- Breeds
- Health
- Behavior
-
Mixed Breeds
Top Rated Mixed Breeds
- Bichon Frise / Maltese Mix
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel / Poodle (Miniature) Mix
- Newfoundland / Labrador Retriever Mix
- Chow Chow / Golden Retriever Mix
- Rottweiler / Labrador Retriever Mix
- American Pit Bull Terrier / Boxer Mix
- Shih Tzu / Yorkshire Terrier Mix
- Staffordshire Bull Terrier Mix
- Bichon Frise / Poodle (Miniature) Mix
- American Bulldog Mix
- RightDog Match
Health & Categories
Behaviour & training
Mixed Breeds
Match-Me
Roanoke, Virginia, United States
BhuvanaMcGoats
I do not ever recall a life before being owned by nonhumans. This is because it never occurred. From the moment I left the hospital as an infant, I was cared for and loved by a mountain of fur, scales, feathers, and exoskeletons. It started off simply, dogs and cats. As the years went on, and much to my mother's discontent, it opened up to a world of scaled, feathered, and exoskeleton friends that I will hold in my heart until the day I die.
BhuvanaMcGoats’s animals
View:
View:
Admin Articles
Pets:
No Admin Articles Found
, he was a charmer. He drooled a bit more than I like (I have never met a person excited for a drooler, though...and he usually tried to keep his drool off my head, which was nice), but he was well mannered and very responsive (which is great since he was 100x more powerful than me and if he wanted to go against my will, it would have been no effort for him at all). He came to the vet office for regular grooms (all were as difficult as the last) and regular check ups. My entire career there, as well as in all his records since he started going to that vet at 1 year old, he never grew ill or got injured. I never had to board him with us, but a side note about these dogs--if you do not have money aside for dog food, then a saint bernard is not for you. These guys will eat you out of your house if you don’t open up a separate savings for their diet! Burney was the only saint bernard I ever met with any regularity (I have hung out with a boy that used to come into Petsmart, where my roommate worked, but that was only for short periods while I waited for her shift to end), and I truly believe it is how expensive it is to keep this breed well fed and in shape. They are not active dogs, more likely to sit and watch the television with you than go hiking, so they have to be on good food to keep them at their proper weight. All in all, these dogs are amazing in personality and health, but grooming and feeding can be a real hassle.){kind=link}
.){kind=link}
, with his favorite show being Jeff Corwin Experience. It was funny to see his disappointment when he’d run in, hearing Jeff Corwin’s voice, and find out I was watching Corwin’s Quest. I don’t know why he preferred the original show better, but he did. Aside from his intelligence, he is also a very sweet dog, and also very codependent to his human. They need each other, and they both know it.<br><br>His only flaw that presents itself, and it is not really his fault, but he has a bad eating habit. His human does, too, so she has raised him on food that has no nutritional value. He dislikes good food, now, because of it, much like how a child raised on mac and cheese often stays clear of broccoli. He’s overweight because of it. But, again, this is not his fault. I suppose I should also mention the grooming flaw that goes along with this breed. I have not experienced it with Neko due to not actually living with him, but while doing grooming of golden’s at the vet office, I have found them to be very difficult because of the length and curl of their fur. Their curls often knot with one another if not groomed daily, and their undercoat makes drying them off an all day event.){kind=link}
. The mother reared up at us, very upset by our presence. Instead of snarling back, Boss looked back at us and lead us in a wide circle around the bear, leading us back to the trail once we had given her a wide enough birth. This is the same dog I have seen face off a lion on a trip to Africa, scaring it into submission when he dared to bear its teeth at us. My point is, he recognized the bear’s reasoning for her aggression, and responded appropriately, despite it not being the biggest threat he’d ever come across.<br><br>Unfortunately, something that is common in doberman’s, ended up stealing his life. Purebred doberman’s often suffer a disorder where their stomach flips inside out. He had it fixed several times, but the cure never stuck. It finally became clear his quality of life had dropped drastically, and it was only fair for him to be put to sleep.){kind=link}
. She wanted Dina to be happy, and to have some food in her stomach, and that was all that mattered.){kind=link}
makes for a very difficult time. I would grow more drenched in bath water and sweat that the dogs even were. Their pelts are easily knotted and hang onto filth like it depends on it. A dog came in once, no joke, with an entire tree limb woven through their fur. About three feet long and four inches thick. The human, fortunately, was very understanding when we said we had to shave her poor dog because we just could not get it out (and she did not want just the patch where the stick was stuck shaved). <br><br>Bottom line for this massive dogs is, you have to know what you're getting into. They are very large when full grown and difficult to groom, despite being the most mild mannered, sweetest dogs around. They also require quite a bit of stimulus and outdoor time in order to remain content. And to do along with the size point mentioned above--they will eat. A LOT. And anything.){kind=link}
 and is government funded so they managed to afford the tests and such to figure out what they could do to help this poor boy. Because, other than his allergies, he had nothing wrong with him. He was gentle, quiet, intelligent, obedient, and just about the kindest dog that ever was and ever will be. He would snuggle the rabbits and calm the stressed new additions to the shelter. He was an all around well mannered man with no bitterness for his poor life. He did not even seem to mind his own ailments, too busy trying to please the humans and other nonhumans around him.<br><br>Several times we thought we found the right medication for his allergies but, once he would go to a new home, he would quickly be returned, having found a new thing to be allergic to and the humans just not willing to deal with it. In fact, we never did manage to calm all his reactions, but, eventually, I displayed him at a Pride Parade and a young couple noticed him. I explained the entire situation and they said they did not care--they would empty their home and reintroduce each thing, throwing out anything he reacted to. And they did! They loved his heart so dearly that they altered their whole life for this sweet sweet man. <br><br>Even now they remain in contact with us, saying each time that they do not regret their decision even once. In their words, "Skeeter is the kindest man we have ever known. He never shows impatience when our adopted daughter tugs at his tail, always reacts in kindness when our reptiles or cats use him for a bed. He eats whatever we give him, trusting us with his whole heart. As for training, he learns tricks in a matter of minutes, perfecting them in an hour. Even in his later years now, he is always eager to adopt new ideas."<br><br>Bottom line is, if Skeeter is any portrayal of this breed, they are the perfect family dog when allowed to be.){kind=link}
 from every breed in him, but purebreds just do not sit well with me. I hate judging a dog on their breed, but there is certainly a pattern going on. It is bad when I would go to see what dogs were going to be checked in to board at the office, and the moment I saw a lab I would get this sinking feeling in my gut. It was justified, though. A purebred lab coming in meant I was not going to get out on time, be clawed up, be scrubbing every square inch of the kennel several times an hour, and I would have to keep both eyes on him every time he was nearby.<br><br>Why? Because they have all been unpredictable, messy, loud, and overbearingly unaware of how massive they are compared to my little frame. <br><br>First off, medically, they have more than their share of too common to be a coincidence ailments that just seem to be a given in the breed. If you have a full blown lab, you can almost be certain they will have hip displasia later (or early) in life. On top of this, they tend to develop highly aggressive cancers out of the blue, and are too stubborn to show signs until it is too late. They'll eat anything, but seem unable to handle even the most gentle of food, often getting diarrhea or vomiting excessively. Seizures seem to be common amongst the purebreds, also, and when you have a 200 pound muscle head seizing, there is not a whole lot you can do to help them. To top it all off, their metabolism is worthless. It isn't the type of food or the humans are not walking them enough (not always, anyway) that makes a slim fit lab so rare; it is the fact that they eat it, and if they do not vomit it back up, it just lumps right onto their 'thighs'.<br><br>In addition to this, they are way too much energy and not enough (or any) self control or common sense. I have seen military men with out of control labs because even they can't get a handle on the moose. The issue is that all labs seem to have an attention deficit disorder. They want to learn. They want to please. But...oh hey? Is that a butterfly??<br><br>Yeah, you get it.<br><br>Finally, they have an awful tendancy of snapping from 'happy happy joy joy' to 'it has to die' very quickly. I do not know why, but they tend not to have a middle ground. One second they are cuddling the cat, the next moment the cat is dead. I like to assume it is due to all the inbreeding that has to occur to get a purebred lab, and I am confident that that is the reason, but their mental stability is all over the charts.<br><br>They are great, loving dogs, but they can also be insane at the same time. I love my Brian and would never train him for anything in the world, but he has developed all the bad habits of a purebred lab and we have had to twist our life around to try and suit him. If you have the time, finances, patience, and love to do so, they can give you a lot of reward, most of the time.<br><br>Just, you have to be ready for the punishment the other times, too.){kind=link}
 but most people do count it as endearing. I should point out, though, that one girl was blind and the other had a very aggressive tumor, so my point above still stands true.<br><br>As a final note, they seem to be finicky eaters. Not in the way that they refuse many food types, but their stomachs seem to be hyper-sensitive, leading them to many intolerances and, what seemed to be, allergies.<br><br>To end positively, though, my friend does have a rat terrier who is quite friendly in his age. He does suffer from a tumor, though not incredibly aggressive, but he is sweet natured and very dependent. My friend claims he has calmed in his years for, as a puppy, he was the typical rat terrier with all the nervous energy in the world channeling to distrust and, at times, aggression. He took it out on rodents, usually, ripping gophers from their burrows and killing them. She was not pleased with this act, but she is happy she worked with him because she claims he is a very kind hearted man, now.){kind=link}