Dog breeds?

[eugene13]

Whetever you do don't adopt a singleton, that is, a puppy raised with no siblings, unless you are up for a challenge. Not being socialized with other dogs they will want to fight with every dog they see, as dogs don't know the difference between fight and play, this is how fighting dogs are raised. My Kuma, a black Lab who I had to put down last year had Singleton Syndrome, fearful of other dogs, grudgingly accepting grooming, and seldom giving affection, and could never have any dog friends. Why did I put up with him for 11 years, he was a helluva athlete and a talented dock diver who was never able to compete. For more information read Cat Warren's book "Solo" a German Shepard singleton that she trained to be a Cadaver Dog. Kuma, Kuma and his only animal friend Dover, the Yellow is Marz,, Lab number 7 and dog number 13. both are "English" labs.

 

[Eddyde]

All,
I highly recommend getting pet health insurance for your dog(s). When we got Our last Great Pyrenees, Diesel, my wife insisted we get the insurance, I was skeptical at first. However, within the first year we discovered he suffered from epilepsy and a thyroid disorder. The insurance covered 80% of the bills for the diagnosis and life long medications he needed to be on. In his final year, he needed a surgery that cost over $10K and all but 20% was covered. The surgery did give him several more months of quality life, so it was well worth it. But alas, he eventually succumbed to his ills. Now our current puppy, Thor, has already broken his leg, requiring surgery costing $10K. Then it was discovered he has a congenital disorder in his shoulders, that required another $8k worth of Arthroscopic surgery. Fortunately, he made a complete recovery from the fracture and is expected to fully recover from the shoulder surgery as well. The payout with Thor is a little less 70% covered, but still makes what would otherwise be a crushing financial burden, manageable. All the payouts came within a week or so of filing the claims with no questions or hassles.
I think the premiums are around $80 month. There are many different companies offering this service so you can shop around to find the best one that fits you budget and needs.

 

[C-Bag]

All,
I highly recommend getting pet health insurance for your dog(s). When we got Our last Great Pyrenees, Diesel, my wife insisted we get the insurance, I was skeptical at first. However, within the first year we discovered he suffered from epilepsy and a thyroid disorder. The insurance covered 80% of the bills for the diagnosis and life long medications he needed to be on. In his final year, he needed a surgery that cost over $10K and all but 20% was covered. The surgery did give him several more months of quality life, so it was well worth it. But alas, he eventually succumbed to his ills. Now our current puppy, Thor, has already broken his leg, requiring surgery costing $10K. Then it was discovered he has a congenital disorder in his shoulders, that required another $8k worth of Arthroscopic surgery. Fortunately, he made a complete recovery from the fracture and is expected to fully recover from the shoulder surgery as well. The payout with Thor is a little less 70% covered, but still makes what would otherwise be a crushing financial burden, manageable. All the payouts came within a week or so of filing the claims with no questions or hassles.
I think the premiums are around $80 month. There are many different companies offering this service so you can shop around to find the best one that fits you budget and needs.

WOW. Interesting that we were just talking about this as my wife asked me about insurance the other day. I guess I’ve been lucky that my dogs didn’t need something like that. But for the first time in decades I’ve bought a puppy and with that investment comes more attention to “what if?”. Plus the insane $$ a vet bill can be.

My immediate fear was realized just last week. We have foxtails here and they are horrible on dogs. A dog just wants to run in grass and foxtails end up in their hair and if they ever penetrate the skin they are like a one way ratchet. Like if they go between the pads they can follow the bone until they come out on their shoulder.

Had a setter that would always crash after a run but this one time he just sat in front of me staring. When I asked what was wrong he lay on his back and held up his left front paw. In his armpit was this big pocket. Took him to the vet and the vet pulled 6 bloody foxtails out of the hole! Another time the other dog a little terrier mutt in the middle of a run out in a field came up and jumped on me. I didn’t allow the dogs to do that and shushed him away but he kept jumping up on me and when I looked at him he was staring at me even though he knew he was doing wrong. It was then I saw the last little tails of a foxtail embedded next to his eyeball. He stood very still and I plucked it out and he got all happy and ran off to find the setter.

So I’ve been paranoid of that 50yrs later. We have been diligently pulling all the weeds but still I would find a foxtail in Gus’s hair. i was getting ready to hit the shop and I noticed him pawing his face. And there it was, a foxtail completely buried in his tear duct next to his eyeball just like George all those years ago! Gus wasn’t anywhere near as cooperative but I finally got hold of it and pulled it out. Gus got totally happy about that but who knows if he’ll trust me like my dogs of the past. I

 

[rabler]

Much to think about here. Matt's lab looked awfully cute but not quite time to pull the trigger. Would like to get the new shop up and functional first, I'm a bit obsessed with that right now and I prefer not to get too overloaded. I'm looking for a companion dog. Definitely want to stay away from a herding type dog as the horses don't react well to that.

 

[pdentrem]

What about a Portuguese Water Dog? Wife's sister had schnauzer for 14 years but had it put down as it was in pain from a cancer. It is a midsized dog, very strong and docile versus some of the other breeds. Not a super shedder either like Labs are!

 

[mattthemuppet2]

Matt's lab looked awfully cute but not quite time to pull the trigger.

well the good news is little Opal has been adopted, so she'll be off to Kansas in a week or so, after she's been spayed.

Still have the fluffy peril though

 

[C-Bag]

well the good news is little Opal has been adopted, so she'll be off to Kansas in a week or so, after she's been spayed.

Still have the fluffy peril though
View attachment 408209

I think rescue is a fabulous thing but I am stunned all this care of dogs does not include their well-being. Spaying a puppy? IMHO this is really bad for their development physically and possibly mentally. There are hormones that are crucial. I wish instead of a hysterectomy they could do a tubal ligation or a vasectomy instead of castration. End rant.

 

[mattthemuppet2]

or you could look at it from the perspective of living in a city 10s if not 100,000s of stray dogs, which produce a constant stream of puppies that need fostering. Literally by the bucket load - both of these two and one of ours was dumped in a bucket. Given that lots of locally adopted dogs later get abandoned to fend for themselves, neutering them before adoption is a requirement. I don't know the procedure that they use, but I can ask when I drop them off on Tuesday. Going by the size of the scar on both of ours and the fosters we've had before, it's not a huge operation (all girls, don't know about boys). Every one that we've had that has been neutered has turned out just fine, I think 10 now, including our two.

 

[Alcap]

Watch Labs ,,, Yellow are the worst . Just look !

 

[savarin]

I am a firm believer that cross breeds are the best.
We have only owned one pure bred and he has cost us the most in vets bills (and still does)
We all know you dont marry your sister or cousins because of the problems in-breeding causes but we breed our dogs that way to "strengthen" their traits we deem necessary. Often for the cause of fashion.
Give me a mutt any day.
ps. keep the photos coming, I love em.