Halloween/Thanksgiving Hatch-a-Long 2019

[ShrekDawg]

Black lab, mastiff, Samoyed. He was barrel chested, up to my hip. He looked like a huge wolf. He took up the backseat. In the winter, he gained five pounds, his ears were up, and his hair was long. In the spring his hair fell off all the way down to a short coat, he lost five pounds, and his ears fell. His metabolism was for a 210 pound dog. I tried all kinds of food because the vet didn’t believe me. I used to carry 100 pounds of food down three blocks, and up 42 stairs. Now I struggle with 50 pounds of feed. I’m old!!!

OMG!! That sounds like a lot of work!! He sounds like an amazing dog though!!

 

[BullChick]

He ... well, he was one of a kind. Taken from his litter at 6 weeks (illegal), he was re-homed three times in two weeks. One woman threw him off a bridge because he looked hot. He got so afraid of water, rain scared him. I dealt with that, and he began swimming in the river. Then I got my sister’s dog involved. I swear I’ve never seen happier dogs. They even brought back a floating branch together.
He played tug-of-war with an 18- month-old, and let him win. Never touched a baby toy. Josh put a pacifier in the dog’s mouth, and the dog gave it to me. Miss that dog. He’d be 17 though.

 

[ShrekDawg]

He ... well, he was one of a kind. Taken from his litter at 6 weeks (illegal), he was re-homed three times in two weeks. One woman threw him off a bridge because he looked hot. He got so afraid of water, rain scared him. I dealt with that, and he began swimming in the river. Then I got my sister’s dog involved. I swear I’ve never seen happier dogs. They even brought back a floating branch together.
He played tug-of-war with an 18- month-old, and let him win. Never touched a baby toy. Josh put a pacifier in the dog’s mouth, and the dog gave it to me. Miss that dog. He’d be 17 though.

Awww that’s amazing!!!

 

[MROO]

It's for my 5 lb Yorkie/Jack Russel. her name is Jolene
View attachment 1939849

 

[MROO]

I see a lot of dogs with them. I just don’t know why.

My dogs wear collars with ID tags all the time, but harnesses on-leash. I started using them when my border collie mix was diagnosed with a weak trachea. He wasn't a "puller," so I couldn't understand why he kept choking and stopping on our walks. I didn't realize that, every time he reached his nose out to smell something, he got a real "pain-in-the-neck." The harness took the pressure off his throat, and voila! No more choking. Almost overnight, he went from a timid dog who was afraid of everything on walks to a happy, "Hey, check this out. Ma!" kinda guy. I've used them ever since.
That ol' dog taught me so much. He was ... and will always be ... my "Heart Dog." Rest in Peace, my beautiful Tag.

 

[FortCluck]

Don't let her cuteness deceive you... She's a little gremlin

 

[ShrekDawg]

My dogs wear collars with ID tags all the time, but harnesses on-leash. I started using them when my border collie mix was diagnosed with a weak trachea. He wasn't a "puller," so I couldn't understand why he kept choking and stopping on our walks. I didn't realize that, every time he reached his nose out to smell something, he got a real "pain-in-the-neck." The harness took the pressure off his throat, and voila! No more choking. Almost overnight, he went from a timid dog who was afraid of everything on walks to a happy, "Hey, check this out. Ma!" kinda guy. I've used them ever since.
That ol' dog taught me so much. He was ... and will always be ... my "Heart Dog." Rest in Peace, my beautiful Tag.

Yeah, surprisingly even non pullers can have issues because the pressure is basically exclusively on the throat. Wider collars somewhat help distribute it better but still not great.

Sorry for your loss. He sounds like a great dog.

 

[MROO]

Don't let her cuteness deceive you... She's a little gremlin

Yorkies are massive attitude in a teeny, tiny body, and JRs are mini dynamos and both have more personality than any one animal should be allowed. With a combination like that, in a super cute package, she can't HELP but be a little stinker ... and absolute mistress of her world!

 

[MROO]

Yeah, surprisingly even non pullers can have issues because the pressure is basically exclusively on the throat. Wider collars somewhat help distribute it better but still not great.

Sorry for your loss. He sounds like a great dog.

He was ... but don't be sad for me, I do that well enough all on my own! I had my boy for a very long time. He came to me at barely six months old and was knocking very hard on 16 years when he went. I will always have a border collie shaped hole in my heart, but there's a lot of space left in there for more ...

My current canine baby is Indy another "throwaway pup" (Tag was a rescue.) We're pretty sure he's a cockapoo, but we'll never know and it doesn't matter. We also don't know his age; somewhere between 12 and 14, by now. He's been "home" for nearly 10 years, now, so it really doesn't matter. It almost didn't matter at all, because we came close to losing him just a week or two after a friend picked him up as a dumped stray. His full name, actually written on his vet card, is: "Indy Go Out the Window of a Moving MiniVan in the Middle of 896 in the Middle of Rush Hour." He's Indigo, or Indy, for short. On a funny note, he'll also come to "Indy Go Out The Window!" So, our Indy's not the brightest crayon in the box, but what he lacks in intelligence, he makes up for in pure sweetness. He's a 17 pound curly-blonde bundle of love, and he's perfect.

Then there's Skye ... DD's crazy Border Collie/English Setter (ish) rescue. She's 50 pounds of great intelligence, totally lacking in common sense. Zheesh, what a handful!

 

[BullChick]

Yorkies are massive attitude in a teeny, tiny body, and JRs are mini dynamos and both have more personality than any one animal should be allowed. With a combination like that, in a super cute package, she can't HELP but be a little stinker ... and absolute mistress of her world!

The last dog was supposed to be a Yorkie. After discovering that small dogs can fit on the Harley, my husband wanted another tiny dog. All things considered, I’m glad we got an adult.
I’m all for shelter dogs. I just wish they’d get better employees and volunteers! We have some crazy people around here, and that was before “this generation” came about.