<p>My pups don’t care for the rain. If I open the back door for them and they see it’s raining, they won’t go out.</p>
<p>Instead, they’ll go to the front door. I tell them the weather is the same at both doors, but they don’t believe me. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I have a standard white poodle. If everyone in my life loved me like she does, I would be one happy woman. </p>
<p>She has epilepsy and that has been stressful. I don’t have insurance on her. I found a pea size lump on her shoulder a couple of weeks ago and will need to have that checked out.</p>
<p>Zoosermom, as soon as I saw your name in this thread I thought of your beagle! 
Uno does have the sweetest face ever, doesn’t he?</p>
<p>My Sally doesn’t mind the cold, although right at the moment when H takes her to the open space park to run around she is wearing a t-shirt to protect the healing incisions where she had two lumps removed.</p>
<p>Despite being a somewhat nervous and fearful dog, Sally has a body count. She used to chase my chickens at every opportunity, which resulted in the deaths of two of them. One of them, I think, had a heart attack when Sally chased her and picked her up. She didn’t have any wounds and Sally was just carrying her. The other one was run over by a neighbor’s tractor while hiding from her. She also chased the Goddamned Rooster (his official name) and succeeded in ripping out all of his tail feathers and rendering him virtually unconscious, but unfortunately he survived. H used to take her for walks along the snowmobile paths in the woods behind our house, but stopped after she a) attacked a porcupine and was quilled, necessitating a $286 visit to the emergency vet clinic, b) picked up a cat-sized newborn fawn and ran off with it, resulting in its death (Possibly caused by H stepping on it when she dropped it as he chased her. :rolleyes: The poor man was horribly traumatized.), and c) ran up to a skunk and was sprayed. Our older, very sensible very well-trained golden did none of these things.</p>
<p>Crossing my fingers for lipoma, momof3.</p>
<p>My family’s dog flunked out of obedience school. He is a nonstop source of entertainment and amusement and could not imagine life without a dog. We used to be afraid when he runs away but discovered that not chasing him is the best solution because he’ll get afraid fast and comes back to the house. The most pitiful thing is when he tries to hide his bones. He can’t bury them outside and in the house, he’ll scratch the floor repeatedly and his bed, trying to bury the bone i suppose due to his natural instinct.</p>
<p>Consolation, what kind of dog is Sally? I am very amused by her antics. You should write a book! (Chickens? You have chickens? Wow!)</p>
<p>Thank you for complimenting my dear Uno. If anyone ever sees a little old lady walking a beagle named “Duo” you will know it is me!</p>
<p>This thread is too funny! Now that my boys are away at college, our 6-year-old schnoodle is my baby! Has his health issues - I really wish we had gotten pet insurance - but he is a source of joy in my life.</p>
<p>A funny story - in the midst of dealing with his lymphoma - I was reading a very detailed health summary prepared by the oncologist. In between all of the serious stuff about white blood cell counts and enlarged lymph nodes was the comment that he had mild tartar buildup and halitosis! I guess I need to start brushing his teeth!</p>
<p>Sally is a golden. She came to us with the name “Sassy” but I changed it, because a) a less sassy dog I could not have imagined, she was afraid of EVEYTHING, and b) I hated it. </p>
<p>Yes, I have chickens. I’ve had more, but at the moment, thanks to the depredations of foxes, I have 7. One of the oldest, who is allmost 7 years old, is the alpha hen. She is named Mahogany, after her color. (Not all of them have names.) Mahogany has always been very bold. She follows me around the yard like a dog, and when they are penned inevitably escapes. When this happens, she comes up on the porch and looks through the glass next to the back door. And just this year she has started to crow! I didn’t know that such a thing was possible, but she does it. The rooster I have now–who, like the Goddamned Rooster of yore was supposed to be a hen–is very mild-mannered. I think that Mahogany keeps him in line. I’ve seen her intervene when he attempts to mount one of the younger hens. I doubt if he ever tires it with her! He owes his life to her, really, because I was going to get rid of him, but the fact that he has never been aggressive made me relent.</p>
<p>Ok, now this is fascinating. Chickens, roosters, foxes. Do you eat any of these animals? I need to get out more.</p>
<p>But there are plenty of rats hereabouts!</p>
<p>momof3greatgirls – our Jack Russell had a small lump on her shoulder that got bigger and vet said “let’s watch it a bit” and so we did and then it burst and out came some really yuck stuff – just like a big boil on a guy’s back. We were all pretty traumatized by it.</p>
<p>Like I said, a real charmer!</p>
<p>Our good friends have chickens and a goat and two big dogs - the kind Obama has, that breed. And they are really sweet and really, really dirty dogs. I don’t think our friends ever bathe them. Anyway those dogs are the only dogs our old Jack Russell will have anything to do with. When they come over they all pile on top of each other and sleep in a big smelly doggy heap. Charming, charming . . .</p>
<p>Lipoma, most likely. Benign and filled with fat.</p>
<p>Last winter, we also had rats. They were living under the henhouse, and managed to invade our cellar. I succeeded in poisoning them, and we haven’t seen any signs of them in a while.</p>
<p>Then there are the wild turkeys and the coyotes.</p>
<p>Always an adventure.</p>
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<p>That’s my dachschund! He can’t mess up his pretty hair. Loves snow. He is 11 years old and unfortunately has nuclear sclerosis.</p>
<p>What a fun thread. My dogs are so important in my life. I have two: an 8-year-old miniature schnauzer and a 18-month-old German shepherd. The schnauzer is very feisty and brave, and the shepherd is the sweetest, friendliest dog I have owned. He is very loving and gentle and friends with everyone he meets. He was imported from Germany as a puppy. He and the schnauzer chew on each other and play together in hilarious ways. They are really fun to watch. When we first got the shepherd, he chewed the schnauzer’s beard off!</p>
<p>My girl Gracie is a sable and white collie and is about six months old. I told my D that we would not redecorate her room for Grace until she was away at college. 
Grace is a very athletic girl, who can run faster than the wind, jump great heights and distances and love to eviscerate stuffed toys after a hard shaking. I know she would be a skilled hunter if she had to kill for food, despite her herding instinct. Grace brings us so much joy and love and is my 4th collie. She will definitely fill the empty nest, next fall and I may actually get her a sister. I love this thread!</p>
<p>We now have a 16 year old mixed terrier and a 7 month old goof ball labradoodle. As I mentioned on another thread the terrier lost his best pal and the love of his life a few months ago. He went into a funk for a month afterwards and we thought that we would loose him as well. Things “perked up” when we brought home goofy-dog, but he now wants nothing to do with her. I almost wonder if he blames goofy for the disappearance of his long time companion.</p>
<p>My D and I are the dog lovers of the family. My dog is Gracie, a maltese/terrier mix, who looks very sweet but has forceful personality. Really, I would just like to see her in a pink bow for a day…is that too much to ask??? D’s dog is a papillon who chases Gracie around and gives us plenty of licks. He is the cuddly TV lap dog.</p>
<p>I somehow get the feeling that the real reason my D comes home is to see and play with the dogs.</p>
<p>Psychmom, my D leaves no doubt about why she comes home. It’s definitely the dog. When she can’t be here, they Skype. I’m not kidding.</p>
<p>I have a wonderful friend who was never blessed with children but was always a mom to the sweetest pugs. Her previous dog was so personable and loving with children that this woman would have playdates for her pug and children who could use the companionship. Such a generous heart and the kids always loved the playdates.</p>
<p>I have a Norwegian Elkhound; he lives for this weather (-12 when we headed out for our morning constitutional). He is my second; my first lived a long life and only needed the vet when she got arthritic in her later years. </p>
<p>He is loyal, brave and friendly, but not particularly bright. We named him after a hobbit, Pippin.</p>
<p>Cortana: ALL of our dogs (golden retrievers and an Old English Sheepdog) have flunked out of obedience classes…except one. She HATED class and was kevetching under her breath while she walked. She was the only dog that we bought…the rest are rescues. All of us, our friends…love the current two. One is 13 (we know this for sure because we took him in when he was too rough to handle) the other is about 11/12 (rescue from a rescue group). </p>
<p>When you walk into our home our babies run to greet and get petted. One of our friends mentioned that we had finally taught the dogs not to jump. I took the compliment gracefully: Truth…when he turned 13 his hips no longer could stand jumping…and the other dog was taught never to jump. (rescue from unknown home).</p>
<p>I also have a grandpuppy. She is small (only 20 pounds) and adorable. My dogs love her. And they don’t love outsider dogs. </p>
<p>I love dogs.</p>
<p>Wow Consolation, you do not lead a boring life!! I love The Goddamned Rooster part of the story, him strutting around without his tailfeathers is a hilarious mental picture!</p>
<p>And zoosermom, I love beagles too, I hear they’re noisy, but my heart melts when I see one. And I know Jack Russles are smart, but yours is sarcastic?!? That cracks me up :D</p>
<p>My lab loves the cold too, but below 5 degrees she starts to prance like a Lipizzaner horse while we’re walking. She doesn’t want to leave any one paw down on the ground for too long.</p>
<p>She doesn’t bring me dead animals, but she does fetch our two newspapers every morning (3 on Sunday!).</p>
<p>
He really is. It’s so bizarre, but he is just like my daughter. When she is not around, he will snap at anyone who walks past him, he will get and stay right in your way, he will make a mess. But when she is around, the sweetest dog you ever saw and I swear he knows he’s pulling one over on her. Bats his eyes at her, just a totally different dog. HOwever if you give him pound cake, he will take it like a gentleman, eat every crumb, and THEN snap at your foot just to remind you. The new thing is she feeds him off a fork. I asked when she was planning to buy him a chaise lounge where he can rest as she fans him and feeds him bonbons. I shouldn’t have given her any ideas.</p>