13 votes

Weekly thread for casual chat and photos of pets

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Tags: ask.survey, recurring.weekly, casual, pet chat

This is the place for casual discussion about our pets.

Photos are welcome, show us your pet(s) and tell us about them!

4 comments

  1. [3]
    16bitclaudes
    Link
    Big win for us this week. My belgian shepherd is 8 months old now and finally passed his puppy foundation assessment! It's part of a "good citizen dog" scheme that the Kennel Club runs, with...

    Big win for us this week. My belgian shepherd is 8 months old now and finally passed his puppy foundation assessment! It's part of a "good citizen dog" scheme that the Kennel Club runs, with awards going all the way up to gold.

    He looks very pleased with himself, but not as pleased as me. It's taken a lot of hard work and he's still not perfect around people but he was good enough to meet the requirements. Now we'll start working towards the bronze award!

    6 votes
    1. [2]
      nmn
      Link Parent
      What a smart boy! What does the assessment involve and what is it for?

      What a smart boy! What does the assessment involve and what is it for?

      3 votes
      1. 16bitclaudes
        Link Parent
        Thank you, I'm super proud of him! The aim of the assessments is to have a dog that behaves well around other dogs and people, and a well informed, responsible owner and working towards passing...

        Thank you, I'm super proud of him! The aim of the assessments is to have a dog that behaves well around other dogs and people, and a well informed, responsible owner and working towards passing them all really strengthens the bond between them.

        For puppy, the assessment was:

        • A few basic questions on care and ownership for me (these are randomly selected by the examiner from a pool; bronze, silver and gold awards have more questions you have to answer)
        • Meeting legal requirements (in this case having a poop scoop or bags, valid microchip and a nametag for my pup that displays all the necessary info)
        • Attentive response to name
        • Appropriate play with puppy: pup accepts invitation to play from owner in a controlled manner, will release/ give up a toy when told
        • Socialisation: puppy can be safely introduced to unfamiliar adult dog, can be safely introduced to unknown adult person (this was the tough one for us, outside of this he could easily pass all the other stuff weeks ago!) and is not unduly startled by everyday noise distractions
        • Tolerate handling and inspection by owner
        • Recall from 2-3 paces (he can do this from 10 - 20)
        • Basic positions: sit, down, stand
        • Food manners: take a treat in a controlled manner

        The other awards will throw in some extra things around lead/ leash walking and longer/ trickier variations of these.

        1 vote
  2. BusAlderaan
    Link
    Lady, or Liddle if you're so inclined, got one of her lower canines removed yesterday. This dog is not active, she's one of those rescues that you think "She wasn't actually taught how to dog."...

    Lady, or Liddle if you're so inclined, got one of her lower canines removed yesterday. This dog is not active, she's one of those rescues that you think "She wasn't actually taught how to dog." You tug a toy, she just kinda lets it go with a "I'm glad I got to participate" expression on her face. You throw a ball, she huffs and hops after it, maybe gets to it and tries to grab it, but then forgets what is happening. Somehow, while we were at the dog park, she chipped it. Poor thing has been laid out all week, on pain meds, until the dentist could remove it.

    4 votes