Ok we have a happy thread, grumpy thread and sad thread....well I'm starting a frustrated thread.....for things that regularly frustrate us. Not really happy, sad or grumpy, but frustrating for whatever stupid or otherwise reason.
Bill died 10 years ago. His best friend, who lives in Massachusetts, has kept in touch with me all these years. Don't get me wrong...I love that he cares enough to touch base but OMG...he calls at the worst times. If I don't answer he leaves a message wondering if he has the right number and then calls right back again. I have had the same number(s) for over 20 years.
Just now I was in the bathroom...had to pee...didn't take phone with...he called the LL twice in a row...couldn't answer so he called my cell. Barely got to it. Ok glad he cares, but it usually takes me at least 10 mins saying I'm busy or late getting out the door before I can get him off the phone. Am I being uncaring in some way? Perhaps, but it IS frustrating. After all he was Bill's friend not mine and when he came to visit us for a weekend only, I was very happy after 10 months to see him go...so yes frustrated

Wish I had someone in my life who would care to call me that often No, I'm kidding, I'm blessed to have plenty of people in my life who care about me.

Well, our 4-month-old puppy has been pretty frustrating recently. Of course, still gotta love him, but he's been a real handful (he's already nearly 50lbs, so I'm sure you can imagine). I just recently took him wood-chopping with me, and tied his leash to a tree. I was chopping for a good twenty minutes, but he kept interrupting my swings to sniff the log and the ax. Then, he stopped coming to investigate, and I saw he was lying down. No big deal. Next thing I knew, he had chewed through his leash and was running free.

😯😯 oh no! How hard was it to catch him? Good luck now he knows he can chew through his leash. Definately frustrating 😏

Giber, I hadn't forgotten your frustration but cannot think of how to change it.
uh oh Joh!

He was actually already traveling up the nearest hill. I started to run after him, but realized immediately that I shouldn't, lest he think it's a game. So, I stood on the opposite hill and called as loudly and pleasantly as I could: "Come on, Ma Man! That's a good boy! Yes, he's a good boy! Come here! Come on!"

The bugger came bounding down the hill toward me. It was a I'm-so-mad-at-him-for-chewing-the-leash but he's-so-sweet-for-actually-coming moment.

Lol...at least he came when you called

I think you reacted well.
A little frustrated, cannot enjoy outside today in 50s and rain.

I agree with Sally, you handled it well, Johannian. He was a very good dog to come when he was called.

Just now realized that in my previous post I said "started the fun after him". NOT what I meant to type, lol. I edited it to "started to run after him".

On certain days he's actually quite obedient. Some days, however, it's like he's gone deaf. They say that about Kangals until 7-9 months; they'll listen when they want to listen. But it's something where you don't start cracking down on it until they're at least 6 months, because before that, it's essentially impossible to make them obey whenever you tell them to do something. You'll just have to deal with the hit-or-miss days.

Would imagine since they are Shepard dogs guarding a flock, they would have a good amount of independence in them, very similar to Great Pyrenees

You are correct there, Rj. If they don't have a flock to guard, they can wander very far. There's a guy on YouTube who owns 500 acres and his Kängal is gone for sometimes days, wandering, but he always comes back. It's something you can't train them not to do. It's in their DNA to wander if they don't have a flock to protect.

So can they decide the humans are their flock?

Great Pyranees also are known for going on walk abouts

Sally,
They consider humans as their flock, yes, but they know instinctually that we don't need the careful watching that say, a herd of sheep might need. This is why if their only "flock" is their human family, they'll wander for a few days but will always come back to make sure things are still okay with their humans. Then, they'll go wandering again. We have 34 acres, but our immediate backyard is fenced, so we keep him back there. We want him to have a good amount of space (the backyard is about half an acre), but also don't want him wandering because we just don't have 500 acres to accommodate that wandering instinct. Otherwise, he'd probably be going on the neighbors' properties.

ETA: And not always when they wander will they be gone for days at a time. A lot of the times, they just go away for most of the day and come back in the evening.

Interesting!

Just to many dangers for a wandering dog , even one that big.

Agreed, Bob. Even a dog with a strong bite force can't outsmart a human. Kangals are worth some money, and if one is regularly seen wandering, who knows…a lot of people seem more prone nowadays to just take property without asking questions, animals or not.

Some people we know feel doubtful about us owning a dog with a bite force stronger than an African Lion (lions average 650 psi, Kängals 740 psi), but he's really a sweet dog. When he's not running away from me.

Around here there are plenty of animals that could badly hurt or even kill a dog that powerful. A bear bite force is close to 1000 and there claws can do major damage. Coyote will try to kill dogs and run in packs and a Bobcat can do major damage if cornered. A pitbull in the area was just killed by a porcupine , the quills went into it's heart. Plus rattle snakes and Copperheads if you do not know what happened and can not get to a vet. quickly. Also like you said theft for resale or or training for dog fighting .

Oh yeah, even a mountain Lion could pretty easily kill a Kängal. Most people just look at "power stats" (weight, bite force, height, etc.), but dogs in general aren't very fast. A wildcat like a mountain lion is lightning-quick, and they're literal killing machines; their very existence is to kill things, as with any carnivore. That's why most big wild animals could whip any domestic dog.

Re bears beating dogs…
Bears—Grizzly and Polar—are pretty much the undisputed rulers of the land animal kingdom. I remember reading an article some time ago about fights held in cages during the Gold Rush in California. Tigers were brought in from Asia and put in a cage with a Grizzly Bear, and food was used to bait the two predators. Tigers are the largest cats alive; 660 lbs of killing destruction, up to 8ft on their hind legs, 1,000 psi in their bite, the list goes on with how terrifyingly powerful tigers are. Yet, reports from the Gold Rush rings say that the Grizzly almost effortlessly would just keep sending the tiger sprawling with its massive paws. That right there was enough to tell me that no matter which animal you are, human or not, you don't want to mess with a bear. If a bear can whip a tiger, I'm sure there'd be nothing left of a Kängal, should they ever encounter each other.

And adult male Grizzlies on average weigh up to 700lbs…now let's not even talk about Polar Bears, which on average weigh 992lbs.

Of course, I'm not advocating for predators to be put in a ring with one another. I don't think it's right to pit animals together for the sake of one's entertainment. I was just using the article for comparison and to show how dominant a Grizzly is.