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Pets
Aug 12, 2009 10:29:22 GMT -5
Post by grainnerhuad on Aug 12, 2009 10:29:22 GMT -5
We used to have an Austrailian Shepard who would shepard the kids whenever anyone but family was around. It usually wasn't a problem and a comfort to watch him circle the kids and make sure all was well. Especially when we lived in the boonies and bears and cougars were an issue. However one time he took out a little boy who was visiting for the first time. He didn't get mean or bite, just kept bumping him over when he tried to get into his perimiter. I guess he didn't like that kid. While I had to apologize to his mom it was kinda funny to see him get knocked over, over and over again trying to get to the swings. Does that make me bad?
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Pets
Aug 12, 2009 11:37:20 GMT -5
Post by sapphiresavvy on Aug 12, 2009 11:37:20 GMT -5
Terrible! LOL My dog's other job is called "fetch."
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Aug 12, 2009 14:39:00 GMT -5
Post by karlsie on Aug 12, 2009 14:39:00 GMT -5
Grainne, that's terribly funny! All this talk about Shepards really makes me miss my old girl. Their devotion to children can be amazing. My Shepard has even chased away bears. When my daughter was about ten, she was playing on a tree swing near the house. Noticing a rustle in the trees behind her, i looked her way and noticed a bear about ten feet back! My voice box died. While i was trying to coax her away from the swing without panicking her, the dog suddenly noticed the intruder and shot after that bear like a bat out of hell. I don't believe the bear had intended any harm. It was simply curious, standing half way up on its hind legs, sniffing the air, but when it saw a fat black and gray dog coming after it with full intent on destruction, the bear high tailed it back into the woods. I was actually a little amazed at her effectiveness. After all the bear was a good six or seven times her size, but after repeating the story to a bear expert a few years ago, the expert laughed. He told me bears measure the success of each other by how fat they are. When the bear saw my admittedly very overweight dog charging it, it probably figured it was encountering a small but very successful bear and it was best not to tangle with it.
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Aug 12, 2009 15:21:14 GMT -5
Post by grainnerhuad on Aug 12, 2009 15:21:14 GMT -5
Karla our dog Cosmo chased off a bear from the back of the house twice when we were living in the mountains. Good thing too because I needed to get my sheets off the clothes line and if He wasn't there I probably wouldn't have noticed it until too late. I miss having him too. Beagles are personable but no where near as protective as our Aussie. I had no idea that bears measure sucess by speed. Interesting.
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Aug 12, 2009 17:08:29 GMT -5
Post by karlsie on Aug 12, 2009 17:08:29 GMT -5
Grainne, not speed; amount of body fat. Since bears; black bears, that is; forage for their food, a fat dog would be considered a pretty successful "bear". However, the early homesteaders insist bears don't like dogs at all, and since they are territorial, would rather leave dogs alone who have staked territory outside their jurisdiction. This is accredited to their sensitive hearing which is pained by the sound of barking dogs. I once went camping in a spot out of Valdez known for its bear activity with an Afghan as my guard dog. We set our tent rather late at night, with the dog tied to a nearby tree. In the morning, we strolled around. We saw several bears visiting other camp sites but not one had been near us all night. Later, reading up on Afghans, i discovered they were originally used to hunt bears. They are hounds, and as with all hunting hounds, they ran in packs, attacking the bears in groups with their swift, supple bodies. I've seen a few Renascence paintings depicting bear fighting Afghans. They were really quite astonishing.
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Pets
Aug 14, 2009 13:42:39 GMT -5
Post by GoblinQueen on Aug 14, 2009 13:42:39 GMT -5
What a neat story Karla! Glad it was a happy ending.
I think my cat, Kitalena, thought she was a dog. I was sitting in my yard once when this big mean looking dog came running up. Out of nowhere kitty came out ready for a fight, hissing, and chased the dog down the street. She was the toughest little cat I ever saw. She would also play fetch!! I miss her so much.
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Aug 14, 2009 16:21:24 GMT -5
Post by karlsie on Aug 14, 2009 16:21:24 GMT -5
I've had dog-cats, goblin queen. In fact, even now, one of my three cats, Miss Filia, will follow me down the driveway when i'm on my bicycle if i don't lock her in the house first. My dad had a cat that supervised all his flower cultivation and would come to a whistle. While i was growing up, we had a very ferocious dog-cat. He kept all stray dogs and cats at bay, even terrorizing an English bulldog when he landed on its head, with all his claws extended into the skull. That dog high-tailed it into the woods and was never seen on our property again. He took a distinct dislike to my younger sister who handled him roughly as a baby. He'd lay in wait for her, attacking her in the hallway or out from under the porch, then disappearing quickly. By the time that mean old cat died, he looked like a battle axe. He was missing the tips of both ears, had lost most of the hair from around his belly, had at least one toe absent from each foot and a good inch and a half of his tail missing.
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Aug 14, 2009 21:35:14 GMT -5
Post by GoblinQueen on Aug 14, 2009 21:35:14 GMT -5
Too funny! What a tough lil Cat!
Kitalena managed to stay beautiful despite her dog-likeness. She was my velvet cat until the end, softer then any cat I've had the pleasure of petting. She was tiny too. It was just comical to watch this midget silky cat chase this big beast dog down the road! And she would play fetch- I'd throw the rings you'd get off of milk jugs and she'd go running and skid across the kitchen floor, snap them up and come trotting back and drop it at my feet to wait for me to throw it again.
This is the longest I've ever been without a little critter in my life. Tweety (parakeet) who learned to laugh, Then 2 turtles twittle and Edgar (named after my grandfather because they both liked to eat so much), Betty the snake, I bred betta fish for a little while, and then my old kitty for the last 15 years. I think I ever only have a type of pet once...because they define the species to me, and getting another one never feels right. Is that crazy? Right now there isn't a little furry face to greet me when I come home. There isn't something snoozing on my toes while I'm on the computer, or a warm body by my feet at night when I wake from sleep....
and now I've not only lost the point of my speech... I've also depressed myself. ha.
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Aug 14, 2009 21:36:26 GMT -5
Post by GoblinQueen on Aug 14, 2009 21:36:26 GMT -5
......I have a lot of body fat....I could scare bears..... Had to make a joke so I wouldn't feel so sad.
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Aug 14, 2009 22:13:06 GMT -5
Post by grainnerhuad on Aug 14, 2009 22:13:06 GMT -5
I suspect my cat Suki is a lemur. He looks like one and jumps down the hallway on his hind legs. Despite the valiant efforts of Momo our tabby to teach him to hunt by bringing into the house everything from mice to live pidgeons he still doesn't get it...He also loves baths and I very often have to dry him off when he jumps in with me. Lately he has developed the habit of watching everyone go to the toilet, which unnerves some people but I think he is sizing up its potential. He also loves to watch t.v. particularly when animals are on, but he also likes drama. We were watching an installment of Planet Earth the other night and really it was more fun to watch his responses than the t.v. He is the funnest cat I have ever had.
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Aug 14, 2009 22:16:34 GMT -5
Post by karlsie on Aug 14, 2009 22:16:34 GMT -5
I understand the feelings generated around pets. There have been very few times in my life when i didn't have any. I've had so many different dogs and cats, it would be difficult for me to count them all, as well as every kind of livestock animal from chickens to horses, and a few exotic pets. I don't believe i've actively sought any of them except a few times when i went to the pound, and breaking down occasionally at the local feed and seed store to buy a few chicks; most have been given to me, but they have seemed to be a necessary part of my life and i in theirs, so i no longer ponder why. I simply enjoy the aspects of their personalities while they're around and realize internally that this too, will probably pass.
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Aug 20, 2009 23:36:31 GMT -5
Post by GoblinQueen on Aug 20, 2009 23:36:31 GMT -5
Finally got all my pug money together! WOOOO!!!! .....now I just need to find a pug. When I had no money, they were listed constantly....now that I can buy one - nothing. sigh.
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Aug 21, 2009 0:01:54 GMT -5
Post by karlsie on Aug 21, 2009 0:01:54 GMT -5
Just hold on tight to it. I'm sure those pug ads will show up again soon.
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Aug 21, 2009 10:31:23 GMT -5
Post by grainnerhuad on Aug 21, 2009 10:31:23 GMT -5
Yes in about october to christmas time there will be pups of all sorts that is because of doggy breeding cycles. Spring beginning in March to early june is the other good time to find pups.
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Pets
Aug 21, 2009 13:55:40 GMT -5
Post by GoblinQueen on Aug 21, 2009 13:55:40 GMT -5
You are smart Grainne! I did have two offers for oct-dec time. And yep, June was when I saw tons of other puggy ads. I guess I'll just have to wait.....
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