Having read how clever and opportunist our dogs are at abandoning and bending our rules when caravaning, it let's you see how they have successfully adapted to MAN being THEIR best friend.
Thats true static. With dogs though they don't ask for much, just feeding and somewhere to sleep and in return they show such loyalty and affection. My dogs have never shown a mean streak, never bitten or threatened to bite anyone. I'm aware there are dogs that do bite or threaten but thats a problem that I personally couldn't cope with, I simply wouldn't have that kind of dog. I would be forever on tenterhooks and then the enjoyment of companionship with dogs is lost, even if the dog is 100% loyal to its owner. I've attended many incidents whilst in the Ambulance Service where people have been savaged by dogs and some aren't a pretty sight, a crawling child bitten on the face by a spaniel comes to mind. I was in the vets last week when someone brought in their spaniel covered in blood. It had been attacked by two dalmations whilst out walking with its owner. The dalmations were running loose off their leads. IMO dogs like that should be destroyed before it happens again, either to another dog or person. The owner should also have the book thrown at them.Oops, sorry for going off "dogs in bed topic". Once I'm on my soapbox I tend to go down a branch line instead of staying on the mainline - hehheh!
Lord B it is therefore time that you got back on the right track and not go up a siding without a gaurd. Joking aside I think it is not the dog that is fully to blame but the responsibility for the dog's behaviour is also that of it's owner and also the other people it comes into contact with. I am sure that a dog can sense whether a person or other animal is going to be hostile to it and will take the necessary action to protect itself. We have had many dogs over the years including a Corgi, Jack Russell Terrier and a Dalmation and they have all been almost human in their nature - it is how the dog is reared that determines the nature of the animal.
Forgot to mention that the Dalmation used to sleep on the bed with us and was the best and cheapest form of contraception in Bridgend.
I couldn't agree more Colin, that's why the owners shouldn't let their dangerous dogs off leads. You knew the limitations of your dogs as I do, thats why I keep them on a lead because they would go deaf if let off and saw another person or dog. They like to meet other dogs as well as people but once off a lead I have no control over them and if another dog savaged them I wouldn't forgive myself. Another point of having them on a lead, I can see where they dump and pick it up, unlike some whose dogs are running around all over while the owner is miles in front or busy reading a newspaper. Easiest way for a dog owner to shirk their responsibilities though is to send their kid out to walk the dog knowing nobody will tell the kid off for not scooping :O)
The question to ask is why is the dog dangerous? There have been postings on this topic where German Sheppard Dogs, which are supposed to be dangerous, are as soft as can be and totally useless as a gaurd dog. The bread of dog which supposedly has a reputation for being dangerous can also be a real softy. Generally the owner has instilled into that particular bread its viscious instinct. I have always been given to understand that Corgis are nasty dogs but ours was a total pet and did not even consider attacking either a person or another animal.
I enjoy the cartoon strip in the Daily Mail of Fred Bassett and on many occassions can see our past dogs in it.
Hi Colin
I supose it boils down to what you have a dog for. Our retriever is a working dog (see http://www.penrose-chesapeakes.co.uk/ - so she came from your oart of the world!) the other is a rescue chap whose owner died.
Both are under control on or off the lead - that is how they have been trained.
A gun dog has to be or it is never allowed back on a shoot.
I do not care how clean a dog is or where it is allowed to go or where it is not allowed to go, unlike a baby, a dog can and will lick its backside.
It is a personal opinion but for what it is worth - I think a dog should be a dog - not a substitute for something else.
I supose it boils down to what you have a dog for. Our retriever is a working dog (see http://www.penrose-chesapeakes.co.uk/ - so she came from your oart of the world!) the other is a rescue chap whose owner died.
Both are under control on or off the lead - that is how they have been trained.
A gun dog has to be or it is never allowed back on a shoot.
I do not care how clean a dog is or where it is allowed to go or where it is not allowed to go, unlike a baby, a dog can and will lick its backside.
It is a personal opinion but for what it is worth - I think a dog should be a dog - not a substitute for something else.
When we had a cruiser on the Mon & Brec canal there was a GSD a few boats up from our mooring at Goytre Wharf. Like you said Colin, this dog was totally harmless, infact I would say more than that, a wimp :O) He wouldn't walk on the tow path past our boat because of our dogs and they are the friendliest dogs you can meet. He would walk up the bank into the wood and come down the other side of our boat. One day I was working on my boat and the GSD ran by - followed by a boxer dragging a lead and screw in peg. The boxer caught the GSD and it was pitiful to hear its whelps of pain as the boxer set about it. Not once did the GSD retalliate. As was expected there were a few heated words between the owners after.
Thanks to His lordship for his quick response on my behalf, Frank my dogs are very well behaved and I would be of no intrest to channel 4 unless they were doing a programme on responsible dog owners. At home they sleep in their baskets downstairs and would never venture onto the bed unless invited so Colin It most certainly isnt like living in a kennel. As we breed and show west highlands our kennels at home are always spotless. in a past life when nursing most houses I visited were not up to our kennels standard of cleanliness. We personaly are not into our dogs licking our faces joby and i seem to remember during one of my nursing lectures way back thats the human mouth was the most dirty and disease ridden orfice of all mammals so take care everyone with their chosen cannine or otherwise partners joby.
Caravanning for 20 years i must admit to finding other caravanners children more of an issue than our canine friends most dog owners in caravans clean up after their pets.I personaly have been very strict with my own children so they are responsible young people when on site and take into consideration that other people are there to enjoy their lesure time as well as they are. I would rather cuddle up to one of my westies any day than a smoker i find that habit perticularly offensive and would rather live in a kennel than an ashtray. to continue in the provocative manner long live 4x4's
Caravanning for 20 years i must admit to finding other caravanners children more of an issue than our canine friends most dog owners in caravans clean up after their pets.I personaly have been very strict with my own children so they are responsible young people when on site and take into consideration that other people are there to enjoy their lesure time as well as they are. I would rather cuddle up to one of my westies any day than a smoker i find that habit perticularly offensive and would rather live in a kennel than an ashtray. to continue in the provocative manner long live 4x4's
Oh you wicked man Triphazard - the thought police will be onto this thread now that you have mentioned (shock horror!!) 4x4 (gasp!!)
Only thing I would say is that whilst the human mouth is certainly a dirty place as regards the bacteria it harbours, the bacteria there is usually commensal in that we all have them.
Problem arise when even the same bacteria of a dif strain gets transferred from one animal to another.
Classic case is E. coli - a commensal in both humans and animals - but if an animal strains gets into a human - real problems result. Sleeping facilitates this cross species transfer.
People can make all the excuses under the sun - but at the end of the day - sleeping in the same bed as an animal is not a good idea from any standpoint. But the main one being the well being of the dog itself as well as its owners.
Only thing I would say is that whilst the human mouth is certainly a dirty place as regards the bacteria it harbours, the bacteria there is usually commensal in that we all have them.
Problem arise when even the same bacteria of a dif strain gets transferred from one animal to another.
Classic case is E. coli - a commensal in both humans and animals - but if an animal strains gets into a human - real problems result. Sleeping facilitates this cross species transfer.
People can make all the excuses under the sun - but at the end of the day - sleeping in the same bed as an animal is not a good idea from any standpoint. But the main one being the well being of the dog itself as well as its owners.
I agree!...
I love my dog, and my 4x4 and my dog is welcome on my bed (not in it) and my dog is my "baby" until the real ones come along!
I love my dog, and my 4x4 and my dog is welcome on my bed (not in it) and my dog is my "baby" until the real ones come along!
Clive as a retriever is a gun dog it is naturally a soft mouthed dog for carrying its prey. This type of dog, even when trained to retrieve, is generally of a very friendly nature to the human being. The dogs which tend to have a more vicious nature are those bred with a hard mouth for ratting, baiting, etc. and these tend to be the worse type if they have been trained to kill. As far as letting the dog sleep on the bed she was a very clean dog, wouldn't go outside unless one of the family went with her. She died almost four years ago and my wife will not let me bury her ashes. Her ashes remain in a sealed casket in the kitchen.
My wife's uncle had a corgi and I was the only person he would come to - he would go for any member of her uncle's family as she was teased and tormented as a puppy. He had this inbuilt sense that told him that I would not be cruel and he would come to me and sit on my lap (the corgi not the uncle). How someone can be cruel to a dog I do not understand.
My wife's uncle had a corgi and I was the only person he would come to - he would go for any member of her uncle's family as she was teased and tormented as a puppy. He had this inbuilt sense that told him that I would not be cruel and he would come to me and sit on my lap (the corgi not the uncle). How someone can be cruel to a dog I do not understand.
I was enjoying your posting then you had to go and spoilt it right at the end! Jim.Thanks to His lordship for his quick response on my behalf, Frank my dogs are very well behaved and I would be of no intrest to channel 4 unless they were doing a programme on responsible dog owners. At home they sleep in their baskets downstairs and would never venture onto the bed unless invited so Colin It most certainly isnt like living in a kennel. As we breed and show west highlands our kennels at home are always spotless. in a past life when nursing most houses I visited were not up to our kennels standard of cleanliness. We personaly are not into our dogs licking our faces joby and i seem to remember during one of my nursing lectures way back thats the human mouth was the most dirty and disease ridden orfice of all mammals so take care everyone with their chosen cannine or otherwise partners joby.
Caravanning for 20 years i must admit to finding other caravanners children more of an issue than our canine friends most dog owners in caravans clean up after their pets.I personaly have been very strict with my own children so they are responsible young people when on site and take into consideration that other people are there to enjoy their lesure time as well as they are. I would rather cuddle up to one of my westies any day than a smoker i find that habit perticularly offensive and would rather live in a kennel than an ashtray. to continue in the provocative manner long live 4x4's
Colin, we lost a beautiful schnauzer at 6 years old. The vet didn't know the cause but it devastated us. For years I couldn't bring myself to look at a photo of her and its only recently, after 6 years, that I've been able to watch videos of her which I took mainly on our boat on the canal. Like you, we had her cremated and her casket is now on the bookshelf with instructions for them to go in my box when I peg out. It's hard for dog haters (or even haters of all forms of life except humans) to understand the feeling of loss when a family pet passes away but I'm glad that I'm not them because I would miss so much out of life. Regarding Sarahs comment that her dog sleeps on the bed, not in it, ours do to but to the detractors that wouldn't make any difference, in or on. Our three sleep up in the corner. If dogs do have all these nasty bugs that some will have you believe it surprises me that theres no kind of epidemic but maybe other owners like me aren't into french kissing their pets ;O) hehheh! Agree Colin but people are cruel and if I had my way they would receive the same treatment as a punishment as they dealt out to the dogs. What I also find horrific is the treatment they receive in Korea. To see their sad faces and doleful eyes is very upsetting but to throw them alive into boiling vats of scalding water beggars belief at how low humans can sink. I would gladly throw the perpetrators into the same vats and lose no sleep over it.
Can empathise, Lord B. Cannot even begin to comprehend the mind set behind so called humans who treat animals in this way, I do know that studies have been done that tie-in with animal cruelty and a progression to crimes against their fellow human beings. I agree with your comments about dogs off leads and out of control.
If you can't control your 'He's a friendly/little/big/bouncing heap of joy (****** to us trying to walk our dogs in peace)KEEP THEM ON THEIR LEADS. Clive and I own rescue dogs and have spent a lot of time and patience re-training them only for some 'It's all right, he's friendly' nutcase to allow their off lead dog at us. Sorry for the political licence Clive but I think you would agree.
If you can't control your 'He's a friendly/little/big/bouncing heap of joy (****** to us trying to walk our dogs in peace)KEEP THEM ON THEIR LEADS. Clive and I own rescue dogs and have spent a lot of time and patience re-training them only for some 'It's all right, he's friendly' nutcase to allow their off lead dog at us. Sorry for the political licence Clive but I think you would agree.
At a site I went to last year they had an dog walk field. One dog was running loose and obviously bothering two others walking their dogs on leads. The owner shouted the dog until he was blue in the face but to no avail. He had no control of it whatsoever. When we passed him it was obvious he was embarrassed and said "dogs do love their exercise off the lead". I told him that we keep ours on the lead for the exact reasons he is having, they wouldn't come back if they saw another person or dog, and also when on a lead we can see where they do a dump and pick it up respectfully. Unsuprisingly he made no comment. :O)
OK - general point - NOT AIMED AT ANYONE - Dogs do lick - it is the way that they show affection in the main. We do not allow them to lick our faces but we do like it when we sit on the ground and the dogs gently turn and lick our hands. We wash our hands and have wipes in the car for use before eating or preparing food.
My point about dogs on, or worse, IN the bed is that wherever you walk them - particularly on a designated dog walk on a caravan site is that they are likely to be walking through all sorts (and before any one says about picking up - yes we all should - and no, even when we do it is difficult to get 100% of it, and sadly some lazy buggers just do not bother!) - thus when you bring your dog "home" - unlike us they cannot take their shoes off.
So unless you wash their feet with something like Hibiscrub every time - your dog will be carrying all sorts of interesting nasties onto what you sleep on.
Would you think it hygienic to go for a walk then go to bed with your uncleaned walking boots still on? - I doubt it. But no doubt some dogs have been trained to use the shower before bedtime and line up for their pedicure each night.
If you guys that partake of this interesting predilection of wanting to share you sleeping arrangements with another species are happy to do so - then that is your choice.
I am surprised you want to shout about it tho'
My point about dogs on, or worse, IN the bed is that wherever you walk them - particularly on a designated dog walk on a caravan site is that they are likely to be walking through all sorts (and before any one says about picking up - yes we all should - and no, even when we do it is difficult to get 100% of it, and sadly some lazy buggers just do not bother!) - thus when you bring your dog "home" - unlike us they cannot take their shoes off.
So unless you wash their feet with something like Hibiscrub every time - your dog will be carrying all sorts of interesting nasties onto what you sleep on.
Would you think it hygienic to go for a walk then go to bed with your uncleaned walking boots still on? - I doubt it. But no doubt some dogs have been trained to use the shower before bedtime and line up for their pedicure each night.
If you guys that partake of this interesting predilection of wanting to share you sleeping arrangements with another species are happy to do so - then that is your choice.
I am surprised you want to shout about it tho'
wE STAYED ON A SITE IN SPAIN THIS YEAR WHICH HAD A DOG SHOWER OUTSIDE THE TOILETBLOCK, WE USED IT MOST DAYS TO REMOVE SAND AND SEA WATER AFTER HIS NIB'S DAILY SWIM, WISH MORE SITES HAD THEM. I HAVE SHARED MY LIFE WITH DOGS AND HAVE NEVER EVER CAUGHT ANYTHING - KEEP THEM HEALTHY, WORMED AND PARASITE FREE AND YOUR FINE.
Katherine in all my years I have never known anyone catch anything off a dog. If we listened to the scaremongers we wouldn't set foot outside our homes for fear of catching some dreaded lurgy :O) BTW I wonder what happened to bird flu? Scaremongering, sensational journalism?
Quite right your lordship!!, it's the same with MRSA that we where all going to get each time we ventured into hospital.
I agree with Katherine and Lord B.
My dog is regularly wormed/frontlined, she is groomed regularly, clean, and always dried off when wet before entering caravan.
She sleeps on my bed occasionally (not in it) and I have never caught anything from my dog. I dont see the point of having a dog and then putting it into kennels everytime you holiday, our dog is our family and our holiday is her holiday too!!
I also prefer my dog's company to certain humans too!
My dog is regularly wormed/frontlined, she is groomed regularly, clean, and always dried off when wet before entering caravan.
She sleeps on my bed occasionally (not in it) and I have never caught anything from my dog. I dont see the point of having a dog and then putting it into kennels everytime you holiday, our dog is our family and our holiday is her holiday too!!
I also prefer my dog's company to certain humans too!
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