I've ever seen.
Henry Ford
Footballguy
Henry Ford
Footballguy
Henry Ford
Footballguy
They're really similar dogs. a Newfoundland and a Samoyed would be a great pair of dogs to have I bet.
Borden
Footballguy
I decided on a breed for the acreage dogs... the Greater Swiss Mountian Dog. ***Because I know none of you were able to sleep last night wondering what kind of dog I would choose.***
The dogs Wikipedia.
The YouTube that got the Mrs on board.
There’s at least two recognized breeders within reasonable distance. Hopefully, we will be able to get out to see the breeding dogs soon. Anyone have any experience with these dogs?
The dogs Wikipedia.
The YouTube that got the Mrs on board.
There’s at least two recognized breeders within reasonable distance. Hopefully, we will be able to get out to see the breeding dogs soon. Anyone have any experience with these dogs?
Ron Swanson
Footballguy
Beef Ravioli
Footballguy
Didn’t want to start a new thread but I need a little therapy and my dogs were awesome! It will be lengthy and you don’t have to read it all but I want my pups to go down in the FBG’s Dogs Are Awesome thread immortality.
Back in the week of December 10th my 13 year old boxer mix (Ellie) chewed up something and got an obstruction in her intestines and stomach. We noticed her being sick took her into the vet and had some x-rays. Surgery was the only option but because of her age and the size of the obstruction our vet did not recommend it. After two days of hoping she could pass it we had her put down. We buried her in a field while her younger sister (Darby, a shepherd mix) ran around and played. When I brought the box out that Ellie was in, Darby definitely smelled her and was very concerned. She knew something was up and wanted her sister out of that box!
The hardest part of this was that my boys were at college and couldn’t be there. My youngest son “belonged” to Ellie, she loved us all but they had the closest bond. After they finished their finals we Skyped with them and broke the news to them. They were shocked but agreed that we did the right thing and they would not have wanted Ellie to suffer. My youngest son does struggle that he was not able to be there for her in those last moments.
My boys get home a week later and we are getting along alright. About a week after Christmas my son was petting Darby under her neck and felt these knots on either side of her neck. We didn’t think much of it. We then noticed over the next few days that Darby was very calm, kind of lethargic, which is very unusual for her. After the knots seemed to be getting bigger we took her to see our vet on Monday the 8th of January. Our vet felt her neck, her chest and behind her “knees” and looked up at us and almost started crying. She said that she couldn’t believe this, we just lost Ellie and now Darby had Lymphoma. She said it would probably be fast. We were given some steroids for Darby but she has gradually been getting worse over the last 10 days. Still happy but very drained, appetite comes and goes, sick to her stomach and the last few days she stumbled down our stairs like she was losing her balance.
We made the very difficult decision two days ago to have Darby put down this morning. That’s such a hard decision but we did not want her to suffer anymore than she already was. My oldest son who “belonged” to Darby held her the entire time. We just got back from laying her next to her sister Ellie and now we are all dealing with it our own ways.
These two girls were real special and we will miss them dearly. Ellie and Darby, you were awesome!
Back in the week of December 10th my 13 year old boxer mix (Ellie) chewed up something and got an obstruction in her intestines and stomach. We noticed her being sick took her into the vet and had some x-rays. Surgery was the only option but because of her age and the size of the obstruction our vet did not recommend it. After two days of hoping she could pass it we had her put down. We buried her in a field while her younger sister (Darby, a shepherd mix) ran around and played. When I brought the box out that Ellie was in, Darby definitely smelled her and was very concerned. She knew something was up and wanted her sister out of that box!
The hardest part of this was that my boys were at college and couldn’t be there. My youngest son “belonged” to Ellie, she loved us all but they had the closest bond. After they finished their finals we Skyped with them and broke the news to them. They were shocked but agreed that we did the right thing and they would not have wanted Ellie to suffer. My youngest son does struggle that he was not able to be there for her in those last moments.
My boys get home a week later and we are getting along alright. About a week after Christmas my son was petting Darby under her neck and felt these knots on either side of her neck. We didn’t think much of it. We then noticed over the next few days that Darby was very calm, kind of lethargic, which is very unusual for her. After the knots seemed to be getting bigger we took her to see our vet on Monday the 8th of January. Our vet felt her neck, her chest and behind her “knees” and looked up at us and almost started crying. She said that she couldn’t believe this, we just lost Ellie and now Darby had Lymphoma. She said it would probably be fast. We were given some steroids for Darby but she has gradually been getting worse over the last 10 days. Still happy but very drained, appetite comes and goes, sick to her stomach and the last few days she stumbled down our stairs like she was losing her balance.
We made the very difficult decision two days ago to have Darby put down this morning. That’s such a hard decision but we did not want her to suffer anymore than she already was. My oldest son who “belonged” to Darby held her the entire time. We just got back from laying her next to her sister Ellie and now we are all dealing with it our own ways.
These two girls were real special and we will miss them dearly. Ellie and Darby, you were awesome!
JoeSteeler
Footballguy
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Angry Beavers
Footballguy
So sorry to hear that Beef Ravioli. ?
El Floppo
Footballguy
sports_fan
Footballguy
ShamrockPride
Footballguy
Tackling Dummies
Footballguy
Lost my pug Zuzu last August and we're closing in on a few options to bring home. One is a 8 year old rescue pug and will also get a pup around the same time. The house sucks w/o a pug and ready to get back in the game.
Zu on the pillow on the sofa like a boss
Zu on the pillow on the sofa like a boss
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Bull Dozier
Footballguy
We have a terrier mutt mix we kennel during the day while we are gone. My two high school boys are occasionally the last ones out of the house in the morning, and have fogotten a couple of times to put her in her kennel. When they leave her out downstairs, it is not so bad because there isn't much she can get in to and she has tons of chew toys laying around. Yesterday they left her out upstairs which isn't so dog friendly. We came home to our bedroom garbage having been chewed up (she loves cardboard and paper for some reason) and she peed on our bed. Thanks boys!
NutterButter
Footballguy
80 man builds dog train to take rescued stray dogs on adventures
I can totally see this being something I'd do in my retirement. Dogs rule.
I can totally see this being something I'd do in my retirement. Dogs rule.
Northern Voice
Footballguy
Zeus hanging out this afternoon in his favourite position.
He's a rescue from the streets of Istanbul, you'd think maybe he wouldn't sleep completely exposed but that's how he lays every night.
He's a rescue from the streets of Istanbul, you'd think maybe he wouldn't sleep completely exposed but that's how he lays every night.
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Bull Dozier
Footballguy
El Floppo
Footballguy
RC94
Footballguy
Tackling Dummies
Footballguy
Picking up our new pug pup tomorrow afternoon. He's a fawn 8 week old and all of the old beds, toys, leashes, etc. from the previous pair of pugs are coming out of storage. Cannot wait. Still going over names, I'm leading w/ Brady, Buba (nickname of Malone, RIP) + Otis.
PUG NATION! my new boy at 8 weeks
PUG NATION! my new boy at 8 weeks
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pollardsvision
Footballguy
I have floppy eared, long tailed Doberman. I think all that stuff is ridiculous. Not a huge deal, but I don't see the point in most of these alterations. And I think dogs do a lot of communicating with their tails and ears. And the tail seems to help with swimming.
No opinion on dewclaws. As long as you teach them not to jump and don't have Mississippi Leg Hound, I don't see why they'd need to be removed. Though, there may be she other reason I don't know about.
Tick
Footballguy
Otis
Footballguy
There’s a clear winner here. And Brady is terrible.
And thank you for not adopting a pit bull.
5-ish Finkle
Footballguy
"Jeep" Oats, or "Spudz" Oats? This is important...Tackling Dummies said:
NutterButter
Footballguy
pollardsvision
Footballguy
In the process of trying to adopt a 2nd dog. One of my best friends from HS is currently fostering a dog for the HS. Wheezy. Never met her, but my friend and Mom confirm she's a total sweetheart, super laid back, crate/house/leash trained, great with other dogs and kids.
Problem so far is that my hometown is about 3.5 hours away from me, and their procedure is that I need to show up in person to sign the adoption contract. And they are closed on Sunday's (the only day of the week I can generally find a way to get down there). My friend is willing to bring Wheezy up here, which could be awesome to see how she reacts in the home she'll be living in with my current dog (not to mention I'd get a chance to have a few cold beers with a dear old friend I haven't seen in far too long).
Anyway, Humane Society's are always saying how much they need money. I'm going to see just how large of a donation I'd need to make to the Humane Society for them to overlook the "show up in person to sign the contract" rule this one time so this sweet dog can get a home.
We'll see. Although, I tried calling yesterday during normal business hours. No answer. Sometimes I swear these places don't seem as interested as they claim to be in finding these dogs homes. I currently have an unanswered application with a local rescue group from a couple of weeks ago (I would go in person, but all dogs at this place are fostered, so no real physical place to go). I have an unanswered app from another group too. I'm not sure what these people want sometimes. I'm not a perfect dog owner, but a pretty good one. Own my home, fenced in back yard. Treat my current dog wonderfully (HS adopted dog that we trained through verified sources). Health stuff easy to verify with my vet.
If Wheezy falls through, I might just say screw it and buy a Dobe or Boxer. I hate the idea of buying a full bred dog, but dealing with rescue groups is starting to turn into a PITA.
Problem so far is that my hometown is about 3.5 hours away from me, and their procedure is that I need to show up in person to sign the adoption contract. And they are closed on Sunday's (the only day of the week I can generally find a way to get down there). My friend is willing to bring Wheezy up here, which could be awesome to see how she reacts in the home she'll be living in with my current dog (not to mention I'd get a chance to have a few cold beers with a dear old friend I haven't seen in far too long).
Anyway, Humane Society's are always saying how much they need money. I'm going to see just how large of a donation I'd need to make to the Humane Society for them to overlook the "show up in person to sign the contract" rule this one time so this sweet dog can get a home.
We'll see. Although, I tried calling yesterday during normal business hours. No answer. Sometimes I swear these places don't seem as interested as they claim to be in finding these dogs homes. I currently have an unanswered application with a local rescue group from a couple of weeks ago (I would go in person, but all dogs at this place are fostered, so no real physical place to go). I have an unanswered app from another group too. I'm not sure what these people want sometimes. I'm not a perfect dog owner, but a pretty good one. Own my home, fenced in back yard. Treat my current dog wonderfully (HS adopted dog that we trained through verified sources). Health stuff easy to verify with my vet.
If Wheezy falls through, I might just say screw it and buy a Dobe or Boxer. I hate the idea of buying a full bred dog, but dealing with rescue groups is starting to turn into a PITA.
Chaos Commish
Footballguy
Curious how this worked out. I despise rescues and have a sis who's volunteered at one for a couple years. I very much prefer the city or county shelters.
Which brings me to why I'm posting. My daughter is in college. I spent this past weekend near her. She asked me to bring Sausage - our/my dog, a Cane Corso. She could watch her for me and it would be fun for her and her roommates. Well, they had so much fun they talked me into leaving her indefinitely. They included Sausage. I'm pretty boring compared to 4 19-22 year old college kids. So I left my pooch with my kid.
One day and I'm looking for a dog. Wth? In fact, I want a pup. So I check all nearby shelters. Pups have waiting lists. I hate supporting a backyard breeder because they're a huge part of the high kill shelter issue, imo. So I'm looking at young but not puppy high energy dogs -- Huskies, Shepherds -- when a very young volunteer tells me she knows a couple who are desperate to find homes for some puppies they thought they could make money on but couldn't afford to get past first shots. Even the parents are short on food. The mother not making enough milk. The whole lot about to be taken to the shelter. So that's a sad story but I'm looking specifically for a dog that will need tons of exercise eventually. Well, the idea behind the pups was to breed dogs that look like GoT dire wolves by putting a large Siberian Husky over a papered and even larger GSD. I have never watched GoT, but immediately got the information, made the call and...
She don't gots a name yet but she home safe with lots of food, just 6 weeks so...
pollardsvision
Footballguy
Still haven't heard back. I'll make another call this week.
That's a good looking pup. I hear you on the backyard breeders. They are often times, complete idiots contributing to the shelter issue, but so many great dogs come from them. Including by wonderful current dog. Not sure if there was some plan with them, but his entire litter was in the shelter together.
Still blows my mind that there is a pretty large chunk of the population that gets a dog with no intention of spaying/neutering. They think, "ooh, maybe I'll breed them one day and make some money". The weird world of dogs. Some idiot's brilliant idea gone wrong leading to that gorgeous pup that'll hopefully be a great part of your family for a long time.
NutterButter
Footballguy
Bull Dozier
Footballguy
dschuler
Footballguy
Especially considering how affordable it is in a lot of urban areas. We recently took in another rescue dog (too young at the time of adoption to spay), and it was only around $50 for the whole spay procedure. I’m pretty sure the city picks up part of the bill to encourage more people to do this. Today, most rescue/agencies require the owner to neuter or spay the dog by a certain month.
dschuler
Footballguy
Bullmastiff would be a great pick except the location is way too cold for a dog like that to survive the weather. They are not cold weather dogs at all and will be miserable.
I don’t have a lot of experience with Saint Bernards but mainly because it is on a whole new level of big dogs and will require significant maintenance.
Someone mentioned German Shepherds, they are an excellent overall breed for what you are looking for but definitely have the tendency to run off in order to kill squirrels, rabbits, etc. I’m not sure how well they would fare in Canadian winters, but they do okay from my experience with temperatures around freezing.
Samoyeds would be another great pick, except they don’t get to be that big. Seeing is how you mentioned Saint Bernard and Mastiff, this dog is much smaller, even noticeably smaller than a German Shepherd.
One breed that hasn’t been mentioned before would be Malamute, which I’m sure is common in that area. It essentially looks like a large husky, and you would never have to let him inside due to the weather. However, all husky breeds have high energy levels, and a tendency to wander.
It’s all about what you want in the end. Samoyeds for a smaller scale dog, German Shepherd for a larger dog that could come back with a war wound and a rabbit in his mouth, or a big Malamute to sing Christmas carols with. But I think you will be disappointed with a Bullmastiff in Canada due to the weather.
Borden
Footballguy
Me venting about the stupid people that are selling dogs:
I’m still a couple months away from actually being able to get dogs (March 15th possession date + renovation time) and going through ads and websites for dogs/puppies really makes me angry.
People that have to let their dog (Mastiff/Great Dane cross) go because their landlord isn’t letting them have a dog. How are you so stupid? You’re renting and didn’t check with your landlord first? And not only that you got a cross between the two biggest dogs. The cherry on top is they want $1000 for the dog. It only has it's first shots but he comes with everything “bowl, what’s left of his food and a leash”. No mention of training classes or anything.
Another person is selling their dog ($450) but will refund most of the money if they want the dog back when they return from traveling abroad in a few months. So you pay them for looking after their dog, unless they don’t really want the dog.
Rescue and shelter places that are asking for WAY too much for the dogs. Not just price but information. A reference from a vet, allow them to do a credit check, proof of income, 2 more references, allow them to come by randomly and check on the dog unannounced with or without us home.
Then there’s the just stupid stuff. No pictures of the puppies and/or parents. Or only saying what breed on of the parents is. The “serious inquires only” ads that have no capitalization, no punctuation and spelling errors.
People that have to let their dog (Mastiff/Great Dane cross) go because their landlord isn’t letting them have a dog. How are you so stupid? You’re renting and didn’t check with your landlord first? And not only that you got a cross between the two biggest dogs. The cherry on top is they want $1000 for the dog. It only has it's first shots but he comes with everything “bowl, what’s left of his food and a leash”. No mention of training classes or anything.
Another person is selling their dog ($450) but will refund most of the money if they want the dog back when they return from traveling abroad in a few months. So you pay them for looking after their dog, unless they don’t really want the dog.
Rescue and shelter places that are asking for WAY too much for the dogs. Not just price but information. A reference from a vet, allow them to do a credit check, proof of income, 2 more references, allow them to come by randomly and check on the dog unannounced with or without us home.
Then there’s the just stupid stuff. No pictures of the puppies and/or parents. Or only saying what breed on of the parents is. The “serious inquires only” ads that have no capitalization, no punctuation and spelling errors.
Chaos Commish
Footballguy
For a sec I thought I should apologize for the word despise, acknowledge there's a percentage of excellent rescues and move past a can of worms inappropriate for the thread. Any thoughtful reply will be way tl;dr. There's much that angers me on topic. A google for hating dog rescues turns up dozens of links that cover most of my issues. The Yahoo one is a good start. I have intimate knowledge of three rescues, experience with two others, and it's mostly bad, some of that being difference of opinion. I think the process needs major regulation to weed out the scammers and idiots. Price gouging dog flippers make my list. The county and city shelters I researched yesterday re-home fixed dogs up to date with shots and vet clearance from $20-$105. Rescues usually approach 3-5 hundred and 6-700 isn't unusual. It's just one of over a dozen things that bug me.
I gave 90 pounds of food (40#s puppy chow) and $100 bucks for li'l miss no name yesterday. I could have taken her for free, but on inspection the breeders were stupid but not drug $ seeking idiots. I also took the skinniest pup who probably needed out of there soonest. I also shared the story last night and have another family going to get a pup today.
I liked the regulate mandatory spay/neuter comments above and would include new rules for backyard breeding. Ban it for most, apply serious fines to violators, regulate it for the highly qualified, and tax those pups heavily enough to slow the supply stream to a crawl. High kill shelters suck but what they do isn't on them. And puppy breath rules.
Northern Voice
Footballguy
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