h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My name is Feisor and I am an ACE (Assistant Community Editor) here at h2g2. It's my job to welcome you to the site and hopefully show you around a little. I AM a real person, not an automated reply not an automated reply not an automated reply .

Welcome to h2g2 – not just the friendliest on-line community but an incredibly huge, living, breathing guide to Life, the Universe and Everything. It’s compiled by researchers just like you and it's something YOU can take part in. You can write entries on all manner of subjects, and if it's something you think would look good in our Edited Guide (where all the best research goes), you can submit it to Peer Review Take a look at the <./>writing-guidelines</.> for more information on that.

You hane made a great start by opening your space and I'm glad to see that you are joining in I hope when you get to know us a little better you'll add to your intro as you promise - but there's no rush - and it's not compulsory

We ACEs are volunteers here to assist new researchers so if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
You can leave a message on my space just by clicking on my name at the top of this message or by hitting the reply button below - it won't hit back (usually).

I have made a "Hints and Links for New Researchers" page at <./>A719840</.> - if you go there it will lead you to all sorts of places which will help find your way around and get to know this wonderful place. It should keep you busy for a while

Oh, and don’t forget to bookmark not only your space but the H2G2 <./>FrontPage</.> - it’s a great way to stay in touch with what’s happening and leads to all sorts of corners which you may otherwise miss.

I am sure that you will love this community as much as we do There's lots of things to see, clubs to join and people to meet - please don't be shy - just jump right in - this is a friendly place. But be careful - it can become quite addictive - believe me I know



Enjoy!!
Have fun!!!
and above all !!!


Feisor

Thanks very much for your lovely introduction! So far I'm reaally enjoying myself here and plan to make the most of it! I will also take some time to explore your links.

Thanks again,

Pow*

As it says above, you're welcome

If you have any questions about hootoo (as we call h2g2) or need any help just drop me a line here and I'll get back to you asap

Have fun - it's a huuuuge place

Is it ok to put links to other web pages (not guide ones) in your introduction and journal entries?

Pow*

As long as it's an acceptable site according to the <./>HouseRules</.> whuch say ....

"Unsuitable sites would include those with racist material, pornographic or sexually explicit material, potentially defamatory material, anything which encourages illegal activities, material which infringes copyright, sites which purely plug or promote commercial products or services without containing material which enhances the subject matter, or sites which may offend our users. We may also have to fail links to sites which are in languages other than English, for the reasons described above, just as we have to fail links to pages within websites that are designed simply to sell products. Please note that we do not allow links to external websites to be included in Nicknames."

Hope that helps .... How's it going?

I just Googled "cane corso" - what a great looking dog! I've never heard of them before - what's the temperament like? They look "aggressive" but then so do Rottweilers and most of them are big pussy cats

I'm so glad you like them, they are broad mouth mollossers (sp?) decended from the great mastiffs that fought with the gladiators in Roman times. The Neopolitan mastiff is their heavier, more common, cousin.

Cane Corsos are fantastic! They are different here to what they are like in America, ours are very close to the Italian ones. Odin's family are in fact Sicilian, and they tend to be a little less heavy set than their mainland counterparts.

They should be good guard dogs, but not unnecessarily agressive. I absolutely know that he would protect me, but also that he would never needlesslessly injure someone. Around his family and the people he knows well, he's very affectionate. Basically, he's the perfect mix between a rouge and a gentleman! The people I got him from are in their seventies and had been breeding dogs for about fifty years, rotties, alsatians and mastiffs and reckoned that Odin was the best dog they'd ever had. They are very strong, fast and agile and love nothing more than a hard day's work.

If you look up "Andvari Mastiffs" you will find his family's page, they breed cane corsos and mastiffs aswell.

Pow*

Sounds fabulous - I will look further, I love dogs (and cats too) but haven't had one for some years.

We used to have a little schipperke - great dog http://www.pups4sale.com.au/schipperke_04a.jpg
a little dog which doesn't know that it's a little dog, not "yappy" at all - our little one thought that she was a rottie

Unfortunately she died and we couldn't face another heartbreak - so no more pets ...

Are schipperkes those little Dutch(?) barge dogs that don't have a tail? I've never seen one in the flesh.

I felt like I waited my whole life for a dog and when I was sixteen I got my first dog, Ebony, who was an English mastiff and one hell of a machine! It was never quiet or boring with her around, even when she was asleep she snored so loudly that it could be heard in the living room when she was upstairs. She did everything about ten times as fast as a mastiff should.
This is just as well because she had to be put to sleep when she was only twenty months old, hell, she wasn't even full grown. She had a tumour in her spine which crushed her spinal chord and paralysed her. (Not her tail though, which beat a steady tattoo right to the end) They said they MIGHT be able to operate, they said IF it was a success after about three months she MIGHT be able to stand. I coudn't ask that of her, so I said goodnight instead.
Then when I got home the silence was unreal, and I had to have another dog. Every one since has been a sort of tribute to the one before, it's because they bring so much there will always be another one.

Sorry, didn't mean to ramble on so much!

Pow*

Ramble on .... it's what this place thrives on

Yes, Schipperkes are Belgian Barge Dogs - our little Geesha had no tail but the fashion now is to leave the tail on - it's a cute little tail that curves back over the back - you can see it in the photo that I linked to.

Great little dogs with great natures - we rescued ours from a nasty breeder who was about to knock her over the head because the slight overbite she had was a genetic fault and they couldn't show her pups. When we got her we had recently lost our corgi to heartworm and really didn't want another dog - but couldn't resist her when we saw her and although it took a long time to help her overcome her fear and timidity, when we did she was the happiest, most loving dog. She had a good life with us but kidney and liver failure got her in the end.

It's very sad when you have to make the decision, hut in the end you know that it's the right thing to do. It's almost a gift to a friend in return for the unconditional love that they have given.

See ... I can ramble too

I always considered getting a dog put to sleep as often the last thing you could do for a friend.

It's particularly special to have a rescued dog which has had a rough time and bring out the dog they should be. You always get a lovely wee glow of pride when someone comments on how nice your dog is!

There's big arguments now over whether tails should be left alone or docked. I think docking should be allowed in working breeds. Anyone who has seen a spaniel with a broken tail after catching it in the underbrush would probably agree. Some dogs which traditionally had their tails docked look lovely with a tail, like the Schipperke and the Old English Sheepdog. Mastiffs had their tails docked until they stopped using them for fighting, and then they just left them alone, along with ears and dew claws.

Pow*

I've always thought that docking for showing purposes only is useless cosmetic surgery. I can understand it though for a working dog where a tail may be a hazard.

Dogs communicate with their tails and, for a pet, it's a little like muting them. It's sad that people's vanity and selfishness can lead to a form of mutilation - and then there's debarking which I consider a cruel and sadistic thing.

De barking is a terrible thing to do, I can see no good reason for it at all.

I agree about the expression thing, and most working gun and field type breeds are left with a small tail.

Breeds that have their tail docked right back are often guarding breeds, (Doberman, Rottweiler and so on) and one reason for them to be docked so short is that it makes it difficult for the dog to submit, as it doesn't have the facility to signal this with it's tail.
The most horrific mutilation that gets carried out on a regular basis is ear cropping. It's common in america and I think it is just disgusting.

Pow*

We humans are not a very nice breed are we?

Look what we have done to the pug, the pekinese, the dachshund and the bull dog ...

Thank goodness ear cropping hasn't caught on here in Australia - I think that most of us actually like our dogs (I hope so anyway) - though I wonder about those people who have huskies in a hot environment. What are they thinking about? (if they are thinking)

I don't think it's fair to have a breed radically unsuited to it's surroundings. You wouldn't have a saluki or ibizan hound in Alaska? At least, I don't think so, but someone probably has!

Have you seen any old english mastiffs out there? All the photos I've seen of Aussie ones show really lovely looking ones!

Ear cropping is very illegal here, the only dogs with it done have been imported. I cringe when I read about people getting excited about getting their pup's ears cropped. They do it when the pup is quite old, about 14 weeks I think, and it's a full blown operation. Tail docking, on the other hand is done before the pup's eyes are open, they put a really tight elastic band around the tail, and it just rots away. I think they used to actually chop them, but I've never heard of that being done.

Hey, I had a journal entry, where did it go??

A journal entry or a Guide Entry?

I'm very impressed that you have already got something in Peer Review

A journal entry. I don't think it contravened anything. Oh Well.

Yeah. I thought for my first guide entry I'd stick to something I knew without having to do much research. I checked and there's not a similar entry that I could find so I thought it could be useful.

I've got some more ideas up my sleeve, but I'll have to start using the guide ML (??) language thingy soon! Not had time to study it as yet.

Pow*

I have had a few new researchers who have had trouble with journals I think there may be a glitch - if you like I'll get one of the Gurus to give you a hand getting it back.

Good luck with Peer Review - it can be a bit daunting for some people but remember, both you and the sub-editors are working together to make the best possible entry for The Guide

GuideML is easy - if I can do it anyone can There's loads of help if you need it. Just yell