On Dogs

[Mad McCann]

Scubaidh Dubh wasn’t impressed with the weather at all. Didn’t stop him getting me up at 4.15 yesterday morning for the walk he missed on Saturday night when the weather was again lousy! 

[iL Dottore]

On 20/08/2020 at 10:18, eastglosmog said:

I hope that law has been sufficiently thought through and has caveats for old dogs suffering from arthritis and the like who are not able to walk for an hour a day, but are still loved and happy lying by the fire or in the sun all day.

I believe that it does do that. And, if I understand it correctly, the hour per day is a minimum total, so an elderly or arthritic dog who gets a 15 minute walk four times a day will get the daily minimum exercise that is required.

The whole idea is to get people to properly care for their dogs. Given that in the DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) countries people are generally law abiding, this will mean that most dogs will now get an acceptable minimum of exercise (the law also covers things such as leaving dogs alone, minimum kennel space, etc).

 

[Clagsniffer]

Me and the wife enjoyed our first weekend trip away in our caravan, our two boys loved it too.

[Ray Von]

Local RSPCA are doing an online fundraiser -

 

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=348083043000994&id=100033979021027

 

 

[kevinlms]

Not my dog, but would you be happy if your dog did this?

 

 

[J. S. Bach]

Not after I just finished raking them up!

[kevinlms]

1 hour ago, J. S. Bach said:

Not after I just finished raking them up!

Yes, that was my point!

[iL Dottore]

No, I wouldn't be particularly chuffed, but then I'm quite tolerant of my dogs' foibles (not, I hasten to say, tolerant of disobedience. My dogs know that I won't hit them [a despicable act, to hit a dog] but they will get a good verbal b0ll0cking! - which they do NOT like)

[CameronL]

 

Just found this rather old photo of Mac and our kids. I think it really says "family dog".

[Tony Davis]

Quick moan about certain dog owners;

Parked up at Fairbourne last week, to look at the railway and take a walk with the wife and the dog. Weather was quite good and we had a nice walk by the railway. We didn't go on the beach because it was quite clearly signed that dogs were only allowed on certain parts of the beach until the end of September, and by the time we got to the dog friendly part my wife's knee was hurting (it's a partial replacement) so we kept to the path. On the way back a couple with a collie passed us and were walking towards the car-park. When we got to the non dog part of the beach said couple were on the sand throwing a ball to the dog. The dog then did what dogs always do when they're out for a walk. Right in the middle of the beach. The woman owner stood over him, literally scratching her head, while the male owner looked the other way. The woman then dug a small hole in the sand with her heel and kicked the dog produce into it. My wife and I watched in amazement. Why do people have to ignore clear signs like the ones displayed?, and why don't they carry poo bags with them, they don't weigh a lot. I seem to have spare bags in all my coats as you can pretty much guarantee that your little fur bag will leave a souvenir whenever you go for a walk.

 

I just think it is pretty selfish and I imagine it could lead to local authorities banning dogs from beaches completely.

[iL Dottore]

The problem is, Tony, that there are many irresponsible, stupid and ignorant (and sometimes downright callous) dog owners (just as there are many irresponsible, stupid and ignorant cat owners, railway modellers and stamp collectors.....).
The sad thing is that, one way or another, it is the poor dog that suffers. If owner “I got dog X because media personality Y has one” gets b0llocked for not clearing up after their dog,, then either they get angry at the dog (for doing what dogs naturally do) or they don’t take the dog out for walks and exercise as often as they should, because they don’t want to clear up after the dog or get b0llocked again.

Dealing with a dogs bodily fluids (blood, urine, faeces, vomitus) is part and parcel of being a dog owner. I nearly always clean up after my dogs. I say “nearly“ because sometimes Schotty makes a beeline (deliberately I think) for the deepest and most impenetrable-to-humans part of a hedge - where he “does his duty”. Of course, I do try and reach his output to dispose of it, but if I can’t get to it I don’t feel too guilty, reasoning that if I can’t get to it no one else can either. Apart from the absolutely inaccessible, I make it a point of honour as a conscientious dog owner to clean up and properly dispose of my dogs’ waste products.

 

I really do wish people would tell wanna be dog owners about the earthier and sometimes more unpleasant side of being a dog owner. As they say, forewarned is forearmed.

 

Edited September 13, 2020 by iL Dottore

[Torper]

If you feed your dog a BARF (bones and raw food) diet, its poo sizes will be dramatically reduced and cleaning up after it will be a much less unpleasant task.

 

DT

[ianwales]

you forgot the other bee in my bonnet, dog owners who do pick up the poo in bags, but, then leave the bags at the side of the path or throw the bag into the hedges instead of taking the bag to a bin.

[Tony Davis]

8 minutes ago, ianwales said:

you forgot the other bee in my bonnet, dog owners who do pick up the poo in bags, but, then leave the bags at the side of the path or throw the bag into the hedges instead of taking the bag to a bin.

I know, we get a lot of this in our local area, so now we not only have dog crap but we have plastic bags which take god knows how long to decay and, when they do, there is dog crap on the floor!! Thing is, where we walk our dogs,we often see the bags left about 5 yards from the poo bin.

 

 

[Joseph_Pestell]

10 minutes ago, ianwales said:

you forgot the other bee in my bonnet, dog owners who do pick up the poo in bags, but, then leave the bags at the side of the path or throw the bag into the hedges instead of taking the bag to a bin.

or tie it to the branch of a tree!

[Joseph_Pestell]

On 24/08/2020 at 00:45, Mad McCann said:

Scubaidh Dubh wasn’t impressed with the weather at all. Didn’t stop him getting me up at 4.15 yesterday morning for the walk he missed on Saturday night when the weather was again lousy! 

 

Clever name. But my Gaelic is not good enough to know what it means. Black something?

[petethemole]

I believe it's pronounced "Scooby Doo"  and translates as "Black Sweep" (according to Google)

[Joseph_Pestell]

13 minutes ago, petethemole said:

I believe it's pronounced "Scooby Doo"  and translates as "Black Sweep" (according to Google)

 

I had worked out how it would be pronounced. Did not occur to me that Google would do Gaelic.

[kevinlms]

1 hour ago, ianwales said:

you forgot the other bee in my bonnet, dog owners who do pick up the poo in bags, but, then leave the bags at the side of the path or throw the bag into the hedges instead of taking the bag to a bin.

If they are going to do that, I'd rather it stayed exactly as the dog left it. At least it will gradually breakdown.

[Mad McCann]

On 14/09/2020 at 11:29, Torper said:

If you feed your dog a BARF (bones and raw food) diet, its poo sizes will be dramatically reduced and cleaning up after it will be a much less unpleasant task.

 

DT

The name, of course, suggest clearing up of a different nature! 

 

Davy

[Torper]

2 hours ago, Mad McCann said:

The name, of course, suggest clearing up of a different nature! 

 

Quite.  You will not be surprised to know that the acronym originated in Australia.

 

DT

[Ray Von]

[dvdlcs]

On 14/09/2020 at 18:29, Torper said:

If you feed your dog a BARF (bones and raw food) diet, its poo sizes will be dramatically reduced and cleaning up after it will be a much less unpleasant task.

 

Wonder if that would work for people too ...

[iL Dottore]

When we start travelling again, as the pandemic winds down, we will obviously have to be tested at ports of entry.

Quite frankly, I’d rather be greeted by these fellows them by some faceless individual in a hazmat suit.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2020/sep/24/sniffer-dogs-used-to-detect-coronavirus-in-finland-trial-video
Dogs! They really are the most amazing beasts!

[Winter123]

Looking for some advice from all you dog lovers out there.

 

As I had previously posted, I lost my Beagle in June which was probably the worst experience I have ever faced. He was my first dog and obviously most people on here have been through this painful experience. I initially wanted to get this catastrophic year out the way as I also lost my Mum 4 weeks after my dog and had to give up my job to care for her, so throw in the Covid nightmare and things couldn't have been any worse.

 

My thought process was to start tentatively looking into the possibility of a new addition in springtime next year. Hopefully the weather will be better for training, socialisation etc then and I may also be further down the road to recovery.

 

My friend has informed me that her contact has just had a litter and merely wanted to let me know. Personally, I still feel its too soon but is there ever a 'right' time to move on or come to terms with everything? I also care for my Dad at the moment, who is doing OK but needs my support. So just weighing everything up emotionally and financially. 

 

If anyone out there can advise, share their similar experiences or reassure that you can move forward with another dog I would be humbled to draw on those opinions. Many thanks