Your dog

Whispered

I was just wondering what type of dog everyone owns and what are the best and worst things about them and their personality.

mine is Harley, he's just over a year old and a lab x staff.

Best:
He's a big slobbery fool who never fails to make me laugh by tumbling, skidding, walking into the door etc

He loves people

His face is so expressive, you can tell when he's not feeling very happy, when he's excited, when he's a bit sick after the car, when he's scared, confused, excited, serious etc just by how he moves his face.

He loves playing with rubbish, half a tomato and a plastic bottle = happy harley

He's afraid of lemons and limes, if I leave one on the floor you can spend hours watching him creep up slowly, sniff, little lick, then diving back to the other side of the room barking under his breath. (you get the same reaction if you say LIMEEEYYYYY to him )

He sits on the couch like a person watching tv, with his serious face on, between K and I and if you ask him for a cuddle he'll lean into you and put his head on your shoulder.

if you turn on the radio in the kitchen he looks at you waiting for you to start dancing then he'll jump around too (this is regardless of it being a music or news item on the radio)

He plays with my little sister for hours, she sets up horse jumps for him and he obliges by jumping them for treats. Or she will tell him to stay, run off and hide then call him, and he gets all excited looking for her. (once pulling the matress off the bed to get to her)

Worst:

He loves people a bit too much and can get very excited when we have visitors.

He farts - then moves off the couch :rolleyes:

He's at the age when he's testing how far he can push you, he gets a really cute defiant look in his eye, looks at you like "you can't tell me what to do!!" then you can see the realisation click "oh wait now, I suppose you can"

His good points are kept well hidden when other people are around. All they see is a big slobbery dog who wants to lick them/paw them/push against them.

He plays brilliantly, he doesn't use his mouth and tends to throw his body at you to wrestle. Sounds like a good thing? Yes.... until you are standing at the cooker, wooden spoon in hand and you get a 25kg block hitting you on the back of your knees, knocking you over and sending food everywhere. Also my mother did not appreciate being shoved into her fridge during one of his games.

He runs into every puddle we find, so the car constantly smells of wet dog.

He shakes when we get the lead out, for no apparant reason and it's very upsetting to see him so scared.

All in all the good definately outweighs the bad (most of the time)

kildara

Marley sounds like a right little character!

We've got an 18 month old Shar Pei male and a year old Rottweiler female.

Best:
Him:
The way he wags his tail when you come home. It swings around like its twirling. His little ar$e swinging like crazy. Very funny and makes you look forward to seeing them!

Super, super clean dog. We got him at ten and a half weeks and he only went to toilet in the house once - and that was because I left him standing too long at the back door within the first few days. Other than territory marking before we got him neutered (see below!) he's never gone indoors.

Very little shedding. One brush a month, if even, sorts him out. A blessing compared to her…

Best:
Her:
Very intelligent - picks commands up really quickly. Of course she decides when she wants to follow them and when she doesn't (which is usually when there is an audience!).

Loves the simple things in life. A baby tomato or an empty bottle and she's happy for hours. Will push the tomato with her nose around the floor all over the house and pick it up and throw it - all without breaking the skin. Then when she's had enough of the play, she'll munch it down happily.

Very food Treat driven. She'll give or take her food but when it comes to the liver cake we make them, she's so funny. She knows that a down usually comes after a sit, so if the sit doesn't get the treat, she'll slam straight into a down in anticipation. Very funny.

She sleeps like a hussy! On her back, all legs akimbo! Very unladylike.

WorstNot the best!
Him:
Some other dogs don't seem to like him. I have heard that alot of Shar Pei owners have this and seem to think its because they don’t look like normal dogs, so they don’t give off the same facial expressions as other dogs - ie, if he lifts his lip to snarl, his lip doesn’t actually lift, its too big and fat! So we now know that his nose moves a certain way. Other dogs can’t read these signs and so he's on the receiving end of other dogs aggression sometimes, which has resulted in a few punctures and scrapes...

We've had a few health issues with him (thank God for insurance!). He'll be on preventative medication for life, (breeder did not honestly disclose info about his mother) so our fault I suppose for not researching enough. Hindsight 50-50 and all that. Gets ear infections few times a year - needs his ears cleaned twice weekly, at least, to prevent them.

Territory marking before we got him neutered... Last Christmas had him home and went round to a friend’s house (house with 4 or 5 dogs, numerous cats, fish, etc) and he decided it was his territory and proceeded to pee up on their Christmas tree in the sitting room, the door frame, and a big puddle in the hallway...

People always ask about him and not her, which is not his fault but I sometimes feel sorry for her when people approach and make a fuss of him and she’s standing to the other side looking on as if to say “What about me?”:(!

Not the best!
Her:
Not really bad, but she never gives him a break! We will go to bed and then you will hear her up barking at him trying to get him to play. Poor lad never gets a minutes peace! Forever on the go.

Constantly steals clothes to chew on. Even though she has a plethora of chews, Kongs, ropes, bones and various other chews, her favorite is underwear and socks!

Sheds like crazy! There are fur balls all over the house. Recently bought a Furminator so we'll see that goes...

Other than that I honestly can’t think of a bad thing! She's my little girl!

Of course all those bad things mentioned above are not really bad!
And, like Helena says above - the good definitely outweighs the bad!

mymo

Hi Helena, both my dogs have done the scared of the lead/cowering thing and my lovely vet explained its a thing they often do as pups but get over it. Something to do with the lead spoiling their play and restricting their freedom.
Ollie is over it and brings the lead, Tiffi is getting there.

Ollie is a Tibetan terrier, almost 18months and mad.

Good: He also gives *Hugs* putting his head on your shoulder, along with loads of other tricks(never for an Audience though:rolleyes:)plays hide and seek with my daughter and always greets you with a little present(socks usually) when you come home. Sleeps in the funniest positions and thinks hes a cat, keeps falling off the windowsill trying to look out!

Bad: Barks when the car stops moving, and sometimes until it start moving again(good thing there's no traffic lights where we live) And he thinks hes the Andrex puppy in reverse(steals loo rolls and shreds them) Hates rivers or the sea but loves muddy puddles and will jump in them like a child.

Tiffi is 6 month old Lhasa Apso Good: sweet cuddly, loving, clever and does copy Ollie in most things he does.

Bad: Also thinks she's the evil andrex puppy.

Have too say both were so easy to housetrain and are great dogs we can bring anywhere with us.
Its well worth the inconvenience of putting the loo roll on a high shelf:D

Whispered

kildara wrote: »

.Will push the tomato with her nose around the floor all over the house and pick it up and throw it - all without breaking the skin. Then when she's had enough of the play, she'll munch it down happily.

Ha ha, Harley does that too, anything round and he'll play with it. He robbed a malteaser that I had let drop and I left it with him (thinking so little choc would do no harm). He was busy throwing it around the sitting room and managed to plonk it in a cup of tea.

kildara wrote: »

She sleeps like a hussy! On her back, all legs akimbo! Very unladylike.
!

kildara wrote: »

.

WorstNot the best!

Thats a much better way of putting it. You're making me look awful now! :P

kildara wrote: »

.
Not really bad, but she never gives him a break! We will go to bed and then you will hear her up barking at him trying to get him to play. Poor lad never gets a minutes peace! Forever on the go.

Thats brilliant, other rotties I've met have been chilled out and relaxed to the point of being lazy. My fella annoys them no end because he's always on the go. Thats exactly what I need, a big playful rottie to tumble him a few times

kildara wrote: »

.

Of course all those bad things mentioned above are not really bad!

they're not I usually get annoyed with a half smile at Harley. Even the bad things are funny most of the time.

mymo wrote: »

Hi Helena, both my dogs have done the scared of the lead/cowering thing and my lovely vet explained its a thing they often do as pups but get over it. Something to do with the lead spoiling their play and restricting their freedom.
Ollie is over it and brings the lead, Tiffi is getting there.

Thanks so much Mymo, it's good to know that it's not something we have done. isn't it horrible to see them so scared. I worry that people think I beat him.

mymo wrote: »

Good: He also gives *Hugs* putting his head on your shoulder, along with loads of other tricks(never for an Audience though:rolleyes:)

:rolleyes: they do it on purpose. Harley will still do his tricks but he will do them in a manic way and behave like a brat between doing them.