The happiest gathering of beings ever? by MAL4PREZ

I'm a cat person, but dah-aaaam!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/09/golden-retriever-festival_n_3
731865.html

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Monday, August 12, 2013 12:20 AM

America loves a winner!

Awwwww!!

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Monday, August 12, 2013 5:28 AM

BYTEMITE

It's...

o.o

It's like the same dog photographed and copy pasted into a background like 200 times.

And yet my mind says this is actually reality and suddenly I'm kinda weirded out.

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Monday, August 12, 2013 5:35 AM

America loves a winner!

They all do seem to have that happy, goofy expression.

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Monday, August 12, 2013 5:52 AM

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

222 dogs. Amazing! There must be some kind of "aura" of calm happiness, with that many of them!

Whenever I meet a Golden & their owner I tell them that I've always contended that Goldens were born "without the unhappy gene"--they just don't know HOW. ;o)

One of my oldest friends on the internet (who recently died of cancer and I'm still hurting) had as his screen name "ToBeGolden". He had a point.

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Monday, August 12, 2013 7:02 AM

FREMDFIRMA

One of our residents has two of em, by financial necessity crammed in an apartment which is a bit small for that, and I suggested getting a used treadmill to help them get enough activity - plus I stop and play with them sometimes during my rounds, the younger one actually snapped a leash to get to me cause she knows I am such a sucker, and it was raining that day too.
Poor guy is like "OMG, I am sooo sorry!" and I am like, "Dude, no worries, don't you know there's nothing on EARTH happier and friendlier than a wet dog ?" - thanks be my uniforms are made to take that and worse.

They're certainly a happy-friendly kind of dog, although the older one seems a little on the jealous side.

-F

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Monday, August 12, 2013 7:50 AM

NEWOLDBROWNCOAT

Big, sweet, happy dummies. But then, smart isn't part of their job description. Gotta love 'em anyway.

(Cue music. Pull back to 2 musicians on a little stage.)

1st Musician: How happy are they?

2nd Musician: Happier than a Republican caucus blocking Obama legislation...

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Monday, August 12, 2013 8:15 AM

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Okay, prize for first guffaw of the day goes to NewOld, many thanx.

But hey, not dummies. It's a matter of how the brain is "rigged"; Goldens were bred to obey and be friendly and loving, they are smart as WHIPS when it comes to reading us, knowing what we want and doing it. They just seem dumb because they're so malleable and easy-going and don't put a lot of effort into thinking for themselves, that's what they were bred to be.

Many people think huskies are dumb because training them takes more work and even then, sometimes they don't do what they're trained to do. But the Chukchi BRED them to think for themselves (I'll repeat again that they were trained that, if the musher said "gee" (right) and there was a crevasse to the right, they wouldn't obey). But one only has to live with a Sibe to realize how bloody smart they are in figuring out how to get what THEY want, despite anything we put in their way!

Goldens were bred to be loving, friendly and obedient. Training a Golden is TONS easier than training a Sibe, trust me, and the training sticks!

"Smart" and "dumb" are anthropomorphizations by OUR priorities, not the dog's.

On the other hand, Irish Setters... ;o)

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Monday, August 12, 2013 8:29 AM

AGENTROUKA

Quote:
Originally posted by Niki2:
But hey, not dummies. It's a matter of how the brain is "rigged"; Goldens were bred to obey and be friendly and loving, they are smart as WHIPS when it comes to reading us, knowing what we want and doing it. They just seem dumb because they're so malleable and easy-going and don't put a lot of effort into thinking for themselves, that's what they were bred to be.

Completely agree with that.

Retrievers were bred to do a particularly simple task that requires a lot of obedience and little independence. Doesn't mean they are dumb. Dogs are sparklingly bright when it comes to understanding human beings, something we take for granted without acknowledging how much of an accomplishment that actually is. Cross-species emotionally attuned. That's why they make such fantastic assistance dogs.

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Monday, August 12, 2013 9:54 AM

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Quote:
Dogs are sparklingly bright when it comes to understanding human beings, something we take for granted without acknowledging how much of an accomplishment that actually is. Cross-species emotionally attuned. That's why they make such fantastic assistance dogs.

Bang on.

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Monday, August 12, 2013 10:20 AM

NEWOLDBROWNCOAT

Actually I know they're NOT really dumb. My niece had a couple. The height of their discourse may have been, "C'mon, throw another tennis ball for me, I haven't got a mouthful yet," but they were sweet.

They are perfectly adapted for what they were bred to do, which as Rouka points out, was a simple task, and those traits have been re-purposed as service animals.

But they do have an over-enthusiastic, goofy, clumsy side that makes them easy targets.

Gotta love 'em anyway.

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Monday, August 12, 2013 3:30 PM

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Quote:
But they do have an over-enthusiastic, goofy, clumsy side

Also bang on.

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Monday, August 12, 2013 4:25 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Niki2:
222 dogs. Amazing! There must be some kind of "aura" of calm happiness, with that many of them!

I'm guessing it'd be visible from space if we just used the right kind of detector.

These guys are perfect illustrations of ignorance is bliss, I think. I don't mean that as an insult. They are soooo happy with they're at. Kind of like sleeping cats, tho kitties don't communicate it so clearly so you might have to be a cat person to see it. In my next life I want to be a well fed sleepy cat. Scratch my ears from time to time and I'm good.

*---------------------------------------*
The French Revolution would have never happened if Marie Antoinette had just given every peasant an iPhone.

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Monday, August 12, 2013 4:31 PM

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Was yakking with hub about this and said something about "imagine, 222 of them..." and we both stopped dead for a second, then burst out laughing. We realized we both had the same thought: Trying to imagine getting 222 HUSKIES sitting around together. Omigawd...

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Monday, August 12, 2013 5:25 PM

BYTEMITE

Quote:
Trying to imagine getting 222 HUSKIES sitting around together. Omigawd...

Not so much with the calm I imagine... More like a giant dog fight. I've heard that huskies really have to be raised together to get along, and the ones who pull the sled have to be carefully trained and managed or else they do fight.

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Tuesday, August 13, 2013 2:28 AM

America loves a winner!

Quote:
Originally posted by Niki2:

Trying to imagine getting 222 HUSKIES sitting around together. Omigawd...

Isn't that called the Iditarod Trail race ? Well, maybe not much SITTING...

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Tuesday, August 13, 2013 6:49 AM

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Hee, hee, hee, yeah, Rap, that's about it. A good number of the folks in BAM (Bay Area Mushers) are Iditaroders and run numerous other races around the country (and around the world); they're mostly serious mushers and only "urban mush" to keep their dogs in shape in the off season, which is why I seldom run with them. I run every Sat & Sun with a group up Santa Rosa way; we're the opposite, either can't afford, don't have enough dogs, or choose not to engage in snow mushing. This time of year, BAM folks are all gathering for conferences/speeches/training sessions and swapping Iditarod souvenirs. And putting up funnies, like

Caption: "The No-Snow Months"

There's also the "Dog Carting" group, which the Northbay Mushers and I are on, which is people from all over the world (lots of Aussies) who urban mush myriad different carts/bikes/scooters, as well as people into "dog carting" alone, which is a dog pulling a cart but not with a person in it..

Our Aussies get a real kick out of the brief snow Down Under when their dogs get to actually MUSH!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=636721286353042&set=vb.163429
353682240&type=2&theater
Eucalyptus and Gun Trees in the snow!

And we have Canucks who get to do BOTH year round:

Some, like out in Georgia in Summer, learn mid-day after a heavy rain might not be the best time to "urban mush"...the dogs have their own ideas...

We come from every part of America and all around the world, and we have a BALL!

Byte, huskies get along great! We have play dates all the time. They play rough, which is why they aren't popular with some other dog owners, but Tashi's best bud was a mix of some sort, no Sibe at all, and they used to beat the heck out of each other and love it. Like any breed, some dogs don't get along, but trust me, huskies LOVE to play!

Whatever you heard is flat wrong; one of the trails we run, we start from Kamp K-9, a dog "bed and breakfast" Shawn used to run; he kept the property so it's got enclosed "paddocks" and we turn the whole bunch, up to 14 dogs, loose and they have a ball. I also drive to the East Bay once a month in Winter ('cuz they meet at noon, too hot in Summer) when a bunch of Sibe/Mal owners get together to take over a dog park for a "northern breed play date". And today being Tuesday, Betsy will be taking her dogs to Kamp for a play date with Shawn's dogs there.

No, the problem is they wouldn't sit STILL...they'd be running around, playing, sniffing, pissing, some of them would take off to investigate the bigger world--they'd all be doing their own thing, few would be sitting/laying there placidly. It would be a melee, but a happy one (for everyone but the owners, who would be madly trying to keep track of their dogs!).

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Wednesday, August 14, 2013 10:05 AM

America loves a winner!

Aww.. your video link is wonky, :(

We use to let our husky 'walk' us while riding the skateboard. Which was fine, as he generally stayed on the street and didn't stray off into yards.

Most of the time, at least.

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Wednesday, August 14, 2013 10:12 AM

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Weird, it works for me. Try taking out the spaces and cut/paste https: // www.youtube. com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ygXAw6TDs9Q They had a good laugh.

It's funny...zip to 1:19 which is where the "fun" starts. They're in Georgia, she wrote there was a heavy rain the night before...dogs know what to do with "heavy rain the night before" when you make 'em pull your ass around in the mid-day Georgia heat!

I love the accent on the guy running the camera.

Don't recall you ever mentioned you once had a husky. Should that be "lucky you!", or "my deepest sympathies"? Or, as hub and I often feel, both?

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Wednesday, August 14, 2013 10:23 AM

America loves a winner!

Again, bad link.

: /

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Wednesday, August 14, 2013 10:29 AM

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

I just tested it, repeatedly...

https:_ // www.youtube._ com/watch?_ feature=player_ embedded&v=ygXAw6TDs9Q

Don't know why it's not working for you...remove the 4 _ and following space, and cut and paste. It works, honest.

Only other way I know is to go to the Dog Carting FB page itself ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/368354584202/ -- it's public), where Daphne first posted it. About 3/4 down the page, do a "find" for "I finally got to drive the BumbleBee off-road", it's in Daphne Lewis' post as "Adventures of the Bumblebee".

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Wednesday, August 14, 2013 10:55 AM

America loves a winner!

Yep. It works. Had to remove spaces and _ , but finally got it. I suspected it was somewhere in south GA, red clay/ rural setting, and sure enough, Hawkinsville is south of Macon.

This might also work -

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Wednesday, August 14, 2013 1:42 PM

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Ah. Thank you. Dunno why I'm having trouble making links post correctly, also having trouble closing quotes; have asked Haken, so far no luck.

For Mike (Kwicko)--someone posted this the other day and I thought of you:

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Wednesday, August 14, 2013 4:36 PM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

Hey Niki

German Shepard

Belgian Malinois

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Wednesday, August 14, 2013 4:47 PM

America loves a winner!

Sorry Goldens, but this is too cute to not post.

Snagged this off of twitter. 2 black wolf pups w/ blue eyes.

Dunno if pup eyes change color as they get older, but still... way cute.

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Wednesday, August 14, 2013 6:16 PM

Representin' the other side... after my talk of happy sleepy cats, I found my furry black trouble maker balled up on my bed growling plaintively yesterday. Apparently he got into yet another fight. I took him to the vet and they couldn't find any obvious bad injuries, just lots of little nicks and cuts. He got home and nested on the sofa, not moving, not even turning over or stretching, all night and into the next day. Hours of this exact position:

He wasn't really sleeping, just dozing and groaning occasionally to let me know: "Mom I don't feel gooooood! I huuuurt! I might be dyyyyying!" I admit, I was ready to get him to the vet at 8 AM today.

Of course, come morning he was fine, tho still in need of cuddles. Such dramatics!

*---------------------------------------*
The French Revolution would have never happened if Marie Antoinette had just given every peasant an iPhone.

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Wednesday, August 14, 2013 6:52 PM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

When a cat is ready to be weak, hurt, and helpless in front of you - against all of his instincts - you know you have earned his trust. I think he found himself a great home. I'd go so far as to say I can see it. Right there. In his limp, helpless and totally relaxed and unguarded sprawl.

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Wednesday, August 14, 2013 7:20 PM

And when he's healthy: He loooooves me!

Such a sweetie!

*---------------------------------------*
The French Revolution would have never happened if Marie Antoinette had just given every peasant an iPhone.

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Wednesday, August 14, 2013 7:23 PM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

My heart just melted.

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Wednesday, August 14, 2013 7:28 PM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

Not my dog - not me - but I have to post this:

this dog just went to heaven

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Wednesday, August 14, 2013 8:24 PM

oooooooo. Is there anything more pure than happy pets?

*---------------------------------------*
The French Revolution would have never happened if Marie Antoinette had just given every peasant an iPhone.

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Thursday, August 15, 2013 12:07 AM

America loves a winner!

Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur

Happy Kitty, sleepy kitty, purr purr purr

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Thursday, August 15, 2013 2:35 AM

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Oh, wow, Mal, what Kiki said. You're lucky, to have one that trusts you so much, AND loves you so much. One of our black cats was a lover like that--didn't get into fights, he was a big woos, but he and I had a special relationship like your photo, I called him my "back door man". El Raizuli the Magnificent, "Zuli" for short. The other black we had was Jim's Spooky, who rarely ever left his room, totally bonded.

Thanx Kiki. Yes: heaven! We had a black shepherd down the street; they lost him to old age and got a most handsome pup. He's now full grown, but if he's walking past the house, still just ATTACKS Jim or I with happiness. Really neat; also dangerous 'cuz the only time we connect is when we're getting ready to get the dogs out, so pitch black, and we can't hear him coming; he hits us like a ton of bricks. Jim's loth to do his pre-dawn walk around the block after being knocked over a couple of times. But yes, pure, unadulterated joy!

Rap, as far as I know, all puppies are born with blue eyes; they turn to their natural color 6-10 weeks. That goes for wolves too. The two in the photo MIGHT have them as adults, but especially with black coats, it would be real rare. All canines, dogs and wolves, are born with the gene for blue eyes, but blue is rare in wolves.

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Thursday, August 15, 2013 7:33 AM