Pets...And Why We Love Them (Pay Homage Here)

[Laurel]

And my little watery friends. The ones in the bigger tank recognize me. The others don't care.

 

[Laurel]

 

[beergears]

Great photos Laurel. They look like happy campers..!

(...a breath of fresh air after reading the wal mart thread...)
​

 

[Laurel]

Great photos Laurel. They look like happy campers..!

(...a breath of fresh air after reading the wal mart thread...)
​

They are. They won't quit squirting out babies either!

 

[McKBrew]

Our Rat Terrier/Papillon mix, named Barley (guess who got dog naming rights?)

 

[outcastjra]

Here are the babies of the house. 2 Pits... The white one is 7 months at 70 pounds, the black one is 5 months at 50 pounds... I hate it when people think these dogs are killers... Well they could be with some cats or toy dogs... HAHAHAHAHA....

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Here's the furry pet, Perry.

Fixed that for you, Laurel.

 

[Melana]

Nice photos Laurel! How did you get those pictures to come out so nicely?

 

[Laurel]

Fixed that for you, Laurel.

Red eye kittah loves my dirty socks!

 

[Laurel]

Nice photos Laurel! How did you get those pictures to come out so nicely?

Thanks! It's sort of a hobby of mine to photograph the fishes. I think they're beautiful and interesting. Probably 1 out of every 50 turns out okay, so I just sit in front of the tank with my camera for 10-15 minutes. I have a gallery of my tanks on my myspace page if you want to see more photos. www.myspace.com/laureltq

 

[Melana]

I just checked out your Myspace page... Awesome doesn't quite describe it!

 

[EricK The Red]

Thanks! It's sort of a hobby of mine to photograph the fishes. I think they're beautiful and interesting. Probably 1 out of every 50 turns out okay, so I just sit in front of the tank with my camera for 10-15 minutes. I have a gallery of my tanks on my myspace page if you want to see more photos. www.myspace.com/laureltq

Great pics! Amazing.

I have a 29 bow front with just two fish. I've had my Percula Clownfish (Martha) since 1999, and my Anemonie (Sideshow Bob) since 2000.

These were taken after moving into a new house where the water is...questionable...and my tank experienced an algae bloom.

 

[Bearcat Brewmeister]

Here are my goobers - Casey on the left and Cleo on the right. We got her as a pup and we got him from Brittany Rescue. They are part of our family without a doubt. They go to daycare 2 or 3 days a week. I used to work 4 miles from home and come home for lunch the days they were home to let them out. Casey has medical issues and is permanently on Prednisone, so he drinks a lot and needs to pee a lot. I start a new job in a week or so and can't come home to let them out. We have no idea what we are going to do, but we need to come up with something fast. The only current solution we have is for my wife to work three 10s (daycare days) and two 5s and that just stinks for her. After I settle in at my new job, my hope is we can both do four 9s and a 4 to cover the dog duties.

 

[MikeFlynn74]

daycare? for dogs? WTH?

 

[PeteOz77]

Here are my goobers - Casey on the left and Cleo on the right. We got her as a pup and we got him from Brittany Rescue. They are part of our family without a doubt. They go to daycare 2 or 3 days a week. I used to work 4 miles from home and come home for lunch the days they were home to let them out. Casey has medical issues and is permanently on Prednisone, so he drinks a lot and needs to pee a lot. I start a new job in a week or so and can't come home to let them out. We have no idea what we are going to do, but we need to come up with something fast. The only current solution we have is for my wife to work three 10s (daycare days) and two 5s and that just stinks for her. After I settle in at my new job, my hope is we can both do four 9s and a 4 to cover the dog duties.

At the risk, of sounding a bit harsh, and being a big time dog lover, I have to go out on a limb, and suggest the following:

Dogs are quite capable of looking after themselves when you are at work. They have a survival instict and should be able to struggle through the day while you are at work. As long as they have food, water, a place in the shade and a fence to keep them in the yard, I cannot imagine what else they could need.

 

[z987k]

Chelsy's a shelty. She was the runt of the litter.

 

[Laurel]

I just checked out your Myspace page... Awesome doesn't quite describe it!

Aww thank you! I try, and really adore my fish. All of those shots were taken with a $200 P&S camera too!

 

[Bearcat Brewmeister]

At the risk, of sounding a bit harsh, and being a big time dog lover, I have to go out on a limb, and suggest the following:

Dogs are quite capable of looking after themselves when you are at work. They have a survival instict and should be able to struggle through the day while you are at work. As long as they have food, water, a place in the shade and a fence to keep them in the yard, I cannot imagine what else they could need.

We have tried to leave them loose and although it works for 95% of dogs (it was fine with Cleo and our last dog - never an issue and we still leave Cleo loose), it does not work with Casey because of his medical problems. Believe me, we have tried - twice. He just gets progressively worse over time and we have to go back to crating him. His problem is a severe digestive disorder. When he is unsupervised and outdoors, he will eat things - mostly just grass - but on occasion a twig will catch his fancy. From what our vet tells us and confirmed by our trainer, he thinks in his little doggie brain that those things settle his stomach and it is possibly true that they provide temporary immediate relief. But the problems they cause a few hours later are significant and compound if allowed to repeat and left untreated over a few days. We spent a long time training grass eating out of him and went back to the leave outside option. He was fine for a few months but slowly regressed, even with reinforcement training.

So yes, daycare. It is actually very popular in Cincinnati and I think in some other cities as well. I think we have at least 8 to 10 of them spread around town. Typically they are just warehouse buildings with fenced outdoor gravel or concrete areas that up to 40 dogs can run around and play with each other. They have to pass a demeanor test to make sure they are not aggressive or overly possessive. They get good exercise and get to socialize, both of which are good for them. One of the daycares we take them to has web cams - I never check them but SWMBO finds it quite entertaining.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Pics of Buzz, my brew buddy. He will bark at you when you ask if he wants a beer!

 

[jmulligan]

I can't have pets at my new apartment, so this is what I had to leave at home, when I moved out:

This is Toby (the white lab), AKA Bobo, Tobobo, Bobo Bear, and Ernie, a black lab-hound mix. They tried to eat the spent grains of my first batch.

And this is George AKA Kitty. He likes to wrestle with his our other dog, Chance (no picture) He weighs 18 pounds (part Maine-coon).

 

[MikeFlynn74]

We have tried to leave them loose and although it works for 95% of dogs (it was fine with Cleo and our last dog - never an issue and we still leave Cleo loose), it does not work with Casey because of his medical problems. Believe me, we have tried - twice. He just gets progressively worse over time and we have to go back to crating him. His problem is a severe digestive disorder. When he is unsupervised and outdoors, he will eat things - mostly just grass - but on occasion a twig will catch his fancy. From what our vet tells us and confirmed by our trainer, he thinks in his little doggie brain that those things settle his stomach and it is possibly true that they provide temporary immediate relief. But the problems they cause a few hours later are significant and compound if allowed to repeat and left untreated over a few days. We spent a long time training grass eating out of him and went back to the leave outside option. He was fine for a few months but slowly regressed, even with reinforcement training.

So yes, daycare. It is actually very popular in Cincinnati and I think in some other cities as well. I think we have at least 8 to 10 of them spread around town. Typically they are just warehouse buildings with fenced outdoor gravel or concrete areas that up to 40 dogs can run around and play with each other. They have to pass a demeanor test to make sure they are not aggressive or overly possessive. They get good exercise and get to socialize, both of which are good for them. One of the daycares we take them to has web cams - I never check them but SWMBO finds it quite entertaining.

Wait she eats random things- thats it? All dogs do this. I have 2 dogs that will chew a baseball bat to nothing. It almost sounds like you arent exercising them enough. I take all 3 of mine on 2 long long walks and throw the ball and play tug with them.

but hey they are your dogs! As long as you enjoy them!

 

[Schlenkerla]

Wait she eats random things- thats it? All dogs do this. I have 2 dogs that will chew a baseball bat to nothing. It almost sounds like you arent exercising them enough. I take all 3 of mine on 2 long long walks and throw the ball and play tug with them.

but hey they are your dogs! As long as you enjoy them!

Ditto - Dogs crave attention and certain breeds need plenty of exercise otherwise they miss-behave. The sporting breeds in particular are this way.

Dogs do eat just about anything. On a slightly funny note, my neighbor was looking for a kitchen towel for the better course of 4-5 days. It wasn't until the dog puked it up right in front of him while he was watching a Packer game that he discovered where it disappeared too....

 

[MikeFlynn74]

I had a friend whos Malamute ate the entire cover and foam off the front seat of his car in 10 min while he ran into the store.

 

[Bearcat Brewmeister]

Wait she eats random things- thats it? All dogs do this. I have 2 dogs that will chew a baseball bat to nothing. It almost sounds like you arent exercising them enough. I take all 3 of mine on 2 long long walks and throw the ball and play tug with them.

Yes, I know that some dogs do this, but for him because of his bad intestines, it can have dire consequences. They get plenty of exercise - minimum one nice long walk or sometimes run on non-daycare days and a sometimes a short one on daycare days. They are generally dead to the world from all of the activity at daycare to even want a walk (so tired they will sometimes go into their crate when they see their leash - I never saw that before until we started doing day care). They also get regular trips to the dog park. We have had sporting dogs for a long time and are familiar with their exercise needs.

Ditto - Dogs crave attention and certain breeds need plenty of exercise otherwise they miss-behave. The sporting breeds in particular are this way.

Dogs do eat just about anything. On a slightly funny note, my neighbor was looking for a kitchen towel for the better course of 4-5 days. It wasn't until the dog puked it up right in front of him while he was watching a Packer game that he discovered where it disappeared too....

I still can't figure out why labs sometimes eat rocks. Like I said, ours eats grass and twigs to settle his stomach because of the digestive disorder he has. It took us about a year and a half to get his medication and diet dialed in - he is that sensitive and it is that bad. Rescue dogs sometimes come with their challenges and this is ours. 99.9% of dogs are fairly resilient and adaptable, but there are always exceptions and he is our special needs boy.

 

[Bedlam]

Then you are doing right by him. I think doggy daycare is a fine idea, myself. Never used one, but boy I sure would if I lived in a city. Right now, we have the perfect dog environment...40 acres of our neighbor's pasture with two tanks ("ponds" as they are known to non-Texans). They get to romp to their little hearts' content. Most of the time, our 105 lb "Labramoose" comes home with a wriggling rat or mouse to show us.

In a month, I'll be taking the boxer and moving to TN...alone, as El Hubbo will stay behind to sell the house. I'm taking the boxer, Otto, for a coupla reasons, one being some personal protection/early warning and because he'll run right over El Hubbo, who has trouble asserting himself as "alpha". So he'll be at home alone while I'm in my new job. It makes sense that he can have some time, occasionally, with some new friends while I'm at work. I don't think it's excessive and the cost actually looks pretty reasonable. Hell, I'd go a little nuts, too, if I had to stay home all day by myself all the time. I figure if I find a good place to take him, oh, maybe two days a week, he'll be a happier camper. Nothing wrong with makin' new doggie pals, right? (Well, as long as everybody is, ya know, fixed!)

Back to your "special needs" dog...I admire your dedication to the li'l guy! He really lucked out when he suckered you in with those big doe eyes!

 

[Bearcat Brewmeister]

He had been in 3 foster homes in 4 weeks when we got him. We saw him on the American Brittany Rescue web site and drove 4 hours to go see him. We knew he was a bit of a physical mess, but had no idea to what extent. We fell for the guy the minute we saw him. He is truly a good dog and actually trains fairly quickly, plus provides hours of comic relief.

 

[Schlenkerla]

That's good. So many people don't have patience that a dog needs and probably even worse the consistency needed so they don't get confused.

You're doing a good thing.

 

[Doxology]

Here's my runt from a litter. My Great Pyrenees pup, Doxology, at 6 weeks old.

 

[BierMuncher]

Here's my runt from a litter. My Great Pyrenees pup, Doxology, at 6 weeks old.

Ummm Dox????

I hate to tell you this...but adopted yourself a baby polar bear.

 

[Doxology]

Nah....

Like I said, she was the runt. She's almost 2 and she only weighs 80 lbs., so she's pretty small. That being said, she's still convinced she was the 3.5 lbs. she was when I got her, and that she belongs in my lap. Usually while I'm trying to read.

Where you from in St. Louis?

 

[Melana]

Um, Dox, that is the cutest puppy that I've ever seen.

 

[budbo]

After a cool Homebrew

 

[TheCrane]

Apartment friendly dogs:

This is Inspector Chan, a crested gecko

This is one about 30 little critters SWMBO (also pictured) raised from eggs. I collected their mother while working in MN nad we had a ball watchin grow throughout the year.

This is JiveTurkey, couldn't find a pick of his SWMBO ShuckleBerry (Get it? Shuck and Jive).

This is WillieNelson (loves the greens and moves at his own pace). This little guy has absolutely stolen our hearts with his charm.

 

[billym99]

This is Joie the Puggle (Pug/Beagle)... likes to play frisbee and eat cookies, and lap the occasional homebrew.

 

[BigKahuna]

One of 23, no picks today of the 3 dogs, 1 cat, 1 bird, 1 fish, and 2 kids.

 

[nystevecf]

This is Bane, fully protection trained.

 

[nystevecf]

And my newest member Bianca. She will be trained for SCH, SAR, and protection sports.

 

[nystevecf]

One more of the two of them together.

 

[Matt_D]

Here is our new pup Murphy. He is a 15 week old Goldendoodle.

 

[ShortSnoutBrewing]

nystevecf...what kind of dogs are those??? They are beautiful!