The Puppy & Dog Owner Thread: Dog owning for dipshits

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wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

Opentarget posted:

Yesterday, I didn't spend much time with her because of classes and work so she spent a good part of the morning alone.

Mostly my biggest issue right now is getting her comfortable in the crate. She doesn't go for any of the treats we have and I have to go to the store to get some cheerios or something, but I can't leave the room because she is literally terrified of the crate. I know that is the point of training, but she is an otherwise silent dog until she is even close to the crate. If we put her in it she spends her time loudly whinning and constantly pawing at the grates and trying to force her way out. Unfortunately we have had to do this since there are times when we are all out of the house or when we need to sleep.

Is it normal for a pup to initially have that sort of reaction to a crate? I'm avoiding doing homework so I can spend time with her but since my current resources don't seem to work with her its mostly me rubbing her and watching her be an rear end in a top hat to our carpet and furniture. I'm trying to get her to calm down and nap but I don't really know how and can't crate her so she can sleep.

Also, until I find a chew toy she likes, how bad is it for her to chew on the carpet?

I've tried getting her into the crate by using toys that she is currently playing with to lure her in. Since she is so tiny, she has to jump in one half at a time. When she does that I praise her a bunch, I think. Lots of happy rubs and exclamations. And pretty much the same thing when she goes all in, but then she will lose interest in the toy pretty quickly and jump out. If I close the door then she freaks out like I described.

I even have a kong with some peanut butter in it and she just doesn't give a gently caress about that.
Other things I have are a round furry squeaky toy, a big fish ring thing with hard rubber bits, some hard rubber keys, a little tennis ball thing, and a brush. I think its a brush at least. My shopping list has a clicker, chew toy, truckload of different treats, and pretty much anything else I see.

With that, any suggestions on how to crate her? I probably can't make it to the store until the weekend or else she'll be alone for a while so it looks like a couple of days of me watching her in the living room.

She is seeing the vet tomorrow, so I'll try to let you all know how that goes.
And I mentioned puppy kindergarten to my mom on the phone earlier and she thought that was just the cuttest thing. So if I can find one it had a good chance of happening.

Sorry for any errors, I had to write this on my tablet.
And it looks like she fell asleep on the floor, so maybe I can get a quicky shower in!

If its easier initially, and all you want to do is confine the pup to an area, then use an ex-pen that you can purchase pretty much anywhere (like agway or a pet store). The buy cheap linoleum flooring and place it underneath this area. You can put down puppy pads if you have to (because the dog can't hold it, etc) and place bedding and toys in the area as well. In this manner you can confine the dog while you are out without creating further bad associations with the crate while you are working on building value for the crate/ making the crate into a place the dog wants to be.

We did this with several of our dogs when they were little both when we were home (at times when the pups couldn't be directly supervised) or out for a bit.

# ¿ Mar 27, 2012 20:00

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 19:30

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

Should be sleeping posted:

Hi guys,

We recently adopted a chiweenie(chiguagua dachsund mix). We found him wandering around, trying to cross a busy street, and after searching for an owner we couldn't find one. We got him neutered, vaccinated, and chipped.

For the past few weeks, if he's resting on the couch, or if he's been sleeping, and I approach for any reason, he rolls over and pees. I know this is submissive urination, and he's trying to show me that he recognized me as the boss. But I just can't seem to get him over it! All I can think to do is tell him NO! and put him in the back yard so he knows it was bad. But he doesn't get it. He thinks peeing is how to show me that he submits to my authority, but all it does is make me have to wash the couch cushions carpet, and dog bed.

I've searched on the internet, and most of the advice is for puppies, the vet estimates him at 2-4 years old.

To clarify, it's not when I get home, the doggie olympics that takes place when I get home is pee free. It's not when he's scared, he barks at everything and generally doesn't fear much, except the cat. And even with the cat, he barks and finds somewhere else to chill. He submissively urinates when I approach him and he's been sleeping, or if I go to hook on his leash for a walk.

What can I do to help stop this behavior?

Imagine if someone, like your mom, came in, and you demonstrated that you were scared, and then your mother yelled at you "DON'T BE SCARED" or just yelled at you for a reason you can't discern. That is what you are doing. Do you think that it would make you less afraid or more afraid?

# ¿ Mar 28, 2012 13:03

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

I wanted to say that depending on the individual dog, some can adapt well to apartment life even if they haven't lived in an apartment before.

My dog Bailey was a farm dog and pretty much allowed to run free and get in trouble. He now lives in a fairly small apartment with me. I was initially concerned how he'd take to it (he's probably more of a puller than he would be if he was constantly exhausted from causing trouble), but all in all, I've had him for just over a year now and he's taken to it quite well.

It depends on the personality of the dog really.

# ¿ Apr 4, 2012 21:59

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

tiddlez posted:

Campbell my cocker spaniel puppy seems to be going backwards in his happy sleep patterns. He's now crying at 6am. He isn't desperate for the toilet, he's just desperate for attention. No matter how long I leave him and/or try to ignore him he continues the howling until someone goes and gets him. If its my partner he will just run straight up to me instead of wanting to go out a walk.

I'm trying to avoid letting him sleep upstairs with us as when we go on vacation he won't be able to sleep in the room with my dad who is going to be watching him. I'm totally up for letting him sleep up here once we come home, but for now I am still hopelessly searching for a solution to the howling at 6am its so exhausting being woken up by that noise every morning.

I take him out plenty big walks and he goes out before bed for a not bad sized walk. I've tried taking him an hour walk before bed but it makes no difference!

Should I continue as best as I can with the ignoring? We are currently ignoring til 7am which is the time we get up for work.

Would it be possible to leave a bone or safe chew toy in there for her? My dog goes to bed with his favorite chew so if he wakes up he has something to do for a bit.

# ¿ Apr 27, 2012 03:28

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

nesbit37 posted:

No balcony, unfortunatly. Right now we are doing what you suggested with the elevator. Does the gravel lined trays help them understand they can go on pavement? We are getting her out a lot, but then she won't go when on the pavement. Most of the time she will go in the apartment shortly after she gets back up into the apartment.

The only really problem time is first thing in the morning, which is expected. She holds it in her crate, but then gets so excited she pees the second she comes out while we try to quickly wrap a towel on her to carry her outside in. I don't expect a solution to this soon, but if anyone has experience with it I would love to hear it. Its only been 2 days so far, so we just plan on being patient with her as usual. This specific situation is just so new to us both that we want to make sure we are taking the right steps.

Do you have a grassy area you could get her to eliminate on? I've never met a dog that liked eliminating on asphalt.

# ¿ May 29, 2012 20:41

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

Veskit posted:

My dog turns into a nightmare anytime she has to go in her kennel. What are some good tips to fix your dogs separation anxiety? It's getting harder and harder to even convince her to go into her crate. Treats don't work in the slightest anymore, and she's figured out how to eat in there without having her full body into it.

I've tried chew toys, and regular toys, treats, different pillows, covering it, moving it and nothing seems to get her to calm down and just sleep and accept it.

Have you considered confining her using an ex-pen instead? Maybe she just really dislikes the crate and would be okay with being in a larger, yet still confined space. You can try kongs and treats in there, and put something that smells like you in there with her. That way she has space to move around, things to keep her busy, a reminder of you, and you can still confine her.

# ¿ Jul 23, 2012 20:08

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

Veskit posted:

Just chiming into say thank you for the crate game recommendation. It's done quite a bit to make her more accustomed to the crate. I've also forced her to relax before I let her out. She's getting more comfortable with it, but we're still not quite there yet. Last night I only had to hear whining for one minute before she passed out.

Crate games rule, Ceasar Milan was kind of useless.

You'll find that that's the general consensus around here. I suggest, if you want to get a little bit of a better insight as to why that's the case, that you read "The Culture Clash" (http://www.amazon.com/The-Culture-Clash-Revolutionary-Understanding/dp/1888047054). It explains a lot of why dogs operate the way they do, how we can get the best out of them, and how to understand your dog. I was already pretty far past the point of disliking Ceasar Milan when I read the book, but I still really got a lot out of reading it.

# ¿ Jul 27, 2012 18:39

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

A Magical Unicorn posted:

Um, why?

Because you probably found another byb or a lovely breeder who sounds decent but upon further inspection just throws together two dogs and has multiple litters a year.

There are plenty of huskies and husky mixes in shelters (and while I'm not a DON'T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE type)I don't understand why you want a dog with "papers" only.

# ¿ Jul 28, 2012 13:20

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

Yuncemil posted:

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere- I have searched and read through what is already here, but all the info seems to apply to puppies.

I have a Brittney that I recently got from the Humane Society. He is about 2 years old. He is generally a good dog but we have recently had a few issues with his housetraining. At this point I should add that his previous owner had dementia, lived in an apartment and pretty much never took him out. I have no idea what she encouraged or at least did not discourage.

When we first got him, he pooped on the floor in our spare bedroom. We thought this could be because the house was new and he did indeed stop doing it. On Tuesday just gone, we took him to the vet and got him neutered. Since then, he has been peeing and pooping on the floor in the spare room again almost every day. I have done some reading and we will get some enzyme remover but otherwise I am not sure what else to do. Take today for example:

He went for a walk first thing this morning. He "marked his territory" as he went but nothing more. He spent most of the day tied on his chain in the yard (we have a chain attached to the washing line so he can run around outside in nice weather). He then went for another walk in the early afternoon. Between about 8am and 2pm he spent most of the day outside. On both his walks, we took him to grassy areas and stayed there for a while hoping he would poop. We took him to quiet areas so there would be no stimuli to distract him. Nothing. Eventually we came back and he came inside because it was hot out. Within about 45 minutes he had both peed and pooped on the floor. Like he was holding it.

Most information seems to be about how to housetrain a puppy. He doesn't need to go every 3 hours and holy poo poo can he hold it if he wants to. We carry treats to reward him pooping outside, but he holds it in. Not that he likes food that much- he eats treats but doesn't care enough to work for them. We also try praise and whatever else we can think of. How do we go about :

A) Getting him to go outside?
B) Getting him not to go inside?

Once we have this down, we will train him to ring a bell or something but until then, we need to teach him what he would be ringing the bell for. Any suggestions?

Oh and here is the dog in question, though he has been groomed a fair bit since this picture!

I'd also suggest if at all possible removing her access to areas she likes to eliminate in. Use a baby gate or close the door when you aren't directly supervising.

# ¿ Jul 29, 2012 21:12

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

Superconsndar posted:

So a random BYB.

Well they know the person so it's a BYB just not a random BYB.

# ¿ Aug 2, 2012 11:55

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

buttslave posted:

He said he thought her tunneling through the back door was an attempt to flee/catch up with us, and combined with her over-attachment/emotionally neediness and her grandiose/manic welcomes (which, to my fault, I forgot to add) and figured she has sever separation anxiety. His office is, for whatever reason, closed on Thursdays so I plan to call him tomorrow morning because this dog seems to take two steps backwards for every step forwards.

She went insane again today after I had taken her back inside from a run and was changing. I came out of my room to find her running around in circles, picking up the cat food bowls and flinging them like a manman, picking up dog food in her mouth but not chewing or eating it. "Psychotic" is the only thing I can really describe it as - she wouldn't respond to my commands/whistles and she bound around without regard for the other animals. I had to basically tackle her and pat her until she calmed down - she was panting and drooling and looking really paranoid. And then, once she was calm she was back to as normal gets for her and took a nap.

She's kind of scaring the piss out of me at this point.

Further details:

Vet puts her at about 2 years old
Unsure of breed but the "ancient breeds" thread said she looked Kelpie (though she has the same markings as our husky, and a shiba-esque tail)
I walk her for about 30 minutes in the morning, run her for 20 minutes/walk for 10 at night around a track
She has a kong toy that holds her interest for a tiny bit and a food-dispensing toy which she doesn't care for at all
She responds really well to clickers and I imagine her last owner trained her a bit
Housebroken except when going crazy
We have two other dogs - a female husky at about a year old and a 12 year old pit/basenji(?) who are both pretty sociable with other dogs and show no anxiety symptoms (both are rescues)

Maybe I'm freaking out so hard because I've never had a dog behave this way. I'm used to some minor destruction when/if the other two are bored and our pit had some poor manners when we first got him about 6 years ago but training fixed that - I've just never seen an animal go absolutely apeshit like this before.

Have you thought about trying to increase her exercise?

# ¿ Aug 3, 2012 02:45

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

2tomorrow posted:

Seriously if you tell the shelter this (unless they are one of the crazy ones) they will love you and match you up with a good dog. Dogs are really easy for the most part. You feed them, you take them to the vet and follow said vet's advice, you consult a trainer if need be to sort out any behavioral problems. You will be fine and just the fact that you're worried shows that you're ahead of the game.

Shelters are just looking to make sure the dog isn't going to wind up in need of rescue again, or get dropped off in a year when you get bored with it, that sort of thing. If you do happen to find one that will only adopt to Perfect Dog Owners, they're not moving too many dogs. Most are totally happy to find an adopter who can manage the basics and is committed and willing to learn.

As far as book recommendations, the best entry-level training book I can think of is Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor. I like The Complete Healthy Dog Handbook by Betsy Brevitz DVM as a health and care resource, though it's been awhile since I've read it. Both can be bought on Amazon pretty cheaply.

But yeah, relax. You'll be fine.

Jean Donaldson's "Culture Clash" is maybe more fundamental, but its really helped me break some of my worse habits regarding my dog and how I train him. It really helps you understand your dog's motivation for some of the most common and possibly annoying behaviors and by teaching you that, it helps you to mitigate the damage and refocus the dog. http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Clash-Revolutionary-Understanding-Relationship/dp/1888047054

# ¿ Oct 11, 2012 18:55

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

Aquatic Giraffe posted:

Thanks!

I think Max isn't sure what to think, on one hand (paw?) he's got a buddy for playing! Yay! On the other hand there's an intact male in his house which is no bueno. He is conflicted. Pistol's going for the big snip on Thursday so that should alleviate most of the tension (I hope).

We'll work on the leash, he seems like an intelligent little guy so hopefully he should get the hang of it soon.

He might just be a little wary of all the change he thinks is going on, but I think Pistol getting the snip can't hurt either. Bailey is a bit more of a but with intact males too (just a little more pushy when playing).

# ¿ Oct 29, 2012 23:43

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

I Might Be Adam posted:

I have a quick house training question. We live in an apartment with a 17wk old Corgi and aside from barking (oh god the barking) she's been pretty good. Since we live in an apartment, we had to use training pads until she had her last parvo shot a few days ago. So, since being 6wks old, she's been using the bathroom on training pads. Now that we're trying to train her to go outside, should we remove the pads completely? The reason I ask is that she's not super keen on using the bathroom outside yet. I walk her in the morning for about 20-30mins and she usually only goes pee but waits until we get back inside and then heads for her pad and poops.

Another question is the crating. We're crating her at night and then back in the crate while we're at work and my wife comes home during her lunch to walk her. Since one of our cats is a jerk, he likes to get near her crate and it makes her bark, so we cover her crate at night to keep her quiet. She seems to be fine but I worry about her feeling isolated for a large portion of the day. Any thoughts?

This is going to sound insane, but have you thought about bringing the pee pads outside and very gradually reducing the size of the pad like for the first few days use a full size pad, then half, then a third, then a fourth, etc until she's basically pooping on the grass and not on the pad?

# ¿ Nov 16, 2012 17:08

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

I Might Be Adam posted:

That does sound insane but not illogical. I think the situation with her going outside is that since it's all new, she's too overwhelmed by the smells and sounds and just chooses to spend her time outside sniffing and listening to things instead of going to the bathroom. I'm hoping it's just a matter of time and getting her used to being outside on a leash. When I take her to my parents' house, she has no problem going in their backyard but she also took some time getting used to being there as well.

Then the issue is that she needs to learn that walks/ exploring are rewards for going potty- if she indicates she needs to go out (or you think she needs to go), take her out, let her sniff around and if she doesn't do anything in 5 (or maybe 10)minutes go back inside. Don't make a big deal of it. Then, later, take her out again and repeat. When she chooses to eliminate outside, make sure you praise her and then take her for a longer walk. That way she learns that going out is for potty time and after she goes its play time.

# ¿ Nov 16, 2012 17:45

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

BigDave posted:

Speaking of crates, whats a good method of crate training? Bruce is convinced that doggy crate=time in the hole, and refuses to go in.

Crate games!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8HNO79bZMY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1csNGAGmwA

# ¿ Nov 17, 2012 18:22

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

MrFurious posted:

Still excited to see the video. Remember, the Xanax should be used as a temporary tool used in conjunction with training to eliminate the root issue. A prescription is not a fix for the problem.

If its neurological in nature and not strictly speaking just a behavioral issue, why is Xanax just a temporary tool? If the "outbursts" are seizures (and xanax can be used for seizures and anxiety) then maybe some investigation into the source is worthwhile. Regardless, I think a) a vet should definitely see the dog and a tape of the out bursts b) a vet behaviorist is probably in order anyways.

# ¿ Nov 20, 2012 23:57

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

Seashell Salesman posted:

Just so we are clear here we have taken the dog to two different vets, and our preferred vet has now seen Crackers twice and videos of her night time barking taken over two or three nights. I definitely don't intend to keep Crackers on Xanax permanently but I'm very grateful to have them until we can address whatever the underlying issue is. Thanks to everyone for the advice and cautions so far

e: also I am not leaning towards either neurological or behavioral causes yet, our vet wants to rule out any non-neurological medical cause first (bony growth in her tail, blood-borne disease), then refer to a neurologist, then if the neurologist also thinks it's not medical go to a vet behaviorist. So far we know her x-rays and stool are okay, blood results should be tomorrow.

I must have missed that! Thanks for the info/ follow up.

# ¿ Nov 21, 2012 01:06

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

Does your dog seem really out of it or startled after these episodes? can you distract her from them or do they just kind of go on until she's good and done?

# ¿ Nov 21, 2012 02:07

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

MrFurious posted:

Noticed consistent tail chasing. Hard to tell because of the glare from the camera and lights, but I'm not clear that she's focusing on anything in particular as well, with the possible exception of her tail. Might make sure that vision and eyes have been checked. Very interested in what the vets and students have to say. Aside from that I think we should all shut up and not play internet veterinarian.

I don't think any of us are playing internet vet, we're just throwing out suggestions and ideas and trying to learn more about whats going on.

# ¿ Nov 21, 2012 02:16

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

What if their foundation stock (this breeder we're being asked about) are all fairly distantly related to one another? I don't know how large the starting amount of viszlas or Weims is, but let's say they got their stock from several different breeders and that the dogs they are breeding aren't any closer than say, 2nd cousins. Not ideal, but still, its not like a brother sister or grandaughter to grandfather pairing in terms of crazy inbreeding. I wouldn't see a problem with that if the dogs are health tested (and their status for heritable diseases common to the breed is known) so that you can avoid pairing carriers etc.

# ¿ Nov 27, 2012 16:45

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

Topoisomerase posted:

The issue goes back farther than the specific breeder's foundation stock. When I say founders I mean the dogs at the top of the pedigree. Their genes are all the population has. So if their genetic makeup is very similar to each other, but they're at the top of the pedigree so they're being represented as totally unrelated, you can see where that can cause an issue where you can only interpret the inbreeding coefficient relative to them. You can say "we are trying to preserve this % of founder alleles" but you can't really say that those alleles are necessarily different from each other which is the entire point of an inbreeding coefficient - to estimate the % of alleles between two individuals that are likely to be identical by descent (meaning they came from the same ancestor).

Oh I realize that. I meant more that (from my point of view) since the stud books/ breed registries for most breeds are closed, there's no real point in saying "x has inbred dogs" unless we're saying that they're specifically breeding very closely related dogs or semi-closely related dogs. All dogs in the same breed must be related to some degree because they're from the same small pool of foundation dogs. I understand that COI gives us important information, but I don't really think any of what we're discussing really relates back to that specific breeder, I guess.

# ¿ Nov 27, 2012 17:21

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

Topoisomerase posted:

But if we're trying to say that a low COI = a healthier dog, then what really matters is the actual genetic makeup of the dogs involved, right? That's where it does relate back.

Sure, but how many breeds as a whole suffer from high COIs just because the breed registry is so insanely small (like Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers? or Pugs? etc)? If the breed registry is larger, I'd absolutely agree with you that low COIs show breeders who are doing their best to breed responsibly (and arguably, improve the health of their breed). In those other breeds, I guess breeders could just do their best to try and find individuals whose offspring would have lower COIs than average, if at all possible.

(Also how do we know the COIs for the dogs/ puppies in this case?)

# ¿ Nov 27, 2012 17:57

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

Topoisomerase posted:

There's a battle about Tollers right now and I'm pretty sure the problems that pugs have are not related to their population size but to their horrible conformational standards.

I digress though. To simpify it down to its roots, my whole entire point is that the amount of dogs in any breed right now makes absolutely no difference. The ONLY thing that really matters to the potential amount of diversity you can get in the breed is the size of the founder population and how evenly the alleles from the founder population are distributed. The whole point of purebred animals is to create animals that look and act relatively similarly so it is necessary that they are going to have similar genetic makeups as well. I think pedigree analysis has its place, but I'd caution against making too many decisions based on it. It's just too inaccurate and problematic.

I thought in Pedigree Dogs exposed they talked about pugs but it was probably something like King Charles Cavalier Spaniels or something like that.

What you've been saying makes sense now- I think I've been trying to say the same things and haven't really been expressing myself well or have been having a hard time getting down to brass tacks with it.

# ¿ Nov 28, 2012 01:05

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

I Might Be Adam posted:

We bought the Sonic Egg last night just to give it a go. While we haven't had a thorough testing period, we noticed that when she did bark in her crate last night, it was 1 or 2 barks and then she stopped. My test with her barking this morning was opposite. She didn't even notice it was going off when she was barking at me to pick up her toy and play with her.

We're going to give it a couple of days to see if has an effect but so far, my theory is that when we're around, she's not going to be bothered by it.

Honestly I can see using the device for barking at night (not sure if it works, but hey). The barking during play bit I think you can largely solve without that device by teaching her that barking during play gets her toys put away. If she keeps being an jerk about it, just leave the room. The device reviews also mention that loud sounds, talking, etc can activate the device, causing the dog to be confused as to what is going on/ what they did wrong. I would suggest being selective about it, and trying to treat each of the kinds of barking a little differently.

Also, how much do you reinforce going into the crate/ "going to bed" with your dog? I spent several weeks doing crate games, slowly introducing the crate, and increasing crated time alone. He always gets/ got lots of treats for going to bed and I think it really helps. My dog loves his crate and will put himself in there if I stay up to late.

I think a lot of the problems you are experiencing are due to your dog spending a lot of time in the crate and having excess energy. Have you also considered giving him limited run of the house?

# ¿ Dec 7, 2012 17:26

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

I Might Be Adam posted:

A little back story. For the first couple of weeks, we gated her in our kitchen during the day and night and she was ok with it. She used training pads to go to the bathroom. Then we started crating her at night and I would get up in the middle of the night to let her out and use the training pad. After a week of extending how long she was in her crate, she could make it all night. She never had an issue with the crate until we tried to start house breaking her for the past several weeks. Now that she spends her day time in the crate as well as the night, she's reluctant to going in the crate. As always, we give her treats when going in and I usually only have to walk her to the crate and say "get in your bed" and she'll go in and I reward her. Lately though, she knows that it's bedtime and has resorted to crawling under the couch so she doesn't have to go. This behavior started along with the barking in the middle of the night which she never really did.

I'm afraid if we don't crate her, she's going to think it's ok to eliminate in the apartment since we're still having problems with that. I know she has too much energy. I took her to the park last night and she got a lot of running out and she was very good for the rest of the night.

I don't personally think she barks an ungodly amount but when you have a neighbor complaining, what can you do? I'd really like to know when our neighbor is bothered by the barking the most. This complaint was anonymous but we're pretty sure it's the woman next to us. We're signing her up for obedience classes very soon as she needs some basic problems worked out and hopefully we'll get a hold of her barking.

Yeah, it sounds like she's starting to go sour on the crate. I can see your concern about improper elimination in the apartment. How far along are you in house breaking? Either way, there's got to be a balance that you find for her. Either you make sure she's so absolutely bone tired when she gets in her crate that she passes out, give her something to entertain her in the crate, or reduce the amount of time she spends in the crate. Its possible that if you pen her in a limited area she might also start viewing that as a den area and avoid eliminating there....but I'm not a huge expert. I've never house broken a dog while working a full time job, so I'm probably not the best person to give advice on it.

# ¿ Dec 7, 2012 17:58

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

Orange_Lazarus posted:

Mannnnn, I swear I'm getting really discouraged. Every place or person we find that breeds poodles turns out to be a puppy mill. There's a woman that drives to the shelters and takes all of the small breed dogs to sell them. There are no reputable breeders in my area and those I find out of state want a lot of money.

So I guess my options are either,

A: Suck it up and pay $2k-3k for a well bred puppy if I want one so bad.
B: Give some evil person money for a puppy.
C: Wait for years to find the dog we want from a shelter and hope it isn't snatched by a seller.

Every time I consider B the "backyard breeder" I talk to pisses me off beyond belief. I called a guy today and when I asked him about the personalities of the parents he just told me "Well, we don't go around them dat much, uh I can tell you we used the bitch to breed malti-poos awhile back".

What sucks is that it seems most people I know that have dogs just get their pets from puppy mills without a care in the world and their dogs seem great. The poodle we baby-sat months ago came from a pet store so I know it originated from a mill and she was great too. It's like no one gives a poo poo how the parents are treated. As long as they get their dog and they get to be happy, and this experience has almost convinced me I should do the same thing.

I think I'm going to convince my wife to go with A and just drop the extra money for a good puppy.

Are there breed rescues you could consider adopting a poodle from?

# ¿ Dec 11, 2012 00:51

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

Rixatrix posted:

Re: dogs and working full time, I don't come home at lunchtime and we only have a dog walker come in once a week (so I can stay late at work). I don't mind leaving my dogs for a full working day, but I'm pretty neurotic about not leaving them alone twice in one day. If I have to go somewhere in the evening the dogs come with me or otherwise I stay home.

I guess it comes down to what the dog is used to. My dogs would be stressed out if I came home in the middle of the day, took them out for a short walk and then left them alone again. I'm guessing that dogs used to this schedule don't mind it at all.

I adopted an older dog and this is what I have done for the last 2 or so years. I try not to leave again later in the day (if I can at all help it), but even if I do for short trips he seems to be fine. If I came back in the middle of the day he'd go nutty.

# ¿ Jan 1, 2013 21:16

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

bad-yeti posted:

So, how much exercise is enough for a young dog?

I have a7 month old Manchester terrier. I take him for an hours walk in the morning (fairly brisk) leave him in a crate for 4 hours, then return at lunch for an hour (play for 30 mins) then another 1 hour in the evening when I get back and he's still got loads of energy.

Any ideas? Can I get a giant hamster wheel or treadmill for him?

At around 22:30 he zonks out and sleeps til the morning when he never wants to get up....lazy sod.

Here he is pictured in, you've pissed me off mode:

Do you feed him from a bowl? One way to help your dog get more exercise and mental stimulation is by feeding his meals from a toy like a Kong Wobbler, a Tug a Jug, or a Buster Cube. Its not going to be a ton of exercise, but I find that my dog really enjoys working for his food like this and enjoys sitting down after his meal. I'd personally recommend the wobbler. Its easy for a dog that's never used a food dispensing toy before. You can also give him opportunities to "forage" in a controlled way by filling a box with news paper and scattering/ hiding kibble in it so he has to hunt for it/ dig for it.

Additionally, since he's a terrier, have you considered using a flirt pole or tugging with him? The flirt pole would be a good way to tire him out and you can buy or make one fairly cheap.

I'd also suggest doing more trick training/ basic obed work with him. My dog loves working for his food and frankly really throws himself into learning new things. The 100 things to do with a box exercise was a big hit and teaching him to spin was actually pretty easy.

# ¿ Jan 4, 2013 21:10

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

Pile of Kittens posted:

Yeah, but unless he's looking for a hawg dawg from some bucolic individual who barely has a phone, much less internet, I think it's reasonable to expect something better than "you ask too many questions " over email.

To be fair some people get really butthurt overall the questions because they feel like you are implying that they are substandard/ not good enough. Unfortunate, but yeah not really a sign of a person I would want to deal with.

# ¿ Jan 10, 2013 19:10

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

Paper Mac posted:

That makes sense, I hadn't thought about parasitic conditions. I definitely need to be more cautious, I'm noticing that several breeders we were looking at that were not cheap are breeding very brachycephalic dogs relative to some of the animals posted here. It's weird because they were still showing those dogs- is brachycephaly not something that the animals are judged on?

I never thought I would end up with a small dog. I had a NS duck tolling retriever when I was a kid and I thought I would like a bigger dog when I got older, and my wife is a rottweiler person. But we had a visit from a young boston recently that convinced us we should get a BT, he was super easy going and fun.

When brachycephalic is basically the show standard (more or less), then they aren't going to get knocked hard for having a dog that looks like it can't breathe.

# ¿ Jan 28, 2013 18:24

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

MrFurious posted:

"Inappropriate" doesn't just mean uncouth. It can also mean improper, incorrect, or perhaps a better synonym in this case would be ineffective.

I don't think Fraction was confused as to what the word meant.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2013 17:53

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

Etrips posted:

How much / often should a 9 week old Boston Terrier puppy be sleeping during the day? The first three nights he basically slept through the entire night without a peep from him until one of us woke up at our normal times (5-6am). But last night he woke up at around midnight and started crying his head off even after taking out for potty. We think it might be because we let him sleep too much during the day that might have caused this.

Also on the topic, what would be the latest one should feed a puppy prior to bed? (8pm~ in our case)

Edit: Have a puppy picture!

Is the puppy blue? Or is that just the way the light plays off the darker areas of his fur?

# ¿ May 11, 2013 16:42

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

Etrips posted:

That is in fact a blue Boston! My wife and I plan on eventually making a Power Ranger team of Bostons.

She is my princess!

Edit: Have a blue robopuppy

Why is he a robo puppy?

# ¿ May 11, 2013 20:42

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

blue squares posted:

Holy gently caress I hate crate training. Aussie puppy barks are incredibly annoying and painful. Shut up for ten seconds so I can then let you out!

Please make the crate a fun experience for your dog and realize that it might progress slowly. Play crate games (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8HNO79bZMY). Also give your dog a kong, something that smells like you, or something like that with the crate.

# ¿ May 24, 2013 20:00

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

blue squares posted:

I got her an amazing dog bone thing with calcium. It's made for puppies and I tied it in the back. But I still have to sometimes close her door when I can't watch her and she does not like that. I'm not forcing her in except for last night at 11pm when it was bedtime and she wouldn't go and wasn't being food or praise motivated.

Just make sure not to "poison" the crate- the puppy is young and obviously being in the crate sucks for her. She misses you and probably would prefer to have free run. Is the crate close to you at night? Also build up duration for keeping her in the crate- don't just stick her in there for an hour at a time and then let her out. When I crate trained my older dog, I started with 5 or 10 minutes crated at a time, with me in the room. I also made sure to spend time reinforcing being in and entering the crate. Most importantly don't let he out if she's winning or barking- wait like 30 seconds (but it sounds like you get that).

# ¿ May 24, 2013 20:25

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

blue squares posted:

A ramp! Thank you! I will definitely try this.

edit: Wow! It helped a TON! I need to get to work creating a better ramp that is a little less slippery, but we made huge progress today. Thank you so much, Silly Hippie

I suggest you still work on getting her used to stairs (maybe not when its potty time and you urgently want her to go), because it will be a bitch and a half to teach her to be okay with stairs if she doesn't get comfortable with them as a puppy. Think of it as a very minor time investment that will pay dividends when you have a two story home, or a porch with steps leading off of it

# ¿ May 25, 2013 23:48

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

Martello posted:

How exactly does that apply to my post? I didn't use the term "I think it will be okay" if you go back and read it. I was just reporting a successful introduction and good relationship between the two dogs. They sleep and play together now, of course under constant supervision. I don't "think" it will be okay, I know it will. And I'm not sure how dog bites have anything to do with the situation. Not trying to be an rear end in a top hat, I just legitimately don't know why you posted that.

Because you need to take these things slowly and carefully when introducing dogs. You just kind of winged it, and there were some issues with how it went (body blocking can really piss some dogs off) and while it may seem like it went smoothly, who knows how it will play out long term.

# ¿ Jun 13, 2013 20:22

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

ContraceptiveCereal posted:

So I adopted a puppy on Saturday. He's between 10-12 weeks old. Mutt. He was doing awesome until last night where he stopped eating his kibble - he was scarfing it down before. He's eating the kibble, sort of, if I hand feed him, but i'm trying to feed him entirely out of kongs in his crate. Since he hasn't been eating I've tried placing some food in the dog bowl, and with some warm water / chicken broth. but he just drinks the broth and avoids the kibble.

Other foods he's all about. Training treats, various soft food treats at the vet, some fancy canned food the petstore gave me for free, dehydrated liver bites...

Any advice? Is he teething? Is he just an rear end in a top hat? Also what kind of dog is he?

http://imgur.com/a/3iwwG

Edit: Ok also, i've been following Ian Dunbar's puppy books pretty intensively (that 100 people thing is brutal though) and my dog just tore up the toilet area in his playpen. it's a row of sod and he just tore it apart. So. What do i do with that?

Has he had normal bowel movements and such?

# ¿ Jun 25, 2013 20:45

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 19:30

wtftastic: Jul 24, 2006; "In private, we will be mercifully free from the opinions of imbeciles and fools."

TShields posted:

I'm just trying to get an accurate gauge here.. this is directly from the site:

Potty Break / Small Animal / Cat Visit � $15.00
Includes 20 minutes of tender loving care, fresh food and water and a much needed potty break for your canine pal.

Let's assume this price is good for the entire country. This service is $15 a day to walk my dog? So it's like $4,000 a year for my dog to not pee in his kennel?

Did you not look into any of this prior to getting a puppy? If you can't/ don't want to go with that, teach your dog to eliminate on a pee pad.

# ¿ Jul 15, 2013 23:32

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Pet Island > The Puppy & Dog Owner Thread: Dog owning for dipshits

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