What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

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jacksdad
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by jacksdad »

dontpugme wrote:Well, I don't know if anyone will remember me....
who are you again? :P


just kidding, of course I remember. good to hear from you.

on what to study and do with your life....I agree with Nettle. Ultimately it really does need to be your choice because you have to live with the choice. That is how I approached this with my kids. I pushed them and "made" them do certain things that set them up to be able to make the choice they wanted to make, but I never, ever pressured them to be what I thought they should be or what I thought they might like. Both ended up finding their own direction and it was NOT anything I would have ever guessed would have an interest for them, I am not even sure they would have guessed what they ultimately did for their degree either.
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

I decided I'd give Jasper a bit of a fancy clip today:

Image

Image


Not really, he'd just been lying down in some water :lol: But it does look a bit odd (and shows off his fine physique :wink: ).
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
dontpugme
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by dontpugme »

Oh my gosh, Judy. I really believed you there about the "fancy clip" for a good 10 seconds. :lol:
In my head I was saying, "Oh, wow. How..............interesting."


And I loved beans on toast when I was visiting some cousins. I do prefer good 'ol Bush's Baked Beans with my Texas BBQ.



Today, Max did his normal routine of searching for fallen fruit from our trees in the garden before his mealtime. He normally grabs a pear and eats it under the oak tree. Today, he decided to bring it inside to eat and then spit the seeds out on the carpet for me while my back was turned.
--dontpugme
emmabeth
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by emmabeth »

Spaghetti hoops (it HAS to be hoops, or 'o's, not cut spaghetti!) on toast is better... Hot, buttery toast. Mmm.

Dontpugme! Hello!!!!!!! Good to hear from you and yes, don't let other people tell you what you should do - do what you want to do, as long as it isn't slamming shut any doors for the future that you may want left ajar, its all good!

Lots of people thought I should be a vet - not for me, ditto human vet, nope nope nope! I didn't even go to university, becaause I knew myself well enough that I wouldn't do the work, I would only do something fun and not something logn term useful, and I would waste time.

i still don't regret that decision to this day, I would have wasted time, NOW I'd love to do a degree in some thing canine, but sadly I cant afford it (financially or physically) but i still don't regret things, the courses available now were not available to me back then anyway!
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
jacksdad
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by jacksdad »

Judy, that "hair cut" does give him a bit of a "bad boy" look....... however, his face just blows that image RIIIIIGHT out of the water :lol:
dontpugme
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by dontpugme »

I second the Spaghetti O's/Hoops.

I'm one of those strange people who enjoys math and thinks diseases are fun, so Biomedical Engineering seems perfect to me. My dad got his undergrad in Animal Husbandry but didn't finish vet school, so I thought I would just see what that was like. It was really cool watching the surgeries (I got to watch a spay...and refrained from a "what age" debate with the vet) and making slides from the stool samples. I just have no interest in working with people. (geez that sounds kinda bad, but my mom's daily sagas of the drama among the nurses at the hospital does nothing to change that opinion)

I'm very blessed to attend the school I do because it's a private collage preparatory and it wasn't cheap. I have a small scholarship because of the entrance exam scores I got as a freshman to help my parents out. I'm trying to get a full ride somewhere...the college that offers the most money is going to be where I end up going. I had to cross my #1 choice school off my list because of how expensive tuition was even with financial aid. Money, money, money...


Speaking of turkeys (and money), sometimes I really wish raising poultry in a suburban neighborhood (with humane living conditions) was allowed. We never had to buy turkey or chicken while we were in the Philippines this summer because we have about 25 turkeys and 12 chickens being raised in our yard.
--dontpugme
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Nettle
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Nettle »

There is quite a fashion here for backyard poultry, and minimal opposition unless it's too loud :lol: This dates back to WW2 when we all had to 'do our bit' raising food during rationing. Rationing went but the local laws remained and were too much trouble to change (we don't do change very well in UK). I've had 2-4 chooks for years. We accidentally got a cockerel (was meant to be female) and he gets shut in the shed at night and let out at a reasonable hour for crowing. If you keep chooks and dogs, there is NO food waste.


For anyone wishing to do a degree in dog behaviour - hold off if you can - my own experience indicates that it's a mishmash of old-fashioned ideas :roll: with a sprinkling of sea mammals just to completely confuse. Nice to have the letters after your name, but you probably already know better than you would be taught. Do a degree in something else first, and hope things improve.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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MPbandmom
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by MPbandmom »

Well hello Dontpugme! :D

There are many citizens groups getting together in my state to petition their local governments to allow backyard chickens. Most are being successful in this endeavor. The person trying to get miniature goats approved was unsuccessful however. Chickens are not allowed where I live, but that doesn't mean they aren't around. One sometimes hears then, and on rare occasion one may see one while driving down "main" street. That was a real shocker and the vehicle behind me stopped in the middle of the road and got out of his/her car. I don't know if they shooed the chicken back into a back yard or took it with them. :lol:

We went to the dog park this morning and when we arrived there was a vehicle parked in front. I thought I recognized the vehicle and knew Sky would be okay with the dog. We have peacefully existed on several occasions. However, once inside of the entrance area, the staffy that I expected to see wasn't there and instead there were two smaller dogs which were in the large dog area. No problem, they were hanging out with their people who were sitting on a bench, so we went into the small dog area for our fetch time. The dogs visited a bit through the dividing fence and it was obvious that one of the dogs was extreemly uncomfortable with Sky (tail tightly tucked and bum hunched down) and the other one wasn't much better. (I don't know why they had to come over to the fence if they were so uncomfortable, but they did, so I decided for their sake, we would head out for our walk time. Sky wasn't doing much fetch playing anyway because she was busy checking out the dogs from the other side. As I was deciding to leave, another vehicle pulled up. Two more small dogs, one of which I recognized and the other one apparently an addition to the family. They went into the large dog area with the other two and the new dog came charging over to the dividing fence shouting at Sky. :roll: Sky did a little back at'cha, but it was a low level snark and I was able to call her away and we headed out to collect Sirius from the van and take a walk around the park. Just as I reached the van, another vehicle came in, this one containing the staffy that I had originally expected to see. I was able to get Sirius out of the van and headed off for our walk before the staffy got out of her vehicle.

We had a very nice walk. There was some moaning, groaning, and whining from my two when our walking brought us back close enough for the dogs to be reminded that there were other dogs in the dog park, but I was very pleased with the low level response on my girls. They were uncomfortable and anxious, but not way over threshold.

All in all a good morning, and I hope to get them out again with OH this evening to the battlefield.
Grammy to Sky and Sirius, who came to live with me, stole my heart, and changed my life forever as I took over their care and learned how to be a dog owner.
jacksdad
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by jacksdad »

Nettle wrote:For anyone wishing to do a degree in dog behaviour - hold off if you can - my own experience indicates that it's a mishmash of old-fashioned ideas :roll: with a sprinkling of sea mammals just to completely confuse. Nice to have the letters after your name, but you probably already know better than you would be taught. Do a degree in something else first, and hope things improve.
At least in the US, I don't believe there is the option to be specific to just dogs in terms of a recognized college degree. There are private schools that can train you to be a trainer or "behavior consultant" (I put it in quotes because just labeling everything dominance and talking about place in the pack isn't real behavior consulting) and give certificates of completion...but most of the one's I am familiar with are exactly like Nettle says...out of date. there are 4 exceptions to this that I know of so far. Karen Pryer, Jean Donaldson, Pat Miller, and Trish King all offer services to train someone to be a trainer.

If you want to a recognized college degree dealing with behavior you have to go to look at a zoology, biology, anthropology or psychology departments for programs that deal with animal behavior. these degrees would not be specific to dogs and may not even ever discuss dogs, but you would learn a lot still...then you take the concepts and adapt to dogs. The concepts would be how to analyze behavior, observe behavior, figure out what the behavior means that kind of thing.
Anatine
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Anatine »

Your comment made me think Jacksdad, this September I'm going to start a Bsc in Ecology and Wildlife Conservation in Bournemouth university.
I remember that their course content mentioned a lot of wildlife behaviour.
I hope it contains that sort of stuff you're talking about!!
analyze behavior, observe behavior, figure out what the behavior means that kind of thing.
I'm suddenly super excited to see if they'll teach me something that can be applied to dogs and training :)
Hopefully lots of science based stuff, I've had enough of all these 'dominance' nuts I keep managing to meet.
dontpugme
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by dontpugme »

That would be a really cool course if it included studying behavior in that way. I feel like wildlife behavior in an Ecology and Conservation course would involve things like migration patterns or mating behavior affecting population growth or something. I always wish I was better at the ecology side of biology because I always find molecular bio easier.

All we get in the small Animal Behavior unit in high school biology classes is some operant vs. classical conditioning (which I already knew), taxis vs. kinesis (which I already knew), and a lab about preferred conditions with either pillbugs/rolly-pollies/woodlice or fruit flies. I think the unit was used more for teaching the proper way to set up a lab with choice chambers than it was for teaching students about animal behavior. The AP Biology exam almost always has an essay question on setting up a similar lab worth a lot of points.
--dontpugme
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

Anatine wrote:this September I'm going to start a Bsc in Ecology and Wildlife Conservation in Bournemouth university.
You'll be just down the road from me :D
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Sweetie's Human
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Sweetie's Human »

Sweetie has kennel cough again! Not bad enough to warrant a vet visit this time so far (touch wood), but she's previously been kept in on oxygen before. I think she must have had it about 5 or 6 times in the 18 months she's been with us. Does anyone else's dogs get it that frequently? I'm wondering if it's a bracchy thing maybe to get it that often?

So we've kept her home all weekend. OH has been working on his car, so Sweetie supervised him. I had to do my most hated of all chores - clothes shopping. Geez I hate it. I'd rather clean the bathroom. Although, that had to be done too :?

So all told, a very boring weekend for Sweetie and us.
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Nettle
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Nettle »

Sounds great, Anatine :D

Remember that though you may have to toe the party line to pass your exams, your heart, soul and mind remain your own. Question everything and believe nothing until you can pass it through your bullshine filter. Beware of personal agendas masquerading as fact. Bear in mind how science changes (remember all those decades when chimpanzees were peaceful vegetarians? Then the Goodall team found out they were NOT). And some well-respected behaviour studies are way off the truth in some areas too.

Enjoy enjoy enjoy.


Hope Sweetie feels better soon, SH. That is rather frequent for kennel cough - has it been diagnosed from tests or is your vet assuming? Maybe there is some residual chest infection and it isn't KC.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
Sweetie's Human
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Sweetie's Human »

Thanks Nettle. Yes, definitely KC each time previously, and they've also given her anti-biotics each time in case an infection developed as a secondary problem, but they listened to her chest and said it sounded clear. And she's been perfectly fine in between each episode.

This time isn't nearly as severe so we've just treated her with some leftover cough syrup (which I'm sure does nothing) and given her a bone to keep her quiet. She is much better tonight than last night.

Other times when she's had it, she was having trouble breathing, was off her food (a big deal for her), doing whale eyes and giving the general 'help me' look.

We do get her vaccinated against it, but I understand it's like the flu vaccine where they have a few of the most common strains, but you can still get one of the others.

Anyway, she's back to bossing us about so she must be feeling better :wink:
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