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southwestforests
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01 Aug 2009, 2:54 am

I'm in the mood to keep telling pet stories.
Around the time I was 14 or so our beagle died and after awhile we decided to get a collie.
Found a local breeder who had a female who had abandoned her latest litter so breeder wanted to sell her to someone for a pet, no papers or anything.

We got her home, she had never been in a house, it was Christmas season. She came in the back door, saw the Christmas tree, yelped and headed back into the 1/2 bath just inside the back door.
Wouldn't come any further into the house till the tree was down. My little brother had gotten a train set - he and dad had it on the floor, Brandy came in to see what was going on. Brother started the train and she jumped in Dad's lap hiding her head under his arm!

She went from that to playing a mean game of soccer - she'd get the ball between her 4 feet and forget about getting it away from her - not gonna happen!
Something amuses me is that one of our friends who was very intimidated by her when she had the ball and wouldn't try to get it away from her grew up and went on to fly air force fighter planes.

She also liked playing with Nerf football (US). One time when us kids were all in our backyard she apparently went to block a punt and got kicked in the head - went off to the side, sat down, shook her head a couple times, then came right back to play. Another time she chased the soccer ball into a shrub and got a cut up the side of her nose from a broken branch.
Just kept right on playing.

Who would have ever guessed a once registered show dog would come out to be such a gritty athlete?
Cool!

She would be taken to be bathed and groomed every so often and from the way she pranced and sat in such prissy poses for a couple days afterwards you could tell she was aware that she looked good.
The prissiness did not, however last very long till her inner "Lady Jock" came out :lol: and she was back to roughhousing with us and our friends.

We had a plastic dish pan for her water there in Georgia in the summer: when running and playing outside she'd go over take a drink with her front feet in the water then turn around and stand with her back feet in the water for a moment before getting back in the action.

One time mom called us down to the kitchen window - Brandy was outside tossing the Nerf football with her mouth then running after it.
Couldn't resist going out and joining her!

And then one time dad got very sick. Brandy rarely went into parents bedroom and never got up on beds, but she jumped up on bed with dad and regularly did that till he got well.

She also liked to go canoeing. But no matter which way the boat was going she always got in facing upriver. For a time after we started that day she'd be real prissy getting in and out, working hard at not getting herself wet, even her toes. Then all of a sudden at some random point, she'd be in the water up to her armpits, with that silly collie grin and her tail going a mile a minute. :lol:
She did that routine every time she went with us.

She was such a sweetheart, I miss her. :cry: And my past cats. :cry:


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Greentea
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01 Aug 2009, 3:36 am

southwestforests wrote:
I'm in the mood to keep telling pet stories.


And I'm enjoying all the stories immensely.

The stories go to prove that when there's good intention, two who communicate in very different ways are able to make themselves understood by each other and have a satisfying relationship...


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activebutodd
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01 Aug 2009, 10:31 am

Ok :D

My old neighbours cat is a bit aggressive sometimes, he used to be stray. I think he was mistreated and scared of people. He's a big boy, very strong, and he'd sometimes run out and grab your legs for no reason or attack you when you got too affectionate or close when patting him. He wouldn't just bite/scratch, he'd hang onto you for dear life with his teeth and arms/claws while tearing at you with his clawed back feet!

I was obsessed with him and got bitten a lot because I'd try to cuddle him or he'd suddenly get too much patting, I feel a bit guilty because I'd be smacking him to get him off me!

But he'd come around and visit a lot, and now he's a lot more affectionate and will sit on you. I think I flooded him and now he's learned that tickles from people are nice. Just still need to watch for the sudden head jerk, because then he's had enough!



Greentea
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01 Aug 2009, 10:40 am

Awww! :)

Why is it that cats like to visit with the neighbors and dogs don't?


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SplinterStar
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01 Aug 2009, 3:28 pm

My youngest dog, Sherry, is so cute it's disgusting. I can tell by how she's acting how she's doing that day. She thinks she's better than everyone and says so by sitting on your lap and just expecting you to pet her. I'm lucky she's gentle tempered and only weighs 8 pounds. That's not like my other oldest dog sheba who's a hefty 70 pounds. She doesn't have to say or do much to get she wants. The perks of being a big dog, lol.



arcticmelody
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01 Aug 2009, 5:45 pm

I love my dog, I've not lived without a dog for nearly 10 years....
I spend everyday with my dog. I can read their body language so much better than I can a human's. And I think I've adopted dogs' body language a bit as well, ie. I only use real eye contact when I'm trying to be threatening or when I'm furious.
And when I'm intimidated, I immediately associate how I feel with a dog, tail down, head down...
...if that made sense...



Gavia_Immer
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02 Aug 2009, 11:33 am

I live with two cats.

I prefer their company to human company in every way.

I've lived with animals of some description all my life and find their more basic interaction helps me to unwind after being around people. Even those cats whose owners say will not socialize with strangers will come up to me as though they've known and trusted me all their lives. And then they purr.

My cats seem to understand what I want of them and they have found ways to get me to understand what they want of me. They have different expressions, chirps and meows for the various things they want and need. And an innate ability to know when I need them.

If only I could find a man with all the attributes of a feline...


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Wrackspurt
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02 Aug 2009, 12:16 pm

When I was a toddler (around 2) and before my mum could stop me, I ran up to a Gander in a park and tossed my arms around it's neck, stayed there a sec and then let go and walked away. It never did a thing. They can be pretty aggressive birds too, but it must have sensed I was gentle/non-threatening... either that or it was damn shocked I had the gall to do such a thing. :D



Electric_Kite
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03 Aug 2009, 3:13 am

Geese 'hug' each other much like that, except with one neck instead of two arms. He might have correctly understood what you were doing. Very tame ones will 'hug' strangers sometimes. A lot of the 'aggressiveness' of geese is because many of their friendly body-language signals look aggressive to humans.



pensieve
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03 Aug 2009, 3:52 am

My neighbour breeds rats and he let me hold a few. They were so gorgeous and I felt like I made a new friend. When I told mum I wanted one she immediately said no but she thinks it's ok as long as I don't let it out of its cage.
I just felt so comfortable and had a closer connection with one of those rats.
My neighbour said I was a natural at handling them.


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Wrackspurt
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04 Aug 2009, 9:43 am

Electric_Kite wrote:
Geese 'hug' each other much like that, except with one neck instead of two arms. He might have correctly understood what you were doing. Very tame ones will 'hug' strangers sometimes. A lot of the 'aggressiveness' of geese is because many of their friendly body-language signals look aggressive to humans.


Hey, thanks for sharing.. it makes sense when you explain it like that. I'll have to tell my mum. 8)



HauntedKnight
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04 Aug 2009, 10:34 am

I'm very interested in all this too. We have three cats and a dog, the real interesting bit for me is the interactions between the dog and the cats, totally different species but they have adapted to understand each other on a basic level. The dog is very protective of the cats, and the two youngest cats are totally fearless of the dog, the older one is a bit skittish but trusts the dog more than the other cats.



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04 Aug 2009, 11:35 am

My Tegu tried to eat my foot yesterday. Luckily, he's still a youngster. It left a mark, but it was kind of funny.



Jellybean
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04 Aug 2009, 12:58 pm

1. Do you understand your pet's / other animals' body (non-verbal) language better than people's?

Yes. My rabbit is very quiet naturally so most of her communication is non-verbal. I know when she is in a good mood, in a bad mood or unwell.

2. Can you discern between your pet's tone of voice / intonation / sounds?

Although rabbits make few noises, the gentle honking sounds have a definate intonation to them. A high pitched honk means she's happy, a medium pitched honk means she's curious or exploring and a low pitched honk means she's in a bad mood.

3. What are your pet's personality traits, if any?

My rabbit Jenifer is very curious and loves a fuss. She doesn't get along with other rabbits (like AS but in bunnies!) but she is really friendly and tolerant, especially with one of the men who lives in our house and has autism but can be a bit rough with her sometimes! She loves to rub against me and sniff everything!

On the other hand, the rabbit who I got with Jenifer, Jasmine (who died) was quiet and introverted. She was friendly with the other rabbits, guinea pigs (my neighbour's ) and got on well with the neighbour's cat! She didn't like to be held, just gently petted and she was almost quite shy because she would hide away!

Finally, my third rabbit (who also died), Pippin, was really cuddly. He was really friendly, offering a lick on the face just because! He was always greeting new people by jumping up to them on the sofa and licking them (whereas Jen would probably bite them!) and would settle down next to them!

Whoever says rabbits have no personality has never owned one!


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17 Aug 2009, 12:12 pm

1. Do you understand your pet's / other animals' body (non-verbal) language better than people's?

Yes, especially cats. I've lived around cats all my life and even cats that are shy will come up to me. I tend to attract them, and occasionally wild animals as well.

2. Can you discern between your pet's tone of voice / intonation / sounds?

Definitely. I know when they want something but they don't differentiate what they want, they meow to get my attention and then they show me what they want. Its easy to tell what all their other sounds (ie hiss, growl, chirp, purr etc.) mean.

3. What are your pet's personality traits, if any?

Three very different personalities! Our first cat, he's a dominating and territorial alpha-male but very smart. He likes my husband best so mainly hangs out with him. Our second cat is the same age, theyre both over 10 yrs. old, she is very friendly, always wants a lap and being petted, and likes new people. Not as smart as our other cats, but can learn things ok. Our young cat we just got recently, she's only 1 year old, a part-feral I rescued. She bonded to me but no one else, so of course I kept her. She's timid and hates to be picked up, but is affectionate to me otherwise and very smart. Though we've had the first two for so long, I feel a special connection to this one, I guess because she chose me and trusted me to help her.



Jaydee
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17 Aug 2009, 2:04 pm

1. I'd say that I understand them equally well.

2. Yes. My cat's got very many different sounds. The offended miaow when I shut her out of my bedroom at night, the happy greeting when I let her in, the request for food, please. She's a right chatterbox, my cat. Talks all day.

3. My cat is a very social animal. She loves being with people. If we have guests she comes to be with us, trying out the different laps, looking into people's eyes and chattering with them. She grew up together with a dog, so sometimes I think she believes she's a dog, too. She's attentive and often obedient (imagine that, in a cat!) and she gives great comfort when I need it. I'm convinced she can read my thoughts and emotions, because often when I think "Where is the cat?" she replies from wherever she is, underneath the sofa or on the stairs. She's the most lovely creature there is and we love her.