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Canine Forteana (Dogs' Weirdness & Wonders)

escargot said:
When dogs start getting aggressive owners can generally sort it with a muzzle. They won't start any shit when they can't bite.

Our Kizzy had hers on for 6 months every time we went out. I installed a lobster clip on it to attach to her collar so she couldn't scrape it off!

She deeply resented it but I wasn't taking any chances. After the 6 months of looking like Hanibal Lecter she was as good as gold.
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JRTs shouldn't be muzzled! Bite away, let Dog sort them out!
 
Slightly more on topic, my old Border Collie, Dylan was the cleverest dog I’ve ever owned. I came home at different times each day - varying up to 2 or three hours, and by different routes. My next door neighbor adored him and used to open my back door for me while he worked in his own garden so Dylan could have a potter round and lie on the patio watching the world go by. Each day, ten minutes before I arrived home, Dylan would get up and trot indoors to wait for me. Got it right every time.
 
Mrs Migs said:
Our JRT x, Evil Archie, is a little angel in the house and an absolute demon out on the lead.... I think a muzzle may be the way to go...
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I'd get one. Kizzy's was like a little fabric cone that fitted over her face. She could drink and eat and pant in it but not bite.

It was the fear of not being able to defend herself that stopped the bad behaviour.

As i said, she wore it for 6 months, but I think she was cured long before that. Probably weeks.
 
On the subject of dogs and their eyesight, over the past few years I’ve met several dogs who have had to have their eyes removed for one reason or another. All of them have coped incredibly well, but the one who sticks in mind was a husky who had lost her sight after eating some kind of flower bulb in the garden. Her eyes became infected later and were removed as they were no use to her. When I met her, she’d been blind perhaps 2 years, and she had recently moved with her owners to a new house in a completely new area. I pulled up onto the yard and got out of the car. She trotted straight up to me gave me a sniff, then walked in front of me through a garden gate no more than 2ft wide, turned at a right-angle in through the front door, and then another right-angle into the kitchen. Didn’t falter once, and had been there perhaps six weeks at that point. It was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen.
 
Mrs Migs said:
On the subject of dogs and their eyesight, over the past few years I’ve met several dogs who have had to have their eyes removed for one reason or another. All of them have coped incredibly well, but the one who sticks in mind was a husky who had lost her sight after eating some kind of flower bulb in the garden. Her eyes became infected later and were removed as they were no use to her. When I met her, she’d been blind perhaps 2 years, and she had recently moved with her owners to a new house in a completely new area. I pulled up onto the yard and got out of the car. She trotted straight up to me gave me a sniff, then walked in front of me through a garden gate no more than 2ft wide, turned at a right-angle in through the front door, and then another right-angle into the kitchen. Didn’t falter once, and had been there perhaps six weeks at that point. It was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen.
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The garage at the corner of the road where i grew up had a couple of Alsatian guard dogs - one was kept in, but the other used to wander about freely in the streets, name of Rajah. Eventually he went blind but still used to look both ways before crossing the road.
 
FDR's dog saw politicians and lawyers as part of the New Meal.

It seems that former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s German shepherd, who was also named Major, had a few “biting incidents” that made headlines as well.

According to a New York Times article written in April 1933 (just a month after FDR was inaugurated as the 32nd president of the United States), Major Roosevelt bit Sen. Hattie Caraway of Arkansas during a party thrown by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. According to the article, it “wasn’t a bad bite, just a scratch that made a momentary bit of excitement.”

In August 1933, the newspaper reported that Major Roosevelt bit a Washington lawyer who reached through the White House fence to pet him.

Around this time, Major Roosevelt also nearly ripped the pants off of British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, according to the Presidential Pet Museum, noting that “a replacement pair of pants had to be found before the Prime Minister could modestly leave the White House.”
Apparently, Major Roosevelt was exiled shortly after these events to the Roosevelt’s family home in Hyde Park, New York.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/major-fdr-biden-german-shepherd_n_6064b13cc5b6d5b7a695293a
 
A young sea dog.

A sheepdog whose commute requires a boat has "found his sea legs", a shepherd has said.

Since February, one-year-old border collie Sweep has been rounding up rare-breed sheep at the National Trust's Orford Ness nature reserve, on a remote shingle spit off the Suffolk coast. Sweep, who is still in training, has taken over from his predecessor, Kite.

Shepherd Andrew Capell said Sweep was used to sheep "but the ferry crossing has taken a bit of getting used to. Thankfully, he seems to have found his sea legs," he said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-56649526
 
A good doggy!

Praise for Hel the hero husky who found abandoned baby in Birmingham park as owner says dog was 'sent from heaven' to rescue the newborn infant - while police hunt for mother continues
  • Terry Walsh was walking Hel last Thursday when she found newborn baby boy
  • He said he believes pup was 'sent from heaven' to rescue to abandoned infant
  • Praise has poured in from locals who say the husky should be given a medal
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ero-husky-abandoned-baby-Birmingham-park.html
 
Just get a pack of JRTs to clear out those adders, there'd be sum mess.

Vid at link.

Advice to South West dog owners after rise in adder bites

Vets are advising worried dog owners about Britain's only venomous snake after an increase in adder bites in the South West. One of those affected is Julie Kitchen whose dog Phoebe was bitten by an adder while walking in Perran Sands, Cornwall. Local vets are advising vigilance, but say most dogs do recover with prompt treatment.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-cornwall-56918235
 
Pilferer's poodle puts her in prison.

A suspected German fraudster living in Majorca allegedly faked her own death, but her story had a rather obvious giveaway - her pet poodle.

The 47-year-old woman, arrested by Spanish police, is suspected of having embezzled around €1m (£866,000; $1.2m) from the German solar power firm she worked for, DPA news agency reports.Private detectives hired by the firm sniffed around on social media and found that she owned a "giant" poodle. Their dogged work led to her arrest.

The woman is now out on bail and has reportedly admitted having faked her own death.

The detectives tracked her down to a chic villa in Santa Ponça after spotting a man walking such a poodle, which is not a very common breed on the island.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57009023
 
Dog doubts covid?

A dog had to undergo a three-hour operation after eating 30 PPE gloves.

Rambo the Rottweiler was taken to see vets in Wakefield by his owner Darren Coyne after he was sick and brought up one of the gloves. The dog was referred for an endoscopy in Leeds where vets removed a further 29 gloves during the procedure. Mr Coyne, who kept a box of gloves in his car for work, said Rambo must have eaten them while travelling to and from walks.

Keith Leonard, who carried out the operation, said though Rambo arrived "seemingly without a care in the world" Mr Coyne's quick thinking had "saved his life".

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-57007977
 
You may now ask police dogs for proof of identity.

A police force's dogs have been issued with individual collar numbers and ID cards to make them "part of the team".

Cheshire Police will also issue some of its service animals with body armour as part of a set of changes which follow the introduction of Finn's Law in 2019. The law made it a criminal offence to harm a service dog.

Handler Kelly Walker, who has had PD Bart since 2017, said giving them a number like her own "makes them part of the policing family. They go out to look for offenders of vulnerable missing people, they are part of the team and that's how they should be treated," she added. "He will go out and he will protect me no matter what."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-57287397
 
ramonmercado said:
You may now ask police dogs for proof of identity.

A police force's dogs have been issued with individual collar numbers and ID cards to make them "part of the team".

Cheshire Police will also issue some of its service animals with body armour as part of a set of changes which follow the introduction of Finn's Law in 2019. The law made it a criminal offence to harm a service dog.

Handler Kelly Walker, who has had PD Bart since 2017, said giving them a number like her own "makes them part of the policing family. They go out to look for offenders of vulnerable missing people, they are part of the team and that's how they should be treated," she added. "He will go out and he will protect me no matter what."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-57287397
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Hmm surely they should have issued the dogs with protective clothing anyway, if it was available, why wait until it was made an offence to harm a dog?
 
Sad news.

US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden have announced the death of their "beloved" German Shepherd Champ, who had been with them for 13 years.

"Our family lost our loving companion Champ today. I will miss him," President Biden wrote on Twitter.

Champ was one of two German Shepherds living at the White House with the Bidens, alongside Major. He had also lived in Washington when Mr Biden was vice-president.

"In our most joyful moments and in our most grief-stricken days, he was there with us, sensitive to our every unspoken feeling and emotion. We love our sweet, good boy and will miss him always," the Bidens said in a statement.

"Even as Champ's strength waned in his last months, when we came into a room, he would immediately pull himself up, his tail always wagging, and nuzzle us for an ear scratch or a belly rub. Wherever we were, he wanted to be, an everything was instantly better when he was next to us," they said.


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57541044
 
A Chinese police academy will be auctioning dogs expelled from canine training for being too nice.
Chinese police academy auctioning off dogs too friendly for law enforcement

A police academy in China announced it is holding an auction to find new homes for 54 dogs that flunked out of the program by being too gentle for a career in law enforcement.

The Criminal Investigation Police University of China in northeastern Liaoning province announced the dogs -- primarily German shepherds, Dutch shepherd hybrids and Belgian malinois -- will be auctioned July 7. ...

The school said the canines were rejected from the police dog training program for reasons including timid personalities, physical weakness or frailty, failure to follow instructions and refusing to bite when prompted. ...
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FULL STORY: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2021/0...sity-China-flunked-dog-auction/7991625254368/
 
EnolaGaia said:
A Chinese police academy will be auctioning dogs expelled from canine training for being too nice.

FULL STORY: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2021/0...sity-China-flunked-dog-auction/7991625254368/
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Our Santa (yellow lab coloured lurcher) was expelled from the local hunting pack because too nice.

By 'hunting' here we mean the real sort of hunt undertaken by people for whom a few dead chickens or taken lambs means actual hardship. Not the people on horseback who do it for fun. Although I like both groups. Traditionalist, me.

And anyway, once you have to start exterminating rats and mice (both perfectly laudable fellow mammals as long as they aren't giving you disease or eating your property) for your own protection you start to understand why other people do it.
 
Souleater said:
Hmm surely they should have issued the dogs with protective clothing anyway, if it was available, why wait until it was made an offence to harm a dog?
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In the early 2000s some British police police dog-handlers (I know which force but as I can't now find a report online won't name it) were prosecuted for using cruel tactics to train the animals. The idea back then, it seems, was to dominate through brutality.

One of their methods was to suspend a dog on its back legs by its collar against a wall.

A friend of mine at the time agreed with this, saying you have to 'put some manners on it', ie. cow the dog into obedience.
I was appalled as I had a new pup at the time and couldn't imagine torturing my little darling to make him obedient when a tasty treat could do the trick.*

So I'm still cynical about professional dog-handlers.

*As Rocky was intelligent and I was far too soft with him he ended up walking all me. No regrets, he was there for me to love.
 
escargot said:
In the early 2000s some British police police dog-handlers (I know which force but as I can't now find a report online won't name it) were prosecuted for using cruel tactics to train the animals. The idea back then, it seems, was to dominate through brutality.

One of their methods was to suspend a dog on its back legs by its collar against a wall.

A friend of mine at the time agreed with this, saying you have to 'put some manners on it', ie. cow the dog into obedience.
I was appalled as I had a new pup at the time and couldn't imagine torturing my little darling to make him obedient when a tasty treat could do the trick.*

So I'm still cynical about professional dog-handlers.

*As Rocky was intelligent and I was far too soft with him he ended up walking all me. No regrets, he was there for me to love.
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If you look at footage of one-time celebrity dog trainer Barbara Woodhouse, she does seem unnecessarily rough with the dogs she's handling. Maybe that approach worked at the time, but it's miles away from the gentler dog whisperers who became popular decades later.
 
Konrad Lorenz claimed the only way to hurt a dog was to whack it on the nose.

That may not be true but they certainly are stronger than a human.
 
Kondoru said:
Konrad Lorenz claimed the only way to hurt a dog was to whack it on the nose.

That may not be true but they certainly are stronger than a human.
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I think this may apply to a dog in full 'attack' mode, but certainly not generally. Not if my dog's 'sad face, whimpering, limping, general cowed demeanor' because I trod (lightly) on her paw by accident this morning, is anything to go by.
 
This bulldog came to the vet with injuries from an attempt to bang a hedgehog. A hedgehog ... :roll:
OUCH The Yorkshire Vet’s Peter Wright disgusted by dog’s horrific injuries after trying to have sex with a hedgehog

The Yorkshire Vet's Peter Wright was left shocked when he had to treat the injuries of a bulldog who tried to have sex with a hedgehog.

Peter, 64, has been part of the Channel 5 series since 2015 and a vet for much longer than that, but was horrified while dealing with one of the most unusual cases in his career. ...

In the most recent episode Peter was brought a bulldog named Little Boss for treatment.

“He’s tried to have sex with a hedgehog,” the owner told Peter.

The vet admitted never in his 40-year career had he ever come across a case like this one.

Peter led Little Boss into the clinical rooms to explain to veterinary nurse Steph Gill what had happened to the randy pooch.

“We’ve got quite an unusual problem here. This is Little Boss and Little Boss has tried to have sex with a hedgehog,” he started, as the nurses burst into laughter. ...

The vet examined the area and concluded Little Boss would not need surgery.

But he did decide the dog needed to be neutered in order to stop him from trying to have sex with another hedgehog. ...
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FULL STORY: https://www.thesun.co.uk/tv/15588977/the-yorkshire-vet-peter-wright-dog-injuries-sex-hedgehog/
 
I have no sympathy at all for the dog.
 

Family Dog Saves St. John’s Family from Knife-Wielding Attacker​

A St. John’s family victimized by a knife-wielding random attacker last week has a hero in their midst—the family dog.

On July 22 at about 10:30 p.m., a man broke into three houses on Empire Avenue west including Stephanie Penney’s. Her two boys—ages 10 and 15—were home with her with the youngest right in the line of the attacker. That’s when Gibson, a 10-year-old part Rottweiler, jumped into action and confronted the intruder. The man stabbed him in the head, blood going everywhere.

Stephanie shudders to think what might have happened had it not been for the dog. She’s certain that 10-year-old Lucas, who was sitting on an exercise ball and chatting with his friends playing Fortnite, would have gotten the full force of the attacker.

The interruption gave the family precious seconds to get out of the house and hide in the backyard until the intruder, who also went outside in the backyard near them, left.

The dog had a deep cut that penetrated the skull but did not go all the way through. Gibson is expected to fully recover.

Penney says an RNC officer remained with the dog for about an hour applying bandages and helping to slow the bleeding until it could get medical attention.

That was one of three break-ins committed within a short time of each other that night. The RNC arrested a suspect a short time later and charged him with all three.
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I guess he's a bloodhound.

A greyhound who has donated his rare blood to help save up to 88 other dogs has retired after six years.

Woodie, from Melton Mowbray, in Leicestershire, first gave blood when he was three and the nine-year-old has since reached a total of 22 donations.

Owner Wendy Gray said: "To know he has helped out families in distressing situations... it is amazing."

Pet Blood Bank UK said each 450ml (16floz) donation can help up to four dogs and hailed Woodie a "superstar".

The Loughborough-based charity said greyhound blood was particularly sought after as it was more likely to be negative - meaning it can be given to any dog in any emergency - and only 30% of dogs were thought to have this blood type.

Woodie can no longer donate as blood is only taken from dogs aged one to eight.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leicestershire-58354825
 
A growing number of working dogs - especially sheep dogs guarding flocks in remote locations - are being dog-napped in the western USA. It appears many of these incidents are the result of well-intentioned folks mistakenly thinking the dog is lost.
Farm dogs being taken from Utah ranches, grazing land by misguided dog-nappers

Officials with the Utah Department of Agriculture of Food said they want to spread the word to people — stop taking farm dogs off of ranches and grazing areas.

So far, in 2021, there have been 11 incidents of dogs being taken.

KSL-TV spoke to one rancher who understands it's probably people wanting to help, but at the same time, feels enough is enough.

It's still pretty quiet in Box Elder County, ... but it's not as quiet as Lane Jensen remembers ...

"It is changing," he said. "This year especially, there has been some big impacts."

It's not so much the new housing developments in the area that bother ranchers like him ...

Jensen is more concerned about people taking his dogs.

Since he's a sheep rancher, Jensen relies on dogs to help keep the flocks safe.

"We've had three incidents where we've had dogs taken from us," he said while on his ranch. "We've gotten two of them back and that was after we started micro-chipping them."

In most cases, the dog-nappers are probably people who don't understand the dogs aren't lost or abandoned.

They're actually working dogs who stay with the flocks of sheep to guard them in remote areas from predators, such as mountain lions or coyotes. ...
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FULL STORY: https://www.ksl.com/article/5023476...ranches-grazing-land-by-misguided-dog-nappers
 
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