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Gandolorin
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on: June 12, 2016 06:06
I must admit that 'Hedge' and 'Billy the bison' fall wildly outside of my conception of "toy for a dog". I have no personal experience with bisons, but every dog or cat that I have seen from our balcony which met a hedge-hog on the lawn / meadow to be seen stretched its neck to near-giraffe lengths to sniff at it. And the universal reaction to be seen was "aaahhhhh - no".
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Evil~Shieldmaiden
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on: February 08, 2017 11:20
Some new pictures of Oscar:

Oscar in the snow January 2017

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Oscar in the car February 2017 (heated seat)

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BelleBayard
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on: February 09, 2017 02:21
Hehehehe... Bet he loves that heated seat after playing in the snow! We'll see how my old dog tolerates it once we get to Colorado permanently.
Gandolorin
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on: February 09, 2017 08:43
Interesting that Oscar has a brindle color, and he's short-haired. Don't recall that many breeds that have brindle color, boxers are certainly among them, Great Danes and Bullmastiffs too - Mastiff respectively Molosser breeds generally? But Oscar is rather at the low end size- and weight-wise, as I believe I recall from some other post. But he does look like a sweet guy.

[Edited on 02/09/2017 by Gandolorin]
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Evil~Shieldmaiden
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on: February 09, 2017 01:30
Oscar is a mixture of dachshund, clearly seen in his head and ears; terrier, which you can see in his tail; and, whippet which accounts for his tremendous speed, and coat colour (both whippets, and greyhounds can have brindle coats). His body type is a combination of doxie and terrier in that he's sturdily built, with a slightly longer body than one would expect.

All three of these breeds are excellent vermin hunters, and Oscar has already killed several mice, and one bird. He's trying for a couple of squirrels, and a handful of rabbits, but they're on to him and flee as soon as he scomes into view, much to his annoyance.

In terms of personality, he's a nice blend of all three breed types. He has the sweetness and laid back qualities that whippets are famous for ... most of the time ... but it's tempered by high terrier-type intelligence requiring a fair amount of stimulation, and the infamous stubborness of doxies. When he's had enough of something (like obedience classes), or when he doesn't want to do something (like going out in the pouring rain), you get the look, and a turned back.

Actually, he's totally adorable, and I'm so grateful every day to have him as my companion.
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Gandolorin
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on: February 10, 2017 01:40
Welllll ... yes, some "Dackel" traits visually, though Oscar's snout is shorter, the head broader and the ears a tad shorter. In fact, just checking Wikipedia, Oscar could pass for an Austrian Shorthaired Pinscher (not a breed I had been aware of before ). The Pinscher breeds, as well as the Schnauzers and Terriers, were often used in pest control, so Oscar's ancestral mix may give a hint to how these breeds were developed.

As for chasing squirrels, from what I've seen from our loggia, it's not necessarily their speed (though stupendous for their size) which makes them elusive prey, it's their ability to change direction with their clawed feet, which puts all rabbits and hares I have ever seen to shame (and their speed and maneuverability in trees make cats look like me now trying to do things on the gymnastics horizontal bar that I was able to do about 45 years ago)

[Edited on 11/10/2017 by Gandolorin]
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Pathwarden
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on: May 14, 2017 03:01
Three months is far too long for a dog thread to go without new pictures. Here are my three maniacs, Ben (tan and white), Grace (mostly brindle) and Sam (brindle and white). Sam is Ben and Grace's baby, and he's bigger than they are by 4" and about 20 pounds. They're Original Mountain Curs, and they're just about the sweetest, most spoiled dogs ever.

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[Edited on 05/14/2017 by Pathwarden]
Evil~Shieldmaiden
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on: May 14, 2017 04:07
Lovely pictures, Pathwarden! Welcome to the thread, and to the site.

I have taken a few pictures of my dog and his BFF and will try to get them uploaded this week and post them.

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Gandolorin
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on: May 14, 2017 07:04
@ E~S and Pathwarden: to my eyes, Oscar and Grace share some phenotype traits. Of course, one would need to see them in the same picture to see how far the similarities go – relative size especially is impossible to guess from pictures. Floppy ears are common to all four of them, at the least.

[Edited on 11/10/2017 by Gandolorin]
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Pathwarden
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on: May 19, 2017 10:30
When I first saw Oscar's photo, I thought for a moment he looked like a Fiest. They're also a treeing dog, although smaller than a Mountain Cur. They come in brindle and other color combinations (also like Curs).

Gracie is about 43 pounds, Ben is about 55 and Sam is about 70 pounds. They're medium-sized dogs.
Gandolorin
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on: May 20, 2017 11:23
Pathwarden said:... and they're just about the sweetest, most spoiled dogs ever.

I'll bet the Boxer female my parents and I had about 45 years ago (*sigh*) could have given them a run for their money in those categories. Playful as anything.
Just checked German Wiki for information, which agrees with a book on dogs that I have on sizes (the book does not mention weights), and that puzzles me. We got our Bessy from the "Deutsche Boxer Club" near Cologne, but perhaps the dogs back then were a sight bigger that what is stated in the book, and both German and English Wikis. She would have been taller than any male, at about 65 cm or 25.6 inches, and certainly heavier at 35 kg or 77 pounds. A bit later, having been spayed, and not having quite as much exercise during winter, she got a tad pudgy at 38 kg or almost 84 pounds. And I remember clearly that we decided on a female because her dad was around 50 kg or 110 pounds, which we decided could be a bit much for my mother to handle walking on a leash.
And looking at the identical picture in both Wikis, to my memory she was also more powerfully built than the male they show there. Maybe they have been breeding them smaller since then, I can hardly remember having seen any males her size in the intervening years.
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Neenime
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on: May 26, 2017 08:30
Well, well. Some of the Fans Over Forty gang is here. Glad to see you all.

I really must subscribe to a Photobucket-type service. This web site won't accept the photos i have tried to post.

We have an 8 yr old America Cocker Spaniel. Trooper is tan in colour. He is super- affectionate, in contrast to our late, lamented Kayla . She was a Lab-Border Collie cross, with something else thrown in. She left us about three years ago, age and arthritis taking their toll.

I can se that you are all devoted Owners! Enjoy!
“Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I have found that it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. " Gandalf
Gandolorin
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on: November 10, 2017 01:44
There have been some newcomers (aka pups) here recently. One lives “next door” in our apartment building and is no longer a total puppy, the other I don’t know where it (I’m guessing she) and owner live “exactly” – in the neighborhood, certainly; with that pup’s leg length we are definitely not talking exercise needs of sled dogs! The “neighbor” is a long-haired Chihuahua male whom I have „named” “Yappy” because he very definitely indulges in that mostly annoying habit too much. Makes me think “these people could use some pointers in dog education from Cesar Millan!” But what I have also noticed is that “Yappy”, though occasionally a bit unsure about how to react, does seem to enjoy meeting other dogs. Once I saw him meet the other, still obviously younger and more puppyish – erm, maybe some kind of toy spaniel – and react favorably to the obvious “wanna play” advances. Still a bit unsure of himself; the other, though perhaps not quite his shoulder height, was certainly beyond him in poundage (ounceage? ) – though the rather full wavy-to-curly fur (not rough-hair fur) may be misleading. I have the distinct feeling that meeting more of his own kind more often could be beneficial for “Yappy”. While dogs have become socialized with humans for possibly tens of millennia – and as a general rule can “read” us far better than the other way around – other dogs are still the most natural companions.

(Yes, E~S, I know ... Image )

[Edited on 11/10/2017 by Gandolorin]
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