For you dog lovers

[REWahoo]

This is a link to a blog post by a crusty old guy living in a RV [-]down by the river[/-] who works as a gate guard in the Eagle Ford oil patch in southwest Texas. You dog lovers will likely find it interesting:

MyOldRV.com

 

[Jack_Pine]

Well, that made me tear up.

 

[Nemo2]

".......you are only allowed one great dog in your life..."

This was mine:

The proud father, with mom in the background........oftentimes, when the mother is nursing new pups, (these are, of course, older), she won't allow any male dogs around....when we first drove up to visit the newborns she was nursing......she immediately got up and ran over to greet him.

 

[Dawg52]

Thanks for posting. I booked marked his blog as its easy to see he's a good guy.

I moan every time I bend over to pick up a clump of hair. I swear my dog is a shedding machine. And its not easy bathing a 95 lb animal although he quietly stands there while I scrub him. But he is a good pal and keeps me active in our daily walks. I doubt I will ever be without one as I live out my remaining years. I will get a smaller one next time though. But one large enough to go on long walks with.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I will check out the blog, thanks!

And Nemo, you know that story is near and dear to me. My best dog was my first BC, Grace, and though I have had quite a few BCs since then, none will ever match her.

Though this one, the tiny Biscuit, comes closest.

 

[Souschef]

We do not have a dog, but dog sit a Shih Tzu for our neighbor. I also fly for Pilots & Paws, taking rescue dogs to a new home. I have flown as many as 4 small dogs at once.

 

[Nemo2]

Though this one, the tiny Biscuit, comes closest

Biscuit looks great! I may have mentioned, (perhaps on the travel thread), that we encountered a lady in Genoa outside the busy train station, where she was awaiting the arrival of friends......she was accompanied by a B.C. that may even have been smarter than the guy I had, (and, from me, that's saying a lot).......no leash necessary, and the dog would periodically go into the station to see if the friends had shown up yet.....she knew why she was there, and who she was looking for.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I call Biscuit my mini BC! She's not as smart as one, but she makes up for it in attitude!

That is a great story about the BC in Genoa--they really are amazing dogs!

 

[irishgal]

We do not have a dog, but dog sit a Shih Tzu for our neighbor. I also fly for Pilots & Paws, taking rescue dogs to a new home. I have flown as many as 4 small dogs at once.

That's awesome.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I like the pics of herding dogs people have posted ... so I'll add to the group. Alfie, our English shepherd, on the left and our Aussie sweet pea Lucy on the right.

View attachment 22883

 

[Sarah in SC]

Alfie and Lucy are lovely! So dignified!

I would take a picture of my Border Collie Georgia, but she is busy being insane and biting the sliding glass door in protest of our roommate's drum practice inside. Sigh... High strung dog, sensitive ears...
So crazy.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Lucy and Alfie are both blood enemies of the noisy vacuum cleaner, although only Alfie tries to herd it.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Oh yeah, the dreaded vacuum. Today we could also add DH's new drone to the list of hated enemies.
Here's a video I did of her particular brand of crazy a few years ago. She still does this on the regular.

http://youtu.be/KB-KRjf2VsM

 

[Nemo2]

Oh yeah, the dreaded vacuum.

If you could cross a vacuum with a water hose it would make a fine dog repellent.

(Loved the vid! When DW & I lived in Ottawa we'd often encounter a very large, stick loving, German Shepherd dog on a nearby trail.......one time, bereft of a suitable stick, he charged into the undergrowth in search of one.....seeing him struggling I went to help out.......he'd found a small tree that had fallen, and was desperately trying to drag it to us before we moved on.)

 

[calmloki]

The loyalty and caring of dogs is pretty much unquestioned. Here is video of a dog owner who pretended to collapse while walking his dog:

Dog Owner Pretends to Suddenly Collapse While Walking His Dog and Records the Dog’s Reaction.

As a cat person I prefer cats. Cats can be counted on not to give a damn. Though maybe some dogs have that emotion:

https://i.imgur.com/ZpNBLPj.jpg

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Oh yeah, the dreaded vacuum. Today we could also add DH's new drone to the list of hated enemies.
Here's a video I did of her particular brand of crazy a few years ago. She still does this on the regular.

http://youtu.be/KB-KRjf2VsM

How high she carries her tail in the video! That's like Alfie when he's on the hunt.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I'd like to share an excellent blog on dog behavior by a Wisconsin behaviorist named Patricia McConnell. She was on public radio for a number of years and generated a huge number of call-ins every week. She also has a few short books on things like separation anxiety and pack dominance.

Here's a link to one of her November postings on dog licking: What does “Licking” Mean?

 

[Nemo2]

separation anxiety

Observed a pack of African Wild Dogs in Botswana........when 3 or 4 of them got separated from the pack they became borderline hysterical....they literally didn't know which way to turn.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Observed a pack of African Wild Dogs in Botswana........when 3 or 4 of them got separated from the pack they became borderline hysterical....they literally didn't know which way to turn.

Funny. I once had a basenji, a Congolese breed that's widely regarded as one of the more primitive dogs. I had him kennel trained, and when he'd go into his "den" I could latch the door and he didn't care where I was. He'd curl up and go to sleep, and I would go to work or wherever.

But once I went outside with the other dog and left him alone in the kitchen. When I came back a few minutes later I could hear him howling 50 yards away. I opened the door, and found curtains torn, trash turned over and other general chaos. Somehow he'd managed to cut his paw, so there was blood smeared all over the place. From then on I never left him alone without kenneling him first. Of course, he'd happily wander off on his own ... he was not a "velcro" dog.

 

[Nemo2]

^

- With my Border I could put him in the truck, with the side windows fully down and the slider to the bed wide open, tell him to 'stay' and he'd go to sleep.

But when we still had the house, and our neighbor's homes were a little distance apart, he'd (we this learned from a neighbor who said "You were out last night") howl right up until he heard our vehicle approaching, so that by the time we rolled down the drive, the place was silent. Guess he figured we'd abandon the house but not the vehicle.

- Similarly, we followed another pack of African Wild Dogs on a hunt, and learned that they often leave the younger ones who can't keep up, and then notify them when the kill is made.

We parked near the young ones who'd been left behind, and who were totally unconcerned......they slept until a howl told them to "Come and get it", and we were all off and running.

So, I guess it's the perception of separation, rather than the physical apartness, that has the most impact.

 

[NW-Bound]

This is a link to a blog post by a crusty old guy living in a RV [-]down by the river[/-] who works as a gate guard in the Eagle Ford oil patch in southwest Texas. You dog lovers will likely find it interesting:

MyOldRV.com

I have been following this blog for some time, as I always like to learn about less conventional ways people make a living, and the geography lessons about different places are a plus.

And I will add that this "crusty" old guy is only 1 year older than me. Yikes!