In the interest of lightening the mood and hopefully making everybody feel a little better, this is the picture I took of my fiancee humiliating our dogs for Christmas this year.
I'd like to thank everyone who PM'ed, sent me rep and/or posted about my losing Maggie. Each and every one helps in some way. Although it's finally to the point I can talk about it without breaking down, there are still teary eyes when I do. I know it gets eaiser and the memories will remain but the road there is bumpy and rough. Anyway, thanks again to my fellow posters. We all pretend to be so tough and synical yet when it comes to something like this our soft underbellies are exposed. Any ya know what? There's not a god damn thing wrong with that. One last post of my girl. Thanks guys.
So sorry Shegirl, I have elderly girl at home too and we really are the count our blessings each month she is still with us. I am going to be crushed when we lose her. Happy shot though of my Magic man enjoying the snow:
My sister just got a puppy, a tiny little fuzzy Shi-Tzu/Poodle mix. I call it the ShitzPoo, but they named her Nova. I actually like that name a lot. Meanwhile Buck still hasn't learned that even though snow is made of water, you still can't swim through it... no matter how hard you try. Spoiler "Alright LET'S GO!" "Hold on- JUST HOLD ON." "NEVERMIND, I have a better idea now." "Naptime. We swim again tomorrow."
I'm looking for advice. Dew Claws. Take 'em off, or leave 'em on? I'm picking up two 7 week old puppies tomorrow to add to our family and I'm not sure if they've already had their dew claws taken off or not, but I don't think they have. I've been reading up on them, and I swear the debate is about as bad as the debate on foreskin. Some say it's only cosmetic these days, and some say that if you're going to hunt the dogs (I am) then they should be removed so they don't snag on brush, etc. These are Lab/Husky/German Sheppard mixes. When I was a kid we raised labs for hunting, and I know my dad always had their dew claws removed, but I'm not sure if that's because he had a lot of knowledge about it, or if he did it because "that's what ya do". He also had it done when they were just tiny puppies 2-4 days old, so I'm not sure if that makes a difference either. I'll continue with my research, including talking to Vets, but if anyone here has actual knowledge about this I'd love to hear it. Thanks.
I don't know how it relates to hunting but it would make sense thay they would catch on bushes, branches and such. I have had dogs with and without. I think it depends on the breed too. My Shepard had hers as did my Akita but my two Dobermans did not. Much like getting ears and tails cropped, the earlier it's done the less stress and pain for the pooch. And congrats on becomming a Doggie Daddy! How exciting. Pics and names are required.
Congrats on the pups, we'll need to see photos! My lab had his dewclaws removed before I adopted him, as far as I can tell it has been a non-issue since. He's had zero issues with brush, ice, etc. afield.
Delivered as requested. Artie is the male yellow and Myka is the little girl. Attempts to get pictures of them both while awake and sitting still have proven fruitless thus far.
I'm back to whore out this little dude again. He turned 1 today. He's at least 135lbs I'd guess, but we haven't weighed him in at least a month.