16 thoughts on “Open Thread

  1. I just wanted to put a plug out there. Villa Lobos – the largest pit bull rescue in the US is taking part in the Chase Community Giving program. Voting ends TODAYand they are really trailing in votes. They have to be in the top ten to get any money…can you PLEASE take a second to vote for them? PLEASE?!?!? Here’s the link I was told to use for people to vote…. http://bit.ly/uoWhxW. Please help show your support…they can really use this money – and since it won’t cost you anything other than the minute it takes to vote – you can do great things with the click of your mouse! Thanks!!!

      1. Yeah – I cut it too close! Seems that almost right after I posted they closed voting….I didn’t factor into this the difference of time zones!

  2. A reader just sent me this link to a video from Olympic Animal Sanctuary. It’s a good story. Imagine this poor dog at MAS or any other killing facility.

    1. I agree 300%. I have personally seen too many agressive dogs become the sweetest & most loving & grateful pets, simply by removing them from chains. Chaining is a subtle form of torture too many people use as confinement or control. It’s wrong.

      I had a nextdoor neighbor who actually said he chained his dog because he WANTED a more aggressive dog, the idiot. I objected as an informed ex-dog trainer as to his methods & means. He produced a business card from another “dog trainer” who told him that’s what he was supposed to do. What? The idiot who gave him the suggestion & business card has no common sense & certainly shouldn’t be giving advice.

      There’s a complete difference in a dog that protects & guards through loyalty or training, and a dog that just angrily bites from frustration or abuse. The idiot next door & the idiot with business cards couldn’t understand that.

      1. Never believe an idiot when he tells you what a professional told him. Because idiots (a) lie, often badly, and (b) cannot perceive sarcasm.

        Conversation:

        Idiot: I wanna make this dog real good and mean. How would I do that?

        Trainer: (rolls eyes) Well, you could do what you are doing, asshole. Try chaining him up all the time and giving him not a shred of human contact. That oughtta mean ‘im up for ya.

        Idiot: Ossum!

        The client with the springer spaniel bitch who was so morbidly obese that her belly dragged the floor, and her vulva was completely obscured by fat folds covered in urine burns — he swore that both the vet and the groomer said she wasn’t too fat.

        No. No they did not.

  3. People don’t seem to understand that “protection” and “aggression” are not the same thing. For a dog to be truly protective, that dog needs to be stable and intelligent enough to discern whether or not a situation truly warrents a defensive response. It also requires that dog to use appropriate levels of force in a situation that requires a defensive response. You don’t need to bite when a growl and menacing glare will do.

  4. Just in case anyone was curious as to what happened to Blazen and his matted fur. I took a pair of scissors to the worst mat and got it halfway cut before he moved. I didn’t try that again but gently would pull a little bit on the mats as I petted him. It seems like either he took the hint or someone else decided he needed to be groomed as a week or two later the big mat was gone and then the little mats were easier for me to gently pull off. I am going to try to get him used to a brush so that it doesn’t happen again.

      1. I know – but once I cut the big mat it stuck straight up in the air and he looked like he had the Alfalfa hair spike. It might have prompted another cat to help him out! It was very cute and I wish I had gotten a picture but every time I tried he would sit down.

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