I have 12 heads of cabbage that I need to do this to!

Yay! Keep us posted!

Very cute! You'll enjoy them!

Oh brother. tough crowd. :glare: It was a joke, not a commentary on people's genetics. Sometimes this board is no fun at all. And actually, yeah, according to the show, the lactose intolerant genes are an older version. sorry.

We did too except we initially started watching it while we were eating lunch. Had to record it to watch later as it wasn't really meal-time viewing material. :D

My 14 year old son calls anything new and updated a 2.0 model. Like Sister 2.0, dog 2.0, truck 2.0... just a little attempt at humor. Lactose tolerance was a genetic adaptation to farming and specifically, humans digesting milk past childhood.

It's genetic-older genetics could not digest milk but newer Human 2.0 types developed the ability to digest milk past infanthood. :D I'm watching a Nova documentary on The Ice Man, the prehistoric man whose body was found in a glacier in Italy, and they say he was lactose intolerant and how the genetics worked on it. It's a super interesting show-my kids have been fascinated by it too.

Just be aware that three of the breeds you listed are very very prone to health problems-the lab, the Newfie, and the mastiffs! I used to work for an ortho veterinarian and all of these labs were famous for leg problems (especially from NOT ENOUGH EXERCISE and early neutering (which no vet in their right mind is going to not recommend)) You want a penn hip, not the outdated (and pretty much arbitrary) OFA. http://research.vet.upenn.edu/Default.aspx?alias=research.vet.upenn.edu/pennhip Allergies are also a risk with a lab-they're the MOST allergic of all the breeds now. You're also in serious drool territory there too! LOL My Great Pyrenees drools sometimes too but I usually have a rag around and just wipe his mouth if he's getting petted. Springers can be really nice dogs, my grandfather has had six of them and all but the last one (from the OK springer rescue, stay away from them!) have been really nice dogs. LOVE me a Boston, the perfect dog! Huskies can be a really nice dog, aloof with some people but real nice dogs I think. Labs shed constantly-not seasonally.

we added shelves to every closet so they are a wall of shelves. built shelves all the way to the ceiling! we have a ten foot hall so we put a wall of shelves in the hall and gained a lot of storage area. Under the house in the crawlspace for some things... and we raised all the beds so we have storage under them.

I'm sorry. :( Agree, make sure you have an appropriate place and it's legal to do. Have it done ahead of time, maybe if someone can dig it while you're at the vet. Bring a blanket and preferably a box of some sort to bring him home in-make that shape a little less recognizable and I really really recommend having him at least wrapped in a blanket. We always did a little graveside, each kid said goodbye and put something in with him, a favorite stick or toy or written goodbye, said a prayer and we all went in to the house and DH/someone stayed to finish the burial. Looking at the age of your kids I think that would be appropriate for you too. Hang in there. :(

we always did a mg a lb twice a day, you can start at half a mg per pound and see how he does on it. You can go as high as 2 mgs per pound but if you don't see much improvement with it I would try other options or he will always be groggy. :) It also works as a good sedative for a cat if you give it to them while they're still calm. Doesn't work if the cat is already mad. http://www.1800petmeds.com/Diphenhydramine+(Generic+Benadryl)-prod10834.html

Wonderful dogs but a hotbed of health problems-people have to be very very selective and require all health screenings. They have been all but destroyed by show breeders.

We had the same thing here-DH was overly practical and I dont' like the look! We had a little wishing well type lawn ornament that an elderly family friend made us out of 2by4's that was cute and had sentimental value-I put it on one of the covers and an assortment of flower pots and an old wheelbarrow with flowers planted in it around the rest of it. Easy enough to move when needed and it's not quite so obvious... lol

You can give him a benadryl, depending on his size maybe two. See if that helps him-knowing that it will make him drowsy so see if the itching improves and he's not just too tired to itch! I'd wash his beds and vacuum really well. Has he been running in grass or sleeping in a different place? New carpet or rugs in the house? New dog bed? Sleeping on a different surface? dead grass or weeds can kick off an allergy/itch. Or straw in a doghouse can have mites that make them itch. Keep him on a clean swept floor and not running around outside and see if that helps. I would also make him plain burger and rice food for a while and see if that helps. Food allergies can come on quickly and for no apparent reason. Have you switched foods lately or has he had a different treat that is unusual? Take him off his usual food and feed him only plain burger for a few meals, see if that makes a difference. My aussie had an allergic reaction like you describe, itched her belly nonstop! We pulled the food and gradually reintroduced a different food and it cured her. Since dog food ingredients aren't controlled they can get a little too much of something and unbalance a dog's system pretty easily. If you really want to know what is causing it do these things one at a time to eliminate the possibilities but if you just want it to stop, do all of them at once! :) Good luck! That itching drives everyone crazy!

IMO, call the most reputable vets in your area. A lot of people say to check AKC but a show breeder is not always a breeder that is out to raise a HEALTHY dog, sometimes they're just in it for the ribbons. The vets know which breeders have the healthiest dogs.

I've actually been planning mine-we hope to build a house next summer. Mine is plain and professional. No cabinets, I hate cabinets. They never fit right and I hate digging around in each door and little area. I'm very short so overhead cabinets are virtually useless for me! I have a very plain kitchen but get a lot done in there-I have a food processor, kitchenaid, cutting boards and good knives and not much else. I like keeping my kitchenaid/processor on the counter ready to go, kitchenaid over a flour/sugar drawers (via Pioneer Woman's design) and the processor near the sink for clean vegies. My kitchen will have pantry/storage/fridge against a wall and a long huge island facing out into the room. Galley style only with a long island, not a wall. The island will have the range and huge sinks with spray faucets, plug-ins, knife holders, ect-be my work space for all the cooking/chopping/stirring/ect. Stainless steel wide countertops with a raised bar on the outer edge where people can sit with their wine/beer and talk to me while I cook. And to hide the counter mess from easy vision from the rest of the room! Under the counter will be wide open rack shelves, no doors. Easy to grab pots/pans/bowls and to put them away. One of my favorite things in the world is to drink wine and talk with friends/family while I cook. I love to get entrenched back there and just cook away-or have food network going on my little kitchen tv, drink wine, and cook. Herb garden in the window and my wood cookstove between the kitchen and great room. Our new house is planned around that cookstove-it's where we do nearly all our cooking for much of the year. And it heats the house.

Yep, I realize it's a turn of phrase invented by a man! Reminds me of that Betty White funny that I saw on facebook ... anyone else see that one? :D

It's too late to glue them together unless he wants to scrub it out with iodine then glue it, otherwise all the germs will get glued in there too! DH will scrub out a cut with betadine or iodine and a toothbrush sometimes. Some tape would stop it from hurting so bad when the cuts are messed with otherwise he just has to man up for a few days while they heal enough not to hurt. :D

My husband never ever has had a bandage on his hands and he works with steel fabrication and shoeing horses every day. Neosporin won't work on a puncture wound or deep cut except for around the edges. An ER doctor told me years ago that OTC neosporin can barely suppress infection and can't resolve it. It's mostly vaseline. :glare: If he washes and dries his hands on a regular basis it will do as much good. Bandaids are totally annoying, they peel right off! I have used duct tape or vetwrap instead with much better luck!

I agree with the collie too! We had a pair that came in to the vet clinic I worked at-beautiful matched sisters, tris, absolutely beautiful and dignified. I want a collie some day too. I always tell my husband "Life is too short to have just one dog at a time!"

Yep, chickens get you going. They're so bucolic. :) When I was done with college and setting up my own place I started with a dozen chickens and have had hundreds over the years. And turkeys, ducks, goats, sheep, rabbits, cows and horses.

Thank you! I really love them, especially the puppy. I worked in some Carnathan bloodlines on that cross and she's turned out to be even more super smart and eager to please. They are smell hounds, not sight, so seeing the cat run across the yard doesn't do anything for them but if we're on a walk they might pick up a trail and follow it. I just call them back. These are both females so maybe that's why but they stay home pretty well, they don't have that urge to go find something to track like you might see in a beagle. They don't want to go anywhere without me. And they don't need any more exercise than any other dog, they like to go when we go but if we sleep on the couch all day that's fine with them too. Never get spazzy running all over the yard jumping on things, they just do what we're doing. You'll see a lot of the dogs have Weatherford Ben bloodlines-he was a foundation sire for the breed-but see if you can't get some Howard Carnathan lines in there also. The WB lines are harder working and have more drive to them, more size and energy. The Carnathans tend to a funner personality and more people-oriented and protective. Let me know if I can answer any questions or help out!

Agree with the disagree. Hybrid vigor only applies if both parents are reasonably healthy. A lab cross is still very likely to have allergies and leg problems, a GSD cross is still very likely to have hip problems. It just depends on what is in the gene pool!

I have five right now-one mutt that is likely Golden Retriever and Aussie, or maybe GSD.. who knows! She's a great little dog and I've loved her for 12 years now. :) Also have a purebred Aussie and she's fun, busy, watchful, codependent, doesn't chase, good with kids and puppies, cute, attentive and SMART. I have two Blackmouth Curs, one six month old pup and her mother. They're smart, stubborn, houndy, sweet, beautiful, protective, wary of strangers, athletic, and goofy. And I have a Great Pyrenees and I adore him. He does dig and bark-it's in the breed description! LOL I wanted one for a long long time and researched them extensively. They are such pure dogs, he wants to protect us and be loved, the end. He barks all night at the coyotes and sleeps on the porch guarding us all day. He dug himself one hole by the house when it was so hot this summer so he could keep cool but that's all. He does an instant judgement on all the people and dogs that come here and he has pretty good judgement. He's huge-120 lbs, on eye level with the kitchen counter, and standing on his back legs he's taller than me, I love that. (I'm short) When the crazy neighbor came down yelling at me irrationally it felt like I was holding back an attack pony-he wasn't letting that huge yelling man near me! Otherwise he loves people though... plays with the puppies and so gentle, loves the cats and kids but when the coyotes yip at night he boils up and roars out there warning them to stay away. I just adore him.

My two BMC's are both sharing their beds with cats right now. :) They're great with cats since I raised them with them! In thinking back over their relatives and other BMC's that I know they've all been good with them. Mine are good with all our animals, good with the kids, and very protective. My grown BMC had the UPS guy scared to get out of his truck last week-all she does is bark but it's a big bark. Since you understand a strong breed I think you might really like a BMC-they're a very healthy breed too! There are some pictures of mine on this facebook album if you want to see mine, one was born in May and the older is her mama. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2160834453962.120514.1039577974&type=1&l=f5fd28ff44 And I have a GP! LOL I love him to death but to me, he's more protective in a preventative way, by barking LOUDLY all the time. I have no doubt he would protect me if I needed it but in general he loves people and is very friendly toward them. He is proactive about other dogs and coyotes, ect though. Depends on the level of protectiveness you are after. Huge sweet dogs, I've had a couple of them and love them. I think Martha here has them too? I love dogs. :) I have five now and I still would get a little Boston if DH would let me!