Todays Weather where you live?

[Hornet3d]

Our dog came from a rescue centre and was around 4 years old at the time and has hated water from the first day we had him, to the point he will walk around puddles rather than get his paws wet. The only exception was a year or so ago when, without warning he launched himself of a small pier into a local lake. We can only assume he thought it was firm land due to the reflections in the water because his reaction when the 'land' disappeared and he sank into the lake was a real picture. He quickly swam back to the pier but getting 25Kg of wet dog back was a bit of a struggle and he stank to to the high heavens, reaching a field he ran like a demented pup for around ten minutes as though the hounds on the devil were chasing him. We still go to the same park but the piers are no a no go area in his book.

 

[Hornet3d]

Glad you found a place you can have a furry companion.
As far as the other pup, I had a friend years ago with a male Chow-coyote mix. He was quite a nice dog as well. Part of the reason for regs against wild animal mixes is that domestic dogs and wild canids actually have some psychological differences and with a mix you never know ahead of time what aspects of each will be present in the personality of the mix. You and my friend both got dogs on the "good" end of the behavior spectrum. At the other end are animals that are really only useful as fence dogs. One danger with wolves (and wolf mixes) is that in order to remain in charge you must remain strong. If you show a sign of physical weakness due to simple age it is quite likely the pet will try to oust you as Alpha and never be someone you can trust again no matter how well behaved they were up to that point. I don't know if the same applies to coyotes or not.

I can relate to that as all Lurchers are a mix of sighthound breeds. On the whole they are very good natured and, despite beliefs to the contrary, they do not need massive amounts of exercise. Two half hours walks a day with a regular opportunity to run is all they need, the rest of the time they are real couch potatoes. They tend to grow up slowly compared with other dogs and a three year old is often an excitable bundle of energy with little control and are hard to handle. It is often at this age they appear in the rescue centers as families find them too much as a handful. The other reason they arrive after they are abandoned by poachers as is in the case with our dog. Like all dogs they chase cats but in their case they can be fast enough to catch them so they do need to be on the lead when walked and you need to be alert.

Just like the wild mix you describe they are real individuals based upon the percentage mix and what breeds they are involved with the mix. Like most mixed breeds they are fairly healthy not having the hereditary problems of specialist breeds. They do however have a very thin skin which is a problem as the love racing after small animals in fields and forests. The bones are actually hollow giving them strength but without the weight as these dogs are really built for speed and they also to not take well to anesthetic if they do have to be operated on.

 

[theschell]

That actually applies to most wild canids, and to a lesser extent even to domesticated ones... I've been into homes where the dog rather than the humans ruled the roost and it was clear that the dog thought itself to be the alpha in control. My current pup is a good dog, but he tests his limits once in a while and in part it's a dominance thing... he's testing to see if I'm still the boss or not. But then Shepherds are one of a few breeds that are genetically still very close to their wild ancestors (along with Huskies and a few others) and they're very territorial and instinctive, along with being highly intelligent... which in part is why they're used quite often for Policing and Security.

 

[Terre]

@Hornet3d :I've never dealt with sighthounds. I do remember hearing that retired racing dogs (like the retired police and security dogs mentioned by theshell) can't be simply put up for adoption by just anyone who would take good care of a dog. You actually have to very carefully screen applicants as the working fogs have been socialized quite differently than pets have.
@theschell :That makes sense.

 

[Terre]

59F with 96% humidity. At least most of the water has drained out of the streets for the moment. I had to drive to work slowly this morning. We'd had enough rain that the street I drive down was mostly running water. At one intersection the street I was crossing was a curb to curb river.

 

[Pendraia]

Morning all, it's overcast this morning...

 

[Miss B]

Good morning Pen. Our weather has cooled off a bit. It's been back to summer weather for a few days, but today it's delightful.

 

[Satira Capriccio]

It was nasty hot (i.e., humid and hot) here in Philly though.

 

[Pendraia]

Well we're on the coolish side this morning. Not surprising as spring in Melbourne is all over the place. I'd rather our cooler weather than the hotter weather they are getting up north. So many fires already which is very worrying.

 

[Terre]

You guys seem to have more fires than the American West does.
I wonder if you have denser vegetation than we do in most areas with fires. Not all mind you, the Pacific NW is a temperate rain forest and still gets fires.

 

[Pendraia]

I don't know Terre...many councils do burn offs prior to summer while it's safer but this year we have bush fires that are happening well before we normally see them.

Fires are part of the process for Eucalypts to regenerate though
http://www.forest-education.com/sit...plore_category/files/eucalypt_adaptations.pdf

 

[Terre]

Ahh.... I DID remember correctly then. I wasn't sure and so didn't mention that aspect. We do have some species of pine that need to have a fire roast their cones in order for the seeds to be released but that's the closest we have to what what you guys have to deal with.

 

[Pendraia]

Bushfires happened long before colonisation and plants evolved to help them survive it. I think that's part of the reasoning behind burning off as well as reducing the vegetation.

 

[theschell]

I know with Police dogs when they retire they're usually given to the officers to which they were assigned when they were still working. Security animals sometimes are the same or they get reduced to compound dogs/fence dogs when they aren't able to do more active assignments. With the security animals it depends on the company (some look after their animals better than others), I know of of a few where I live that have the animals put down when they're retired rather than adopting them out, sadly...

Fortunately the K-9 company I worked for followed Police policies, and the working dogs were given to the officers when they were retired, or failing that, the company transferred them to their training facility on a large farm in the country until they could be retrained and adopted out (yes a retired working dog needs to be retrained so that it can become a family pet). The company owner was also one of the heads of the SPCA for the region, and was always very strict on maintaining proper care of the animals, including dismissing and charging any guards that mistreated them. The company itself trained dogs for Police departments all across North-America, so the pups we worked with were all properly trained as Police K-9's, and the guard force had to take (and pass) 6 months of mandatory K-9 Handler training.

 

[Hornet3d]

I can believe they can be retrained, they are after all very intelligent which is why they were chosen in the first place, and are also keen to please.

Being a working dog our rescued Lurcher did not understand what it was to play or what toys were for. We are fairly certain he was abused, certainly starved, and was kenneled outdoors. Although house trained he never relaxed in the house and cowered in the corner if anyone raised their voice, even if the shouting was at the TV, not that I do that sort of thing of course.

Four years on he is relaxed in his little part of the house, will come out of his domain to interact quite willingly. Not only does he play, he will often go to his toy box and select a toy then present you with it as the toy of choice for that moment. In the first few weeks he would scavenge for food constantly but he has come to learn he will not starve any more and no longer takes food not given to him. He is a lot more confident but is still scared by any loud noise, particularly if it is behind him.

 

[James R.]

Cloudy and 16C currently with some non-committal dribbles of attempted rain. Supposed to get up to 20C this afternoon, but I'll believe it when it happens.

 

[Miss B]

Weather's up in the mid-80s again today, and the humidity isn't pleasant either. Hopefully it will cool down again tomorrow like Weather.com is predicting.

 

[Pendraia]

Morning all...it's sunny at the mo!

 

[Miss B]

Morning Pen.

 

[Pendraia]

Morning Miss B or is it afternoon there?

It started fine, but decided to rain when I went to take mum out to buy a new stick vacuum but is now sunny again.