WoofnHoof

Lol DB they are sooo much easier than the big horses for days like this, you can sit on the ground and let them graze and you don't have to worry about being crushed to death, I put the awning on the float across and just lay down in the shade right next to the ponies, just so easy! :laugh:

My SV is the same, I am hoping to try her on Clomicalm (sp?) this storm season to see if it helps her with her storm phobia and general anxiety. She doesn't have a run yet (I am looking into getting one) so she has to be crated during the day when I'm at work especially if there is a chance of a storm otherwise she takes off and she has done a lot of damage to fences and herself getting out. I'm currently working only 4 days a week and she has the run of the yard when I'm at home at night (unless it storms in which case it's back in the crate for the duration of the storm as she will still try to escape even with me there) so yeah not ideal but you do the best you can to keep your dog safe and comfortable. She seems to cope well enough with it she has a good run when she's let out and the rest of the time she mostly just chills out on the couch and takes herself outside when she feels like it.

Lol no didn't take long she already has 3 new rugs :D Of course finding her size has been a bit of a nightmare apparently it's the most common size for minis and so it was a struggle to find any! Poor girl didn't have any the other day when the cold snap began she was shaking with cold and of course it was raining as well so that made it worse so I borrowed some rugs from a friend for her so she warmed up nicely :) Thanks to the freezing cold yesterday with a bitterly cold wind (apparent temp didn't top 7 all day!) didn't wash either pony so they were absolutely feral for the AMR show today but I was told it's all very informal not to worry. Well a fair number of proper mini people turned up so it was a bit embarassing bringing out my scrubbers but nevertheless we had a nice day out :) Tiny and Saffy were really good apart from a bit of rearing from TP it was all good :) He didn't do well in his conformation classes of course having legs in different time zones tends to do that, the judge was very happy to hear he is being gelded shortly! :laugh: But he did get a third in best head and a second in best trot beating heaps of the proper show minis so that was very cool :) The judge did like everything about him except his legs so those were good classes for him Saffy did ok too she would have been better off being clipped and clean but it was all good fun, being a bit of an old broodie she wasn't keen on mustering up a trot but she was very easygoing and just accepted all the hulabaloo which was great she's a real sweetheart the only vice she has is that she will kick another horse if they are up her bum (which TP is still doing on occasion) so you have to be aware of who is behind her. Anyway it was a nice day out with the littlies and so here are some piccies :) Saffy on parade: Tiny pony double trouble:

Was going to suggest this as a possibility, it would be worth getting a bile acid/liver function test done as it can be more common in maltese.

:laugh: the saddest part is that it's my day off work I guess nerding is something more difficult to escape Crossing does make things difficult, but the study looked at so many different genetic markers the over-riding signal should come through, the extra wolf DNA would increase the statistical error but I don't think it would adjust their position in the phylogenetic tree :) The paper - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20237475 Cool thanks weasels some light reading for my day off too! :laugh:

Yes they certainly can be kept as pets with a good enclosure - I'm just a big fan of all the amazing selective breeding we've done to make dogs the awesome things they are :) *nerd hat* there was a huge study on the relationships among dog breeds in 2010, and the basenji came out as the first to have split off from the wolf-dog divergence. The next oldest split was between wolves and a group they labelled "ancient and spitz" which included dingoes, NGSDs, chow-chows, akitas, shar-pei, and huskies & malamutes :) Lol sounds like I've been out nerded weasels :D the one I read re husky genetics appears to have been superseded by yours if you still have the reference I'd love to have a read :) Sibes are a little confusing though as they were crossed with the grey wolf back in the Inuit days but how much of that has been retained I'm not sure.

what a seriously cute chi you hve. love the ears. Thanks asal :) unfortunately I lost him earlier this year can't quite bring myself to update my siggy yet I love being part of this passionate dog community I got a lot of support when my little guy passed away and I lurk and learn a lot too.

I'm a long term member who hardly ever posts about dogs, does that mean I don't contribute or don't learn anything here?

yes, but they have been selectively bred - maremmas, sighthounds and huskies all have other qualities that we have chosen and enhanced to make them better companions to us and our needs. They have been moulded as domestic animals more suited to our lives than a wild animal :) That is true but I think that dingos are probably on the borderline between truly wild and tolerable cohabitation with humans, in terms of their ability to integrate into human life. From what I've seen of them they are no more challenging or difficult than a husky, but then a husky is about as close to a wolf as you can get and still be a dog both genetically and behaviourally so it's quite interesting the breadth of characteristics that encompass that which we call 'dog' :)

You could easily be describing a siberian husky :)

I'd be surprised if any huskies would pass given their prey drive'.

Come on - are you saying that buying a puppy from a pet shop that has taken them from a puppy farmer would be O.K. if they employed someone to screen buyers? Are you saying its O.K. to buy a puppy from a puppy farmer as long as they screen them ? Lots of people dont want to drive hundreds of kilometres to visit a breeder and see the environment a pup is raised in either and many breeders would prefer not to have to have their loungerooms inspected by srangers but this is what is being advocated. No live animals in pet shops - regardless of whether they are rescue dogs or not and its up to the shelter to offer surroundings where people can view them just as its up to a breeder. Since this is a thread about rescue dogs in pet stores my comments don't refer to puppy farm puppies which are a seperate issue IMO. Rescues need all the help they can get there are barriers to them that don't exist for most breeders, going to a breeders house to look at a pup is vastly different to going to a shelter the two cannot be compared IMO.

There is one point I don't know if its been made as I haven't read everything but not everyone wants to go to a shelter environment for their new pet. For many people getting a new pet is a happy, good experience and yet the very nature of the shelter environment gives it that sad desperate sort of feeling because you can't take them all home, and for people like me it would be extremely distressing to have to choose one animal and leave the other sad faces there to an uncertain fate. As Cosmo said its the screening process which will determine the suitability of the home, where a person bought their animal should be irrelevant as long as the screening is appropriate.

Lol she might get to a show if I can convince one of my nieces to take her, she can't be clipped yet though as she doesn't have much of a rug collection *yet* :) Haha no definitely stopping at two for the time being, I really wanted another to keep TP company and she popped up at a good time and was a bit of a bargain so couldn't resist :) Well sort of, my mum knows me well and knew I was hedging around the issue so she's figured it out :laugh:

It's a very cute pic :) He's still a bit slow on the uptake in terms of staying out of her way at dinner time but he's getting there, I'm glad he has some company his own size now it was a bit sad when the big horses would wander off down the back paddock and leave him on his own.

Although because of his age I'd say its more that he can't figure out if he's a foal or a big boy.

Lol Raz I'm sure hell figure it out soon enough, colts can be very smart they know not to go the business end right away have to whisper sweet nothing's in her ear first :laugh:

Lol Caz unfortunately she only puts him in his place at feed time she is a broodie so shed let him have his way so he's for the snip ASAP :)

Lol you are welcome to visit but I will be doing a head count before you can leave :D

Lol Jo I only haz 2! The stud was mini heaven some very very gorgeous tiny ponies many champions from the mini horse scene and an imported world champ who was a bit of a stunner

Very exciting times for tiny pony today he got a little friend :D Her name is Mini World Sapphire she is a gorgeous 13 year old mare, poor TP copped a couple of boots learning all about personal space (especially at dinnertime!) which was a bit scary but he is ok and she will be a very good influence for him. He does appear to know he's a colt though so he's in for the chop very soon! Making a nuisance of himself: Pretty girl :)

Wow the gardens are looking amazing! Awesome pics

She's a stunner! I see she is a bit like B and likes to lay in unmentionable things and gets green stains as well! :laugh:

As someone who often has young, male dogs (and usually entire until they pass all testing), I'd very strongly disagree with this. Posturing is normal, minor spats are acceptable but what the OP described does not sound like normal behaviour to me. Sounds totally NORMAL: Spud sounds normal. Murphy sounds normal. They all just dont get along. <Big deal :) rehome Spud with disclosure and to a suitable home> Hardly a pts situation for two young upcoming males and not even blood drawn. Over the past two/three days our young Bull Arab (Spud, 10mths) has attacked our Dobie/Husky cross (Murphy, 12 mths old)a few times, with absolutely no provocation. The four young dogs spend most of the day running around our large fenced dog yard (about two acres fenced off for them) or sleeping. They play roughly, but well together, however now Spud has attacked Murphy with what looks like real intention. No blood has been drawn, but I am very fearful it may not be far off if we don't address the situation immediately. The OP is experiencing normal pack dynamics. Have dog owners become so removed from what is dog that a 10 month old upcoming male going for the 12 month old male, seems abnormal? OP: What you see and what the dog sees are not the same thing. So now you have learned that two young males which are friends as baby puppies, are often not friends as they become young adults. As an owner of large dogs where DA is not abnormal, I can tell you if there was no blood drawn or physical injury, then the fight was not far up the barometer of serious dog fight. If Spud had a high propensity for DA 1. you would have seen the behaviour earlier 2. the attack would have been more serious It is obvious that Spud and Murphy cannot coexist. It is no shortcoming on your behalf and there is nothing abnormal about the circumstance (okay upsetting yes, but this is what can happen when you have multiple dogs). If it gives you peace of mind, enlist the help of a behaviorist to help you reach a decision, and also to give you a better assessment of your pack dynamics, as it sounds like you would benefit from this also :) NB: Aggression is not a disease. It is not something that is 'fixed', but something that is managed. In your case, management is keeping the two dogs forever separated. I agree with this. Keeping dogs separate can be a PITA but it is totally doable.

Can't call him tiny tim I'm afraid I know a dog called tiny tim :) His colour will hopefully come out with his summer coat you can see a hint of where the splashes are but a lot of pallies go quite pale over winter and some never really darken up much, time will tell whether he gets a gold pally colour or stays more of a creamy colour.