Yes, that is a be-a-utiful Weimaramer.  In response to Hoot's comments, I find Weimaramer's to closely mirror the persona they are given by the comedy 'Best in Show' (a MUST see for any dog owner/lover).  If you don't give them the attention and activity they need, they will be a terror.  But if you can accomodate those needs, they are great dogs.  That is true for most hunting dogs, but especially true for Weimaramers and German Short Haired Pointers.

 

^^^I wanted a German Shepherd, but the wife thought they looked too mean.  I think they're beautiful... and some of the smartest dogs I've ever encountered.

 

German Shepherd's can be a lot of things, but loyality is their strongest attribute IMO.  I only have to put him on a leash when people get frightened by his presence.  He geniunely has no desire to leave my side when we are in public.  And when I take my son to the park, Kobi sits down by the bench and doesn't take his eyes off of him the entire time.

 

The biggest mistake people make with Shepherd's is not establishing their (the owner's) alpha status.  Shepherd's want that and will grab it if you don't make it clear who's in charge from the time they are a pup.  That is when they become a problem..... or when you train them to be mean, of course.

 

I like them because they are big enough (Kobi is particularly big at around 100 lbs) to work effectively as a security system, they don't slober, they don't stink (although there is a trade-off there because they shed like there is no tomorrow), and they really are 'working' dogs (everything isn't just fun and games for them) so they take guarding the house and family, herding the kids, etc. VERY seriously.

^Establishing the owner's dominance is critical with any dog.  My wife never had dogs growing up like I did and she just didn't understand why I was being "so mean" to our dog for the first year and a half.  Well, it turned out that she couldn't get him to do anything when there was a distraction while he wouldn't take his eyes off me in the middle of a park.  Turns out I had to train my wife more than the dog, but she eventually got it and established a little bit of dominance with the help of a training collar.  She's still a big softy though and our dog takes advantage of it every chance he gets.

 

Needless to say it bugs me a little when I see what I would consider wreckless owners that have no control over their dog.  I think this is a bigger problem for small toy dog owners actually.  I think many of them believe their dog doesn't require much training because they're small and "couldn't hurt a fly."  It's also probably hard for an owner to apply an appropriate amount of force to a 10 lb dog to assert dominance.

Those photos almost make me want to buy a dog.

I love Shepherds, my grandfather used to raise them for police dogs & train them in German.  No way I could deal with the hair in the house though.  Ended up with a Weim in part because of the easily maintained coat.  I wipe him down with babywipes when he's a mess in between baths.  His temperament is much lower maintenance than you'd expect of a Weim.

^Establishing the owner's dominance is critical with any dog.  My wife never had dogs growing up like I did and she just didn't understand why I was being "so mean" to our dog for the first year and a half.  Well, it turned out that she couldn't get him to do anything when there was a distraction while he wouldn't take his eyes off me in the middle of a park.  Turns out I had to train my wife more than the dog, but she eventually got it and established a little bit of dominance with the help of a training collar.  She's still a big softy though and our dog takes advantage of it every chance he gets.

 

Haha.  I had the same issue with my wife.  I still remember her calling me crying because Kobi, as a little pup, had stolen her sandwich when she came home on lunch to let him out.  He also used to chase her around and nip at her butt with his little puppy teeth (a game for him which she didn't find so funny).  I told her you have to put 'the fear of God' into him or he will never respect you.  She learned quickly and is now officially a 'dog person'. 

what does Cesar Milan say?  Training people, rehabilitating dogs?

Tragic story, but I thought I'd give a head's up.  We don't have a fence between us and the people that live behind us.  We kind of share the larger space and both families have dogs.  Last year, their Lab was poisoned somehow (still don't know how exactly).  They bought two Lab puppies this year.  A yelllow and a black lab.  Both girls.  They loved to rough house together.  Really sad, but yesterday the yellow got her face caught in the black lab's collar.  The parent were at work and only their youngest daughter was home.  Both dogs apparently started struggling and the girl could not get them separated.  The black lab suffocated to death.  Keep this in mind when both buying a collar and fitting the collar.  I suspect the collar was too loose because the yellow lab should have never been able to get stuck like that and also there should be some 'give' to the collar just in case the dog does get it stuck somewhere.  Keep in mind that a dog's natural instinct when it feels something pull on its neck is to pull in the other direction.  Freak accident, for sure, but there is a lesson here.  Oh yeah.... although I would never blame the poor traumatized young girl who witnessed this, I would guess you are much better cutting the collar probably was possible if she was thinking straight at the time.

^Omg that's horrible.

 

Figured I'd post another photo of my cat a couple years later. He's now almost 4. Still a pain in the ass. He's pretty much turned into my cat. Always following me around. Always in my room. I'm going to miss him a lot when I finally move out...

HTS121  thats so sad.  I hope this doesn't affect the young lady emotionally for a long time.

Not really a very good quality pic, but..... here's Kobi.  Sweet as can be when you are a guest and GREAT with kids.  Downright frightening to anybody who dares come within 50 feet of my house (I had one contractor who walked off the job because I was at work and he thought Kobi was going to jump through the window).

 

 

 

RIP  :cry:

Sorry to hear that, Hts.

Picture of our family pet from awhile back

 

Tigger. 1988-2009

Here are Danny Boy and Heather, named for the tourists who begged me to buy them as puppies from the meth head selling them on the street in the French Quarter

So, my local pub in the French Quarter was written up in the annual Times Picayune bar guide.  I didn't get a mention, but my dogs did!

 

"With its eclectic mix of regulars, this pub manages to keep the atmosphere lively without getting too rowdy. Patrons relax around the arc-shaped bar, sometimes leaning down to greet the outgoing Heather and shy Danny Boy, a pair of lounging dogs"

 

 

 

http://www.nola.com/bar-guide/index.ssf/2012/07/fahys_irish_pub.html?mobRedir=false

 

New kitten, with Urban Ohio on the screen:

 

Keyboard kitteh

Our furry family includes a recent adoptee and two fosters. We are volunteers at Ohio Alleycat Resource & Spay/Neuter Clinic (OAR). You might of heard of the organization in the news recently after thieves stole the copper from their AC units. It's been a rough summer... There are over 70 cats/kittens available for adoption if you know of anyone considering a pet!

What is the story with Bossman's eyes?  Is he blind? 

He's been cross-eyed (strabismus) since birth I believe. I got him from the SCPA at 9 months. He's 12 now. Previous owners litter box trained and declawed him, then decided they didn't want him.

 

He sees fine. You can tell by his behavior though that he relies on his hearing when chasing a fly, toy, etc.

For how sharp a healthy cat's eyesight appears to us, I've seen blind or nearly blind cats who get around just fine and behave almost exactly like a cat with normal vision.  The only real difference is they won't attempt aggressive jumps, but otherwise aren't particularly cautious and don't run into things too often. 

Lol, cats LOVE sitting on keyboards. I wonder why that is.

Never knew cats had heart attacks, but yeah, they're just people too

For how sharp a healthy cat's eyesight appears to us, I've seen blind or nearly blind cats who get around just fine and behave almost exactly like a cat with normal vision.  The only real difference is they won't attempt aggressive jumps, but otherwise aren't particularly cautious and don't run into things too often. 

 

On the dairy farm where I grew up, we had hordes of barn cats, probably an ongoing average of about thirty. Once a female found her way into the house basement and had two kittens in the furnace room. The basement had no windows and no one ever went there during warm weather, hence no light. It wasn't until fall that we discovered the two kittens, by that time several weeks old. I never figured out how their mom found her way in and out, but apparently she never took them out to teach them to hunt. They had been raised in darkness, and although they appeared to have normal or near-normal eyesight, they couldn't execute the amazing leaps that are part of most cats' repertoire. Not that they didn't try, but their attempts often resulted in amazing failures and crash landings. They were resilient and persistent though, sometimes providing considerable entertainment for us kids.

 

Lol, cats LOVE sitting on keyboards. I wonder why that is.

 

I think cats are pretty adept at quickly figuring out when you're directing your attention to something besides them, and quick to interfere with it (much like a possessive lover). When I'd spread my Sunday paper on the living room floor to read, she'd quickly sprawl in the middle of it on her back, demanding a belly rub. If I sat in my recliner with my paper on my lap, she'd hop up and plop down on it.

Yeah, I think it's amazing how cats always used to sit on the newspaper when you were reading it, and now sit on your keyboard when you're reading the news online!

 

This is Walter the Cat, who was tragically run over and killed earlier this year, sitting on my keyboard back in about 2006:

 

I think cats are pretty adept at quickly figuring out when you're directing your attention to something besides them, and quick to interfere with it (much like a possessive lover). When I'd spread my Sunday paper on the living room floor to read, she'd quickly sprawl in the middle of it on her back, demanding a belly rub. If I sat in my recliner with my paper on my lap, she'd hop up and plop down on it.

 

Yeah, that makes sense. It's weird though--cats are really independent, yet they're attention-wh*res.

Never knew cats had heart attacks, but yeah, they're just people too

 

We gave our cat regular NSAID pain relievers for arthritis.  I don't know if improved quality of life that led to 21 years of age.  But treatment was better than nothing.

Speaking of pets I seem to be somewhat adoptd by a stray cat who has been coming by my patio.  Ive set out saucers of milk for it, and once it snuck past me and skitted through the screen door into the apartment.

 

Yet its only "sort of" friendly in acting a bit unsure if it wants to be petted....

 

...not like a dog.  Cats. 

 

 

The newest edition to the family

So I've had two kitties, Gypsy and Arial. Gypsy is a smart, sociable girl. Arial is a scared but very sweet permanent kitten.

 

This is Gypsy, who thinks she's a person. She follows a wonderful cat named Abe (1988-2005) who was a tough act to follow. But Gypsy is every bit as wonderful a kitty as Abe was....

 

 

 

This is Arial, who is very sensitive. So she's affectionate, loving and runs if you burp too loudly. But she doesn't have a bad bone in her body....

 

 

 

And then as my father got old, he could no longer take care of his cat Dusty. While my dad was in the hospital for a long stretch, we visited his house to take care of Dusty who was getting very lonely all by himself. Yet he would not come out of hiding for anyone except me. Dusty adopted me and I took him in. He's an awesome, big fuzzy guy....

 

Does dog shaming work?

 

This is Stevie the Cat in June, right after I found her in Mt. Auburn. She was very sick and hungry:

 

 

This is her now:

 

She has a very pretty mix of colors.

^^Beautiful coat/colors.  Looks to be half Calico.  Did you name her after Stevie Nicks?

On 12/14/2014 at 10:26 AM, Hts121 said:

^^Beautiful coat/colors.  Looks to be half Calico.  Did you name her after Stevie Nicks?

 

I found her outside of my former band practice space, so I was looking for a female rock and roll name.

Here is my cat Melvin in the backyard:

 

 

Charlie

 

My dogs are the black and yellow dogs, Heather and Danny Boy

The Collie looking dog is my rescue/foster Jack

The wire fox terrier is Merlin, and the wee Louisiana brown dog is Max

That's my bed.

The pack was hanging out for Easter

A rare shot of Mimi and Dawg.  Neither is fond of the camera.

 

(I don't believe in changing a critter's name)

 

Zion is a four month old Aussie. He went on his first of many hikes this morning!

 

On 12/13/2014 at 11:57 PM, taestell said:

This is Stevie the Cat in June, right after I found her in Mt. Auburn. She was very sick and hungry:

 

 

This is her now:

 

 

Now with even more fluff:

 

Update...this kitten is now 8 years old and lives at my mom's house. 

 

My cat spent the Thanksgiving Weekend at Dogtown Cincinnati on Burnet Ave.  The webcam was way more interesting to watch than I expected.  It was really cheap - just $16/day and the people working there were all super-enthusiastic.