I foster for Golden Gate Lab Rescue and Buddy is my newest foster. He was a stray in Bakersfield but had been chipped and neutered. When owners were tracked down they didn't want him back and gave no backstory. It breaks m heart when I pick up these Labs that are so skinny and have asked for so little and give so much.
He's a joy and will probably be adopted within the week after I get a chance to assess him. So far he is just wonderful...but we haven't done the "cat" test yet. My first plan is to beef him up!
Buddy, a sweetheart, owner surrender, gonna beef him up to get him ready for forever family.
Loki wishes to know more about this (ahem!) "cat" test. Heh heh.
Does my cat disappear and become stealth like around my home or do they have a face off and tolerate each other. They used to have a "crash test dummy" cat at the vet, that was sorta liked a potted plant, partially blind, gimpy and could give a sheeet. They used to walk the incoming dogs by it to see their reaction. But he died of old age. So now we have to use our own cats as THE TEST. That way we can tell if they can go to a home with cats, or NO WAY.
Now ya know....no cats were injured in the making of this movie....but some have been royally pissed off.
As someone who live close to and works in Bako, I can attest to the often low-life nature of its inhabitants. There are soooo many unattended dogs in Kern County. Drives me crazy. Bunch o' creeptards down here, I'm sorry to say. Of course, some great folks, too, but it seems we have more than our share of the losers.
^^^^virtually all the lab fosters we get into the Monterey Bay Area are from Bakersfield. Evidently it's a high kill shelter with very few hours from pick up to getting the chop. Some people ask if fostering is hard, well generally not because labs are very desirable so they are adopted out quickly and labs, even abandoned ones, still have the big lab heart. What would be hard, and I could NOT do would be the volunteers that go into the shelter and must pick and choose the labs that seem adoptable. Can you imagine having to pass up some dogs? And many of he selected dogs are seniors! We do a pretty good job of placing seniors with families, usually seniors themselves, that don't want to deal with all the rambunctiousness of a young dog. The senior dogs, over 8 years old, are adopted for free. Others pay a fee that helps off set all the vet costs as each dog is microchipped, spayed and neutered if needed, prior to adoption.
What can you tell me about the temperament of your pup.
How about health?
Do you know many others that own the breed.
I ask as i really love the look of the dog and from what i know they are very very athletic.
I have heard they can have behavioral issues and sometimes health. I have one pit bull now that is dog aggressive but awesome otherwise. I also have a American Bully or Bull Dog Pit Bull Mastiff mutt that has terrible terrible health problems.
Just thinking ahead and we do not see many of the breed dog you own back east where i live.
Hey Dick, I'm sure Larry will tell you more, but I have a cattle dog... she is a people lover and totally aims to please (though food is her passion, so you've just gotta keep it under wraps/many a friend accidentally donated loaves of bread to her-she loves when that happens)! She does need to get outside a bit to burn off energy-but it's very manageable-just something each day if possible. She gets along with about 70% of other dogs... and then about 30%, not-and when not, a little dust-up can occur. I think it's a female alpha dog thing. These dogs are smart and very trainable-they love to learn and are agile-great boulder hoppers/crag dogs. Asia pulls off stunts that amaze me, and make me cringe. My girl makes me laugh, I believe she has a sense of humor and tries to crack me up-she does this howl when she wants certain things, and sometimes when she is really trying to get her point across, the howl can carry on, it's hilarious.
She is super sweet and gentle with kids, excellent with people, and great with non-yappy small dogs. For instance, she knows Rosebud, and they got along very well with no issues at all. I have heard that sometimes cattle dogs are known to be snappy to other people as well as other dogs, in my dogs case, only snappy to a small percentage of other dogs only, and never snappy to people, ever.
Living the good life in a red convertible . Moab, Utah. Nov. 2012
Credit: SCseagoat
I loved this because its a neat pic plus many years ago I had a TR4 similar to this one, except mine was British Racing Green and I used to drive around with a big yellow lab. Unfortunately the car and dog are l-o-n-g gone. But we had a great time!
Sounds just like my kind to be honest and kinda just like my pitbull minus the snappy with people part. My pitbull will use her mouth to get attention when she is competing with my other dog for a persons attention. She does not bite but can be nippy. Not good but easy to manage. Very very smart affectionate serious animal she is. I will have a hard time owning any breed of dog that is not highly intelligent.
I would say a cattle dog is right up my alley but with the potential for dog aggression and maybe even nippy with people i think it may be a breed i can not chance owing. Shame as they are very handsome animals and i am sure a joy in many many ways.
I imagine my female pitbull will live a very long life. After nearly a decade or two of owning a dog that is never ever allowed off a leash and can not go anywhere it may encounter a another loose dog i think i will be ready for a lazy docile best friend. It really is a shame as i have zero interest in owning a lab retriever or anything of the sort. Maybe some king of athletic hunting dog will fit the bill. My guess is that with hunting breeds you also run into behavior problems?
My latest foster, Teddy, hanging around after an early morning workout. My last foster Buddy, pic a few posts up, got adopted in less than a week. That's usually how it goes!
Teddy resting after early morning romp.
Credit: SCseagoat
Teddy, between 18 and 24 months...SMART dude!
Credit: SCseagoat
I can never figure out why anyone lets these beauties go. This was another stray brought into the Bakersfield shelter.
Let us know!