Question about Chihuahua-Jack Russell Mix (some calls it Jackhuahua or Jack-Chi)?
Hi! :) First off, please note that a "Jack-Chi," or whatever label people like to give them, is not a real breed. It is a mutt, mongrel, a cur, crossbreed, and so on. It is a mixed dog. Good breeders do not produce mixed dogs because there are already millions of mixed breeds (2:1 mutts in pounds) in shelters, and they are not recognized by any good registry. Also, it is never a good idea to buy ANY animal from a pet store. All the experts agree they all come from large breeding industries. (See: Puppymills.) There is no way to define a JRTxChihuahua mix because that's exactly what it is: A mix. Therefore, you would have to see the parents themselves or put hope for luck to get a well-rounded animal. I have a Jack Russel mix and he is both hyper and laid back. Far too big to be a Chihuahua mix, though. Anyway, point being -> No way you can say what to expect. Adopt from a shelter to get best results in a mutt. <3 Good luck!
Advice on heating a dog house?
We are putingt a dog door going into our unheated, uninsulated garage+ building walls and a ceiling, big enough to turn around in and tall enough for her to walk. We plan on putting a board on top of the cement so the dog is not exposed to the cold surface, and we will line it w/ straw. We were trying to figure out how to heat it. I looked into various heating elements for dog houses, light bulbs, heated pads and the like. She is still a puppy and is a chewer so I would not trust her w/ anything she could chew. My thought was this... leaving a door made of some sort of fencing/wire that will allow us to clean the house and to easily put her in. Then using one of our space heaters placing it near the door blowing in at her. She is mostly an inside dog but we can not trust her in the house yet alone while we are at work. I only work part time opposite shifts from my husband, she will only need to be in there a few hrs. Winter is coming though and I worry she will be cold. Ideas? is this
Any Puggle Owners Out There? I have some questions?
Puggles are everything you want as outlined in your list except chasing the cat. They chase bunnies. I would guess if you got a puppy that grew up with the cat it would be okay. I own Mr. Puggle® , yes my dog is trademarked. I hope you come by his website to learn more about puggles and see his videos. Puggles are VERY intelligent. I can always post your question on the blog and other puggle owners can answer your questions. His puggle posse friend Preston Puggle is a great example of the intelligence. He has some great videos. www.mrpuggle.com www.mrpuggle.blogspot.com
How effective is punishing a puppy by putting him in his crate?
My response is relevant primarily to working dogs (I’ve had Siberian Huskies, Border Collies, and Great Pyrenees) but is probably apropos for all kinds of dogs.Think about what a dog crate is supposed to do. In my mind, a crate should be a “safe space” for your dog, a place where he or she can go for a respite from the craziness of a dog’s active life. In the case of Border Collies in particular, they are high-strung animals with a ferocious in-born desire to work. What that work is may not matter — I’ve had sheep herding Collies and I’ve had ones that devoted their lives to gathering “things”, like every possible dog toy in the house or rocks from the streambed in our front yard. They have no control over these urges, so it becomes OUR responsibility to help them. Training a dog that their crate is a place of time out, of being “off duty”, is the best thing you can do.You want your dog to welcome being in his or her crate. If trained correctly, you can see your dog visibly relax and calm down when crated. This is a very good thing for your dog’s well-being and health. Whether he or she is a crazed maniacal gatherer of things or a loving but silly goofball who always want to play, having a place and a time to go for “downtime” is healthy.Thus, you should NEVER use a crate as a means of punishment or imprisonment. Make that his or her happy place to go to when you give permission to take some time out and relax.As an aside, there may be occasions when you need to get an injured dog to a vet, or separate two animals who have been fighting. In these instances, you don’t want your dog to resist being crated — remember the crate is a safe place, not a punishment. The last thing you want to do with an injured or frantic dog is wrestle with him to lock him someplace he does not want to be. He should be happy to go into the crate as a means of getting away from whatever was causing the stress.Sometimes I wish I had a cozy nook like a dog crate to escape to for a temporary time out from the craziness of our world.
How practical is it to own a dog while doing a Ph.D. program?
Angela Pham has a great answer on the scenarios of dog owning. I would use Anon's answer and take it to another extreme. Considering the number of graduate students who get MARRIED and have KIDS, which are arguably much more time consuming than dogs, I would say yes, it is possible to have a dog in graduate school.The best case scenario: Everyone wants to be a part of your social life because you have a dog.(edit) I've noticed that since I wrote this answer, my roommates have gotten a dog. The dog is pretty well trained and their experiments (or lack thereof since one of them does theory) allows them to check on dog every few hours. Our social life now revolves around other grad students with dogs and small baby-sized humans.
Which one - alligator or crocodile - makes a better pet?
Neither of them make a good pet, or really a pet at all. You can’t domesticate a mega-reptile like that, period. Full stop. End of discussion.That being said, from what I understand, Alligators are less aggressive than Crocs. That doesn’t make them good pets. or pets at all.If you want a bad-ass reptile that won’t eat you, get a bearded dragon.They’re actually quite friendly once they grow up a bit. When they’re young they are high-strung but once they get older they calm down and will even let you pet them if you’ve handled it a fair amount. Bearded dragons are awesome!Edit; After talking with you below, I’m going to copy/paste my final answer below;Well, if you really have the income to support a freaking mini-zoo and want a mega-reptile, go with either a spectacled or Curvier’s Dwarf Cayman. Not anywhere near as aggressive as a black cayman, MUCH smaller, easier to handle (or not) and would, IMO, be a good introduction into mega-reptiles. Go with a smaller Cayman species, see what it takes as it’s going to be MUCH less resource/energy intensive and a ton safer. It’s in the Alligator family. Get one of them, it’ll be much safer and easier, if you find after a couple years of keeping one that you enjoy it and want graduate, THEN get a Gator.Caiman - WikipediaCuvier’s Dwarf Cayman, this is the one I’d recommend.Cuvier's dwarf caiman - WikipediaA Cayman still isn’t going to be a good pet, but if you can support one and it’s enclosure, that’s the one I’d get.