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Post by macmex on Sept 23, 2021 6:59:15 GMT -6
I never knew my maternal grandfather. Mom told me what a wonderful, godly man he was and everything I ever heard about him was wonderful. He died when Mom was 16. My father's father abandoned the family when Dad was 5. I met him for 1/2 hour when I was eleven and spend a couple hours with him when I was 24 or 25, but he had no input into my life.
When I was 13 I was DYING to learn to hunt and my own father simply didn't "do" guns" or hunting. Mom approached the cousin of a good friend, who loved hunting and trapping, was a widower and had stopped going out for fear of falling and not being able to get up again. She drove into his driveway, and when he came out she said, "Hi, I'm Edie McLaughlin. You don't know me, but I'm friends with your cousin, Annie Vernell. I've heard you like to hunt but don't have a partner. I have a deal for you. If you'll teach my son, George, he'll go out with you and probably hang around with you quite a bit." He accepted the deal, and for the next 5 years he became my very best friend. I probably averaged about 2 hours a day with him, and he taught me to hunt, handle a gun and any number of skills which were uncommon in generations after WW2.
I wanted a dog so badly, and my Dad didn't want me to get one (he knew I'd soon grow up and leave home without the dog). Finally Dad relented and let me get a Gordon Setter. Mr. Mauser, my mentor, told me, "You should have gotten a beagle." He was right. Years later, I got one for my son, and we eventually had two, one after the other.
Now I have livestock guardian dogs. I need their special service more than I need a hunting dog.
By the way, last week I wrote my first blog in 6 months! I think things are starting to level a bit.
How to Train a Livestock Guardian Dog
Livestock Guardian Dogs are wired differently than most breeds but some of these principles would be good for any dog.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2021 7:36:31 GMT -6
So wonderful! Much dedication and absolute consistency. Give a pup an inch and he'll take a mile and set you back WEEKS of training if not more. It's absolutely fascinating how so many different breeds have different traits for which they were developed.
Oh! Member me telling you about my arrogance? Welp. I have a brother. You would really like my brother if you met him, because he's a charming psychopath. No conscience. Fake emotions. He's always had a wealthy appetite, married wealthy, job wealthy (inherited the family business), looks good all the time, expensive clothes, cole hahn shoes (when I last saw him) most expensive house, most expensive furniture - the 9 yards. I don't remember the brand of furniture, but it was one I hadn't ever heard of, upper class furniture store in Tulsa. Unique fabric and leather combination over mahogany wood (looked pretty, but sorry choice for furniture). I remember the first time learning about Ralph Lauren interior paints when they used in their new home. Last I knew he still lives in his $5mil 2 story home in Tulsa, coaches high school basketball and all around good guy, they say.
And the dog they picked? To live in the house? It had to be unique, too. Alaskan husky. I don't remember, but I think they had trouble acquiring a Siberian Husky. These are working dogs and get destructive inside the house if they're not worked. Remember the expensive furniture they bought?
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 23, 2021 15:38:51 GMT -6
Crystanthemum,
Your comment about your Grandfather being born in 1876, reminds me of my own Grandfather on my Mom's side of the family. He was in his mid-50s when Mama was born, making him 6 years older than my Great Grandfather on my dad's side of the family.
He loved Rat Terriers. He and Grandma always had one around the farm when I was growing up. They're smart little dogs and sure earn their keep around the haybarn and milkshed.
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Post by hmoosek on Sept 26, 2021 15:36:39 GMT -6
This is Punky Brewster. She was named correctly. Hahahaaa! You would never know it from the picture, but what she can’t get into ain’t in the book. This is my big boy. This is my baby girl. She’s as comical as I am.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 27, 2021 12:10:30 GMT -6
Love that photo of the dog with the quilt backdrop! It makes me smile every time I scroll back over it!
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Post by hmoosek on Sept 27, 2021 13:06:09 GMT -6
Love that photo of the dog with the quilt backdrop! It makes me smile every time I scroll back over it! That’s my baby. She doesn’t like me to leave her sight. Before I retired, my wife said she would sit by the door and whine in till I came back home. Hahaaa, she doesn’t even let my wife take her outdoors to potty, she waits for me to come along.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 28, 2021 4:43:02 GMT -6
hmoosek,
That's a very personable looking dog for sure; you can just see the wheels turning behind those little eyes in the photo that you posted.
Speaking of personable dogs; we had a German Shepherd follow our car home in the dark last night. We live at the end of a rough dirt road, so we drive in slowly. When we opened the car door, the dog was just standing there wagging its tail, like it was glad to see us. (Wierd). It's a very polite dog, wanting attention, but not being obnoxious about it.
Right away, we noticed that it had a broken leg that has healed, leaving it badly crippled. From the scares, it must have been a terrible-looking, open wound once. The break was between its paw and its ankle on the back, right leg. It has grown back very crooked, leaving one to believe that it had no medical attention before it healed. Both back legs are scared in the same spot, right between the paw and the ankle. It has several scares on its body in different places, but appears to be a fairly young dog, maybe two years old? It's pretty skinny and was wearing a choke collar with a broken ski rope attached to it like it broke free from being tied up somewhere. It drank two bowls of water, one right after the other when we took it to the barn to see if it was thirsty --- then, it continued to drink more water every few minutes, like it just couldn't get enough.
Despite all that, it is very friendly and seems to be everyone's best buddy. I had never seen it in my life before I opened the door last night when it came running to me like it has known me all of its life. The same thing with everyone in the family. Very strange behavior for a stray dog.
Since it was not our dog and we didn't know if it belonged to someone near, we left it in the yard last night, bringing our two outside dogs inside to spend the night, so they wouldn't fight.
I went out at 4:30 am to see if it was still around and it was lying on the front stoop, just like it has lived here all of its life. As soon as I squatted down to look it in the eye, it bowled me over with its forehead, head down, wanting to snuggle, not face first like most dogs wanting to lick you in the face. It kept pushing, and bringing its shoulder in, like it just couldn't get close enough.
I spent some time with it before dawn, with the yard light on, bringing it a few toys. It doesn't seem to have the foggiest notion of what a ball is, or how to play tug of war, but if you say the word, "Sit" its back legs go out from under it before its brain has time to think. It will be in full stride, and no matter how quiet I say "Sit" it collapses in place. It's very attentive, always looking you right in the eye, waiting to see what you'll say or do next. It appears to be a very smart dog, though it will take days to really prove that.
When the sun comes up, I'll have to take it around our chickens, geese, deer, and cats, to see how it behaves around other animals. He is a very curious acting creature for sure. This ought to prove an interesting day. If I remember, I'll try to get a picture of him today.
He reminds me of "Peppy", another stray that we brought in a few years ago. Peppy had wandered the dirt roads around here for a month or so. I had seen him several times before he came to our house one day to die. He had a rope tied tightly around his neck and by that time his head was swollen to nearly twice its normal size. The swelling was cutting off his air. When I saw that he was in trouble, I approached him very cautiously (he's a big scarey looking black dog) and I didn't yet know his temperament.
I eased up beside him, staying behind his left shoulder in case he decided to turn on me. When I tried to slip my finger under the rope that was around his neck, I realized it was too tight to a get finger under, so I got a pair of wire cutting dikes from the truck and returned. When I cut the rope loose, it didn't fall, so not even thinking, I grabbed it and gave it a pull. Peppy yelped and laid on his back like he thought I was going to beat him. That's when I realized the rope had grown into his throat! It was festered and dripping huge globs of dark yellow puss and stunk like a dead animal.
I went to the barn and retrieved the Veterinarian kit. I worked several minutes with peroxide, iodine, scissors, gauze, and tweezers, pulling the plastic rope fibers from his throat. I gave him some antibiotics and bedded him down in our barn for the next few days. He's been my best friend ever since. He loves everyone in the family and has the patience of Job around children. He wouldn't hurt a flea, yet when strangers drive up, no one attempts to get past him because of his size. He has the most gentle spirit of any animal I ever saw. Maybe, these two dogs have had similar experiences? Maybe, they were both just asking for help?
I fully believe there is more going on in a dog's head than any of us will ever know. I don't need another dog, we already have four, three of them were strays, all of them just mutts, but who could turn away from something like that?
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Post by macmex on Sept 28, 2021 8:26:34 GMT -6
It is sad how some folk neglect and abuse these animals.
Pepe's such a good boy!
Bon, somehow I missed your comment about the expensive furniture and husky. So many people get huskies because of their exotic appearance yet fail to understand their basic "wiring." It's on pare with the people who get cattle dogs, yet live in a small apartment with no land!
Our new livestock guardian puppy is growing so rapidly! He's fun to have around, though, doing chores with a puppy under foot is akin to doing chores with a human toddler by ones side. He's taken to carrying off feed cans!
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Post by chrysanthemum on Sept 28, 2021 14:57:02 GMT -6
When I was young we had a cat that used to follow my mother all around the garden. One day he was jealous of the asparagus that she was cutting and started scratching at her hand. She scolded him, and he stopped. The next thing she knew he was going down the row in front of her knocking over all the asparagus for her to harvest. (Yes, I know that a cat story shouldn’t really be in the dog thread, but the comment about puppies being like toddlers just brought that memory so strongly back to my mind.) hmoosek, I, too, love that picture of the dog on the quilt. The dog’s face is so captivating that it took me a couple of looks to realize that the quilt is the same one that my husband and I have on our bed for the summer. (
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Post by hmoosek on Sept 28, 2021 17:49:25 GMT -6
HeavyHitter, I’m so glad you were able to help him. Can you imagine the pain of having a rope grow into your neck?
We’ve had BabyGirl since she was 5 weeks old. My niece knew the lady that had them. It’s funny, my wife called me at work. The conversation went like this. Hey babe, how would you like a puppy? I replied with “Sweetie, we don’t need another dog, do we? My wife says, “Babe, if you could just see this poor thing.” She was eat up with fleas when my wife brought her home. It took several shampoos with dawn dishwashing liquid to rid her of them. I don’t think she would have lasted another week. Ive never seen so many fleas. They were balled up in her ears and all over her body. So, she brought her home and the rest is history. You might say she was lucky to find us, but you would be wrong. I think we were the fortunate ones. She has been such a wonderful companion to us. She’s a little over 9yo and I know she won’t live forever, but it’s going to be hard on me when she goes. She had a brother that my niece took home with her, but he passed a year or so ago.
You should just see her eat! A few years ago, I asked my wife if she wanted to go to the fishery to pick up some catfish and bluegill fingerlings. We all loaded up in the truck and made the drive over, picked up some fish and a 50 pound bag of fish food. We started getting hungry on the way home and decided to grab a quick burger. It was February and a nice day, so I told Baby Girl we would be right back. I never dreamed she would open that bag of food and start eating, but that’s just what she did! By the time our order was ready and we walked back to the truck, she was eating like you wouldn’t believe. You could bounce a quarter off her belly. I learned my lesson to never leave food of any kind within her reach. She will eat just about anything except carrots. She really doesn’t care for them.
We all share an apple or two almost every night around 8 pm. You should hear all three of them cut up when it gets close to 8. My wife says they are spoiled beyond belief! I also carve a ham at least once a month and they go nuts! My wife gets upset when I holler “It’s National Ham Carving Day!” All the pups come running to the kitchen barking like crazy!
I love my babies.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 28, 2021 20:33:11 GMT -6
hmoosek, Macmex, and chrysanthemum,
Thanks for sharing those. I love reading these dog and cat stories. My wife has a nightly routine similar to the apples, only she uses sweet potatoes instead. Our dogs love sweet potatoes! You can't even say that word out loud around our house without starting a dog chorus. They love green beans too. Sometimes when I'm out picking beans I wonder who I'm picking them for. The dogs will be standing in line waiting their turn for me to hand them another one. After a while, I'll have to say, "Hey! let me put a few in my basket first."
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Oct 2, 2021 14:07:48 GMT -6
The German Shepherd that came up to our house wearing a choke collar and dragging a broken rope has all 4 of his metatarsal bones broken. We took him to the Vet, who said it looks like he had a rope wrapped around his foot when he fell out of a truck or something. He also has 'road rash' on the side of his head from being run over by a car or being drug on pavement probably. He also has a bad case of worms. They recommended amputating the leg, but we didn't go that route, since it's not our dog. Surgery to correct it would cost $5,000.00 to $7,000.00
We put a cast on it back at the house and he is running around like it's getting better. We also wormed him, treated his fleas and ticks, and gave him medicine to reduce inflammation. The good news is that the Vet estimates that he is about a year and a half old, so he ought to heal fast. He's a really good-natured dog. Yesterday, the UPS man left a package on the front stoop after knocking. When I opened the door the dog was just laying there wagging his tail. He didn't even bark.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Oct 6, 2021 19:04:36 GMT -6
We named the stray German Shepherd, "Sunny" because of his 'sunny' disposition. He's already learned his new name and comes to it every time I call him. We changed out his cast today. His foot is looking a lot better. He was putting his full weight on it today. He has been eating and drinking like crazy since we wormed him. He's not filled out yet, because he was just skin and bones when he arrived, but he's acting like he feels a lot better.
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Post by hmoosek on Oct 6, 2021 20:16:50 GMT -6
I’m so glad! It sounds like God placed him in the right home. I think that’s a Cracker Jack name! I like it! My little Sis is good at naming Dogs. She’s the one that told me to name ours Pumpkin, but I liked Punky Brewster better. When I was about 16, I had watched an old Johnny Cash movie called Thaddeus Rose & Eddy. Bo Hopkins character had a Dog named Dog. Sooooo. I Decided I was going to name ours Dog. My Sister thought that was the stupidest thing she’d ever heard, so she asked me to make an adjustment to Dee Oh Gee. I thought it to be a good idea, but it sounded to sissyfied to me, so I stuck with Dog.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Oct 29, 2021 22:15:45 GMT -6
We have a mixed-breed, little dog named Chester. He's such a funny little dog that he reminds me of living with a monkey. He's very vocal and will not hesitate to tell you when he wants something. I mentioned on a different thread a few days ago, about Chester coming down to the garden to get me to let Bandit (our 9-year-old Shih Tzu) into the house. Our garden is over 500' feet away, so that was a long walk for a little dog to make just to get me to let his friend inside the house. Our dogs love raw sweet potatoes. If Chester sees Bandit scratching at the sweet potato bin, he'll come running to one of us and start barking until we finally guess what it is that he wants us to do. He won't give up until he and Bandit both have a slice of sweet potato.
Today, I was thinking about my mom who passed away back in 1978. She often enjoyed sauerkraut hotdogs at an old place in Tulsa called, Der Wienerschnitzel. So, for old times sake, I looked up the recipe that the old fast food place used and cooked up some beef hotdogs and warmed a can of sauerkraut to make a kraut dog the way mama used to like. Chester, as always, was following me around everywhere I went in the kitchen, looking for a scrap of food. When I sat down to eat my hotdog, he told me that he wanted a bite. I told him plainly, "Dogs don't eat sauerkraut." He begged to differ, so I decided to give him a pinch of kraut to prove my point. Chester gobbled it and wanted more. I didn't think he'd do it twice in a row, so I gave him another bite. He loved it and wanted more! So I went back over to the stove and dished him up a warm plate of sauerkraut. To my surprise, he ate every bit of it! I never would have guessed in a thousand years that a dog would actually like sauerkraut ... Like I said, "He's a funny little dog." Sometimes, I think he eats better than I do, just for the entertainment value. so far, he eats raw green beans from the garden, raw okra, raw carrots, sweet peppers, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, sweet corn, ripe tomatoes, onions, dill pickles, celery, asparagus, brown beans, peas, ice cream, potato chips, and now, sauerkraut. I'm not sure there is anything he won't eat?
Update on Sunny: Sunny has nearly recovered fully now. He has his splint removed and hardly favors the broken foot at all. If you didn't know he was injured so badly a month ago, you'd probably not even notice a limp at all. He's still good with our chickens, our cats, our geese, our rabbits, our kids, our grandkids, and our deer. He still loves everyone he meets and for that reason, we love him too. he's turning out to be a really loyal companion, sitting right beside my chair all day, each day, as I shell out more okra seeds. What I wouldn't have given to have had a dog like him when I was a kid. He loves snuggling more than any dog I've ever seen. If there is any way he can rest his head on your person, he's as happy as can be. We camped out a few nights ago, before the storms and cold weather moved in and Sunny spent the entire night with his head on my chest. At one point in the night I woke up to a loud growling noise that was so fierce sounding, it reminded me of a bear. It was just Sunny. Apparently, he snores. I'm glad he's my friend. He'd be a scary enemy.
Peppy is sprawled out on the couch right now, being a pillow and a warmer for my wife's feet as the temperaturs drop into the 30s outside. He's loving every minute of it. Everytime she moves her foot, he growls with contentment. She thinks he's one of the kids and he's perfectly content to agree with that notion.
hmoosek, I still enjoy scrolling back up to see that photo of the dog on your quilt. She's a little darling.
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