OT: The significance of your profile picture

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

i do my best work in the darkness

Right....

Oh, now I remember where I've seen you before

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

@beowulf
@Ozymandias

Hmm. Why arent you considering shelters instead?

Because of my schedule, I can't have a dog who has abandonment issues. Working 12 hour shifts, I need a dog who can spend time alone with cats.

As much as I'd like to help one, I won't be solving the issue either, no matter how many dogs I save, and I would want to save many and have as many of them as possible, but I can't for now. Also, if I'm looking into shelters, I would want it as young as possible. It was hell to lose my last dog, and I can't stand more than one heartbreak per decade, I want the dog to be young so I won't mourn it's death in 4-5 years instead of 10-15 years.

 

[OldCraig71]

You know we have a great team when we are discussing profile pictures.

 

[Mrb1p]

Because of my schedule, I can't have a dog who has abandonment issues. Working 12 hour shifts, I need a dog who can spend time alone with cats.

As much as I'd like to help one, I won't be solving the issue either, no matter how many dogs I save, and I would want to save many and have as many of them as possible, but I can't for now. Also, if I'm looking into shelters, I would want it as young as possible. It was hell to lose my last dog, and I can't stand more than one heartbreak per decade, I want the dog to be young so I won't mourn it's death in 4-5 years instead of 10-15 years.

I got my last three dogs when they were puppy and none of them suffered from anything.

I hate forcing that on people, I feel like a vegan trying to brainwash someone, but if it saves a dog, or a few, I dont think I care.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

I got my last three dogs when they were puppy and none of them suffered from anything.

I hate forcing that on people, I feel like a vegan trying to brainwash someone, but if it saves a dog, or a few, I dont think I care.

There's also a question of personal preference. It's a life companion, you'd better make sure it's the kind of dog you'll like to be with. Don't know if they're all Pit (the three you mentioned) but that's kinda easier to find too. Shelters always have a few of them (I often visit). Malamutes, Oz Borders, Akitas, Border collies, Bernese... all those are kinda hard to find in shelters. You have to go there every week for several weeks before you can catch one and it will either be a bernese or a border collie. Forget it for an Oz Border and Akita. Never seen any in shelters around montreal. I've never seen a malamutes, but someone has told me he once saw both a malamute and a samoyede in a shelter, but otherwise they're pretty rare.

Could always go for a golden. Always loved them. Pretty sure I'd find one of those pretty quickly at a shelter.

 

[Mrb1p]

There's also a question of personal preference. It's a life companion, you'd better make sure it's the kind of dog you'll like to be with. Don't know if they're all Pit (the three you mentioned) but that's kinda easier to find too. Shelters always have a few of them (I often visit). Malamutes, Oz Borders, Akitas, Border collies, Bernese... all those are kinda hard to find in shelters. You have to go there every week for several weeks before you can catch one and it will either be a bernese or a border collie. Forget it for an Oz Border and Akita. Never seen any in shelters around montreal. I've never seen a malamutes, but someone has told me he once saw both a malamute and a samoyede in a shelter, but otherwise they're pretty rare.

Could always go for a golden. Always loved them. Pretty sure I'd find one of those pretty quickly at a shelter.

Had an american Bulldog that looked pretty much 100% pure breed, a weimaraner x staff and my current dog, Gilly, is the muttiest of mutts, but probably the best I've ever had. Shes the kindest soul and shes a real athlete, tagging along on all my bikes, except the Hawaian one.

You can find purebred puppies, old farts(probably my favorite to adopt.) Or if you dont want to go through the pre stuff, a one year old (though I would agree those usually come with a few problem, but nothing that is definitive.)

Also why is a staffordshire/american pit bull not fine for you? They're amazing dogs.

Tagliatelle, a Male Nordic mix Reserved

Animatch always have beautiful dogs.

You also dont need to go to shelters, just using internet is usually good enough.

Animatch
Petfinder
Facebook
Are all pretty easy to browse for a small five minutes, do it when you're pooping or something like that.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Had an american Bulldog that looked pretty much 100% pure breed, a weimaraner x staff and my current dog, Gilly, is the muttiest of mutts, but probably the best I've ever had. Shes the kindest soul and shes a real athlete, tagging along on all my bikes, except the Hawaian one.

You can find purebred puppies, old farts(probably my favorite to adopt.) Or if you dont want to go through the pre stuff, a one year old (though I would agree those usually come with a few problem, but nothing that is definitive.)

Also why is a staffordshire/american pit bull not fine for you? They're amazing dogs.

Tagliatelle, a Male Nordic mix Reserved

Animatch always have beautiful dogs.

You also dont need to go to shelters, just using internet is usually good enough.

Animatch
Petfinder
Facebook
Are all pretty easy to browse for a small five minutes, do it when you're pooping or something like that.

I'm not a big fan of 'tough' dogs like Dobs, Pits, Boxers, bulls, Rotts and weimars. Not saying they are tough, just saying they're rough on the edges. Don't get me wrong, I have friends who have some of them, have had a boxer growing up too and loved to interact with all of them, and get along with most dogs, Im just not the kinda guy who's gonna get one.

Im much more of a retreiver, border, nordic and mountain dogs type of guy.

Thanks for the tips though, I'll look into it.

 

[Mrb1p]

I'm not a big fan of 'tough' dogs like Dobs, Pits, Boxers, bulls, Rotts and weimars. Not saying they are tough, just saying they're rough on the edges. Don't get me wrong, I have friends who have some of them, have had a boxer growing up too and loved to interact with all of them, and get along with most dogs, Im just not the kinda guy who's gonna get one.

Im much more of a retreiver, border, nordic and mountain dogs type of guy.

Thanks for the tips though, I'll look into it.

What do you mean? "Rough around the edges"? Because that's the furthest from what I can think of when I remind my big loaves I've had, lol.

I'd say the toughest dogs I've been around are probably the smaller ones like Jack Rumsfeld or Chihuahua.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

What do you mean? "Rough around the edges"? Because that's the furthest from what I can think of when I remind my big loaves I've had, lol.

I'd say the toughest dogs I've been around are probably the smaller ones like Jack Rumsfeld or Chihuahua.

Rough around the edges as in hard to calm down when they're excited. They get those crazy eyes, like their mind just isn't there anymore. They're all less self-conscious than the dogs I named that I wanted.

I didn't want to come to it... but I like dogs who are a bit more witty, on average.

My sis had a dob. Really sweet dog. I loved him with all my heart, but there wasn't a whole lot going on in there.

Had a boxer, same thing.

Friend has a mastiff, same thing. He had a boxer before, same thing.

Friend had a Rott, same thing.

My friends and neighbors have a pit and a boxer, same thing.

Cousin of my ex had a bulldog, same thing.

Friend had a bull terrier, same thing.

Other friend has a weimar. Now, they on the other hand are smart.

They're all really sweet dogs, Loved them all. Just not my type of dogs.


Id prefer an unruly dog like my ex's beagle over any of them. He might've been unruly, but good gawd that dog had personality, communicated a lot. That dog had really good (basic) theory of mind.

I like dogs who are more attentive because with time, they tend to understand a lot of words, more than these dogs can average even if nurtured the right way,

You have to understand where Im coming from. My dog was really smart. She recognized more words than I cared to count by the time she was middle aged. I thought her a few dozen tricks. She could even wave goodbye, I kid you not. Ask her to kiss you, and she'd oblige. Was a bit too excited to get a treat, I'd tell her to calm down and take the treat from my lips and she'd calm down and take it from my lips ever so gently as I thought her to do. When I gave her toys or treats, she'd come by moments later, giving me a lap on my knee or hand, showing gratitude. I could go on and on. I know there are other dogs who can attain those levels of cognition and that's why I'm going for the types of dogs im going for. I know I'll never have this level of communication if I go for one of those dogs I mentioned, unless Im really lucky and get an outlier. Dogs who are more attentive will form bigger personalities and better communication with their masters. You need dogs who have been breeded for certain specific functions. That's why I'm aiming for either borders, retrievers, mountain dogs and seeing-eye dogs. My dog was both Bernese and Akita, two dogs who are known to be among the most empathic and smart.

It's kinda hard to explain. I've delt with many different dogs, and I know most breeds's qualities and shortcomings.

BTW, I know firsthand how Pits are probably the sweetest among all dogs, but they just don't have the dog smarts im looking for.

 

[Mrb1p]

Rough around the edges as in hard to calm down when they're excited. They get those crazy eyes, like their mind just isn't there anymore. They're all less self-conscious than the dogs I named that I wanted.

I didn't want to come to it... but I like dogs who are a bit more witty, on average.

My sis had a dob. Really sweet dog. I loved him with all my heart, but there wasn't a whole lot going on in there.

Had a boxer, same thing.

Friend has a mastiff, same thing. He had a boxer before, same thing.

Friend had a Rott, same thing.

My friends and neighbors have a pit and a boxer, same thing.

Cousin of my ex had a bulldog, same thing.

Friend had a bull terrier, same thing.

Other friend has a weimar. Now, they on the other hand are smart.

They're all really sweet dogs, Loved them all. Just not my type of dogs.


Id prefer an unruly dog like my ex's beagle over any of them. He might've been unruly, but good gawd that dog had personality, communicated a lot. That dog had really good (basic) theory of mind.

I like dogs who are more attentive because with time, they tend to understand a lot of words, more than these dogs can average even if nurtured the right way,

You have to understand where Im coming from. My dog was really smart. She recognized more words than I cared to count by the time she was middle aged. I thought her a few dozen tricks. She could even wave goodbye, I kid you not. Ask her to kiss you, and she'd oblige. Was a bit too excited to get a treat, I'd tell her to calm down and take the treat from my lips and she'd calm down and take it from my lips ever so gently as I thought her to do. When I gave her toys or treats, she'd come by moments later, giving me a lap on my knee or hand, showing gratitude. I could go on and on. I know there are other dogs who can attain those levels of cognition and that's why I'm going for the types of dogs im going for. I know I'll never have this level of communication if I go for one of those dogs I mentioned, unless Im really lucky and get an outlier. Dogs who are more attentive will form bigger personalities and better communication with their masters. You need dogs who have been breeded for certain specific functions. That's why I'm aiming for either borders, retrievers, mountain dogs and seeing-eye dogs. My dog was both Bernese and Akita, two dogs who are known to be among the most empathic and smart.

It's kinda hard to explain. I've delt with many different dogs, and I know most breeds's qualities and shortcomings.

BTW, I know firsthand how Pits are probably the sweetest among all dogs, but they just don't have the dog smarts im looking for.

Cant agree here. I think a lot of what you're saying comes down to popular opinion rather than actual fact. Doberman pinschers, Boxers, pit bulls, GSD and Rotts are some of the smartest out there, theres a reason why they're widely used for K9 all over the world or military dogs. They're both rugged and insanely intelligent. What you're saying seems mostly down to education rather than actual intelligence related facts.

Theres a lot of misconception around dogs, especially breeds that are considered "tougher".

 

[peate]

Have you seen that Border Collie on TV with hundreds of stuffed animal toys and knows them all by name and can pick them out of a pile. Then they tried to fool it by putting in a new toy it'd never seen before and when they asked for it by name,which it never heard before and couldn't associate with any of the toys, it picked it out of a pile on the first try. That's smarter than some kids.

 

[Censored Toad]

Suburban teenage wasteland blues

It's my youth

Strung out was one of my fav punk bands I discovered in my teens... I loved American Paradox.

Im a fan of Megadeth, and I liked the pic, I’ve got a shirt with the same image so I went with it.

Was told I’m not worthy of the megadeth avatar on the main boards a few months back lol. But that poster can kiss my ass.

I was a huge megadeth fan too, I had older brothers so I would listen to the same music as them. In fact one time, in grade 2 I brought a mega deth tape into the class for lunch time music. I believe it countdown to extinction or Symphony of Destruction.... teacher brought in my parents. My dad being an old metal head ( and a teacher himself) didn't give a FIG.. so it was all good.

Anyways on topic:

I made a custom profile pic after Marc dreamed up that excuse of "trades are hard" and Playing PlayStation so I made him my avatar with some those captions besides it. Then HF got its make over and it screwed with my Avatar so I had a choice to remake it or just frame it so it had marc's face "x"ed out. I chose the lazy route.... you can still see the "are" in Trades are hard.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Cant agree here. I think a lot of what you're saying comes down to popular opinion rather than actual fact. Doberman pinschers, Boxers, pit bulls, GSD and Rotts are some of the smartest out there, theres a reason why they're widely used for K9 all over the world or military dogs. They're both rugged and insanely intelligent. What you're saying seems mostly down to education rather than actual intelligence related facts.

Theres a lot of misconception around dogs, especially breeds that are considered "tougher".

I love german sheppards, just too big for where I live.

I never talked about Sheppards, and when it comes to military and police functions, there are the ones used the most the world around. We're talking about dogs, man, no need to create a strawman. All the other breeds you named are used more for their brute force and vigilance, contrarily to the Sheppard who excels at other additional tasks.

And please refrain from deciding where my opinion comes from. I've spent most of my life around dogs. I live right next to one of the biggest dog parks on the south shore and have went there daily in all the years I've lived here with my dog. I'm that guy you see at dog parks who goes up to almost every dog to pet them and talk to them. Many of my friends have dogs, family too. Ex-girlfriends with dogs too. I've interacted with thousands of dogs over the years. There's definitely a difference in yield of IQ between breeds whether you realize it or not, that's what selective breeding does. Pits who can do what border collies can do are incredibly rare. That's what I mean by yeild. That's why you'll rarely see people trying to do selective breeding with pits to make seeing-eye dogs. Yes, you can try, and yes you'll get positive results, but the yeild will definitely be lower, this has already been demonstrated, compared to other breeds like Bernese and Labs, and sure with hundreds of years of selective breeding they could potentially become as good, but as of now, all the breeds I mentioned before (not including the sheppards you added) are known to be harder to work with to attain the desired results.

Anyway. Better stop this now. We'll have to agree to disagree.

 

[Mrb1p]

I love german sheppards, just too big for where I live.

I never talked about Sheppards, and when it comes to military and police functions, there are the ones used the most the world around. We're talking about dogs, man, no need to create a strawman. All the other breeds you named are used more for their brute force and vigilance, contrarily to the Sheppard who excels at other additional tasks.

And please refrain from deciding where my opinion comes from. I've spent most of my life around dogs. I live right next to one of the biggest dog parks on the south shore and have went there daily in all the years I've lived here with my dog. I'm that guy you see at dog parks who goes up to almost every dog to pet them and talk to them. Many of my friends have dogs, family too. Ex-girlfriends with dogs too. I've interacted with thousands of dogs over the years. There's definitely a difference in yield of IQ between breeds whether you realize it or not, that's what selective breeding does. Pits who can do what border collies can do are incredibly rare. That's what I mean by yeild. That's why you'll rarely see people trying to do selective breeding with pits to make seeing-eye dogs. Yes, you can try, and yes you'll get positive results, but the yeild will definitely be lower, this has already been demonstrated, compared to other breeds like Bernese and Labs, and sure with hundreds of years of selective breeding they could potentially become as good, but as of now, all the breeds I mentioned before (not including the sheppards you added) are known to be harder to work with to attain the desired results.

Anyway. Better stop this now. We'll have to agree to disagree.

The offseason is long and we have nothing to talk about, might as well find something to discuss.

Intelligence needs to be defined... is it just for tricks? Then you need to look at the top dogs for obedience trials, or if it's complex tasks like problem solving, etc. Every dog, like every human, have a lot of different qualities and it's hard to just identify one defining treat of an individual/certain group.

I can agree, Collies are on the smarter side, I disagree heavily with pinschers and boxers as those too, are on the smarter side. The Staffordshire terriers/pit bull terriers/bull terriers dont score differently than Bernese mountain dogs or labs for the matter. They're all a class of working dog and bred for a few specific tasks on repeat.

Surprisingly enough, all the aforementioned dogs, and, wait for it, the Great Dane, score better than Aussie Sheperds on average in obedience training.

The dumbest dog I've had is probably a great Dane, though I'd admit that Gilly, my current mutt, (Lab/GSD mix) is not the smartest tool in the shed.

 

[ArtPeur]

You know we have a great team when we are discussing profile pictures.

Slow Summer, everyone is eager for the new season to start.. or:

- is Bergevin fired yet?
- is Patch traded yet?
- Who's our #1 Center?
...

Meanwhile I have some time to waste at work

 

[Runner77]

Slow Summer, everyone is eager for the new season to start.. or:

- is Bergevin fired yet?
- is Patch traded yet?
- Who's our #1 Center?
...

Meanwhile I have some time to waste at work

Slow summer is exactly why I'm not eager for the season to start.

However, not all is lost. There is sure to be a pre-season hot take Bergevin will blurt out from a golf course.

 

[ArtPeur]

Slow summer is exactly why I'm not eager for the season to start.

However, not all is lost. There is sure to be a pre-season hot take Bergevin will blurt out from a golf course.

When does pre-season end this year?

 

[Runner77]

When does pre-season end this year?

It'll extend throughout the season, just as it did last year.

Some people will keep posting "relax, it's just the pre-season". It wouldn't be right to deny them.

 

[Laurentide]

It'll extend throughout the season, just as it did last year.

Some people will keep posting "relax, it's just the pre-season". It wouldn't be right to deny them.

In that case the Habs will save me some money since I don't pay to watch pre-season games.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

The offseason is long and we have nothing to talk about, might as well find something to discuss.

Intelligence needs to be defined... is it just for tricks? Then you need to look at the top dogs for obedience trials, or if it's complex tasks like problem solving, etc. Every dog, like every human, have a lot of different qualities and it's hard to just identify one defining treat of an individual/certain group.

I can agree, Collies are on the smarter side, I disagree heavily with pinschers and boxers as those too, are on the smarter side. The Staffordshire terriers/pit bull terriers/bull terriers dont score differently than Bernese mountain dogs or labs for the matter. They're all a class of working dog and bred for a few specific tasks on repeat.

Surprisingly enough, all the aforementioned dogs, and, wait for it, the Great Dane, score better than Aussie Sheperds on average in obedience training.

The dumbest dog I've had is probably a great Dane, though I'd admit that Gilly, my current mutt, (Lab/GSD mix) is not the smartest tool in the shed.

I'm not just talking about obediance. I'm talking of predispositions to problem-solving, but most importantly, how easily they can associate things. Sure, I might get a border collie, and depending on predispositions, nurturing factors (which are immense), it might end-up being not so smart, and inversely, I could get a Pit and put it over it's expected yield with really good nurturing and a good deal of genetic (predispositional) luck, but in the end the Pit will not reach as high levels of cognition as the best of borders, and since it is the one trait I look for the most, intelligence, I want to put all the chances on my side to have the kind of dog I want, because I can only have one right now, so I need to be picky.

Also, I want to add, when I wrote "tough" in brackets it was meant more to portray the look they have. I prefer dogs who look like bears or wolves. Cute hairy hounds, I like. Not the short hair, muscle-bound beasts that so many are fond of.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Slow summer is exactly why I'm not eager for the season to start.

However, not all is lost. There is sure to be a pre-season hot take Bergevin will blurt out from a golf course.

I actually can't wait for it to begin. And then to end.

On to next season, and the next, and the next, until this **** show goes down as history.

 

[Runner77]

I actually can't wait for it to begin. And then to end.

On to next season, and the next, and the next, until this **** show goes down as history.

I don't know, it'll probably give me the impetus I needed to do some stuff that's been lagging. And to read more books, watch more shows, do more training. I can't get motivated by what they're doing.

 

[MasterDecoy]

It's a dog. It's wearing a monocle and a top hat. It's smart and clearly knows better than you

It's hilarious

Oh, and it blinks (thanks to 'I'm sorry I forgot whom' added the blinks, that was awesome)

 

[Mrb1p]

It's a dog. It's wearing a monocle and a top hat. It's smart and clearly knows better than you

It's hilarious

Oh, and it blinks (thanks to 'I'm sorry I forgot whom' added the blinks, that was awesome)

just watched my screen for like two minutes straight, it doesn't blink Im a fool

 

[MasterDecoy]

just watched my screen for like two minutes straight, it doesn't blink Im a fool

Huh? It blinks I swear to the Holy Ghost of Roy. Can't see on mobile right now but I could before the forum change.