HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: myhui@bnr.ca (Michael Hui)
Subject: Re: bunny questions
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd., Ottawa, Canada
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 92 20:41:33 GMT

In article <1992Dec24.113744.381@news.cs.indiana.edu> "Amy Young Leith" <alyoung@cherry.ucs.indiana.edu> writes:

>In article <22985@drutx.ATT.COM> njl@drutx.ATT.COM (LaRocheNJ) writes:

>>However, if he never frisks when let out of his cage, something is wrong.
>>I would suspect some malnutrition--vegetables and fruits are not good
>>nutrition.  I don't give a rabbit more than about 1/2-inch of carrot a day
>>or the equivalent in other vegetables and fruit.

>1/2 inch of carrot???  Whew, I'm doing something wrong.  Dink will eat
>a WHOLE carrot in a flash if given to him.  

I have started to wonder about this too.

Big Wig, the Big Bundle Of Bun, at 15 lbs and gaining fast, has
graduated in a matter of six months from two thin carrots with tops per
day (1 cm diameter, 15cm long carrot, 20 cm long greens), given one in
the morning and one at night, to four such carrots per day, to six such
carrots per day, and lately, he's done the totally unimaginable: he ate
two huge sticks of carrot a day, the kind without the attached green on
top, the kind meant for humans, the kind that's one big log of carrot
at 3cm diameter and 30 cm in length, PLUS a handful of super-green
parsley to substitute for the carrot greens, and then, he went AT IT at
his food dish and ate about two table spoons of pellets, and then did
his twirl, and ran about three circles around me. I now know he wants
to run circles whenever he twirls, because he's lately managed to
trained me to his every whim. Then, overnight, he eats more pellets,
and once in about every three nights he eats a 1 cm cube chunk of his
hay chew block in addition to everything above.

Now when he lies completely flat on the floor his tummy does spill out
a bit, and when I do the "fat test" on his tummy, by pinching the
skin to find out how thick the fat is underneath, I find that he
doesn't actually have a thick layer of fat, but his skin is indeed
loose. So I then tried to feel whether he's got a drooping belly by
reaching in underneath the Bun when he's all self absorbed into
finishing his big carrot, and I was surprised to find that there
isn't actually a droopy tummy underneath there at all.

Needless to say, all this does result in a copious amount of droppings
from this big guy every day.

I guess I better start to moderate his carrot intake.  Unless proved
otherwise, I believe the carrots, rich in vitamin A, probably healed
his eye infection, since this vitamin prevents night blindness and
helps the body resist infection. BTW, the Bun certainly has excellent
night vision: his circle running does not decrease in speed late at
night, when I turn off all the lights, when I can hardly see the Bun
(but he's pure black ...), yet he seems to be able to see everything
just fine.
-- 
Michael MY Hui  ~{~}  myhui@bnr.ca  Ottawa Canada
From: angela@brahms.udel.edu (Angela Lakwete)
Subject: Re: Rottweilers
Keywords: Rottweilers
Organization: University of Delaware
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 00:36:34 GMT

In article <1992Dec29.192020.18000@cbfsb.cb.att.com> rec1@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (robert.e.covello) writes:
>Hi all,
>
>Does anyone have a lot of experience with rotties.  I am having
>a small problem with her exitement level.  She's 6 1/2 months old
>and the one of the best dogs I've ever had.  When we come home
>she is so excited she won't stop jumping for about 20 min.  You
>try everything the books and people tell you (the knee, telling
>her to sit before she jumps) but they don't phase her.
>
>Any Suggestions
>
Ignore your dog when you come in.  Simply ignore him.  It will
take some time (possibly short) for the dog to get the hint that
the behavior will not be rewarded but it will happen.

Take a look at Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor.  She says to
ignore behavior that you don't want to encourage.  I've tried
her methods with an 8 yr old poodle I adopted from my shelter
about nine months ago.  Without coercion, he's just a changed
dog.

Good luck.


-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~angela@brahms.udel.edu~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
:      Univ. of Delaware: History of Technology         : 
:                CompuServe: 72657,1125                 :  
:     "Live simply that others may simply live."        : 
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
From: laird@stable.ecn.purdue.edu (Kyler Laird)
Subject: Clipping Nails (was Re: Electric Nail Grinder)
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network
Date: 30 Dec 92 15:30:00 GMT

I've not had an indoor dog before (does that matter?  perhaps I've just
been negligent with my outdoor dogs), and have not had the experience
of clipping a dog's nails, so I have a couple questions.

Is it necessary?  Is it breed specific?  How do you know that a dog's
nails need clipped?  What happens if they aren't clipped?  Why isn't
this something they take care of themselves?  (Just another one of
those things we bred away from the wolf in exchange for permanent
puppyness?)

Thanks for the info!  I'd hate to be guilty of mistreating my GSDx.

--kyler
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
From: jkjncs@ritvax.isc.rit.edu
Subject: Re: Obedience v. Breed
Reply-To: jkjncs@ritvax.isc.rit.edu
Organization: Rochester Institute of Technology
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 18:24:31 GMT

In article <9212211433.AA11101@waverunner.dcrt.nih.gov>, young@alw.nih.gov 
writes:
>|> 	I can easily tell the difference between labs from conformation lines
>|> and labs from field lines, too. So I don't think that you can single out
>|> goldens in this respect.
>
>No, you can add the English and Irish setters, but why?  The show standard
>for labs, tall, sleek, leggy is hardly what you'd want for a water dog.  
>Good water dogs in comparison look short and fat.  Just what are the show
>people breeding for?  Some arbitrary measure of good looks?

Interesting... Here in the Northeast, the field labs are the tall, leggy
ones and the show labs are the short, thick ones ("English type"). In fact,
some judges like the dogs so thick that a lot of show labs carry a *huge*
amount of excess weight to give the appearance of heavier bone :+(. In
contrast, the field dogs I've seen tend to be several inches taller, with
long thin heads, skinny tails and about 10000 times the energy level! :+)

************************************************************
* jane jackson and murphy b. lab, Am/Can CD, WC, CGC, TDI  *
* jkjncs@ritvax.isc.rit.edu                                *
*                                                          *
* standard disclaimer applies...                           *
************************************************************
From: tittle@ics.uci.edu (Cindy Tittle Moore)
Subject: Re: Kill Files was: Re: Netiquette
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
Reply-To: tittle@ics.uci.edu (Cindy Tittle Moore)
Organization: ICS Dept., UC Irvine
Date: 23 Dec 92 21:48:57 GMT

In <1992Dec23.154530.27053@inel.gov> kte@INEL.GOV (Kathryn L Cook) writes:
[on why *not* to use kill files]

>I think people like you need to be around for balance and comfort
>when someone gets a message like "kill your dog" for the slightest
>problem. If one person on r.p.d does this without any balancing
>opinions, what will the world think of us and what will happen to the
>dogs.

Well, look at it from this point of view: someone posts about a
problem X.  Twenty people respond, possibly more by email.  Of those
responses, 19 say Y, and 1 says "kill it."  What do you think the
original someone is going to think?  "Oh, a nut case, I'll ignore that
one."  Meanwhile the group is spared of a "What do you *mean*, 'kill
it'??!!" thread.

I don't have too many people in my kill file, but there are some who I
have had no compunction about dropping into it.  Subsequent spillage
from flamewars only convince me that I was right in the first place to
ignore that person.

If certain individuals, who promote extremist solutions, are ignored,
while good advice is given directly to the person asking, I think that
does more good than lengthy threads debating those certain
individuals' characters.

--Cindy
--
Cindy Tittle Moore

Terrell's Chocolate Deduction--Hershe (Labrador Retriever)

The rec.pets.dogs FAQ -- all ten parts -- is available via ftp to
pit-manager.mit.edu under pub/usenet/news.answers/dogs-faq/*.  There
is a mail server, email me for details.

In loving memory of Betsy: 4-10-92 to 8-19-92...
From: Valaria_Vorlop@mindlink.bc.ca (Valaria Vorlop)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
Subject: Good Idea for Housebreaking in Apartment!
Date: 23 Dec 92 22:55:08 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada

Well, I've never housebroken a puppy in an apartment before, but as you may
know, if all goes well, I will be doing so in March :) I've trained two
puppies when I had a yard and lots of adult dogs with or without a yard, but
this will be different since I'll probably be making half a dozen or more
trips outside every day! So I was thinking it would be nice to have a place
for the pup to go occasionally instead of having to take it out quite so many
times a day. Not all the time, but in the middle of the night and first thing
in the morning. I know some people use newspaper but I didn't like this idea.

I did some phoning around and I found I can get Turf VERY cheaply! It sells
by the roll, 1 square yard (16 by 81 inches) for only $2.00 a roll! My idea
is to use some sort of shallow tray, a large kitty litter box maybe, a bit of
top soil on the bottom to keep the turf alive. I'm thinking drainage won't be
a big problem, probably that little bit of urine from two or three times a
day will evaporate quickly enough and I can water the turf to dilute it, and
when it gets dirty enough I can replace the whole thing. I suppose it would
be possible to build something that drained better, so any CHEAP and SIMPLE
ideas are welcome :) Maybe I could nest TWO trays and perforate the bottom of
the inner tray. Then if I watered down the turf and dumped out the bottom
tray I would probably never need to change the turf/soil at all!

I quess I can keep it on the balcony, but I was wondering if you think the
pup would get confused if I let him use the tray indoors?

--
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *   ********************************************
Valaria_Vorlop@mindlink.bc.ca   *For YEARS I wondered what ceiling wax was.*
or:      a4080@mindlink.bc.ca   ********************************************
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *                        *******
From: jorr@hoss.unl.edu (John Orr)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
Subject: Paw problems
Date: 31 Dec 1992 16:17:56 GMT
Organization: University of Nebraska--Lincoln	
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: hoss.unl.edu

This is the first time I have posted about my dog. Ishie is a
fine, bouncy 9 month old dalmatian, who's a whole lot of fun.

In the last few weeks, though, he's developed sores between
the toes of both his back paws. The sores are in the same position
on both paws; on the inside side of the second toe from the middle.

When I took him to the vet the first time, the vet thought it 
was a skin infection and gave him antibiotics. This didn't do 
any good, and on a second visit he didn't suggest any treatment 
at all. 

Ishie isn't limping, but I'm sure these must be painful, and he 
isn't as keen on running as he used to be.

My guess (because of the symmetric positions of the sores) is 
that they're caused by abrasion with the neighboring nail. But 
I don't know how to stop that. How can I put a bandage on his 
paw that he won't gnaw off?

Another guess I have is that maybe it's the cold weather, but 
then he doesn't have any trouble with his other paws... or maybe 
when he's alone he chews his paws in frustration (even before 
this, he did use to chew at his back paws)


So if anyone had similar experience with their dogs, or has 
any suggestions of things I could try, I'd be very grateful to 
hear about it.

--John
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
From: Valaria_Vorlop@mindlink.bc.ca (Valaria Vorlop)
Subject: SPCA Ethics, Am I Overreacting?
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 18:42:21 GMT

The SPCA in my area puts on a weekly show in which they show stray dogs and
cats and then showcase the dogs and cats that they have available for
adoption. I watch it only on rare occasions since it tends to inspire a
burning desire to rush over and adopt ALL of them :)

They USED to be 'sponsored in part' by an excellent pet supply store, but
yesterday I noticed they seem to have switched to a PET STORE! Not just ANY
pet store, but the worst local pet store chain, in my opinion. Of course
they carry ads for their sponsor during commercial slots.

This pet store sells puppies and kittens. For the puppies, they have a wall
of display crates of various sizes, ALL with *mesh floors*. The pups are
often ALONE, one to each crate. Occasionally there are two in a crate. The
crates are seperated from customers by a 4' walkway for staff access and a
glass wall. Admittedly, if you ask to see a puppy, they have a small play
area which they let you and the puppy use.

All of these dogs are AKC registerable. Nothing wrong with this if you live
in the USA, but THIS is *Canada*. Why must they import the puppies? Could
it be...oh, I don't know...because there are more *puppy mills* down there?
Oh but, "Our puppies DON'T come from puppy mills!" From where? "Idaho" From
different breeders? "NO" Yeah, right, couldn't *possibly* be a puppy mill.

The prices on these puppies are outrageous, of course.

Another thing I once saw there was FREE kittens. Why free? Because they
were *sick*! I don't know with what, I do know they had weepy eyes.

I know the SPCA needs money, but isn't this a bit out of line? I was
thinking of writing a letter to them expressing my feelings and telling
them that while this pet store is sponsoring them, they would see no money
from me and anyone else I could convince...I know it won't break them, but
maybe the thought will count for something. Am I overreacting?

--
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *   ********************************************
Valaria_Vorlop@mindlink.bc.ca   *For YEARS I wondered what ceiling wax was.*
or:      a4080@mindlink.bc.ca   ********************************************
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *                        *******
From: sternlie@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Paul E. Sternlieb)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
Subject: New Dog:  Bishon Frize?
Date: 29 Dec 92 01:47:30 GMT
Organization: University of Pennsylvania

HI!
I am interested in becoming a new dog-owner.  I've never owned a dog
before but I was thinking about getting one now.  We want one that is
going to be already house-broken and one that can stay in the house
alone during a normal workday.  We want something small and cuddly,
and we looked at a book of dogs and did some research.  I'm kind of
set on the Bishon Frize.  Does anyone have any comments on this?
Also, if you are in the Massachusetts area and you have a Bishon Frize
(non-puppy, preferably 6mos-1yr) available for sale, please e-mail me
at sternlie@eniac.seas.upenn.edu.
Thanks!

--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Sternlieb                 *  University of PA          *  Home:
sternlie@eniac.seas.upenn.edu  *  3820 Locust Walk, Box 870 *  P.O. Box 645
Wharton, Engineering '94       *  Phila., PA  19104-6134    *  Salem, MA  01970
From: williamsk@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com (SETTING UP FOR A FINISH)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
Subject: Re: Help! Boredom sores caused by licking
Date: 22 Dec 92 10:00:47 EST
Followup-To: rec.pets.dogs

In article <1992Dec17.210829.11563@ucsu.Colorado.EDU>, myerse@spot.Colorado.EDU (MYERS ETHELLA ANN) writes:
>  Is there anything else that might be causing this behavior besides
> boredom?
> 
  stuff deleted...
>
>  Shiloh has always been fastidious about his feet and always spends
> a long time after walks cleaning before napping, but he just doesn't
> know when to quit anymore.  We had a similar problem after he was
> neutered around the stitches.  He made himself so sore he had to
> sleep on his back because it was painful for him to put his legs
> together.
>
  more stuff deleted...
>

I was very concerned that my golden would continue this behaviour and we
would never get the sore cleared up.  But that wasn't the case.  I think
that the most important thing is to get the sore cleared.  He isn't doing
it out of habit necessarily, it might just be that it really hurts him,
and from what you described, it probably does.  (It is quite possible that
what got him started on this rampage was a small scratch that hurt and he
just kept going at it.)

My suggestion is to go ahead and use the Elizabethian collar.  (We were able
to get our golden to leave the Ace bandage alone, but a Sami might not be
as easy.)  Has the sore developed into a lick spot granuloma?  Spencer's
did, and the vet gave us something to dissolve it, but I can't remember
what it was.  I could find out if he does have one.

Once the sore is completed healed, then see if th behavior continues.  I
wouldn't worry about it (too much :-) until the sore is healed.

I think some dogs are just going to be more concerned and obsessive about
some things like this.  Doesn't mean the behavior won't stop, but it doesn't
mean that you will always be able to prevent the behavior especially when the
conditions are right for doing the behavior (like in this case the sore hurts
and licking soothes it).

Good luck,
Kim
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
From: laird@stable.ecn.purdue.edu (Kyler Laird)
Subject: biking with a dog
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network
Date:  1 Jan 93 15:47:49 GMT

I don't have it too handy, but I've seen an ad for a device that
attaches to a bike and a dog (for running the dog).  It looks like
a piece of serpentine spring steel.  Is that it?  A spring?

I'd like to fashion one this weekend; it doesn't necessarily need
to be like the commercial model.  If anyone has suggestions or can
tell me what some problems encountered when biking with a dog are,
I'd appreciate the help.

(I assume the obvious one is getting yanked into the ground, but
that seems more of a training point.  Having the leash get tangled
in the pedals/spokes is more the type of problem I'm trying to avoid.)

Thanks!

--kyler

BTW, what I'm currently considering is a long coil spring attached
to the seat stem.  The lead would attach to the end of the spring.
I'm tempted to use a body harness, but that might encourage pulling.
I'd rather not use a choker, but have thought about attaching a
piezo buzzer to the harness such that it would sound when pulled on.

Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
From: Valaria_Vorlop@mindlink.bc.ca (Valaria Vorlop)
Subject: Re: Will late castration affect my dog's behaviour?
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 20:34:17 GMT

> G. Wolfe Woodbury writes:
> We neutered our male schipperke at about 2.5 years.  He also gained quite a
> bit of weight.


I just wanted to point out, since some people don't know...since neutered
dogs can sometimes be less active, they MUST have their food intake reduced.
They only get fat and lazy after spaying or neutering if you LET them!

--
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *   ********************************************
Valaria_Vorlop@mindlink.bc.ca   *For YEARS I wondered what ceiling wax was.*
or:      a4080@mindlink.bc.ca   ********************************************
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *                        *******
From: young@alw.nih.gov
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
Subject: Re: On the breeds' original purposes
Date: 21 Dec 1992 13:47:59 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

In article <1h4omqINNhqt@CS.UTK.EDU> you write:
|> In this newsgroup I have frequently seen references to the original purposes
|> of various breeds.  Usually these references are about hunting breeds and either
|> state or imply that to breed dog X which demonstrates poor Y instinct is bad since
|> to do such would "harm" the breed.
|> 
|> Toss up for discussion:  Are the original purposes of the breed so sacrosanct
|> that they can not evolve to match today's purposes of the breed?
|> 
|> For the record:  I do not believe they are, but I am interested in hearing
|> other perspectives -- particularly those which go beyond "but where do you 
|> then draw the line on allowing change in breed specification?"
|> 
|> Since I own dalmatians, I offer a (rhetorical) followup question:  If my 
|> dalmatian is a wonderful example of the breed in every respect except that
|> she will not (or can't) run for long distances alongside a carriage (her breed's
|> original job), would breeding her harm the breed? Note that the question is 
|> entirely rhetorical, since she is spayed.
|> 
|> And a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukka, Best New Year to all!
|> david
|> primeaux@cs.utk.edu
|>  

I still use my pointing dogs for hunting.  While there are quite a few 
fire houses that own dalmations, I don't know of many fire
departments that still demand that their dogs run along side the truck.

My dog still has a function, yes for the right person he would make
a wonderful house dog.  I think that he's a great house dog, but he is
a hunting dog and for that reason requires a great deal of exercise
and training.  If you could breed him for a more relaxed temperment
this breed could become very popular.  They are medium in size, very 
personable, and very obedient.   I would hate to see this happen,
I can't give a concrete reason except to say that this is the perfect
dog for me.  I love to hunt and exercise.  I like to attend and compete
in field trials.  I think that there are more people in the world who 
feel as I do.   I guess it's just tradition, I don't
want people to change the function of this breed for the same reasons
that people would want to preserve their own ethnic heritage.
-- 
___________	
	jy
	young@heart.dcrt.nih.gov
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
From: Valaria_Vorlop@mindlink.bc.ca (Valaria Vorlop)
Subject: Re: help with beagle
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 18:00:39 GMT

> brien hansen writes:
> and I hope that this is where I can get some info.   I have recently
> purchased a Beagle pub of 3 months and have begun to toilet train him -
> it is frustrating at times - I know all dogs are challenged by this


Have you been using the crate? Many of us feel a dog crate is the best way to
go about housebreaking...you can get one at a pet supply store for probably
less than $40. When you can't supervise the pup 100%, put him in the crate
with a safe chew toy. Take him outside whenever you let him out of the crate,
after every meal, ater he naps, after he plays and whenever he seems to need
to go outside. Praise him like a maniac if he 'goes' outside. When he is out
of the crate you must watch him like a hawk 100% of the time. At the first
sign of a need, rush him outside. If it is too late, scold him, put him in
the crate while you clean up. If he makes a mistake and you don't catch him
in the act, it's your fault for not watching carefully enough. Put him in the
crate while you clean up. This method make housebreaking EASY and is you are
diligent you can get away with not more than one or two mistakes on your
carpet. If you can pick up a Dog's in Canada Annual at your pet supply store,
it has an excellent article of all you need to know about crate training on
page 38, including how to get the right size crate, how to accustom the pup
to being in it, etc.

--
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *   ********************************************
Valaria_Vorlop@mindlink.bc.ca   *For YEARS I wondered what ceiling wax was.*
or:      a4080@mindlink.bc.ca   ********************************************
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *                        *******
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs