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The Dog Thread

Page 9 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
Re:

froze said:
Your tank isn't a whole lot different then mine just a bit smaller, I have gravel of course like yours, I have fake plastic plants too like yours though I prefer live ones but my wife doesn't, I have 5 of those glow in the dark rocks, a beach house, and a volcano that bubbles and that's it, nothing much more then you have. I got my tank used in a garage sale so that saved me about $150, you can find used aquariums on Craigslist all day long, and some will come with extras like a ship etc that you can put into the tank. I'm not sure if I would use old gravel unless it was cleaned really well.
Not sure I would use old gravel either, fishies have their own diseases as much as any other species. (I had some koi once who all died of ich.)

Your set-up sounds so awesome, now I want to get one of those bubbling volcanoes or treasure chests! :D

Thanks for reminding me of changing the filter, btw., it was definitely time. This is my filter setup, in addition to it I also use that AquaSafe tap water treatment stuff, plus I have a heating unit. (Which may or may not still work.)
2liet94.jpg


I can get away with this kind of cheapy setup because goldfish are hardy, tropical fish are much more demanding, and ergo, expensive and time consuming. With an aging dog around I am not willing to invest that much into an aquarium.
 
I didn't mention my heating unit, I just figured all tanks have those so no need to mention it. I use that same Aqua Safe stuff as you do. Speaking of heaters, I had a heater for about 9 years, it stopped working so of course I got a new one, that one quit about 2 years but had a lifetime warranty, they refused to honor the warranty saying it doesn't cover it getting worn out! I can't recall the brand of that heater; anyway got another heater with a weird warranty, it says lifetime warranty on the box, but the instructions says it's a 2 year warranty...huh? not that the lifetime warranty means anything as I found out, but to say one thing on the box and another on the instructions is just weird.

I tried to post a pic of the tank but I can't get the damn thing to post here. :mad:
 
Re:

froze said:
I didn't mention my heating unit, I just figured all tanks have those so no need to mention it. I use that same Aqua Safe stuff as you do. Speaking of heaters, I had a heater for about 9 years, it stopped working so of course I got a new one, that one quit about 2 years but had a lifetime warranty, they refused to honor the warranty saying it doesn't cover it getting worn out! I can't recall the brand of that heater; anyway got another heater with a weird warranty, it says lifetime warranty on the box, but the instructions says it's a 2 year warranty...huh? not that the lifetime warranty means anything as I found out, but to say one thing on the box and another on the instructions is just weird.

I tried to post a pic of the tank but I can't get the damn thing to post here. :mad:
That's too bad you can't post a picture, I'd really like to see your aquarium. :(

Turns out my heating unit is broken, so I'll have to replace it. (Not that the goldfish can tell the difference, they can survive in very cold water.) And being Christmas is coming up I've decided to treat my inner child with this blowing bubbles diver... he doesn't really do much besides stand there and blow bubbles, but I think he looks really cool. Not sure which color to get, though, everyone seems to prefer the white, but I think the red one would add more color to my tank. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002ATD0Q/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1#Ask

With any of these blowing bubbles toys I'll of course have to buy an air pump and air hose, plus a back flow valve and airflow regulating valve... it's so easy to get carried away with all these aquarium toys. But they're so much fun, too! :D

Somewhat back on track: I have a feeling Toby will have to make a trip to the dermatologist, he's starting to scratch and chew again all over when I take the lampshade off. We'll see once he's completely off his meds.
 
Re: Re:

Tricycle Rider said:
froze said:
I didn't mention my heating unit, I just figured all tanks have those so no need to mention it. I use that same Aqua Safe stuff as you do. Speaking of heaters, I had a heater for about 9 years, it stopped working so of course I got a new one, that one quit about 2 years but had a lifetime warranty, they refused to honor the warranty saying it doesn't cover it getting worn out! I can't recall the brand of that heater; anyway got another heater with a weird warranty, it says lifetime warranty on the box, but the instructions says it's a 2 year warranty...huh? not that the lifetime warranty means anything as I found out, but to say one thing on the box and another on the instructions is just weird.

I tried to post a pic of the tank but I can't get the damn thing to post here. :mad:
That's too bad you can't post a picture, I'd really like to see your aquarium. :(

Turns out my heating unit is broken, so I'll have to replace it. (Not that the goldfish can tell the difference, they can survive in very cold water.) And being Christmas is coming up I've decided to treat my inner child with this blowing bubbles diver... he doesn't really do much besides stand there and blow bubbles, but I think he looks really cool. Not sure which color to get, though, everyone seems to prefer the white, but I think the red one would add more color to my tank. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002ATD0Q/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1#Ask

With any of these blowing bubbles toys I'll of course have to buy an air pump and air hose, plus a back flow valve and airflow regulating valve... it's so easy to get carried away with all these aquarium toys. But they're so much fun, too! :D

Somewhat back on track: I have a feeling Toby will have to make a trip to the dermatologist, he's starting to scratch and chew again all over when I take the lampshade off. We'll see once he's completely off his meds.

The diver guy is cool; but those cheap pumps they offer for $7 SUCK, they're loud and won't last more then a year. This one is a good one for the money, you should only need one air outlet UNLESS you plan on adding more air things later so maybe plan on two outlets just in case? if not save yourself some money and get the single outlet. see: Fluval Q1 Air Pump https://www.amazon.com/Fluval-A852-Q2-Air-Pump/dp/B005JFFC4K?tag=thoroughlyreviewed-20&th=1 There are better ones out there but the price goes up and up and up! Just stay away from anything less then $10 and you should be fine. The really good ones cost $60, you have to weigh out whether to spend money now and be done with it, or buy several lower costing ones over that same time period. I have the Fluval and it's good enough for me.
 
Like a poor, starving, and unemployed amateur athlete my goldfish go searching for food in the middle of the night... providing the right lighting and some peace and quiet you can actually see and hear them moving the gravel around in search of food. (I never knew they did this till I started paying attention.)

30us4qu.jpg


I would agree quiet air pumps are hard to find, froze, I just went with the Tetra one, and I also went with the bubbling treasure chest. (The chest does actually open, but I have it set to a pace where the fish won't freak out.)

wspu02.jpg


Ok, back to dog talk - had some agent/advocate from Medicare drop by earlier, Toby was at his best behavior. Usually he barks his head off when there's a stranger in the house, but with this dude Toby was being cool.
 
Dogs can smell, I mean this literally, they can smell whether or not a person is of bad moral character, in the same way dogs are trained to detect blood sugar levels in humans, high blood pressure problems, impending heart attack or seizure, they can even smell different kinds of cancer, smell illegal drugs even when wrapped in layers of plastic to prevent a dog from smelling it, they smell money...yes, dogs will stand beside a TSA agent and as people get on and off planes the dog is passively standing there looking like it's not doing much but it's working, if a person walks buy with drugs or too much cash the dog gives a hint to the TSA agent and the game is on. So your dog could smell that the stranger was not a threat.
 
Re:

froze said:
Dogs can smell, I mean this literally, they can smell whether or not a person is of bad moral character, in the same way dogs are trained to detect blood sugar levels in humans, high blood pressure problems, impending heart attack or seizure, they can even smell different kinds of cancer, smell illegal drugs even when wrapped in layers of plastic to prevent a dog from smelling it, they smell money...yes, dogs will stand beside a TSA agent and as people get on and off planes the dog is passively standing there looking like it's not doing much but it's working, if a person walks buy with drugs or too much cash the dog gives a hint to the TSA agent and the game is on. So your dog could smell that the stranger was not a threat.

Sorry, but that is total nonsense. A sense of smell is sensitivity to particles reaching the nasal passage. It is remarkable, but entirely plausible, that dogs can be trained to identify some particular particles and respond to them, in anticipation of a reward for doing so correctly. It is entirely irrational to claim that a dog can smell "bad moral character" (in equal measures, an incredible slur on most visitors to Tricycle Rider's home, and an unevidenced assumption about the Medicare worker): what particles do you believe that a dog, untrained to respond to it, associate with this judgemental position?
 
Re: Re:

Armchair cyclist said:
froze said:
Dogs can smell, I mean this literally, they can smell whether or not a person is of bad moral character, in the same way dogs are trained to detect blood sugar levels in humans, high blood pressure problems, impending heart attack or seizure, they can even smell different kinds of cancer, smell illegal drugs even when wrapped in layers of plastic to prevent a dog from smelling it, they smell money...yes, dogs will stand beside a TSA agent and as people get on and off planes the dog is passively standing there looking like it's not doing much but it's working, if a person walks buy with drugs or too much cash the dog gives a hint to the TSA agent and the game is on. So your dog could smell that the stranger was not a threat.

Sorry, but that is total nonsense. A sense of smell is sensitivity to particles reaching the nasal passage. It is remarkable, but entirely plausible, that dogs can be trained to identify some particular particles and respond to them, in anticipation of a reward for doing so correctly. It is entirely irrational to claim that a dog can smell "bad moral character" (in equal measures, an incredible slur on most visitors to Tricycle Rider's home, and an unevidenced assumption about the Medicare worker): what particles do you believe that a dog, untrained to respond to it, associate with this judgemental position?

It's not bad moral character their smelling, I think their smelling a different chemical make up in the human along with the higher blood pressure of the "excitement" the human is about to do, in addition to that a dog can sense fear, nervousness, and read body language that makes the dog go on the alert either in fear and run or attack, depending on the dogs psyh. It's a combination of several factors going on that makes the dog go on alert, but smell is indeed one of those factors. Of course some dogs are just hyped that way and others are the direct opposite, but a lot of dogs will remain calm around a "nice" person and go ballistics around one that potentially isn't so "nice".
https://www.canidae.com/blog/2013/04/can-dogs-sense-if-someone-is-untrustworthy/
 
While I would certainly agree that there are some very highly trained (and very expensive) K9-Units out there who have been specifically trained to detect certain scents there are also some very untrained dogs (such as Toby) who respond to different people differently.

Take a looky here... the Medicare person who dropped by, well, his daughter had just suffered a miscarriage, so he was rather vulnerable and in a state of mourning. So maybe Toby just wasn't even in the mood to *** with him in his own playful Toby way, who knows?

You can disagree all you want and call BS, Armchair cyclist, I personally don't care. I just know my own dog and how he responds to different people differently. (Get the feeling Toby wouldn't like you very much, what with all your attitude and whatnot.)
 
And having said that, and I must reiterate - please don't ever approach K9-Units, dog lovers, don't even try to give them the finest of Milkbones.

If need be just give the dog treats to the K9 officer in charge, s/he'll have to decide whether it's of any good to the dog in question.
 
I've been around dogs for a long time and I can give you instances of when my dogs sensed something wasn't right and went into attack mode, and the dogs were right. Even us humans have the ability to read body language and can sense when a person might have bad intentions. I have feeling that Armchair cyclist has never owned a dog, but of course he'll come back with some sort of BS that he has one and it never shows that kind in instinct...which I know will be BS. Regardless Armchair even called the website I gave for him to read and understand BS as well...either that or he never took the time to read it which is probably the case, as they say, ignorance is bliss.
 
Yeah, the blog of a pet food company is clarly a highly authoritattive scientific source.

Stop making false assumptions and assertions about other people, and go and read a dictionary to learn the meaning of the word 'literally'.

I am glad to hear that you are experiencing what you consider to be bliss.
 
Re:

jmdirt said:
OK, this is a thread for celebrating our beloved dogs, there are plenty of other threads for arguing and name calling.
Agreed, jmdirt. And on that note...

Happy Holidays to you all from Toby and me!

2nqcx0j.jpg


Toby loves the xmas tree not because it's pretty and because it smells nice, but because I hang gingerbread cookies on it as decoration and for the scent. He usually gets a few as a treat, but if I hung all of them low enough to where he can get to them he would just help himself and eat them all in one sitting.

The life of a dog - it's just so hard.
 
Re: Re:

Tricycle Rider said:
jmdirt said:
OK, this is a thread for celebrating our beloved dogs, there are plenty of other threads for arguing and name calling.
Agreed, jmdirt. And on that note...

Happy Holidays to you all from Toby and me!

2nqcx0j.jpg


Toby loves the xmas tree not because it's pretty and because it smells nice, but because I hang gingerbread cookies on it as decoration and for the scent. He usually gets a few as a treat, but if I hung all of them low enough to where he can get to them he would just help himself and eat them all in one sitting.

The life of a dog - it's just so hard.
Great pic! I had a male puppy in the '80s who decided that the xmas tree needed to be marked like all other trees. I saw him just as he started and yelled at him, which made him start barking at whatever I was yelling at so he didn't actually mark the tree. We had a reminder conversation about inside bathroom use and we were good.
 
Re: Re:

jmdirt said:
Great pic! I had a male puppy in the '80s who decided that the xmas tree needed to be marked like all other trees. I saw him just as he started and yelled at him, which made him start barking at whatever I was yelling at so he didn't actually mark the tree. We had a reminder conversation about inside bathroom use and we were good.
Your whole post made me lol, jmd!

None of my family's past dogs have tried to pee on the xmas tree, might be because we've always hung homemade gingerbread cookies on them. So I can only guess it's because dogs just really don't want to pee on their future food.
 
Just in time for the holidays here's the latest on Toby...

His rash is once again full-blown, so for xmas he got one last trip to the vet for this year earlier today, his gifts included some antibiotics, a shot of a long-lasting antihistamine, some ear drops because one of his ears is inflamed as well, plus some pretty pricey medicated dog shampoo.

On the plus side he also got a cushiony inflatable dog collar because he just can't quit chewing on himself, the lampshade was beginning to give him abrasions around the neck.

So yeah, after today's trip and a bath with his new shampoo he's pretty pooped out, at least he looks comfortable. Sweet dreams, Tobes.

ic1h6s.jpg


PS - The trip to the vet itself wasn't too bad, Toby did object to having a thermometer shoved up his butt, though.
 
Re:

Tricycle Rider said:
Just in time for the holidays here's the latest on Toby...

His rash is once again full-blown, so for xmas he got one last trip to the vet for this year earlier today, his gifts included some antibiotics, a shot of a long-lasting antihistamine, some ear drops because one of his ears is inflamed as well, plus some pretty pricey medicated dog shampoo.

On the plus side he also got a cushiony inflatable dog collar because he just can't quit chewing on himself, the lampshade was beginning to give him abrasions around the neck.

So yeah, after today's trip and a bath with his new shampoo he's pretty pooped out, at least he looks comfortable. Sweet dreams, Tobes.

ic1h6s.jpg


PS - The trip to the vet itself wasn't too bad, Toby did object to having a thermometer shoved up his butt, though.
I wonder what the heck is causing the rash? Hopefully this new round of treatment will clear it!
 
Re: Re:

jmdirt said:
I wonder what the heck is causing the rash? Hopefully this new round of treatment will clear it!
The rash is a mystery. I didn't take him to an actual dermatologist this time, just the regular vet. The meds have kicked in and he's doing much better, but I dread once he's off the meds the rash will come back.

Ah well, I'll worry about that later, for now he's looking and feeling much better. (I had to do some vacuuming, he's somewhere under that pile of toys of his that I had to pick up off the floor. Some of those toys, in fact, had to be sewn up [DIY project :lol: ], I don't want to throw them out because they're his fave.)

wariqc.jpg


Merry Christmas, jmd!
 
Have two dogs..one w longer hair.. one w a pretty typical short hair coat..she is a boxer mix.. I have been regularly bringing the dogs to run and hike a bit in the semi desert mountains in San Diego and Baja..
After each of our last half dozen outings both dogs are coming back w ticks and fleas despite using a tablet to prevent these monsters.. the tablets..are supposed to be effective for @90 days for sure and up to 6 months.. I used Frontline and @40 dollar prescription collar before w what I consider pretty limited success..
If anyone has some proven results I love the information..
As for now.. they get combed and flea\tick shampoo treatment after every outing.. kind of a hassle but it is the cost of having fun up to now..
 
Re:

Unchained said:
Have two dogs..one w longer hair.. one w a pretty typical short hair coat..she is a boxer mix.. I have been regularly bringing the dogs to run and hike a bit in the semi desert mountains in San Diego and Baja..
After each of our last half dozen outings both dogs are coming back w ticks and fleas despite using a tablet to prevent these monsters.. the tablets..are supposed to be effective for @90 days for sure and up to 6 months.. I used Frontline and @40 dollar prescription collar before w what I consider pretty limited success..
If anyone has some proven results I love the information..
As for now.. they get combed and flea\tick shampoo treatment after every outing.. kind of a hassle but it is the cost of having fun up to now..
Your dogs sound great! Can I see some pictures, pretty please?
 
While Unchained is getting busy taking some sexy pictures of his dogs here's another one of Toby, his rash is all gone. Am supposed to call the vet before I run out of antibiotics, so far so good.

You never can tame this beast - mom gave him this chewable dog treat that Toby has always been known to have buried in the yard, nothing has changed. He's still burying it and getting all dirty in the process, and this after I had just bathed him in his new luxurious, medicated dog shampoo only a couple of days ago!

316lr90.jpg


Happy New Year, fellow dog (or any animal) lovers!
 

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