berger

collywobble,   Thank you very much for your reply, I am grateful for your input and I will certainly investigate your recommendation. As you have experienced yourself  I also find it too boring to sit with tables of conjugations and grammer etc, sometimes there are no other ways but this linguaphone pack looks pretty well designed.   once again thanks berger ( monty )

Hi, I have been to la Palmyre zoo many many times and it is fantastic for all ages, very well set out and mostly outside but with shade . I have also been to the aquarium on differing times of the year and it is excellent but gets very busy in holiday periods and can be a little disconcerting for little ones, having said that I highly recommend them both.   Regards Monty

Hi,   Has anyone had experience of the linguaphone french pro course ? it seems to be an all inclusive course with numerous cds and text books, I  live in France and have good basic language but  need to progress. They also offer 12 months online help included, with newspaper/ media based exercises which is updated regularly, which I think could be good. The only problem is that it is not exactly cheap ( £250 ) and do not want to buy something that is not going to take me much further, they do say it is up to degree level ( which I am a little skeptical about ). Any advice on this course would be gratefully received.   Monty

 wasn't being critical, I was just wondering how, not just you, but anyone could actually know the point that you stated. It was stated as a fact whereas, as you have now said, it was merely an opinion.   I was actually referring to factual scientific behavioral studies, i have read so many i cannot at this time tell you the author but it would have been an eminent behaviorist as it was part of a study into cynology. i just do not see the point in getting too technical here. I have spoken to many trainers and behaviorists and have read many differing opinions , there is not always just one right way, i am sure there are, as i have said, many reasons why, and judging by the reply from the original poster it is not really a serious deficit for them. I always just give my opinion, wether it is informed or not, with regards to dogs there is some depth to my opinion but i just enjoy giving that opinion in the first place . with regard to the sexual acts between same sex animals i was referring to actual  sexual behavior, that is for instance displayed in the bonobo chimpanzee, who actually perform acts together, without going to much into detail, of course there is occasions when male on male arousal takes place between dogs, but to my knowledge, that has not ended in an actual copulation, but  i am always open to learning from others. Monty

hi, Mine is an opinion, like anyone else's, there are a lot of people who give what looks like informed opinions here, and I would never question those that do, I take it for what it is. I only reply on this forum to such things that are close to my interests, canines being that, my knowledge is what I have gathered through my time, and I do not have to verify my expertise, as I am giving a free opinion, not asking for a fee.The person who posted can do with my reply as they please, as I do others and I hope you can also Bugbear. Monty

hi, It is possible that your dog may not be interested at this stage, I have experienced  males at stud not wanting to enter into mating at all, and not having any medical problems, it is a matter of the dogs mental maturity and signals given off by the female also can have an effect on the matter. some males are of the more timid nature and will not take that " brave step " with a female. your dog is of mature sexual age, but may just not be interested at this stage, there are many reasons why, but do not be too worried, if you are planning to breed from him the maybe a checkup at the vets would be in order but if he is otherwise fine in your opinion then again I wouldn't worry. homosexuality is a mental preferance and dogs do not posess the ability to make that judgement, but some behavior of a sexual nature does occur betwen males in the animal kingdom, but it is isolated.   good luck   Monty

hi,   there is another posting here regarding your breed of dog, and they are NOT classed as a dangerous dog here, pedigree or not, christina can give you more information, as she recently posted to rehome a staff here in france and is more up on the law than me.   good luck   MONTY

hi,   you need to check out either your local newspaper , or you can look at this website,   www.toutou.fr   small ads for pets for sale.   regards   monty

HI ,   thanks christine for this post, my point exactly regarding protected species still being killed, i am quite disgusted really.The supposed protection of these important species cannot be enforced without real consequences , which are rarely carried out.I can understand the killing of some species in Africa by farmers protecting their basic survival but in Switzerland ?? If the situation carries on it will not be long before we lose the most important and adaptable species on our earth, preaching i may be, but it was the careful domestication of the wolf that has given us our fruitful relationship with the dogs we own today , differing reasons for this situation i know, but still morally and universally wrong no matter how you look at it.   monty

hi, the best thing to do is to use the dogs name with the command, you cannot use a universal command expecting the one that is wrong to understand it was him. use the word " NO" emphatically with the dogs name,preferably before the no, make sure you are in full frontal contact with the dog if possible ,it would be good if you could then get the naughty offender to do something submissive like lay down, immedietly after not for long, it just breaks their behavior a little, just a few seconds will do. having two dogs of differing ages is hard sometimes, the older usually becomes alpha and tells the other when he is out of line with him, but it will not correct behavior that is unacceptable to us humans. if you are using the dogs name the you really must get in eye contact with the dog in question, canines read facial expressions, signs,and sounds better than language so try to keep this is mind when correcting your dog.   there are many books available on the market and magazines that give good advice.   monty

hi, I also look after dogs in charente maritime 45 mins from la rochelle airport, i only take one persons animals at a time, may be a little far from you but you never know.   email ; [email protected] monty

hi, with regards to the hunting dog issue, i am afraid that they will not be as well behaved as our own pet dogs, they are there for a job and nothing else, they are trained to flush / hunt quarry, their bell like barks are part of their attributes in flushing animals from the undergrowth, and by their nature are not dogs that return immedietly or behave on command as their in built hunting urges are extremely strong. from what i have seen it is the same all over, hunting dogs are not meek beasts, but working animals. i am not belittling your situation, but i am afraid your neighbours dogs will always bay at the scent /noise of anything that attracts their attention. a large majority of french dogs are not exercised, especially hunting hounds as this is part of their life, they are more exuberent in their hunt when they are taking on scent. i also have an extremely large rottweiller as a neighbour that is never exercised or trained, and is naturally aggresive in guarding his perimeter, although well secured.i see very nice dogs everywhere miserable due to their existence, but not really much you can do to change such a different opinion on animals, although there are exceptions.there may well be some legal process,but it does seem to be the situation here in france, i have numerous packs around my own area. that said i sympathise with your situation and hope you resolve the matter, no need for dogs to keep me awake, my kids do that every nite!! regards   monty

thanks christine,  the sites are great, fantastic pics, i routinely go to my local zoo at la palmyre and my wife has trouble dragging me away from the wolf enclosure !! chris, i draw some comfort in your experienced words , but have seen too often throughout the world " protected species " continually poached / killed even though there are large organisations watching over them , a little negative of me maybe , i hope for the best.   monty

hi northrenlad,   i have emailed you.   monty

hi chris and christine, yes i agree it is a worrying time for them, in the past they were as you know one of the most successful predators and only declined because of man hunting them to near extinction , i have a big soft spot for them and the african wild hunting dogs too which has received the same fate and only live in a tiny area in africa whereas again they were extremely numerous naturally. i doubt that this study will have any bearing on their future , there are so many others in steep decline and no matter what it seems they will carry on and disappear from our planet, which i feel is a great loss. we can only hope for the best, thankyou for the websites.   monty