Went up the hill today and found my dog playing with a new one

[montesa]

Some times my buddy is gone when I come out. That means the other dogs are running. Bright flashlight. At least 6 dogs on the hill all doing their thing. Lots of eyes shining. Sniffing, humping, playing, sparring, all of them just having a great time. New one tried to bite me, but he's a heeler mix like mine and young. So he was going in for the nip. Flanking me. My dog was there and they were friends by this time so I could ignore it. Lady called out for her dog. I yelled back, "they're up here playing with my dog". She said ok thanks.

Made me think about dogs and attitudes about them. How I grew up. Really how things were in the 80s verses the way they are now. By the time I was ten a pit bull was the safest dog I could be around. We were scared of rottweilers then.

When I was 4-6 my grandmother had a Chihuahua named pinky. I was scared to death or that dog. I think Chihuahuas were bigger back then. Pinky would bite us and made us bleed all the time. He was so fast and could jump. My grandmother would laugh hard when he tore us up. I was protective of my little brother and landed a great soccer kick on pinky. My grandmother whooped the **** out of me. She would pet him after biting us with her giant arthritic fingers and that little terror looked so satisfied.

So by the time I was 10, a pit bull looking dog was known as a nice dog. Had a neighbor that would give me a BBQ chicken thigh if I brought back one of his pit bulls if they got out. But I was very scared of the rottweilers. They also weighed as much as me so I couldn't walk one or do anything with one.

No point to this. Just thinking about how different people are about dogs now than they used to be. A lot changes in 40 years.

 

[dennishoddy]

As travelers in RV’s we used to have two dogs with us. Lots do.
Little shitzu and a Brittney that was 45 lbs.
Your entire life revolves around their poop cycle.
Book an excursion based on the dogs poop cycle so you can get back to let them out.
Every thing is about the dogs poop cycles.
We love them to death but they eventually succumbed to old age, and we are traveling free now of restraint.
We will get dogs when getting off the road. Love em.

 

[montesa]

As travelers in RV’s we used to have two dogs with us. Lots do.
Little shitzu and a Brittney that was 45 lbs.
Your entire life revolves around their poop cycle.
Book an excursion based on the dogs poop cycle so you can get back to let them out.
Every thing is about the dogs poop cycles.
We love them to death but they eventually succumbed to old age, and we are traveling free now of restraint.
We will get dogs when getting off the road. Love em.

I hear that. I stay home so I don't even notice that kind of thing. I have a neighbor that is a Vietnam vet. He's focused on his children and grandchildren now but he is a dog lover. I've tried to give him some of the dogs I've picked up off of the road. He's a dog lover. He can't take saying goodbye to another one at this point.

 

[retrieverman]

Interesting thread. When I was a kid in the 70’s and 80’s, we had wiener dogs and rat terriers, and my cousins always had a German shepherd. The dogs my cousins and I were afraid of were Chows, and I really don’t know why except from reputation at the time.

I worked on chicken farms in tech service and then as a contractor from 1991 until 2000, and I encountered ALOT of farm dogs. I was bit twice, and both were Australian shepherds. Almost as a rule, the friendliest dogs I ever encountered were pits and Rottweilers.

In about 2002, I was on a chicken farm north of Mt Pleasant TX, and I had gone to the owners house to get paid. When I got out of the truck, his Australian shepherd came out of nowhere and bit me on the right knee. I was barely able to get back to the truck without him biting me again, and I called the guy to see where he was and let him know his dog bit me. The dumbass asked if he only bit me once (which told me this wasn’t an isolated incident), and I told him that if he had bit me twice he wouldn’t have a dog anymore. The conversation devolved from there, and I got paid and never went back.

 

[Glocktogo]

As travelers in RV’s we used to have two dogs with us. Lots do.
Little shitzu and a Brittney that was 45 lbs.
Your entire life revolves around their poop cycle.
Book an excursion based on the dogs poop cycle so you can get back to let them out.
Every thing is about the dogs poop cycles.
We love them to death but they eventually succumbed to old age, and we are traveling free now of restraint.
We will get dogs when getting off the road. Love em.

We're at the point where we refuse to replace any of our pets when they die. We want that travel freedom, then we'll settle back in and get a pet or two again. Right now, it's virtually impossible for my wife and I to travel together due to their special needs.

 

[OKRuss]

We're at the point where we refuse to replace any of our pets when they die. We want that travel freedom, then we'll settle back in and get a pet or two again. Right now, it's virtually impossible for my wife and I to travel together due to their special needs.

Very similar situation. I'll be retiring soon and we plan to travel abroad for extended periods like a month or two then come back home and regroup. Our dog Rio is turning 6. Our prior labs lived 12-13 years. The last thing my wife and I will do is kennel him for a month(or more) especially if he's 8-10 years old. We won't impose on family or friends to take care of him for this long.

Right now, we're considering buying a 3/4 Ton pickup and a 5th wheel then travel in the continental US with Rio joining us until he can't. This way we could still take a trip abroad but for a shorter length.

 

[dennishoddy]

Very similar situation. I'll be retiring soon and we plan to travel abroad for extended periods like a month or two then come back home and regroup. Our dog Rio is turning 6. Our prior labs lived 12-13 years. The last thing my wife and I will do is kennel him for a month(or more) especially if he's 8-10 years old. We won't impose on family or friends to take care of him for this long.

Right now, we're considering buying a 3/4 Ton pickup and a 5th wheel then travel in the continental US with Rio joining us until he can't. This way we could still take a trip abroad but for a shorter length.

It’s a great life style. You will love it!