What kind of Dog do you Own & why? does your dog commincate to you? Did your Dog "save" you from anything?

Question

We have a Boston Terrier named Dandy . she is 4yrs old.. I have taught her with Hand signals and verbal commands.. her best trick is she can sit back on her hind haunches, and when she shakes your hand from this position she places her other hand over yours gently... it's so sweet

at times i swear she reads my mind, with just a look she will do as i ask.. it's really strange.. she hates the word BATH... lol she will jump up in my hubby's lap looking for escape..

tell me about the Dog or Dogs in your life... past or present.. got a favorite dog tale to share?

Answer 1

I have an Old English Sheepdog (See pic) And a 10 years old Lhasa Apso (Rescued from uncaring breeders). I'll be getting another Old English in a few months time (Same breeders because their dogs are super dogs)

My baby (Pic) is the second Old English for me. He's soon turning very much into my first one who died aged 14 years old (Broke my heart).

My dogs look after me! For instance i'm recovering from cancer (Not a nice illness) And when i was sick with the chemio, felt too tired, they would lie by my side. Should i feel sick, my Old English would lick my neck and head gently, put a paw on one of my shoulders, the other one underneath my arm. I know it sounds naff but he would actually slip it underneath my arm, as though trying to make me a bit more comfortable. I too strongly believe in dogs psychic powers. To give you an example, my mother died in hospital. She died at 03:45 and my dog had been very restless, howled a couple of times from 03:30. I instinctively knew it was bad news and as i tried to call the hospital on my landline, my mobile rang to give me the bad news.

I'd also say that dogs are better judges of character than we are. I've had a few times (4) when i decided that someone was nice but my dogs wouldn't take to the person. I found out (At my expense) That my dogs were right reason why i've changed my lway of life! It's not a case of 'love me love my dogs' but rather ... 'if my dogs take to you then i might actually do too'
My previous Old English would pick up the phone when it rang! She would just grab it in her mouth, drop it on the floor then bark aloud as though to say "Phone call for you".

As for training them well it's been a very easy thing to do because all my dogs have been quite cooperative and we had fun doing it.

My father bred and trained German Shepherds so i grew up with dogs! I suppose that's why training my own dogs was a bit easier than it can be to some. Having said that my father was a registered dog trainer whereas i went for dog behaviour! We do things differently but then, and as long as our dogs are happy! Who cares?

Answer 2

Good Question, first off. I rescued my Roophus on March 8th, 2006. I haven't found out yet what all he is but I've heard Rottie, Chow-Chow, Dobie, Husky, etc. He is a big (sorry Roophus) dumb dog! (OR so he pretends to be) He's almost 2 yrs old and hasn't had life any better than it is now with my kids & I. He is my first dog and we love him to bits & pieces even when he's not a good boy! I've had troubles training him but he's HB, CT, knows sit and stay, and his favorite word is Treat! He's just starting to be protective over us and it has proved well so far. He isn't a small boy by any means and that's why I got him. To help take care of us since we're such a small family. He watches out 'His' window most of the time, which is close to the front door. He's seen a couple people that he doesn't like and has let me know about it. He also watches the cats, squirrils and the neighbor dogs too. I can't wait to buy our own house with a HUGE back yard so we can adopt a play mate for my big boy!

Answer 3

A dog isn't a necessity. If you don't know what you are doing and don't have the cash honestly you really shouldn't own one. I don't want to sound mean but, dogs are really a luxury now days with the economy and jobless rate. People are lucky just to put food on the table each night for their family. If you can afford a dog then great but, if you can't then you shouldn't have one. I know that sounds terrible of me but, I think about the well being of the animal. Only people who have enough cash, know dogs or are willing to do plenty of researching and learning ahead of time are really the only ones the should own dog. It is so easy to get a dog but, the care is complicated and the training for some dogs is complicated if they have prior abuse issues or they have been allowed to remain untrained for so long. It is not an easy process to train a dog. If you just dive into getting a dog with no money and no knowledge you are going to fail at being a good dog owner and you will create a dog that is a monster. I promote owning pets but, just make it a pet that you can handle and you can properly care for. If you can't afford a dog, go for a hamster or a fish or maybe even a bird. Pets are good for people and their mental health but, the key is to be a good owner and to give proper care and have enough money to properly care for the type of pet you want. I will not badmouth people either. I just educate people. You get no where with people by being rude.

Answer 4

For the past 30 years my wife and I have been involved with AKC sponsored Field Trials for retrieving breed dogs. I believe the best all round pet is a Golden Retriever, but you see more winning Black Labrador Retrievers than Goldens, primarily because more Black Labs are involved in the sport. I have two Labs at home, One is a genius and the other is a sweetheart. The Genius listens to everything my wife and I say, and understands a great deal. Mention certain foods in conversation and you get a reaction from the dogs. Mention Outside, they are both at the door, We have several acres, part of which is dedicated to some great pets of the past. We have wonderful memories from these departed friends. We trained them all to respond to hand signals,and voice commands as required by the competition. We have never had a National Champion, but each of them has been a winner.

Answer 5

Hello! I have an Australian Cattle Dog. He is 5 years old and the smartest dog I have ever owned. I have had many breeds including mutts and this dog is the best ever. He learned how to sit and stay at 12 weeks. I crate trained him which I feel is the best and only way to house brake a dog. I got him when I happened to be really sick with Lupus. He helped me get up in the morning because I had to get up and let him outside so he made me get moving which can be really hard. In a way I think he saved me, by having to care for him. I love this dog so much and he loves me. He is close to others in the family but I am his world. This breed can be hard to train the "herding" instinct out of them, well not out of them but at least keep it at bay by use balls for the herding instinct instead of peoples heels. These dogs are so smart as if they know what you are thinking, it's hard to fool them. They need plenty to do or they will find something to do on their own which maybe not good like chasing cars or the wildlife. These dogs need their herd to be with so chaining or pinning is not the answer for these dogs they want to be with their human herd. Well I guess that enough for now. Got to go play with Rustee!

Answer 6

I have a mut. He is a beagle/rotwieller. His name is Zeca. He is only 2 years old. He knows his usual verbal commands but he also knows how to shake hands, give hi-fives, sit on his hind legs and roll over.

My dog also seems to read my mind. If i want him to come over to where i am, he does w/o being told to (he doesn´t seem to do that with the rest of the family). Also, he know that when i say babaño (which is a slang in Portuguese) that means he has to take a bath which he comes over and sits down. then i say papa (which is a slang for eat) he runs over and jumps on top of his crate and lays down then puts his head down waiting.

There was this one time that my family and i were in our backyard and all of a sudden our dog starts barking at our house and we weren´t understanding, we thought maybe it was a bird on our roof or something. But he kept going so when i looked inside our house i found out that a pan was catching on fire. and the fire was catching on to the microwave. I know that isn´t very significant but if he hadn´t tried to warn us than the fire would have probably destroyed other things as well.

Answer 7

I rescued a stray German shepherd. He seemed old and weak. I had only been taking care of him for a few days, when I took him with me to the corner store at night.
A man tried to force my door open, in the parking lot..Suddenly the old dog leapt from the back seat and grabbed the man's arm..The man ran away howling.
The next morning, a girl was found murdered behind the store. I was called as a witness...It was very gruesome.
They caught the guy, with a torn arm.

I'll tell you! I loved that old dog! He got the best home ever, as He was my guardian angel.

Answer 8

The best dog I ever had was a golden retriever named Conn. She was riding with me one afternoon and like a dummy, I picked up a hitch hiker. After he had been in the car a few minutes, he reached over and touched me. Conn knew I was scared and she knew this dude shouldn't be touching me, so she grabbed the guy's arm and growled at him. She didn't hurt him-didn't break the skin or anything, she just held him until I pulled the car over & made him get out. Had she not been with me, I don't even like to think what might have happened. That was better than ten years ago, and she died not long after that. I still miss her. Right now I have two boxers and they are a riot! Good question!

Answer 9

I have 2 Bernese Mountain Dogs 1 Yorkshire Terrier and one mixed dog, a maltipoo or something close! The BMD's are HUGE HUGE HAIRY lap dogs that never quite grow up but are soooo loving. My Yorkie is a sweetie but hard to potty train. My mixed dog is a sweetie who prefers to sleep on the couch..but not right up near humans. lol

Answer 10

Hi! I have a staffordshire terrier people also know them as pit bulls. He is my life. I was married once it was kinda an abusive marrige mostly verbal. The time i thought it was going to turn physical my dog was there and he started growling and showin his teeth. So of course that was over. My dog never leaves my side.