HI Leigh

Sorry i kept altering my post LOL! My thingy has a habit of cutting off my connection unless i post quickly, so I sometimes just do "send" and then fiddle a bit :D

I'll try to answer the points you raise.

I did say any dog, but as you know email isn't always good for communication :) I do feel that any wild dog or maybe feral will react in this way, and a domestic dog if it hasn't been trained.

The reason i said this , is because many people do feel they should take food as they feel they are the Alpha and it's their right. My argument is, if we go down that route then it's worth looking at all the canine behaviour near food and saying that it is natural for dogs to guard food when it is in their mouths - actually in their own space. I don't know if I have explained that properly, but i've tried <g>.

Yes, most pet dogs are fine about it; but usually because they are not starving or because they have, as you I thinkk have said re. yours, have trained with a word such as in your case "dead" or "open". But I think many onwers don't do this,and then ger upset when Rover growls or snaps . That's the difference I feel.

By your type of dogs <BG> I meant hunting dogs and retrieving dogs - well I know you have a bracco and Gsp's as you have mentioend them on here :). I do feel dogs bred to retrieve may enjoy the whole behaviour as rewaridng and therefore don't mind giving up game etc. In fact i' d be keen to know your view on this .

Totally agree, owners should definitely be able to open mouths - for example what if we can't at the vet? Or if there is a stuck bit of something or other?

I tend to think we agree mostly but perhpas just not on the finer details? ;)

Best wishes
Lindsay

Have to agree with you on this one, Lindsay. Those of us who do have dogs that we can take things from (and even the patrol dogs I trained would allow me to do so) are *conditioned* to such behavior from the aspect of living with people who expect that type of behavior and so teach them to 'take things' nicely from hand, to not grab, etc. We've all had calls from people who have dogs that are out of control and one of the things these people usually comment on during a conversation will be food possessiveness or 'grabbing food' from hand.

You're also right in that those dogs with a retrieving instinct are somewhat different in nature than dogs that don't have such a high instinct. These dogs have been bred for years utilizing traits that make them want to bring the game back to the owner, rather than lay down and gobble it where it falls. At least my opinion is that it is a selective trait that was deemed desirable when the breed was originated.

While I do not expect any of my dogs to growl if I move toward or touch their food dish, neither am I so callous that I believe that a dog doesn't have a right to an unhindered meal. After all, would you appreciate a waiter coming over midmeal and taking your dish away to put some more food upon it or just because he felt like it?

Hi Sierra

I think it was John Fisher who said, "If you don't want a dog to have the food, don't give it to him in the first place" or similar <g>.

Yes, agreed, dogs must have their meals unhindered unless there is a good reason for it to be otherwise. I tend to agree with Fran's method above for training - although I did it differently with my dogs, and just taught "give" and they alwasy just did it, as that was what they were used to:).

Lindsay

I am forever delving down my lots throats when they are trying to scoff something disgusting on a walk, from Chewing Gum to dead things :D

Please make every conceivable effort to find his owner, no matter how much you like him. He could have been stolen from 100's of miles away & dumped in your area & the real owners distraught.

Oh believe me I know. My female I had had simce her birth and she was 8 at the time.She was stolen and after three weeks we thought we would never see her again. I was so upset it was horrible. I cried everyday. Some one actually saw my ad in the paper. Even after three weeks I couldnt bring myself to take it out of the paper. Anyway, the neighbors of the people who had taken her called, and she had been about 2 miles away the entire time. They tried to give us a hard time until I told the officer at this point that she had a tattoo in her ear and I could describe it, because I had it put there. We got her back. So am trying my very best to find the owners.

Did anyone read this months Dogs Today article about microchipping? Apparently the microchipping co. does NOT have to help you locate your dog if he is lost or stolen and someone else claims him as their own. If this dog is microchipped, the vet and the microchip co. are under no obligation to contact the former owner.

I read that article - i think it's awful. I was going to have my bitch microchipped but now i'm thinking twice.

Although last year several dogs were stolen in the New Forest area, and those who were microchipped were dumped, and eventually anded up back with owners so it does have some advantages still i suppose.

Lindsay

I think you'll find it is the RCVS that has advised its members that if the vet finds they are treating a dog that is chipped but not registered to the person caliming to the owner they have been advised not to inform the original owners as they dont want to get involved in custody cases. I'm assuming that this would also apply to tattoos for the same reasons.