time for some dog talk

chris sent me a link to GIANT DOGS:

http://www.dogbiz.com/giant-dog-breeds.html

and... these dogs are huge! ^^

I like the Hungarian Kuvasz dog. Independent, grand, but perhaps not really the kind of dog for me.

It sparked my interest in going to another site to do a little quiz about the dog that might best suit my criteria. I added: i am willing to groom once a month.

And, the Berger de Picard was one of them.

We had a slight discussion about the health issues that dogs were prone too - and th Picard seems to be prone to quite a few (the effects of inbreeding....)

There dogs don't seems to have that many health issues:

Chinese Chongqing Dog
Siberian Husky
Alaskan Malamute

Oh, the alaskan malamute, so beautiful!
but, i do think that the chinese dog, it's temperament and grooming needs (or, lack of!!), fit my lifestyle a little more.

They're so stubbbbbby. They're not too big. I'd like a bigger dog, but unless i breed an animal that has all those traits, i ain't gonna find one that has all the things that i want!
the chiense dog... is doable. i just don't know how i'll be able to find one in Canada....

Talking to Tom

I just got home from my one point seven-five hour long appointment slash consultation with my orthodontist and said assistants and staff members. Goodness, having braces without insurance is pretty damn expensive.

Anyways, pulling up around the corner of my home, I saw someone walking two meduim-large dogs. One looked like a boxer - I noticed because it was jumping up and down, trying to get something from the walker's hand. I quickly parked my car and walked out to meet the dog-walker. His name is Tom, and the two dogs he was walking was Rocky, a brown with black pattern Boxer, and Bailey, a Siberian Husky mixed with an unknown. They were so cute! I want to play with them! And run with them! Too bad I was wearing sandals. Can't walk fast.

Anyways, I said that those two dogs were something that I'm interested in owning. He quickly asked me if I just wanted a dog because I liked dogs, or if I was particular about the breed. My response was: I'm not interested in Toy dogs, or smaller breeds. I like larger dogs. I found out why he made that comment. It turns out that Rocky (the Boxer) drools A LOT. And Bailey (the Husky mix) sheds a TON. And, I learned something new today: The Husky's hair gathers in clumps like dust on the floor, so you can just vacuum and whisk it up. The Boxer's hair, however, just sticks to things and sticks UP. You really need to work at it with the vacuum to get it. Tom said that if he could choose again (i.e. if he'd had known that the Boxer made such a mess and disaster), he'd choose a Doodle. I didn't know that Poodles, or anything like them don't shed that much. And, they don't smell as much too. I don't know, I'm not too into Poodles - the curls, they kind of freak me out.

And that, so far, is the highlight of my day.

Actually, I shouldn't say that. I had quite an interesting discussion with Julius and Daniel, a young Rev., about some topics. Those were quite interesting. Insightful. He provided a method/way of thinking about Christian views/concepts that I never thought of before.
Interesting.

Visiting sis in Guelf

I made a trip to Guelf the other day - sorry, didn't take any cameras (though, I did use the iPhone camera) - with Chris to visit Mars.

It turns out that there are many animals at the place the she lives in! She has 2 ferrets. But, there's a cat, and a dog.

And, I must say that I loved playing with the dog. It's a Border Collie!
And, it was smart. He understood commands, and Chris taught it to give him his paw using the chinese 'hand hand' command. It was great!! My first time playing with a Border Collie.

So smart!!! I want a Border Collie now!

And, my first time going to guelf. small, small town.

Dogs, Dogs, Dogs

I never knew that I'd be a dog person... but recently, I've come to realize that i do have a thing for dogs when I get the chance to open up to them. And, from my recent Sibbald Point camping trip experience, I am looking into dogs and the different breeds.

Just last night, while I stayed over at Hei's place, I looked at her big book of dog breeds (well, the books wasn't 'big', it was just really thick). And, I had already set my eyes on some of the dogs. I had a a major criteria: the dog had to be BIG. I'm not a big fan of small dogs. Maybe it's because my neighbor's dog is small, and it barks and lunges at ANYTHING that walks remotely in it's (or it's "property's" direction. And when I say bark, i mean BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK kind of bark. Seriously, I don't even remember how many times I've said to myself: "please, shut the hell up". I know, it might just not be properly trained, and is spoiled and is allowed to do whatever it pleases. Gee, did I mention that it even barks (oh, it's a SHE) at the mailman who delivers mail to the door everyday? And, that Fiesty animal was unleashed a few times - not gone unnoticed by the wary and worried neighbor's of theirs. Anyways, that's another long sotry that I won't dulve into now.

I want to put up some pictures of the dogs that I like and take interest in - and all these are the BIG-ger dogs: please let me know if I've left any "big dogs that I might fall in love with" out!
Please not that the dogs I'm eyeing for are larger than 50lbs. I actually want something BIG 70-80lb plus :P I also think that these are the dogs found mainly in the "Working Dogs" category, although I think I also like those in the "Sporting" category.

German Shepard















Great Dane










Dobermann/Dobermann Pinscher









Rotweiler












Husky (incl Siberian Husky/Alaskan Malamute)












Labrador Retriever











Boxer
look at that cute puppy face!!!!

















Giant Schnauzer











Akita Inu











This is a great site where all the "Working Dogs" are listed: American Kernal Club. There's a little icon picture of the dog above the name.