Big Paws Only Dog Forums

I get those comments all the time.  Klaus is a red Doberman and people have asked when he will "darken" to black (as in a previous post here).  When we first got him before his ears were cropped my own sister tried to tell me he wasn't full Dobie cuz his ears didn't stand up.

I get told all the time that my pug isn't a real "Chinese" pug cuz he's black instead of the common tan.  Try getting it thru their heads that the only pugs are Chinese pugs.

The funniest comment ever though was when I took two of the dogs to the vet at the same time.  The Doberman was 6 months old at the time and the min pin was 4 yrs old.  The lady in the waiting room actually asked me if the min pin was the Doberman's puppy!  She was pretty embarassed when I told her their ages.

Some people are so heartless!  Although, in light of another post about a certain "celebrity", it's nice to see that there are responsible celebrities out there that use their status for a good purpose!

I wouldn't worry about Paris' kids - she'll just hire someone to carry them around.  I'm surprised she didn't hire someone to carry Tinkerbell around for her.  Now there's someone who was definitely raised not to take responsibility .

And to think my min pin (a dog that should weigh a max of 12 lbs as an adult) once got up to 20 lbs!  This was thanks to my old roommates who were feeding her table scraps behind my back and they were complete slobs and would leave their unfinished plates laying around so she could finish them off.  She was so fat her knees started giving out on her.  Vet told me it was diet or orthopedic surgery.  Needless to say, I never thought about getting rid of her.  Put her on a strict diet and she's a supermodel puppy again!  Now she stays between 12 and 13.5 lbs so, as I tell my husband, she's not Kate Moss supermodel - she's Cindy Crawford supermodel - my girl has curves!

Female names?  My only female dog is my min pin and her name is Lily.  She got her name because she was the runt and fit in my hand at the time we got her.  She was my little delicate flower - hence Lily.  She made friends with the dog two doors down from us who happened to be a Rottweiler named Rose (they loved to run the fence together).  Then those same neighbors got a yellow lab named Daisy.  With my dog they had their own little garden!

I've always thought if I ever got another female I would name her Iris.

I have a sign reading "Who are these kids and why are they calling me Mom?"  When I was an admin asst for an architectural firm I had a sign posted at my desk, "Some people are alive simply because it's against the law to kill them."  No one brought me work at 4:55 p.m.

I've dealt with this with human and fur kids.  My niece is "mixed", white, African-American and Hispanic.  I used to have her with me all this time as I babysat while my sister worked.  At Walmart once this woman followed me all over the store, looking from me to my blonde daughter to my little dark niece with this shocked look the whole time.  After 30 aisles of this experience I turned around and said, "I have another at home that's Chinese!"  Probably not the best response and my daughter told me that was mean but what did that lady know and what was it her business?

My Doberman got the most comments from idiots.  Before his ears were clipped I was told that I got robbed because that was a hound dog.  My sister even argued that point with me and I know for a fact she's never even seen a Dobie pup!  I heard how funny looking he was, how his head was too big, plus the usual of people running the other direction when hearing he's a Doberman.  Even though red Dobies are more common these days his color still gets comments.  But when seeing my all black pug the only comment I get is that I should breed him because that's so rare!  The funniest comment I had though was while at the vet one day some lady asked if my 5 yr old min pin was the puppy of my 8 month old Doberman!

And to think, humans are supposed to be at the top of the food chain.  Certainly wasn't brains that got them there . . .

My brother-in-law had a pit bull (it passed away recently) and he was the best dog I've seen.  The only agression this dog ever showed was toward a lab that came at my brother-in-law while they were out walking.  The lab was unleashed, snarling and growling.  Just before it jumped on Joey his pit grabbed the lab.  The pit did not fight the dog, but kept his hold and pinned it to the ground giving Joey an opportunity to put his foot on the dog to hold it and then his pit released.

Pits were bred for fighting but also to be human friendly.  If properly trained pits can get along with other dogs.  There are several breeds that were originally bred for a "fighting" purpose.  Dobermans were bred to be guard dogs for example.  It doesn't mean these dogs will simply attack for no  reason.

In my opinion, the owners should be punished instead of the dogs.  Pit bulls are being put down for no other reason than irresponsible owners that used the dogs as status symbols and thought it was a great idea to have a mean aggressive dog.  They are the latest casualty.  It has happened before with rottweilers and other dogs.  The Dobermans had a very bad reputation in the 70s as people used them the same as they are pits now.

I have a Doberman who is very affectionate and loving.  Yet people cross the street when they see us coming.  My next door neighbor actually commented to me that the crime rate must be high in this area if I felt the need to have an attack dog.  I tried to explain that wasn't what he was and I got him before moving to this area.  Her response, "Yeah, whatever."

Punish the dog, not the owner.  You have more to fear from my miniature pinscher than you do from my Doberman.  She's the fierce one in our house - all 12 pounds of her!

As far as Klaus is concerned, I have been speaking with many long time Doberman owners, breeders and trainers again.  What I am learning now is that this is common for male Dobermans.  They reach sexual maturity at about 1 year give or take a few months.  At this time their behavior can change dramatically and most male Dobes develop the agression toward other males.  Now I'm being told that a responsible breeder should have told me that in the beginning!

It also has somewhat to do with the pack thing.  My min pin has retained her alpha status.  Funny, the smallest one is the fiercest.  Klaus has challenged her and she has fought back with everything she has!  She has a split ear to show for it.  She won and he respects her as alpha.  But now he's attempting to set his place as second in command and therefore going after the pug, who would gladly let him have the position, Cheeks is just happy to exist.  We have a trainer we will be working with but he doubts that the males will ever play together again.

I also read a post on pits that their aggressive tendencies can surface after as long as 3 years.  I guess it's a varying thing.  Sometimes it's the breed, other times the sex of the dog, other times the individual dog.