I don't mind people asking about Loki, partly I guess because nobody has really heard of a utonagan.

I do mind people asking how much we paid for him though - it's rather a personal question for one thing and I worry that someone out there might be wondering how much ransom they could demand ...

Like you Lucky Star, I get asked about my utonagan all the time. Most people remark on how wolf-like he looks which is the aim of the breed anyway so I can't compain.

i think that is sooo funny. People are barmy aren't they!!

We have the same problem, especially as the big park that we walk in has a small zoo with wolves in it. I no longer walk them without collars as they had jumped out of the bushes and a woman screamed that two wolves had got loose.

My parents and I have the same cross breed (husky x german shepherd dog)

The kids around us shout 'look at the huskys' (probably learned from the tv) so my mum just calls them huskys. She is going to run into problems when someone who KNOWS about dogs asks what they are (could easily pass as inuits / utes) but in no way do they resemble huskys!!!

I don't really mind if people ask me about Tigger.

Mind you, a lot of people around here do get a bit confused as they imagine that Springers are 'brown and white aren't they?'
It could also be cos Tigs is quite short haired, as you can see..



Still looks like a Springer to me though. :smt001

We have a laugh at the standard Husky questions - is it a wolf,are they blind (where they have one blue and one brown eye), is it a wolf, does it bite, must be hard work to look after?
Ring any bells with you?
A friend of mine got so fed up one day that when a poor foolish bloke asked if the dog was a wolf and she snapped back 'no its a Tasmanian She Dog'!! Well he was so impressed she then did not have the heart to point out she was nor serious.
Now I just smile and answer while keeping moving so as not to get the rest of the questions!
The draw back of having such an attractive and friendly breed.

I have had the wolf one, a little boy we know calls Zuki white fang from a cartoon Dont have the heart to tell him her names Zuki He thinks he's met a true life hero

The last week me and the doglets have had a breakthrough though, not once has anyone asked if they are anything but Huskies, I feel like celebrating

I love this thread!!!

Steve, rhodesia is now Zimbabwe...

Willow, i was doubled over with laughter at your flat coat story, I loved that you put him right by pointing at the calendar, sooo funny

Forgot who had the picture of the blue merle collie, but it looks just like Blue, the blue merle Australian shepherd that I have just now (except he stayed that chunkie, whereas yours is now normal border collie shape) I will get my pics downloaded so you can see.
The funny thing is he is 7 months, and people keep asking me if he is very old !!!!!!!! Can't tell his mum, he is her pride and joy, but I guess if people are asking me, then she must get the same.... people are weird!

Another thing people say to me a lot is ` oh you are so brave having a deaf dog`.
Brave ?
Hardly - its been much easier training deaf dogs than hearing dogs :smt005

It doesnt annoy me though when people say it because at least its an opportunity to extol the virtues of deaf dogs in the hopes that others may consider getting one from rescue rather than assuming it would be too difficult to train and live with them - but I do wish I had a quiddly for every time it gets said to me because I`d be absolutely minted

I shouldnt really say just how easy my three deaf crew are though, as everyone will want one of their own :smt002

3 !!
Do you allow them off lead? How do you train a recall? Perhaps collies are the one breed where it is easier to have a deaf one... what I mean is they seem to work with you and keep there attention on their owners at all times (the good ones that is!) unlike jack russells who follow their nose and were bred to work independently ?
Still I can't imagine that it would be easy (mind you mine pretend to be deaf alot of the time)!!!

This is two of them not only off lead but doing an activity which requires a lot of concentration and willingness from the dog :smt002







And the black collie in this pic, [ which I took at great distance, with camera on maximum zoom lol ], is their Hearing [ working ] dog who is trained to turn them around toward me for any emergency signals I might need to give [ like if a dog is heading for them which might spell trouble for instance ] plus she changes direction and speed on cue at distance, to lead the way off lead.



Recall is one of the things in training which comes the most naturally and reliably to most deaf dogs, provided the handler has taken the time to build up total trust as it encourages deaf dogs to *want* to `check back` frequently for any signals.
During training for it I use harness and longline as a safety measure, and an arms out `beckoning` signal for them to learn, with so much visual and cuddle praise for getting it right that you`d think it was doggy Christmas every time :smt005

My lad in the pic with my black girly, just for fun I entered him in an Obedience comp a while back [ I had done no formal Obedience competition style training with him ], and was declared by the judge to have demonstrated the best Recall of the day plus, again with no pre-training for them, he took his Bronze and Silver a while back which he passed with flying colours.


Funny you mention JRTs - at an Obedience competition I watched once, the dog which won in outstanding fashion, way ahead of the rest in his classes, was a deaf JRT :smt002


That will be one squiddly please [ only kidding lol ]