RatX wrote:
Ratter (feists) are size blind. A few months after we rescued her, I took her running and we fought our way by a mastiff quietly walking with its master. The leash slipped out of my hands and she raced back to attack the mastiff (ratter weighs 14 lbs wet). By the time I got to them, I could tell the the mastiff was starting to get annoyed by the little dog hectoring it. I grabbed my dog, apologized, and moved off. The mastiff could have crushed her with one bite.
On the other hand, with people, she is a flirt.
Apologies for being a bit direct, but owning a small dog does not release you from the responsibility of teaching the dog good etiquette when being outdoors.
We taught our dogs to lie down and wait for our approval before they are allowed to go towards another dog. I have seen too many small dogs that just storm our two and attack out of the blue. As owner of "big" dogs, I am always alarmed by such events because I will be held liable should one of my dogs retaliate. Because of that, I always warn owners of impolite small dogs that I will step on their dog, should it attack my dogs. And to be honest, to save my dogs from repercussions implied when they should react, I honestly would have seized your dog by the collar and given you a few words.
As dog owner I do accept that a leash can slip out of my hand as well. but what appears amusing to some (size blind midgets) can become the death penalty for others. Here in Germany certain races of dogs must be put to sleep should they ever bite another dog or a human. Shephards are not amongst those, but I owned a husky a few years ago and the real risk of such an accident happen forced me to move to a different city. The husky was not as polite as our current shephard dogs are.
I have to agree with Buddy on this as well. We live in the city and I walk my Golden Retriever on the public sidewalks all of the time. When we meet other people or pets, I always put my dog in a "sit stay" until they have past and then release my dog from the stay command. It teaches my dog respect and the people feel safe and comfortable knowing my dog is in control.
The same goes for when someone asks if they can pet my Golden. I put him in a sit or down stay, so that he does not jump up onto the individual. The last thing you ever want is for your dog to traumatize a child or knock down an elderly person.
Proper training is the responsibility of the dog's owner if you expect to have your dog coexist in public.
the solitaire, congrats with your newborn. Sorry to hear about Amy early studio retirement. Is she in the box because she is moving?
BSPhotog, I especially like the first Christmas photo. For me I would love to have the nose not so blurred in the 2nd one.
Please keep those dog photos coming.
Ps. yes of course it is our responsibility to train our dogs no matter what size. I think we should though give RatX a little break because we don't know his rescue backstory and he has just had her for short time and if she was untrained before he saved her it will take some time to train her to behave properly in various situations.
Also even for properly trained dogs accidents do happen.
Well, she has a rip in her ear (why I named her, Xena, warrior princess) and we had her for about three weeks when the posted incident happened. She was probably a puppy mill dog. She was around 2 when we got her so we hired hired a dog trainer to improve her social skills, but the instructor said we may never be able to have her around other dogs due to her poor socialization and her strong prey drive. We almost gave her up because she was so so alpha, but putting her on fluoxetine (prozac) really took the edge off her except her dislike for other dogs. We went the extra mile for her and now she is a great family member and we know her limits. People are no different.
Reggieb – I love the dogs running at the beach – very nice! I used to take my previous two dogs to the beach for a week each year, and they had a blast.
RatX – Good luck with your terrier. Owning a dog-aggressive dog (even a small one) is a big responsibility. If you are interested, Patricia McConnell has a small booklet titled “Feisty Fido: Help for the Leash-Reactive Dog.” I have not read that particular book, but her other books and website are excellent resources. Link: Feisty Fido
If you like dogs on the beach, here are a few of our Pembroke corgi, Mr. D, at Amelia Island. The most gentle dog you ever met - unless you were an unruly wave. Lens was 180 2.8 on D100, I believe.
Note, those "breakers" are at least 6" high. Red flag warning - if you are corgi.
He always kept an eye on my daughter (blue sweat shirt). You can see his devotion. RIP my friend.
It was late at night and she decided she wanted to lick the bowl for anything that might be left behind...the problem was it's his food bowl..she does it all the time, but his look is great. He's so laid back you couldn't tell it..from the last shot, earlier this year at a dog event he was surrounded by a pack of 5 Killer Corgis and the owners were thrilled with how he played with them to the point one woman with another corgi asked to help her get her dog over his fear of large dogs. They both did great. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera with me to get the 140 lb. malamute playing with the corgi pack.
Is there a category for the "Oldest Nikon Digital Dog Photo"?! I might be in running with this photo, taken on August 31, 2000 with a Nikon D1 and a 14mm f/2.8:
the solitaire, congrats with your newborn. Sorry to hear about Amy early studio retirement. Is she in the box because she is moving?
BSPhotog, I especially like the first Christmas photo. For me I would love to have the nose not so blurred in the 2nd one.
Please keep those dog photos coming.
Ps. yes of course it is our responsibility to train our dogs no matter what size. I think we should though give RatX a little break because we don't know his rescue backstory and he has just had her for short time and if she was untrained before he saved her it will take some time to train her to behave properly in various situations.
Also even for properly trained dogs accidents do happen.
falconbach, yes. Amy was helping us pack stuff for the move and I think she figured that if all the important stuff is in the process of being boxed up, she should be boxed up too because she is pretty important allright.
Early studio retirement, but the real fun is outdoors
ScottHM wrote:
It was late at night and she decided she wanted to lick the bowl for anything that might be left behind...the problem was it's his food bowl..she does it all the time, but his look is great. He's so laid back you couldn't tell it..from the last shot, earlier this year at a dog event he was surrounded by a pack of 5 Killer Corgis and the owners were thrilled with how he played with them to the point one woman with another corgi asked to help her get her dog over his fear of large dogs. They both did great. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera with me to get the 140 lb. malamute playing with the corgi pack.
Loving these! Please post more. Nordic dogs are my absolute favorites in terms of appearance and character.
I used to own a Husky mix myself. Saw her again last weekend and still miss her (moved out together with my ex because I couldn't take care with a full time job and on my own)
Great pic, Buddy. I love the lighting, the colors, the bokeh and especially how Lumi is checking in with her... almost as if Lumi's saying, " It doesn't get any better than this, mom. What a great day for a walk thru the woods!" You can see the bond Lumi has with her
Is she in the box because she is moving? 
