Head's up for Doggie owners!

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20081228/tuk-vet-do-not-throw-sticks-for-dogs-6323e80.html

Never really considered this when I had my dog's

[Benner]

My father in law killed one of his dogs by throwing a stick for him.  He caught it wrong and it went down his throat.

He still gets pretty upset about it.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

My father in law killed one of his dogs by throwing a stick for him.  He caught it wrong at it went down his throat.

He still gets pretty upset about it.

I bet he does

[DaveK]

My Uncle (the one that used to live up near Dunc) had a Boxer a long time ago, and we used to throw huge rocks into the sea for it to fetch.

Once, on the beach at Cromer, I chucked a rock, only about 10 feet off-shore, and we had to go and fetch the dog after a while, because it "forgot to breath". I'm sure it would have drowned looking for this rock, stupid animal.

Back on topic, it did follow a stick off a cliff once, must have fallen a good 20 feet. It bounced though, and showed no real injuries.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Dogs is dogs is dogs.  They play rough, and they get hurt, and the odd one will have a fatal accident- it unfortunately happens.  What we have to remember is the billions of times people throw sticks for their dogs with no problems whatsoever.  Like kids, the odd one will develop problems, and like kids it tragic when they do, especially if it's fatal, but like kids, you can't coddle a dog and expect them to turn out normal.

That having been said, Pete and I used to play fetch in the park with a rubber novelty severed hand.  You should have seen the look on people's faces when this giant, powerful, dangerous looking dog went running by them with a severed hand hanging out of his mouth!  

Def

[Roadie]

Dogs is dogs is dogs.  They play rough, and they get hurt, and the odd one will have a fatal accident- it unfortunately happens.  What we have to remember is the billions of times people throw sticks for their dogs with no problems whatsoever.  Like kids, the odd one will develop problems, and like kids it tragic when they do, especially if it's fatal, but like kids, you can't coddle a dog and expect them to turn out normal.

That having been said, Pete and I used to play fetch in the park with a rubber novelty severed hand.  You should have seen the look on people's faces when this giant, powerful, dangerous looking dog went running by them with a severed hand hanging out of his mouth! 

Def

^^ What he said

[DaveK]

OK. In that article, the vet was complaining about all the surgery he has to charge for do? Am I reading that right?

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I'm not advocating babying dog's (or should that be puppying I'll get my coat ) I just never realised the injuries were so common

[Grant Lamontagne]

If you do a search for "dog" and "rawhide" you'll learn that pieces of rawhide that aren't too large to be swallowed can also swell up in the stomach and block the intestines causing injury, death or expensive surgery as well.  So, to be safe, you shouldn't let your dogs chew on chew toys.

Red food coloring in treats and dog food is toxic, so by all means, never feed your dog treats or dog food.  Many dogs are also hit by cars, so never let your dog outside...  Unexercised dogs can become depressed and develop emotional issues, so make certain you walk them around the living room 400 times per day, varying the route constantly to alleviate boredom.  Contact with fecal matter and urine can cause various infections, so don't allow your dog to urinate or defecate anywhere that he or she may come in contact with it.

Dog saliva contains bacteria, so don't let your dog lick your face, or any other part of your body.  If licking occurs, contact the nearest HAZMAT unit and remain under quarantine until you receive further instructions from qualified personnel.

There is also a long history of dogs biting people, so you should never venture within 150 yards of your dog if he or she still has their teeth.  Since dogs don't brush their teeth, they may also suffer from gingivitis, and so you should never venture within 200 yards of a dog without teeth.

Another common ailment is a dog's tail being caught in doorways.  Therefore, all doors should be removed from your house, and any/all houses within a half kilometer radius of your house, as well as your car.

I'm sure if you look hard enough, you can find similar warnings involving children! 

Still, it's good to be aware of potential threats such as this, but imagine how long and healthy a life your dog or child would have if sealed in a hermetically sealed, climate controlled glass box?

Def

[MultiMat]

We just agreed to buy a puppy from a friend , it is a mung(cross breed) . The puppies were irresistible & our youngest son has always wanted a dog & the eldest is scared of dogs(cant have that).BUT it will be a small dog & I like medium too large dogs like Staffy's , Border Collies & Rottweilers. As our first family dog I think small one will be good & I can get a big dog down the track 

[Grant Lamontagne]

"Mung" has a very different definition over here, and I don't recommend you Google it or you'll be very, very sorry....

A small dog is better than no dog, but I'm with you- medium and large dogs are the best!    My "puppy" (and I use that term loosely!) is over 90 pounds now, at 7 months old.  My best guess is she'll top out around 120 pounds, or almost double the weight of my house wolf, a Siberian Husky.

Best of luck to anyone breaking into my house! 

Def

[Leatherman123]

I have a pug named Emma, and she is the best dog I have ever had..

[Mr. Whippy]

I'm worse about collecting dogs than MTs

2 Rhodesian Ridgebacks (Joey Ramone and Kiona)
2 Jack Russell terriers (James Dean and Dogzilla)
1 West Highland White terrier (Newt)

I'm gonna hafta get after those dogs.  One will pick up a stick and the others will give chase, in the attempt to get control of it.  I'll pro'lly hafta start leaving Jello molds around so that no one gets hurt.