They're very sweet dogs. They're quite cat-like in that they have firm opinions about things and they can be quite nervous sometimes, but they like hot weather, soft furnishings and captive humans who pet them constantly. One of ours, Madge (http://pics.livejournal.com/elgrey/pic/0000cq0r/) who is really teeny weeny has always thought the world is out to get her, but then if I only weighed six pounds so would I. Berry (http://pics.livejournal.com/elgrey/pic/0000dkf5/) ha particularly strong opinions and tends to voice them quite loudly. You can't really see it in the very tactful picture that ankhsign took when she was last here but he only has half of his right leg, which is the main drawback to Italian Greyhounds, which is that if they can possibly find a way to break a leg, they will. He had lots of operations to try to save it but in the end it had to be amputated, and he's been without it for nearly ten years now. Thank you for the well wishes for Fay. She is definitely on the mend and seems much happier.
You have all my sympathy with your dog - the nutsiness and the tumours. I know that kind of crazy neurotic so well. It's so hard to explain to people when your dog isn't just the fun kind of crazy but the totally insane kind, and what a strain that is every day, especially when they have an ongoing health problem. I'm so sorry. Especially as the crazy ones seem to be so wonderful in so many ways and really get a place in your heart.
My first ever dog was completely nuts and as well as having to have an operation to correct a heart defect had to be on medication for his craziness. He was a crossbreed German Shepherd x Welsh ColliexLabrador. He had a hole in the heart, hip dysplasia and some strange brain abnormality that meant he had a very low control threshold, only instead of having epileptic fits when the control threshold was crossed, he would have fits where he would 'sing' in this high pitched whine and latch onto you with his - luckily quite blunt - teeth. We had a whole list of things that we couldn't do or use when he was around like any aerosol spray, metal objects that scraped, anything that made a high pitched noise, wine bottles, sellotape, and a dozen others. He was incredibly jealous to the point where I could never pat another dog without him wanting to kill it, and was always convinced that he knew best about everything and especially about what was dangerous to us and what we had to be protected from - like the very dangerous sellotape - and yet was also so wonderful and loving and clever and good natured and cuddly too. The tablets he was on did help a bit but he was never entirely sane.
Later I had a Groenendael (Belgian Shepherd Dog), Raksha, who was also nuts, although in a different way. She was a complete bundle of nerves the whole time. So wonderful with children and small animals but frightened of everything, couldn't bear to be indoors unless she could chew on something the whole time, but seemed to get agoraphobic if she went out. She used to worry herself into tumours about everything. She had several in her mammary glands that had to be removed, one after the other. She would have a few months of blessed peace when she was only ordinarily neurotic and not completely climbing up the walls crazy, the way she got when she had a tumour, and then I think she would just worry up another one, poor dog. She was so incredibly beautiful and yet almost incapable of enjoying life at all. The deerhound, Jane, we had at the same time was the complete opposite - totally laid back about everything, amazingly lazy *g*, just really wanted to lie around in the sun during the summer and by the fire in the winter and never worried about anything except having her nails cut - which she hated and was a complete baby about.
As to having a pic... well *g*, sort of. Go here to see him: http://www.omnifera.com/misc/shadowbellshello.jpg
Oh goodness, that is *totally* adorable. What a beautiful colour Weimeraners are, and he looks particularly wonderful. Please give him a cuddle from me.
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Date: 2006-06-26 11:18 pm (UTC)You have all my sympathy with your dog - the nutsiness and the tumours. I know that kind of crazy neurotic so well. It's so hard to explain to people when your dog isn't just the fun kind of crazy but the totally insane kind, and what a strain that is every day, especially when they have an ongoing health problem. I'm so sorry. Especially as the crazy ones seem to be so wonderful in so many ways and really get a place in your heart.
My first ever dog was completely nuts and as well as having to have an operation to correct a heart defect had to be on medication for his craziness. He was a crossbreed German Shepherd x Welsh ColliexLabrador. He had a hole in the heart, hip dysplasia and some strange brain abnormality that meant he had a very low control threshold, only instead of having epileptic fits when the control threshold was crossed, he would have fits where he would 'sing' in this high pitched whine and latch onto you with his - luckily quite blunt - teeth. We had a whole list of things that we couldn't do or use when he was around like any aerosol spray, metal objects that scraped, anything that made a high pitched noise, wine bottles, sellotape, and a dozen others. He was incredibly jealous to the point where I could never pat another dog without him wanting to kill it, and was always convinced that he knew best about everything and especially about what was dangerous to us and what we had to be protected from - like the very dangerous sellotape - and yet was also so wonderful and loving and clever and good natured and cuddly too. The tablets he was on did help a bit but he was never entirely sane.
Later I had a Groenendael (Belgian Shepherd Dog), Raksha, who was also nuts, although in a different way. She was a complete bundle of nerves the whole time. So wonderful with children and small animals but frightened of everything, couldn't bear to be indoors unless she could chew on something the whole time, but seemed to get agoraphobic if she went out. She used to worry herself into tumours about everything. She had several in her mammary glands that had to be removed, one after the other. She would have a few months of blessed peace when she was only ordinarily neurotic and not completely climbing up the walls crazy, the way she got when she had a tumour, and then I think she would just worry up another one, poor dog. She was so incredibly beautiful and yet almost incapable of enjoying life at all. The deerhound, Jane, we had at the same time was the complete opposite - totally laid back about everything, amazingly lazy *g*, just really wanted to lie around in the sun during the summer and by the fire in the winter and never worried about anything except having her nails cut - which she hated and was a complete baby about.
As to having a pic... well *g*, sort of. Go here to see him: http://www.omnifera.com/misc/shadowbellshello.jpg
Oh goodness, that is *totally* adorable. What a beautiful colour Weimeraners are, and he looks particularly wonderful. Please give him a cuddle from me.