our 4 legged kids

[whyohe]

i think we all enjoy seing pick of our pets. mine are my kids. they are a big part of my life and give me great joy and comfort. so i made a thread that if you like you can post a pick of your 4 legged companion. i have 3 dogs and 2 cats right now but have pics of my past buddies.


this is Smudge and she likes here treats as you can see



this is Java she can be SPASTIC.


here is Nala my shepard mix i got at animal friends.





she LOVES getting her picture taken! YA THINK.





my 2 cats this one is Mohican, AKA MOE


this is buster





well this is most of my family hope to see some of yours!

[whelenman]

Great looking pets. I couldn't handle that many. Here's my one and only Miss Belle. She's a Beagle/Dachshund cross and comes with nose and attitude.

[Richard]

These are our two children...........Spencer, the bigger of the two is the male and our little girl Abbey. They are Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and totally spoiled. They are not the sharpest knives in the drawer, but definitely make up for it in love and devotion.
Richard

[dpoor65]

My youngest "Hank" the bass fishing beagle.... ;D

[rick59]

This is "Ollie" my 5 year old English Bulldog, Ollie is the 4th Bulldog I've owned. Back in the 70's I owned 2 white English Bull Terriers (Spuds MacKenzie Dogs) but I like to refer to them as " The type of dog General Patton owned".

[jims]

Nice looking animals all.

[whyohe]

rick, I have liked english bulldogs too. to me they look like a LARGE pug. do they have heath issues like im told? how long do they live on average? pugs can have many health problems.

[rick59]

Dec 22, 2010 8:22:24 GMT -5 whyohe said:

rick, I have liked english bulldogs too. to me they look like a LARGE pug. do they have heath issues like im told? how long do they live on average? pugs can have many health problems.

Believe it or not but the bulldog came from a pud/mastiff mix back in the beginning.
We have never had health issues with any of ours unless you count the fact that our 10-1/2 year old (Dino) got arthritis in his right front leg pretty bad and after 6 months of meds we did have to have him put down (VERY DARK DAY).
They say the normal life span is somewhere around 7-9 years.
I will probably never own another breed, these guys are great!

[esshup]

Cal and Dottie, the last 2 Springers that I had before Kate. They were brother and sister from the last litter that I had. Dottie is on the right, she passed away Dec '08. Cal was diagnosed with a bad heart murmur the next December, and passed away in July of '10.


Cal


Their Mom, Reba. She was the best, hardest hunting, most biddable Springer that I've had. It really hurt to put her down because of a nasal tumor.


Cal passed away before I could get a replacement, I had hoped that he could help with the training. Here's Kate, who is the only Springer in the house now.

[whyohe]

it is always hare to loose a pet. they are a big part of our lives especially if you hunt with them. thoes are some pretty springer!

[petev]

esshup, having had 2 spriingers, the second is just turning 13, and still hunts a little bit, they are captivating with their intelligence, almost human a times, along with their good nature, and upbeat ways. I'll post soon, pictures of the springer and American water Spaniel.

[esshup]

petev, AWS's aren't that common. How'd you end up with one? 13 is above the curve, and it's always sad to think of being without your beloved pet. Lucky, my first Springer became deaf at 13, and almost 100% blind before she died at 17. Even tho I had 8 months to mentally prepare for Cal's passing, and he passed away when I wasn't home, it was still hard. I hope I never have to take another dog to the vet to have put down, even tho I know it's for the better. (quality of life)

I'm happy with the Springers, but now I'm getting more involved with duck hunting and I don't know how she'll do if she's not moving around a lot to stay warm. I'm working with her now to get used to a vest, I hope that'll help.

[petev]

hup, I suppose huntin' dogs are a topic that you could go on and on. Jenny, my 13 y.o. springer was exposed to goose hunting rather late in life (around 8), and at 9 came on like gangbusters for geese, making long retrieves, and waiting and predicting where diving, wounded geese would resurface, etc. She will hunt a little more this year. How I got the AWS- the truth is that I had been thinking of getting another dog for awhile, and was considering a couple of breeds. I was throwing out some newspapers and saw an ad laying on the floor for English Setters and airdales. So, for a couple of weeks I watched the on-line ads for that newspaper, and then the ad for the AWS litter came out. I drove a couple of hours, viewed the litter, the parents were there, and I liked the looks of them, and the pups were super healthy, so I took one. Given the versatility of the breed, the extreme health and vigor, and that they hunt at a closer more regular pace than a springer, for example, I am amazed at how the breed has not caught on. When I hunt with him I always feel that I am hunting with a dog that was bred to hunt, not run field trials, at the corresponding breakneck speeds. There are breeders for these dogs, you have to look online. Supposedly only about 200 pups are registered nationwide every year. There is some possibility of the breed going extinct, and breeders are challenged to find mates for there dogs that are not too closely related. Hup, since you are a springer man, I'll compare the 2 breeds as: they both like to hunt, the AWS ranges a little closer and runs a little less animated and fast but goes steady, the ESS is a little more good natured, the AWS a little more stand offish and potentially aggressive with other dogs at times, the AWS is more loyal, the AWS has a stronger retrieving instinct of the two, but the ESS may have a little more inborne love of water. I think the ESS learns faster and probably is on average smarter than the AWS. The AWS hardly sheds, unlike the ESS. I'll post pictures soon. Pete

[esshup]

Pete:

Thanks for the comparison. With Reba and her offspring, they were retrieving fools. She would carry around stuff all day long, and even go to sleep with stuff in her mouth.


Kate is less of a retrieving dog, but after talking with the breeder (Julie Hogan of Manassas, Va. who also bred Reba) she suggested that I give Kate 3 retrieves every day when I took her out of her kennel - no more. She's bringing toys up to me now to throw for her. I'm looking forward to warmer weather to work with her outside more. I plan on doing the traditional Spaniel field work (quartering, hup on flush, etc.) but I also plan on training her for non-slip retriever work.

[petev]

But, hup does she hand deliver to you in your own living room? I should add that I'm referring to socks, on average 2 or 3 a night, sometimes more!

[esshup]

Yep. Pretty much anything that I throw, and I have to keep ignoring her now because she keeps on picking her toys up and dumping them in my lap. I'm working on getting her to hup when she brings it and keep holding on to the toy until I take it from her. She hup her when when I toss it, and she won't go to get it unless I call her name. She's 99% steady if I call another dog's name, even one that's close to hers. With Cal, I could call Carl and he wouldn't go.

She's been pretty good about chewing on things she isn't supposed to be chewing on, but I still keep an eye on her. I've only had to replace one shoelace. She chewed up a couple of stuffed doggie toys, but I don't count those.

I used a rolled up sock when she was small, but quit doing that when she started to drag out my socks from the laundry basket.

I've got a couple of those rag toys that are knotted on both ends that she likes, plus a number of nylabones, kongs and rawhide chews.

Reba was so retrieving crazy that not too long after I got her (as a 2.5 year old field trial wash-out) I was playing "fetch" with her in my front yard, that had a 80' or so long concrete driveway. She started leaving footprints on the drive and I couldn't figure out why. After a few more retrieves, I stopped and checked her feet. She had wore her nails down 'till they were bleeding and was acting like there was nothing wrong. For her, as long as she had something to bring back, everything was right in the world.

[petev]

Well here are my two pampered pets, mostly loungers, sometime hunters. Jenny is an English Springer Spaniel and will be 13 in Feb., and Drake is an American Water Spaniel age 4. They are good companions to me.
The photo with the birds is about 3 years old. The others were taken today.

[boarhog]

Well, here are our two spoiled rotton babies! The first is Taz, short for Tazmanian Devil! She is supposed to be a Minature Pincer, but not all that minature. The Bride has had her on a diet since the Vet said she was diabetic and overweight. At one time, she was almost 30 lbs! A real PIA!!!

And this big lug is a traveling man that made himself at home in our yard. He had been abused somewhere, and was a little shy, but has turned out to be the sweetest, most loving dog in the neighborhood. At one time, he had three names. One neighbor had been calling him Knuckles, another called him Butterbean, and I had started calling him Toby. I guess Toby must have stuck, because he comes when called. He won't stay in the fenced part of the yard, and I joke that he has a food bowl on every porch on the block! Anyway, it looks like he likes living with us, because he waits for me down the road a bit, and beats me home when he sees my truck turn the corner.

Boarhog

[esshup]

Good looking dogs, both of ya!

Petev, I'll bet Jenny has seen a lot of birds.

[petev]

hup, Jenny has accounted for around 100 birds, or a little over. She will be hunting again soon now that deer season is over. Thanks.

[ourway77]

Here is my grandson with the other baby at 125# and he is the most gentle dog I've ever owned.

He has just turned 4 years old, my grandson just turned 3. My grandson sits on him, pulls his ears, and tail. Lou

[whyohe]

Lou i pitty any one that tries to hurt your grand son! I bet he is very protective. (not in the bad way either)

[petev]

Here are some pictures from todays hunt. They were taken with a digital SLR camera. The springer is almost 13 and almost totally deaf, but flushed and retrieved 4 birds. The American Water Spaniel is 4 and retrieved 7 of 7 birds he flushed. The birds were chukkars on a preserve. This was a great day, and much of the reason for taking the pictures was that it is probably on of the springer's last hunt. And yes, the other picture is of me, trying to coax the first bird from Drake, A great day afield!