Dog Hair Don't Care

Bucky: Australian Cattle Dog; born Jan 2012 adopted May 17 2014

[colliepapillon]

Can anyone recommend any good Facebook dog training and behaviour/general dog groups? I really want to get more into the internet dog community, but wouldn’t know where to look on Facebook…

[brown-dorgs]

@graceking lol I try :p

I’m glad this was brought to my attention so I could follow you 😭 

So first and foremost: if you don’t like much of the drama on dogblr, I gotta warn you that Facebook dog group drama tends to be worse, and more frequent. Plus it’s not like on here where you have general privacy. I’m lucky in that I’m not really known in the fb dog communities, except for in some fit dog groups where I post kai. 

So! Firstly I recommend “no, it’s not starving - dedicated to fit, healthy dogs” (generally shortened to “no it’s not starving” when being talked about in other groups) this group is generally drama free, because the mods and admins have a fair few rules and are hard on the ban hammer. Some people don’t like this group, nor it’s kind of bogus rules, so there’s a group called “no, it’s not starving, fit dogs without so many rules” which I recommend also

“Really good crossbreeders” and “outcross for life” are also v good, petty drama free groups. Outcross is a bit quiet now, but the files r very interesting, as well as most of the posts made by Henny (may she rest in piece), and the posts regarding the greyhound mastiff outcross (Freddy and shield are very popular dogs!). “Coat colour and genetics” is very cool, and off topic conversations aren’t allowed (that also includes comments about breeding practices) so it’s pretty much drama free, unless you count the arguments over genetics lol, but they never get personal.

“Fit fidos - Canine fitness critique and questions” is pretty small, if you want to check it out. “Structure in motion too!” Is pretty good as well, but critiques are few and far between, not many people are commenting these days. Both of the “guess the dog breed” groups are very popular, almost every fb dog person is in them I think?

“Friends of pedigree dogs exposed” if you want to get away from the pure bred brigade, though some people are of course pure shit spewers.

“Natural history by Scottie westfall” is a bullshit free group (depending on your definition of bullshit I guess) with a lot of off topic convos between some generally knowledgeable people. Lots of people whose posts I like in there. Other people I roll my eyes at. An interesting group none the less. But not always about dogs.

I’m in the “huskies against misrepresenting” group, mostly for the funny posts. It’s got some good info on wolfdogs, but it is also very biased, and the fb wolfdog community can act like a cult sometimes. I’m there for the lols tho so I don’t really mind.

“Canine nerds and friends” I believe is predominantly for the DOGBLR community? So you’ll b very welcomed there!! @tinybigpaws is an admin, I believe she made the group?

“Canine conditioning and body awareness exercises” is very large, and mostly for some good info. Pretty good, I like it for the informative posts.

“Progressive reinforcement trainers” is a good one, and popular among dogblr as well. @fangs-in-the-fog and @bigpointyears are admins there, and I’m p sure that’s maya as the cover photo :p

“Sport bred mixes” I very much like, again, this sort of group is good for getting away from the purebred brigade.

“Squad goals - multi dog owners unite” is popular and v good for keeping up with all the numerous dogs on fb. I don’t post there at all, and I think it gets a bit quiet, but I’ve seen some dogblrs there too.

Now, there are two groups I’m in, that are very big, and popular, and also filled with drama. They are good for the lols, and the convos, but I’m straight out of there if it gets too much. “Canine misfits” was created to get away from CERTAIN drama in the fb dog communities, but it is not exempt from drama. “Canine debate forum” is also very popular, and also very full of drama. There was another one but I got booted lmao. You’ll see some of us from dogblr there too, but the very popular and known people who post there are not from dogblr. It’s a whole nother world on fb I’m telling you lmao. 

Most of these groups are closed groups, some may be secret though, as sometimes the admins change the privacy, so sorry if you can’t find some! No it’s not starving is a public group. The rest of the groups I’m in are breed specific. Mostly sighthound stuff. I’m sure you’ll find more you like as you start joining groups! That’s how I found all of these :) 

 Anyway, happy dog Facebook group hunting! Just remember to read the rules, especially before posting, and especially for the last two groups I mentioned. I guess I’ll probably see you in a few soon :p

[securityunit-ese]

Facebook groups I like include:

Canine conditioning and body awareness exercises

Conditioning exercises for dogs

Official behavioural adjustment Training

All things dog behaviour

Puppy culture discussion group - not meant to post unless you seen the doco

History of dog in photos

Nail maintenance for dogs

I think that’s all of them. Any others are local to me so not comfy sharing.

[brown-dorgs]

yesssss puppy culture group is so wholesome 

[buckythecattledog]

Not sure if it’s been mentioned yet - Modern dog training and behavior advise. They’re a force free/ positive reinforcement group so they can be a bit pretentious BUT they are (for the most part) civil and good about educating and not just hating on balance/correction training.

[theexoticvet-deactivated2022070]

Declination

Medical Record from 2010-2018

Owner declines heart worm test.

Owner declines lab work.

Owner declines preventatives.

Owner declines fecal.

Owner declines all vaccines.

Owner declines coming in for post OVH exam.

Owner declines annual exam.

9/2/18

O extremely upset Fifi’s lymphoma was not caught early enough for treatment. Threatening legal action for “malpractice”.

[buckythecattledog]

🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

[memewhore]

[buckythecattledog]

One night a raccoon took refuge in a storm drain outside my apartment, I have not seen the raccoon in the drain since but every time we go outside Bucky must check the storm drain. It’s been over a year.

[securityunit-ese]

One of the best advice given to me is to keep in mind that your puppy is not giving you a hard time, he’s *having* a hard time!

This is all very hard for him to deal with and he’s trying to cope as best as he can, but he needs you to teach him what you want him to do.

- A line that leapt out to me from a random user advising a puppy owner on a local dog forum

[northern-snoots]

Man, I really hate this whole ‘no dog is born aggressive, its always the owner’ shit. Some dogs are. Some are born naturally aggressive and if they’re lucky they’ll get a human who will do all that they can and keep them safe from themselves. Puppies aren’t made of play dough, you cant shape them into whatever you want. You can’t take the aggression out of a naturally aggressive dog any more than you can take the herding out of a collie.

[buckythecattledog]

Casually browsing Petfinder, as one does, and I come across the cutest little pup who is almost Bucky’s exact mini-me. Several days pass and I can’t get the puppy out of my head.

Go to the rescue’s site and read through their application and adoption contract and see things like

“dog must be fed a grain free, natural diet” and

“if at any point you decide the euthanize this dog you will first contact (rescue’s name) and explain the reasoning, including name of veterinarian who made the recommendation” and

“if at any time you are found in violation of the contract you will be subject to a maximum fine of $500”

...yeah no thanks I’ll just go back to daydreaming of my future miniature poodle and German shorthair pointer from reputable breeders.

[everythingblazeorange]

Loose Leash Walking

a 100% commitment to NEVER going forward without a completely loose leash

It’s Yer Choice - The more a dog understands about self control, the easier all training is. Additionally, teach a release word that means the dog is free to get the distraction.

Silky Leash / Moving Off Collar Pressure

Backwards walking

High Rate of Reinforcement (3 videos)

Penalty Yards

What I particularly like about teaching moving off collar pressure and backwards walking before doing penalty yards is how beautifully they fit in to that framework.

In the linked penalty yards video, you can see the dog has a hard time disengaging from the distraction - more impulse control work makes that easier. But also what happens when the handler starts backing up? The dog feels collar pressure, and with silky leash the dog knows what to do with collar pressure: move off it. What happens when the dog moves off collar pressure? The dog sees the handler moving backwards, and because you’ve taught it the dog knows what to do when it sees the handler moving backwards: move with the handler and reconnect.

Pilot is 8 months old. He has NEVER pulled on leash. Until he was around six months, the leash was clipped exclusively to a back attach walking harness. He is allowed (in fact encouraged) to pull in this harness.

This week we started working on loose leash walking. He has worn a collar and leash about 4 times previously. In those instances, keeping the leash loose is my responsibility. I do this in a number of ways: following the dog, use a longer leash, walk faster, luring past distractions, talking and praising walking closely, calling him back if he gets too far. If absolutely necessary, I stopped and encouraged him back if the leash got tight.

Pilot has had two sessions on moving off collar pressure. Today we introduced penalty yards and keeping the leash loose despite wanting to go forward (to the gate of the dog park). Marsh was very ticked off for having to do penalty yards when he was walking perfectly fine.

[securityunit-ese]

@pantheonpets

[cynological]

I really like the idea of using a harness until you start LLW with puppies, and then using a collar ONLY for a few minutes at a time of teaching LLW until they understand that collar on = no pulling. Then they can’t freely rehearse bad habits in the collar. I think it makes that distinction a lot clearer for them in the same way you use a special harness or collar for training tracking, scent work, bite work, etc.

[buckythecattledog]

Tonight I had to listen to a young coworker talk about how her 7 month old border collie won’t listen unless she SCREAMS at him (which I got to experience) and that he growled at her when she tried to take a bone away so now whenever the dog has something she takes it “to teach him not to growl at his mom”

Girl that dog is going to end up with soooo many issues

[buckythecattledog]

I just really love this dog

[achoirofcritters]

Cats should be able to get their exercise from going outside. Keeping it inside? May as wel put it down. My cats can choose whether they go out or in. And they choose out most of the time. Letting them hunt and be an animal is way better than keeping them cropped up in a home that isn't sufficient to their requirements. Sure they can get hit by a car. But at least they were free while doing so. Plus all the health benefits of obtaining a better bowel flora and keeping neurotypical behaviour away

Imagine being so blatantly ignorant on proper pet care that your ideology is: “Keeping your cat inside of a house, where it is totally possible to keep them happy, safe, and enriched? Yeah you should just kill it.”

[buckythecattledog]

“I don’t want a pet I just want to feed something”

[drferox]

Have you already done a breed overview of the Queensland Heeler/Blue Heeler? We had them growing up, and I'm quite fond of them, but we never learned a lot about them in my animal science classes as a breed (they're not super common in the Midwest). We lost one at age ~11 due to heart cancer, but I don't know if that's common for the breed or just bad luck.

Also @osteoarchivist said:

If you are so inclined, would you do a post on Australian Cattle Dogs? I have a 10 month old ACD mix (his father was a handsome stranger) and I’m curious what your take on the breed is. Love your write ups!!         

Two of you have asked about this actually Australian breed. It was absolutely on the list, there’s just a bit of a waiting list, that’s all.

Nobody really uses the term ‘Queensland Heeler’. They’re usually Blue Heelers, Red Heelers, or officially the Australian Cattle Dog.

These dogs are stubborn and in many cases they are more stubborn than their owners. They can be lovely, but they’re equally likely to be undisciplined, spoiled rule breakers with attitude. That’s what happens when you have a breed that’s highly intelligent, but also very willing to be lazy.

I kind of like ‘em. Wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw them, but like them anyway.

The breed clubs are still very big on screening for hip dysplasia, and I think this is wise. Though it’s rare for me to encounter a Heeler with dysplastic hips, the dogs I see only ever seem to have hips that are great, or atrocious, and no inbetween. I don’t know why this is. While hip dysplasia is not as common as in certain other breeds, it’s still worth screening for.

They tend to reach old age reliably but many seem to have vision problems in their senior years. The bred is known for its cataracts, but I also seem to see them over represented among our diabetics. Whether this is genetic or environmental I cannot be sure. As a breed they will happily pack on a few extra kilos, and this can lead to pancreatitis, but I don’t think I can call that a genetic correlation.

There is reasonably extensive genetic testing for progressive retinal atrophy, and attempts are being made at removing deafness from the breed, though they do pop up occasionally.

I often see these dogs in their old age with arthritis, either secondary to cruciate rupture due to their active, energetic bursts, or ankylosing spondylosis of the spine, which seems more common in any individual dog that has spent a large percentage of its life jumping up onto things. Oh, and while I haven’t personally encountered this too much, they have a reputation for giving themselves intestinal foreign bodies by eating objects that really shouldn’t have been able to be chewed up and eaten. It should go without saying, but if you intend to own this breed please be smarter than the dog. They can be loyal and great friends, but they will also push boundaries and have a tendency to snap. It’s all too easy for someone to find themselves cooking steak for the dog’s dinner each night and ending up with a canine shaped more like a wombat and less like a working breed. Dr Ferox’s time answering questions is supported by Patreon. You can vote on future post topics and support the blog from as little as $1 a month.

[buckythecattledog]

Highly intelligent but very willing to be lazy.

😂😂😂😂 Yup that’s my boy.

[buckythecattledog]

Friendly reminder dog owners, it’s still tick season; please check your pups frequently and use proper tick removal techniques to prevent mouth pieces being left behind!

[buckythecattledog]

It's been a rough few months being busy with work and just not managing my time appropriately so time spent with Bucky has been minimal. He's going through one of his wake up in the middle of the night and demand to go outside phases and it's exhausting. Last night we went to bed at 9:30 and he was whining to go out at 10:30. I was extremely irritated and I was rougher than I should have been with him (for quick potty breaks I use a slip lead). He's very sensitive to any kind of correction and the look he gave me last night absolutely broke my heart and I can't stop thinking about it. I feel so guilty because it was completely unnecessary for me to yank him around just because he was staring at the neighbor/across the street/whatever. I feel like our relationship has been weird lately because I haven't been actively spending time with him and that makes me feel even worse. This dog literally only has me, I am his whole life and I feel like I've been letting down.

[woolywoofs]

Bluetick Coonhound.

[buckythecattledog]

Took Bucky out to explore a new park this morning - stumbled across a pile of end-trails and left soon after.

[buckythecattledog]

A Facebook friend (and cattle dog mix owner) just shared an article about the State Farm comercial with Aaron Rogers and Jumpy and cattle dog. The article was basically begging people not to get a cattle dog (Australian blue heeler the author called them) unless you were a "serious athlete" or "cattle/sheep herder". That these dogs are so smart they'll run circles around you and destroy your house if you don't "work" them all day every day. And if you get one you sure as hell better not leave it home alone all day because that's sooo cruel!

I look over at my cattle dog happily asleep on the couch after getting a total of maybe 45 minutes of outside time today (because it was hot as hell today!). I did agree with the article that you need to do research before getting a dog and impluse buying a dog because you saw one on TV is what gets dogs dumbed in shelters I do not agree that Australian cattle dogs or any other working breed can't make a good pet/companion to the right owner. It's not only serious athletes and ranchers that can own these dogs and keep them happy and healthy. Hell I am a single person living alone in an apartment and I somehow manage to keep my cattle dog happy and well exercised.

I also told Bucky it looks like he'll have to get off his lazy butt and get a job because that's what cattle dogs NEED. He wasn't amused.

[meme-theft]