[condor]

Originally Posted by Parthasarathig

why dont you want me to buy competition bred puppies?

Too much premium with no real advantages - unless may be you want him to become another champ, where the certified lineage will add to the snob value (if I may say so). Take a regular within your desired breed, and train him up. The patience with which you train him is what is going to matter.

[Parthasarathig]

Originally Posted by condor

Too much premium with no real advantages - unless may be you want him to become another champ, where the certified lineage will add to the snob value (if I may say so). Take a regular within your desired breed, and train him up. The patience with which you train him is what is going to matter.

Nope no bragging or shows for me. Only show will be sometimes letting the neighbors baby play with him or showing off how friendly he is. Thats the only snob value for me.

Do dogs run on treadmills? Weve treadmill at home and maybe would use it on days when i feel sick and unable to take the puppy out for a walk. I mean for the pup to run and exercise on the treadmill.

Thanks once again.

[KarthikK]

Another detailed reply for your queries (I am jobless at home today), haha

Originally Posted by Parthasarathig

As i understand what you mean the dog biting its owner for no reason. I maybe going in for a labrador itself. I guess it will feel best suited for the weather.

What I meant was for all this discussion about champion v/s normal mass-manufactured pedigreed pups. For people who think it is all about show and no actual gain, I would like to correct them that being from a champion bloodline guarantees the owner the peace of mind that the pup is a good example of the breed and will not have genetic defects that result from bad breeding. Like I mentioned in a post earlier, dog show champions are just declared as good specimens of their breeds, nothing more. It doesn't 'show' anything as such. Good specimen means the pup is free of defects.

In the context of the example I used, a labrador is not supposed to be aggressive ever. If for no reason it bit its owner repeatedly, it exhibited signs of aggression and hence does not conform to labrador's breed standards. We buy pedigreed breeds expecting them to be in a certain way, but genetic defects might cause unpredictable issues.

Pugs are cute but are they playful?

They are. Most dogs are playful. In fact all dogs are playful. As they grow older, the playfulness decreases as they gain mental maturity. The pug is ideal for apartment dwellers or for people who do not have the confidence to handle large breeds. Exercise requirement is also minimal compared to the big breeds. Note that labradors require good deal of exercise, at least a 1.5 hour walk every day (say for around 5-6 km at least).

I was also seeing this breed called St. Bernard. Will they feel comfortable in Bangalore weather without ac? This i was thinking for myself.

There are a few people who keep these breeds here in Bangalore. I do not recommend St. Bernards since it is not their natural climate here, not even close to it. They are from the Swiss alps, meant to be in the snow at minus 5 deg celsius, not in the concrete jungle in Indian metros at 35 deg celsius. They struggle a lot outdoors and most of these snow-region breeds (even Siberian huskies suffer) in tropical countries suffer from an increased metabolic rate due to the higher temperature here, leading to decreased life span here. They are also prone to sun strokes and must spend majority of the daytime inside AC rooms or indoors to prevent this.

But when i go out for work and if noone is at home then the pup will be alone and i feel it may get depressed. I guess il have to put that plan for my pup on hold then.

No point buying a dog if it is going to be left alone for 8 hours when you are at a full time job. I suggest you buy one if your parents or someone else will be at home taking care of it, or else if you work closeby and can spare some time in between work to come home and spend some time and get back. Lonely pets tend to develop separation anxiety, destructive behaviour, continuous barking habits, etc.

Labrador it is for my relative. Im gonna be busy for a few days. After that il be dedicating sometime to meet the breeders before i bring home a new buddy.

Good luck to you and to your relative! Do let us know your choice!

P.s rottweiler puppies look so cute.

Are you considering rottweilers too? The owner needs to be very calm headed and strict to train this breed. It is a stubborn breed which will test the owner's leadership qualities time and again. Wouldn't recommend it if you are giving it to an elderly first timer with heart problems.

Nope no bragging or shows for me. Only show will be sometimes letting the neighbors baby play with him or showing off how friendly he is. Thats the only snob value for me.

Again I reiterate, dog show champions only mean they are free from genetic defects and are guaranteed pedigreed examples. Being from the dog show fraternity myself, I wouldn't recommend anything apart from champion bloodlines for this sole reason of having peace of mind with a defect-free pup. Spending 5k more on a champion pup is better than regretting after some defect or deformity crops up later on in its life, making both your and its life miserable later.

Consider this funny analogy for this champion v/s normal pup scenario - This is like buying a company manufactured genuine accessory with warranty (champion bloodline) v/s a chinese make which is considerably cheaper and easily available but without warranty (normal pups). What would you prefer if you were given a choice? Save money and regret with a defective piece later if it conks? Or live with peace of mind that your product is fully tested and approved for reliability? Keep in mind this will be a 13-15 year relationship.

Do dogs run on treadmills? Weve treadmill at home and maybe would use it on days when i feel sick and unable to take the puppy out for a walk. I mean for the pup to run and exercise on the treadmill.

Hilarious idea. No sir, not at all. They will not run on treadmills. One of my friends tried this and the dog learnt to jump out of the gap between the treadmill belt and the handrest rails onto the floor. From my understanding, they don't seem to like the dizzy feeling of walking (by leg movement) and moving nowhere. Some dogs get nauseated due to motion sickness with treadmills from this 'walking without moving' effect *lol*.

On those rare days when you feel sick or unable to take the dog out for a walk, it is okay. As long as you finish his/her nature's call, you can cut short the walk on those days and bring the dog back home.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by ruchirtnt

I came across a kind of flowerhorn parrot fish and the shop keeper told me that they are sold in pairs only; i asked the basic difference and he told me that they do not grow much bigger in size just like flowerhorns and he also had the flowerhorn living seperately
the question is that can i keep this 2" pair with my other cichilids like green terror, parrot, oscar, firemouth and angels?

I am not a fan of the Parrot fish much less the flowerhorn parrot. Technically yes they do not grow big and are less aggressive than the regular flowerhorns. There is no such thing as buying/selling only in pairs. You are the customer and you can pick and choose. If not in that LFS then find another LFS which lets you do that

As for keeping them with your current crop of fishes, i am sorry but i forgot your tank size [in case you had mentioned it previously. Too lazy to search] but keeping in mind as to how big oscars and GTs will grow and what space they would individually require when reaching maturity i would suggest at least a 4x2x2. And loose the Angels dude. They are also Cichlids sure but they do not belong with the Bullies of the cichlid world

Remember when stocking your tank imagine the maximum size of the fish and whether it will be ok in that tank. Do not think you will buy bigger tank when the fish gets bigger. That rarely happens.

You are better off buying the biggest tank you can possibly accommodate in the first time itself and save yourself a lot of trouble.

[Gansan]

Would anybody be interested in adopting two (black male and brown female) Dobermans? Both 3 years old, well built and sterilized. The owner's family (my colleague) has to move abroad. Will make ideal watch dogs for large properties / farm houses. If anyone is interested I will get the photos of the dogs.

They are at present contemplating to give their house rent free, in return for which the tenants must take care of the dogs.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by Gansan

They are at present contemplating to give their house rent free, in return for which the tenants must take care of the dogs.

Sounds like a terrific deal. Does that mean that those dogs would have to be given up once the owner returns ? Also where is this house ? Could help people to decide.

[Gansan]

^^Porur. I don't think they will be returning anytime soon, else they will not contemplate giving the dogs away. My colleague's husband is accepting some new, senior position at Kuwait.

[ruchirtnt]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

I am not a fan of the Parrot fish much less the flowerhorn parrot. Technically yes they do not grow big and are less aggressive than the regular flowerhorns. There is no such thing as buying/selling only in pairs. You are the customer and you can pick and choose. If not in that LFS then find another LFS which lets you do that

I added a pair of flowerhorn parrot in my current school and here goes my oscar behind those two poor fellows, they are fairly bigger than oscar but still they seldom run away

As of now I have put a partition in the tank but will have to move them to a bigger tank

[nitin_80]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

On those rare days when you feel sick or unable to take the dog out for a walk, it is okay. As long as you finish his/her nature's call, you can cut short the walk on those days and bring the dog back home.

I would suggest training the pup to answer natures call in the household bathroom also, in addition to letting him do it outside. Reason being if you are not able to take your pet out for some reason, the dog will control the urge to do it at home however desperate he/she is, knowing that its wrong. This may later lead to kidney/ bladder ailments if controlled frequently.
This also helps when the dog is having an upset stomach or during the winters, when he might want to pee more frequently. He doesnt have to wait for us to take him out.

We have a labrador, pug and a pomeranian at home and they are also toilet trained, so if for some reason we are not able to take them for their daily walks at the usual time they do it in the bathroom.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by nitin_80

We have a labrador, pug and a pomeranian at home and they are also toilet trained, so if for some reason we are not able to take them for their daily walks at the usual time they do it in the bathroom.

That is fantastic, maybe I should ask you to teach me to train my next dog.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by nitin_80

I would suggest training the pup to answer natures call in the household bathroom also, in addition to letting him do it outside. Reason being if you are not able to take your pet out for some reason, the dog will control the urge to do it at home however desperate he/she is, knowing that its wrong. This may later lead to kidney/ bladder ailments if controlled frequently.
This also helps when the dog is having an upset stomach or during the winters, when he might want to pee more frequently. He doesnt have to wait for us to take him out.

We have a labrador, pug and a pomeranian at home and they are also toilet trained, so if for some reason we are not able to take them for their daily walks at the usual time they do it in the bathroom.

Good suggestion nitin_80, and worth trying for those who want to. In my opinion, Unless the pets are punished harshly for doing it at home, I don't think they would go to the extent of controlling it so much that they will land up with kidney problems .

Although I haven't trained my golden to do it at our home, she will alert me when she needs to relieve herself by whining softly. Anyway, we follow strict time patterns of meal time and walk time, so on an average she is out once in 4 hours. If she drinks too much liquid and needs to relieve earlier, she will whine. We have a large open field around less than 50 metres from my place (I live in an independent house, not a flat), so on those rare days when we can't go for long walks, I go near this open area.

Part of housebreaking comes by encouraging them to do it outside, not by punishing them for doing it inside. By instinct, they tend to go by scent and relieve in the same place as earlier. For people who need to walk too much to allow them to relieve, training like nitin_80 is a great idea. Especially valid for people who stay in apartments, etc.

[archat68]

How to train the dogs using the toilet? I've tried but she will do it only outdoors not in the toilet. Toilet comes handy in the monsoon. I have large courtyard where she relieves herself. But the problem is she doesn't use a fixed spot. My dog is very well mannered, she let us know when she needs to go outside. But we can't leave her home alone for more than 6-7 hours (which is very very rare BTW) in the fear that she may not control.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by archat68

My dog is very well mannered, she let us know when she needs to go outside. But we can't leave her home alone for more than 6-7 hours (which is very very rare BTW) in the fear that she may not control.

Yeah 6-7 hours is around the max that they should be taken till. I agree, even 6-7 hours is rare. If my family goes out for a full day for more than 7-8 hours, say to a resort or something on a weekend, we have our maid servant check in on the dog, take her out and stay for a while in between. Even this is rare.

Training dogs to use the Indian style toilets should be fairly okay to accomplish since they are at floor level, but how does one actually train the dog to use a western commode? I am curious to know, sounds almost impossible. Most of the modern houses (including mine) have only WC and no IC, so I have never attempted 'toilet-training' at home.

Or perhaps by 'using toilet' they mean the dog does it in the toilet room and the owners wash / pick it up later ?? @nitin_80 please confirm the method you use.

[ruchirtnt]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Yeah 6-7 hours is around the max that they should be taken till. I agree, even 6-7 hours is rare. If my family goes out for a full day for more than 7-8 hours, say to a resort or something on a weekend, we have our maid servant check in on the dog, take her out and stay for a while in between. Even this is rare.

Training dogs to use the Indian style toilets should be fairly okay to accomplish since they are at floor level, but how does one actually train the dog to use a western commode? I am curious to know, sounds almost impossible. Most of the modern houses (including mine) have only WC and no IC, so I have never attempted 'toilet-training' at home.

Or perhaps by 'using toilet' they mean the dog does it in the toilet room and the owners wash / pick it up later ?? @nitin_80 please confirm the method you use.

+1 to this. even i was thinking the same

[archat68]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Or perhaps by 'using toilet' they mean the dog does it in the toilet room and the owners wash / pick it up later ??

For me even that would do as it'll be a rare occasion .