Useless Conversation

[cmlancas]

And now a somber turn.

We're headed to take the dog back to the pound after he out and out attacked the girlfriend today.  I've never poured so much into an animal trying to get him or her to curb the destructive behavior.  Meds, training, socialization, obedience...we've done it all short of hire Ceasar Milan.

The hardest decision I've ever had to make.  Guy's my best friend.

Love you, Amory.

 

[Paelos]

That's a tough thing, but I think you're making the right call there.

[Signe]

I'm so sorry.  As much as I adore animals, mostly more than people, I've had aggressive dogs in the past and I've vowed never to have one again.  I can put up with a lot but I will never again chance having a dog that's a risk to people or even other animals.  Even small dogs... I've seen a child bit in the face by a little Dachshund and it was fucking gruesome.  I think you've probably made the right decision, too.   

[JWIV]

Sorry to hear it.  A friend of mine went through the same thing recently where they took in what they thought was  just a puppy mill rescue and later was fairly obvious a rescue from a dog fighting ring  They spent  a lot of time getting professional treatment and medication and unfortunately the dog's condition continued to worsen to the point where they were basically told that the dog would have to be kept in isolation away from other animals and _maybe_ wouldn't completely turn on them.  They tried to work through it and unfortunately the animal had to be put down.   Terrible terrible situation.

[Selby]

They tried to work through it and unfortunately the animal had to be put down.   Terrible terrible situation.

Sure is.  Some animals are trained horribly by humans and then there's nothing you can do for them and have to put them down.  Too bad you can't put down the human who did such a thing.  I had a super skittish dog who tended to bite and managed to calm her down, but it was still effort.  My ex girlfriend's dog went senile and bit anyone who came near and ended up tearing half her lip off.  It was a very sad situation that she had to put her down.

[Signe]

So why is he hacking sites using the rhyme, "Remember, Remember The Fifth of November, The Gunpowder Treason and Plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot." today, instead of tomorrow?  I got the message while watching some TV on NBC.  Evidently, reddit and other sites were messed with, too. 


I don't bother subscribing to sites that I can use for free so the user info and password I don't have for NBC are safe!

[rattran]

My car needs new tires. It's amazingly hard to get real quotes, and check inventory of various tires online. You'd think this was the 1990s or something.

[cmlancas]

And now a somber turn.

We're headed to take the dog back to the pound after he out and out attacked the girlfriend today.  I've never poured so much into an animal trying to get him or her to curb the destructive behavior.  Meds, training, socialization, obedience...we've done it all short of hire Ceasar Milan.

The hardest decision I've ever had to make.  Guy's my best friend.

Love you, Amory.

 

Okay, so for the first time in five years the major interstate going through Tampa was closed due to a huge tanker fire and we didn't get a chance to take him back to the pound.

We took it as a sign...so we still have him.  He's a completely different dog with a muzzle on, so perhaps we're seeing the turning point with him.

[Trippy]

My car needs new tires. It's amazingly hard to get real quotes, and check inventory of various tires online. You'd think this was the 1990s or something.

Did you try tirerack.com?

[Signe]

And now a somber turn.

We're headed to take the dog back to the pound after he out and out attacked the girlfriend today.  I've never poured so much into an animal trying to get him or her to curb the destructive behavior.  Meds, training, socialization, obedience...we've done it all short of hire Ceasar Milan.

The hardest decision I've ever had to make.  Guy's my best friend.

Love you, Amory.

 

Okay, so for the first time in five years the major interstate going through Tampa was closed due to a huge tanker fire and we didn't get a chance to take him back to the pound.

We took it as a sign...so we still have him.  He's a completely different dog with a muzzle on, so perhaps we're seeing the turning point with him.

Hope so.  Good luck to all of you!   

[Nebu]

We took it as a sign...so we still have him.  He's a completely different dog with a muzzle on, so perhaps we're seeing the turning point with him.

Please PLEASE be careful.  There are some animals that just don't make good pets.  Don't wait until someone gets seriously hurt to find this out.

[Yegolev]

Some people and animals can't be fixed.

[Furiously]

What Nebu said, maybe it was a sign from satan trying to get the dog to kill your family.  I am of the opinion there are two kinds of dogs good ones and broken ones.

Test. Feed your dog. Pet your dog while it is being fed. If it growls take it back immediately.

[ghost]

Test. Feed your dog. Pet your dog while it is being fed. If it growls take it back immediately.

That's great advice.

I'm a bit biased, but having had to sew up one too many kids faces and scalps who have been mauled by dogs I would have to say get rid of the dog.  It isn't worth it. 

[Paelos]

Take the internets advice. Take the dog back. You made your choice and it was the right one.

Now is not the time to waffle when it involves animals and attacks.

[Signe]

As I said before, I had an aggressive dog and I loved him very much but he hurt someone I love.  This was a long time ago but I still have nightmares about it.  It's something I'll never forget and never stop feeling guilty about.  You're smart, though, and I'm sure you'll take precautions while testing him out.  I hope it works out good for everyone.

[Ingmar]

Just to pile on, as someone who had his dog attacked by someone else's aggressive dog... don't take the chance.

[cmlancas]

I know all of the f13 collective's heart is in the right place, but we have a professional currently working with us who still believes he can be rehabilitated.  It makes for a better internet post to give the "sign from God" spin, but we're not being stupid either.

A few things are working in his favor:  he's never been aggressive toward other people, other dogs, food, or toys. 

The big thing we believe is he stayed at the girlfriend's friend's parents' house for four months and came back a little...off.

The trainer thinks this can be undone because the only time he shows aggression is out of fear when he's forced to do something.  The trainer thinks we can redirect this into realizing it's a good thing (and in his best interest) to submit when we ask him to.  This generally is an issue when we want him to go somewhere he's not interested (his breed naturally alerts to do the door and he's fairly protective).

So, TL;DR:  Professional said not yet.  The internet may yet be right...the jury is still out.

Which is good.  The last two days at work have been flat miserable.  It would've been even worse to have put my best friend down.

[Ingmar]

Well, a quick search does show that Florida does have a bunch of no-kill shelters (I don't know how many of them take dogs that could be defined as "aggressive") so there's a middle ground there. Hopefully things work out in any case.

[ghost]

There was a guy in my PhD program (that I was in for less than a semester) who married a girl that had a Chow Chow.  The dog put him in the hospital and completely mangled his face.   

[Hammond]

When I was really young I got bit by our family dog.  Thankfully the dog was not aggressive at all it was concerned because I was wrapped up in my dads coveralls.  At no point was I in real danger and it was more of a unfortunate situation.  The dog took a small chunk out of my ear which you can barely see the notch today from it although I bled quite a bit.   Now I love animals of all kinds and especially dogs and I miss that family dog as much as any others that we had over the years.  This was a semi traumatic event for me and I get weird feelings around dogs sometimes which depresses me because I love dogs...

My only advice is be careful and keep if this problem doesn't get better you may not be able to fix it.  Endangering your girlfriends life or anyone else is not worth it. Like others have said there are shelters that take animals that have behavioral problems. 

[Furiously]

BTW... Sky - I'm not sure about your new website....http://www.strongjesus.com/index-1.html (potential NSFW section)

[Salamok]

When we first got our last dog (RIP) from the rescue place my wife was brushing and doting on him, I leaned over and gave her a kiss and I thought this 80lb dog was going to rip my face off.  After giving it a moments thought I quickly decided I wasn't going to be terrorized in my own home and pinned his head to the ground for 5 or 10 minutes until he fully submitted.  From that moment on he was the most docile and well behaved dog I've ever owned (well he didn't like other big dogs much but never had issues with people).

[ghost]

BTW... Sky - I'm not sure about your new website....http://www.strongjesus.com/index-1.html (potential NSFW section)

He must be embarrassed by the miniature painting.  I don't see any of that highlighted.

[Signe]

That website is too fucking funny!  I giggled and ended up with hiccups.

[Sky]

BTW... Sky - I'm not sure about your new website....http://www.strongjesus.com/index-1.html (potential NSFW section)

He must be embarrassed by the miniature painting.  I don't see any of that highlighted.

Yes. Bigger biceps, shittier riffs. It should be Zakk's mission to destroy that dude's career, but who are we kidding.

As far as the dog professional, I'm always wary of advice that entails spending potentially endless money (to the person giving advice), especially when there is no guarantee (and actually good evidence to the contrary) of success. You should probably also beat up your girlfriend's parents for being shit to your dog.

Oh no, my website has infected my brain. Worship my riffs of THOOOOR!

[taolurker]

I'm pretty sure the paperwork I received today from the Social Security Admin says I AM disabled, do NOT need a hearing, and qualify for benefits!! OMFG /faint

Now if I only had power and heat at my house....

[Viin]

They do that? Wait, is this a new version of April Fools.. Election Day Pranks by Big Brother?

[ghost]

So is this the best Halloween decoration ever? 

[Morat20]

So I had a lovely panic attack at work today. Moderate -- the sort that makes you google and decide to see a doctor, not full blown paper bag sort -- I got up, went to the vending machine, and realized my heart rate had shot up and it was pounding like I'd jogged up a few flights of stairs.

Only 100 to 110, sat down, went back down to 70-ish over a few minutes. I've been tired, my arms are sore, etc. Given my family history, I thought "shit". So I went to one of those minute clinics (too late for a regular doctor) where I found out my blood pressure is fine, my pulse is fine, and that I should definitely see a regular doctor (one with a lab and maybe an EKG) in the morning.

The general consensus is "sinus infection". Which fits -- I don't have a fever, but I've had sinus pressure, headaches, and fatigue for two weeks now. (Allergies, probably). My arm pain is right there at the bicep and elbow, and sorest when I'm in "typing" position -- so probably just bad ergonomics.

And god knows the spray I just used seems to have opened up my head a lot. :)

Nonetheless, it's not a fun thing to realize "Oh, I'm 37 and I have a family history of heart issues and I'm gonna have to go check this out in the morning. Even though I'm sure it's nothing. Goddammit, when did I get old?"

[ghost]

If you really think its an issue you want to go to the ER. Heart problems are nothing to fuck with. 

[Morat20]

If you really think its an issue you want to go to the ER. Heart problems are nothing to fuck with. 

It's why I went to a clinic -- just in case. If I hadn't been fighting sinus problems for two weeks now, I'd probably be more worried. Trust me, I wouldn't fool around with this.

My resting BP and pulse are just fine, I'm not showing any other symptoms (no sweating, no clammpy palms, no dizziness) -- I'm just...tired and my head hurts, which has been my existance for the past two weeks since the first major cold front came through.

[Yegolev]

It was just* stress in my case, but I had the tests run on the heart since my symptoms at the time included chest pain.  I've had lots of tests on various organs, so I'm at least relatively sure I'm physically healthy.  I'll be forty in January, though, and I think that's when I start getting my asshole fingered on a regular schedule.


*Stress is nothing to fuck around with.

[Morat20]

It was just* stress in my case, but I had the tests run on the heart since my symptoms at the time included chest pain.  I've had lots of tests on various organs, so I'm at least relatively sure I'm physically healthy.  I'll be forty in January, though, and I think that's when I start getting my asshole fingered on a regular schedule.


*Stress is nothing to fuck around with.

It has been a stressful month, I will give it that. (No, despite the fact that I live in politics, it's not the election. My kid, however, is killing me. As is money).

I'm seeing my regular doctor in the morning and he's likely to send me to a cardiologist just in case. OTOH, the steroid spray for my nose has done wonders for my headache. Now I just want to go to bed. I don't think I've been sleeping well.

[ghost]

You people that are all into politics (due to job or what have you) amaze me.  I'd shoot myself if I had to deal with it that much.