Washingtonians

[ChristineR]

Quote:
Chickielady - I agree about dogs not being emotionally mature until 2 years (or later). Heck, my Pointer is almost 12 and he still behaves like a puppy most of the time.

But, breeding them???? I have to disagree. That would just be contributing to the problem we've been talking about! With what's been said about their temperaments (and the male not meeting the breed standard for size), I'd say they absolutely DO NOT need to bred. Why pass on their genes? "To get your investment back"? I'm sorry, but that's just irresponsible and the reason why we have so many problems in our purebred dogs--would-be "breeders" trying to make a quick buck.

There are so many unwanted dogs out there; our purebred dogs are riddled with health and temperament problems, and still, uneducated or greedy people breeding more, hoping to make a quick buck, regardless of whether or not the animals are the best representation of their breed. I'm not trying to be offensive--really, I'm not, this is just something that I really care about and it just really irks me when people think "hey, I have a male and a female dog/horse/cat/whatever, I should breed them!"

Ok, rant over.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Quote:
I have to say the worst bites for me (from dogs) have come from Pom's and Chihuahuas! as silly as they sound i take the lil devils pretty seriously.

Nothing to restrain on 'em!!

I am afraid of most dogs anyhow, so I am not one to talk about being scaredy of which kind... But, Illia, If I had ever seen YOUR big ol' dogs come through the door at work--I would probably just pass out.

It's why I only do CATS! lol!

Did Quincy bother ya when we met at Chehalis? If so I will try to make a point to have dw not bring him around you at Stevenson.

 

[CarolynF]

Quote:
Actually, one of the biggest over-breeders of Labs and Goldens is Guide Dogs for the blind; get long-time puppy raisers together and in an unbuttoned frame of mind and all of them can tell horror stories about pups which are untrainable for some reason, including rage- not to mention congenital skeletal problems that make it impossible for some of them (and not a small "some") to wear a guide harness.

And the most agressive and bite-prone dogs I've been around have been Chesepeake Bay Retrievers (two of them, unrelated, from different breeders), a breed which is neither overbred nor one with any artificial popularity. Well, except for a nighmarish seven-pound rat terrier that Dad took in trade for a half-cord of wood once, who killed every cat in the neighborhood and a six month old Suffolk lamb before Dad could catch him and send him to his logical consequences.

Interesting... I've only known one Chesepeake Bay Retriever and he was never aggressive nor did he ever bite.
I like my granddaughters new little pug puppy. He's a cutey pie.

 

[Illia]

Quote:
We were thinking of that, but changed our mind to just getting rid of them now.

We've had plenty of experience with a lot of large breed dogs, bully and mastiff types especially, and, none were so disappointing as these, the female especially. Turns out the other breeder we were talking to, his problem dogs also came from the same lines as ours, but still, it is not worth it to risk and pay for ANOTHER to replace her. Plus, so far, the male can't properly breed. . .

Yes, large breeds take a while to mature, but we know what to expect at what age.

 

[hallerlake]

Quote:
Nope, that's it.

I think I'm going to attempt to figure out the appropriate dimensions for the coop I want - not like I consider myself a coop architect, but it shouldn't be that hard, right?. I had Industrial Arts class uhh...about 25 years ago.

This is a basic coop. Dimensions could be altered if it's too small. http://poultry.purinamills.com/NUTRITIONMANAGEMENT/HenHouseHutchDesign/default.aspx

 

[LiLRedCV]

Quote:
Speaking of reasons that my family holds on to our land: we have no artificial controls over how we build or where we build animal housing. Wish I had a good solugtion for this ridiculousness, though!

I really want to move some place with a bit more land.

Sorry to hear about your horrible neighbors! I'd rather have clucking chickens than barking dogs any day!! Can you afford a move? We have several places in southern Pierce County (think Eatonville) that are up for sale! Several are bank foreclosures and are going for a relative song.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Quote:
We RVed there in April. It was ok. On pavement there was power at that was it. If you haven't already get a reservation soon as they have limited space. The nice thing is the spaces are all very close to all of the events. Do you know about when you may get there ? Maybe we could park together I hear a masked person may be having a potluck with a bunch of ducks on friday night.

I haven't called yet... forgot today!

I'll let you know how it goes. I'm not sure when we'll get there, our schedule is still TBD. Thanks for the info.!

So are you "planning " to camp(?) at the fair grounds??

 

[Kaneke]

also when looking at properties, check across the river into Thurston county, since property taxes are somewhat less here .. likely enough difference to make up for a longer commute

 

[hallerlake]

Quote:
Actually, one of the biggest over-breeders of Labs and Goldens is Guide Dogs for the blind; get long-time puppy raisers together and in an unbuttoned frame of mind and all of them can tell horror stories about pups which are untrainable for some reason, including rage- not to mention congenital skeletal problems that make it impossible for some of them (and not a small "some") to wear a guide harness.

And the most agressive and bite-prone dogs I've been around have been Chesepeake Bay Retrievers (two of them, unrelated, from different breeders), a breed which is neither overbred nor one with any artificial popularity. Well, except for a nighmarish seven-pound rat terrier that Dad took in trade for a half-cord of wood once, who killed every cat in the neighborhood and a six month old Suffolk lamb before Dad could catch him and send him to his logical consequences.

Interesting... I've only known one Chesepeake Bay Retriever and he was never aggressive nor did he ever bite.
I like my granddaughters new little pug puppy. He's a cutey pie.

We had a Chesapeake Bay retriever as a kid. The only time I ever saw her snap at anyone was at a toddler. She didn't trust toddlers. They can be pretty rough.

 

[CarolynF]

Quote:
Yep... 3 chickens. That's very close to the size of mine, but mine's up off the ground 3'. And 3 LF is all that will ever be in there.