The Dog Thread: Our Furry Family and Friends

[Colonel Green]

Olivia the Wonderdog is a Mexican rescue. We call her a Mexican Crab Hound because she runs a little bit sideways, with her hind legs about 6" out of alignment with her front.

[Kestra]

That actually sounds adorable, but I hope it doesn't give her health problems!

[Kira's Mom]

My "niece", Giada. She's my sister's dog, a Cane Corso (an Italian type of Mastiff). She's almost three, but still acts like a puppy!

[Sakrysta]

My Sonnet:







Sonnet was rescued from a puppy mill. She was pregnant when the rescue got her, and in their words, "just a little blob." She wouldn't move or react when people loved on her or talked sweet to her. She had 6 puppies and was a great little mama, and then they spayed her and put her up for adoption. At the time I was looking for my first dog. I wanted a shelter or rescue dog that was low-energy, and after months of looking, Sonnet seemed to fit the bill. She is awesome - I love her dearly. Since she came from a mill, I don't really know how old she is. We guessed about 3 when she was rescued, and I've had her 4.5 years now, so I guess at 7.5.

[Squiggy]

[the 4th hanson bro]

Here is Laika right after we rescued her from the pound. She's a border collie mix with some type of bird dog in her, I think lab because she will go on point when she sees a squirrel or bird in the yard.



After playing ball with my oldest, they were both worn out.


He taught her to play hide and seek. He tells her to sit and wait, goes and hides, and then yells " that will do!" which is her release phrase. She then tears around the house and finds him and proceeds to lick his face off.

[cooleddie74]

Squiggy's playing for keeps. You guys had better step up your "A" games.

[AliciaD496]

Here's my Sammy boy:





He was a bit of a handful as a puppy, and doesn't always get along with other dogs, but he's pretty well behaved in general. Of course since he's a Jack Russell he loves to jump, it's a problem when people come to visit.

He's our family's third dog, and second Jack Russell. They have such personality and spirit they're hard to resist.

[Rhubarbodendron]

so many adorable dogs! *melts away*

Jumping is a problem not restricted to Jack Russels. When I was a student we had 4 German Shepherds who - being sheepdogs - were overjoyed when I visited my family and their whole "herd of humans" was together again. Can you imagine the onslaught of 4 fully grown dogs (about 75 lbs each) with your hands full with a duffle bag and a transport box with 3 pet rats? Thank heaven we have a very sturdy fence to lean against!
Pasha jumps, too, in spite of having arthrosis. He's incredibly skinny under all this fur but as he's extremely tall he weighs about 90 lbs. As much as I've tried, I can't get him to remember that he shouldn't jump at me (particularly when he has muddy paws). he always forgets his education when he is excited.

[macloudt]

Hee, our oversized Marley was a jumper, and seeing as he was at his full size at about 8 months old, this was a problem. He only jumps nowadays if he completely loses it, and that's becoming increasingly rare. He doesn't mean any harm, but he forgets his size. For people who aren't dog lovers, seeing 100lb of fur, drool and muscle running towards them can be a bit disconcerting.

[Rhubarbodendron]

and messy!

[cooleddie74]

Does anybody here own any loud howlers? Beagles are the perfect dog in so many respects but if I had to pick one trait that I wish were different it's their hound howl. My dog is as sweet as can be and probably wouldn't hurt another living creature unless she felt genuinely threatened, but man when there's a noise outside at 4:00 in the morning she'll let loose with yips and howls that can pierce the ears of the dead.

I recently had a possum or alley cat in my yard making some rustling noises and she let out a howl that actually scared me. I suppose if there's a bright side to the whole thing she'd make the devil's noise and wake up the entire town if anybody ever tried to break in in the middle of the night.

[Finn]

My Beagle doesn't howl as much as he used to, but yes, he can be loud. However, the cat is more vocal these days

[macloudt]

My dog hardly barks, and never howls. However, my niece's fiance has a gorgeous little beagle named Sammy, and he howls and whines all the time (Sammy, not the fiance). I've only met Sammy a few times, but I've never heard him bark, and my niece told me he doesn't really, as even his barks turn into whines and howls. Sammy's cute as the dickens, and he's the smallest beagle I've ever seen.

[Squiggy]