I am... buying a dog.

Damn, that must be tough and dangerous. There must be so many places where dog/cat must have been recently, and they are just about permanently shedding a hair or three if not many more.

Tiny dogs can be insanely courageous. Having a terrier attached to one's ankle is not nice.

I had a huge tom cat (seemed normal to me, but visitors' mouth's would fall open when they saw him) who, moving to a particular locality, refused to go outside and would shout to be let in again if we put him out. Whether my cat was a macho giant or not didn't bother me, but my flatmate was very scathing. One day, all that changed: my cat decided to go outside and take over. My flatmate was awed when, one day, we came home to find my cat with his paw on one big tom, which was lying on the ground, staring at another! It was a wonderful sight!

With cats, of course, play fighting is part of the upbringing, and, especially with the male kittens, the mother can be very rough in preparing them for life ahead. Perhaps you need to take the parental role with Sena!

 

Cats are wonderful SoB, it's like somewhere in their genes are imprints that says once upon a time you (cats) are referred as God. Act like one. Don't forget to demand offerings and tributes from the puny humans.

But yeah, for this Sena, I truly, honestly want to teach this Corgi to be a confident dog.
I don't need him to be a champion stud or the most friendly face licker a human ever met or whatever else, just be a confident dog that knows that in here he is no longer a bullied, not-wanted existence. Here he is a part of a family, a treasured member of my household. That's all I want really. I hope I can achieve it.

 

Beautifully put, Ray. Do your best. It looks pretty certain that Sena will love you!

 

Thank you for the encouragement!

 

Not that anyone was asking for dog recommendations, but for anyone interested, I highly, highly recommend retired racing greyhounds. Mine is absolutely the best dog I've ever owned. They're extremely laid back and require a minimum of exercise, and thus make great apartment/townhouse dogs. Owners affectionately refer to them as 40 MPH couch potatoes. They'll typically sleep for 18-20 hours per day. They're prone to bad teeth and really need a full dental cleaning every year, but otherwise don't get hip dysplasia or any of the other skeletal issues common to larger breeds.

 

I wonder how my room mates' cats would feel about a greyhound hogging the couch?

 

That they'll do. With a greyhound, you do want to make sure they're "cat safe". Most of them can be trained not to chase small furry things once off the track, but some of them just can't. Mine is pretty sure that cats would make a good snack and has greatly depleted the wild squirrel population in my back yard. She's EXTREMELY proud of herself when she catches a squirrel, but otherwise doesn't know what to do with it once she's killed it. We're actually her third family after her second family surrendered her when she ate one of their chickens.

 

Very good to know, thanks for the info.

 

Good luck on raising him. I am a huge dog person and love dogs of all shapes and sizes (except for little bark machines sometimes like chihuahuas and some other small dogs just because most of their owners don't raise them properly since they think that small dogs don't need as much training).

For most of the people that read this thread that are thinking about getting a dog, please consider adopting a dog (or any other animal) from a shelter or foster program before anything else. Many of those dogs won't find an owner and will eventually have to be euthanized due to the lack of space caused by people not spaying/neutering their pets and allowing mass populations of them.

That being said, even if you do decide to buy a dog, be careful where you buy from. Those backyard breeders and 90% of the dogs you can get from craigslist and such only make things worse since people buy them and end up giving them up to shelters that are already overpopulated because they realize that they can't take care of them or that the breeder wasn't 100% honest with them like when your "purebred" German Shepherd ends up crippled by the time he's 5 due to inbreeding.

 

I'm no dog psychologist but our 2nd dog (a miniature schnauzer, 1st dog I've had as a puppy) has really evolved in the 2.5 years we've had her. Rosie is a lovely "old soul" with a love for mischief; she started off as the runt of her litter but she is confident now and a wonderful companion for our two kids. A bit of play time in the back yard and a 30 min walk everyday and all is right with the world. It wasn't always this way though, I like to believe that nurture can sometimes make up for what nature fell short on.

Sounds like Sena will do just fine in your family; lets be honest, "bad dog parents" aren't soliciting advice from other owners on audio forums

 

Our family spent an evening at the dog races in Florida during March break this year. They are really nice looking animals and seemed to have a very mellow temperament when being shown / walked to the starting blocks. I have to admit that we felt a bit uncomfortable from an animal rights perspective when we saw a couple Greyhounds tumble at one of the corners, but they appeared to be treated well by their handlers. The greyhounds we've come across at the dog park have always seemed very well mannered.... and damn fast!

 

I'm definitely torn on my feelings about dog racing. There are groups that say it's the worst thing ever and the dogs lead horrible lives, but I know people who have been to dog farms and behind the scenes at tracks and say that the dogs are treated very well. I have met several who had run their last race within the preceding week and they definitely didn't act like dogs that had been mistreated. My main concern would be around injuries, but unfortunately dog tracks and trainers aren't required to report injuries publicly. I definitely don't think that mass euthanization is the issue is might once have been, as I've seen several dogs come through our local adoption group that had never been raced due to size. I would think that those dogs wouldn't be sent out for adoption if farms/trainers were just euthanizing dogs that underperform or don't perform at all. Maybe some people still do that. I don't know.

At the very least, regardless of your feelings about actual racing, the dogs still need homes once they retire, so you're doing a good deed either way.

 

Thank you, yours is an encouraging story to read.

I know it's strange to write about what's bothering my mind (a dog) in an audio forum. It's just that... I find most of the members here fit with the image of mature audience (and filthy rich old farts) who are open minded to meaningful discussions and stuffs.

I agree with this way of seeing it.

If I may add, it should not matter that much whether you're buying, adopting, or rescuing an animal as long as your intent (and dedication) is to provide a better life for them.

 

Hahaha I'm glad you didn't include everybody. I'm probably half or a third of the age of most of the audience here it seems (ie a poor college graduate trying to go to medical school).

But yes as long as you actually intend to care and make a better life for the dog, that is the most important thing. It's not just a toy that can be picked up and forgotten about in a year or so. It is a commitment you have to make for the rest of that dog's life or else don't bother getting one.

 

Just because I can. Favorite corgi GIF posting time (aka 100th message achievement award)






And last but not least, my favorite: the corgi height struggle.

 

Oof!
Just finished taking Sena for a walk around the block. Oh boy that was tough!

I walked him with normal pace (with the guise of a calm man) through the intimidating barks of 1x Pomeranian, 1x Golden Ret, 1x Beagle, 2x Mastiff, 1x very shouty kid;
Can't say the same for the Corgi, he's so afraid of them all he tried with all his might to run away, pulling the leash. I resist through his pulls and keep on pacing normally like nothing is happening; Oh such a nerve wrecking but I managed to keep my guise mostly intact.

Well with this at least I hoped the Corgi also realizes that this human handling the leash is not panicking nor putting much attention to those threat and thus, after he calms down he should learn a bit that those are not really a threat.
It will take time I guess, but I'll keep this routine daily or even twice a day if the Corgi's cooperating.

 

Just gotta keep at it. Make sure to positively reinforce him too and let him know that everything is good.

But jeez, you encounter all of that around a block? I wish I got to see so many dogs on a stroll.

Also we have to see pictures of the almighty Corgi!

 

Ah you're right!
I'm too absorbed in cleaning the dirt and soils on his paws after we finished the walk that I completely forgot about that positive reinforcement part.
Should've done the cleaning after I praise and pat him when we return home, and give him a piece of that tasty banana too afterward.

I'll get that right next time.

I'm surprised too honestly to see that there are more than just a couple or two in my neighborhood who own dogs.
In this country the majority are Muslims; their religion is not that open to dogs in general and has quite strict restrictions in interacting with them.
--Cats on the other hand are among the favorite animal of their prophet, so the Muslims are -in general- much more willing to have cats as pet.

 

Nice weather today for a walk!
And successfully snaps some pictures of Sena too!

Spoiler

The Corgi hurts his paws couple of days ago; small lesions on both paws of his hind legs, most probably from friction with the rough asphalt.
Now he'll have to cope with wearing shoes for his daily walk. Must be uncomfortable but... safer.
He'll get used to it eh.

 

Those shoes look adorable on him. Another piece of advice is that, depending on how hot it gets there, it is always usually safer to walk in the morning or at night since the ground can get really hot in the middle of the day, and it can definitely burn/damage dogs' paws.

It's always something to keep in mind since we wear shoes all the time and never even realize how hot the ground gets when we are outside.