S, I think a lot of people did answer the question by suggesting that the puppy would be quiet if he brought it inside the house. Then some people gave very good descriptions on how to crate train, which would make keeping the puppy inside the home a good experieice for everyone. Urging cornflakes to read behavior books and talking to the vet were also great answers. They may not have provided immediate answers to his question but at least they got him pointed in the right direction. I hope.
Michelle:
Hope is right. His continuing absence from his own thread bodes ill, I fear.
I know it may LOOk like I’m not doing anything, but at the cellular level, I’m actually quite busy,
I have five dogs, a dobe/pointer cross, a dobe, a german shepherd, a border collie and a small fuzzy black dog. The first three are indoor dogs, but the last two won’t even come into my utility room when it’s beloew freezing. I picked them up running along an interstate, and neither seems to have ever been indoors. Also, the border collie bitch is aggressive to any dog that comes near me. So those to stay in a kennel in my back yard until I can find them a home. (Michelle, do you want two dogs?)
I’ve gone out at midnight to water the neighbor’s dog when they neglect it, as so many strictly-outdoor dogs are. It’s easy to forget about the dog in the back yard after a while. It becomes an out of sight, out of mnd thing. You fill the food and water pans occasionally, take it for it’s rabies shot once a year and it languishes out there in solitary confinement. If it’s a bitch, there are litters of puppies every year, usually taken to the pound or given away outside of K-Mart.
When you adopt an animal, you pledge (even more than a marriage, because they have no say in it)to care for them for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. And in return you get unconditional love. Forever.
Ack… you remind me of my own failures. The way you talk about a dog in the yard (god, that breaks my heart) kinda reminds me about how I treat my chickens.
Ever since my fiance and I separated and he moved out, the chickens are my responsibility, and I hate it. I don’t like oging out to the coop because it’s nasty and dusty and I’m afraid of black widows I fear might be in there. So I realize I have a tendency to foget the chickens are even there, and I have neglected them a little. Not that chickens need attention, really, but they do need fresh food and water, and I let their water get a little skanky. I’m ashamed.
But the suckers stopped laying a few months ago…they oughta earn their keep, dammit!
Hey Michelle… I think they stopped laying because a cat was getting in the coop and using it as a toilet. Any ideas how I can keep the cat out?
I know it may LOOk like I’m not doing anything, but at the cellular level, I’m actually quite busy,
Ideas on how to keep the cat out… tie it to a post outside… but then you’ve got the problem of how to make the damn thing shut up.
(this was a joke in case nobody noticed)
Hey St. Germain -
How did you manage to pick up the dogs along the highway? I’ve tried it on a few occasions, with no luck. I’ve used dry food as a lure, but the dogs won’t get close enough for me to actually get them. I always feel so bad about unattended animals near roadways, and I’d appreciate any tips you have for helping them out.
Let’s all hope that cornflakes’ absence isn’t just recalcitrance - maybe he’s too busy bonding with his new dog to be online.
Insert Random Witticism Here.
missdavis - I usually only try if there’s very little traffic, because some dogs will run, and I’d be devestated if they ran into the traffic trying to avoid me. In this case, I had dog treats in the car - one dog came right up and wanted to be petted. the other dog hung back for a bit, then came up, too. As it happens, I was 100 miles into a week-long vacation to Michigan, and the dogs went with me to visit my parents and came back to Tennessee. I would really love to find them a home, because I just don’t have much use for an outside dog.
Michelle, ChiefScott was refering to accusations made by another poster (a former friend of mine) in this thread.
He’s in therapy now.
SanibelMan - My Homepage
“Step away from the bell curve, sir.”
We ‘potty trained’ our Golden by putting her out regulary during the day, and just before we went to bed. She spent the night in her ‘house’, a large varikennel dog carrier. She wouldn’t mess where she slept. Then let her out first thing in the morning, all the time praising her to the skies when she went outside. We also gently scolded her for barking/whimpering when in her house.
Hope that helps! The only other solution would give me a guilty conscience and annoy the ASPCA.
VB
“Hey! How 'bout that Toe Jam?”
Wow, I learned a lot.
I do have to confess, we always kept our dogs outside in a pen in the back yard. They had houses, and were watered and fed, but upon reflection I can certainly see all the comments ringing true.
Also, my dog was a Lab who had the tendency to climb the fence. We could not keep him in the pen, and resorted to a chain. We even tried an electric wire around the fence top, but that didn’t work. So chain it was.
One day I went out to check the water before going to school, and found my dog hanging from his chain. It was caught on the fence. He had tried to climb out and gotten hooked on the wire. I cried my eyes out that day. Broke down at school and spoke with the counselor.
I think that experience has weighed heavy on my, and contributed to my avoidance of getting a new dog. Now I live in an apartment, don’t have a yard, and would feel bad keeping a big dog cooped inside all day. But I think having read this thread, if I ever do get a dog, it will be an indoor dog.
Some dogs, if they have been neglected, abused, or have been strays for a long time, may not want to be indoor dogs. This is an entirely different situation than the one cornflakes presents. Picking up stray dogs can be a dangerous thing to do, so I urge caution if you see a stray you want to help.
As for chickens, and keeping cats out…the only thing I can suggest is looking into a different type of coop, or setting humane traps for the cats. I don’t know a whole heck of a lot about farm animals.
Our dog “Boomer” is the first dog I’ve ever had who was really “trained.” What a pleasure he is!
He was about six months old when he came to us – as a stray – and whoever lost him sure put some time and effort into training.
He doesn’t (absolutely won’t) jump on people and only barks for a reason (at the mailman and the telephone answering machine).
After a few days spent outside with him, he knows the boundaries of his yard and rarely strays (except to chase a rabbit).
He was house trained from the start, but can “hold it” from bedtime at 10 p.m. until well into the next morning.
He has his place, on a rug by the couch – unless it’s the weekend, and then he’s ON the couch cuddling with hubby. (Both of them love to give hugs.)
Hubby had him in our bed while I was visiting Mom last summer, and occasionally Boomer will try to sneak back in there. If it weren’t for the shedding, I wouldn’t mind. Except he snores.
He’s never chewed anything that wasn’t given him to chew on, although he likes a stinky sock once in awhile.
He acknowledges that our two cats are really in charge, and they co-exist peaceably, except when Rick can’t resist an arched back hiss when Boomer’s scrambling for a foothold on the kitchen tile.
He doesn’t seem to know how to whine or whimper, except at thunderstorms and firecrackers. And he’s getting more used to those.
I’ve never been a “dog person”, but that’s because I’ve never lived with a well trained dog. They’re wonderful. Almost as good as cats.
On thing about this topic, I’ve cuddled and romped and played with my much loved dog. She is a pure joy for me. I just wish that little boy could have the same chance to grow up with a loving dog.
IMO, every kid should have a dog or a cat. Teaches kids responsibility and trust and loyalty. My dog has many times had me mumble my troubles into her fur, and responded back with pure love and devotion.
Gotta go. Got a warm, crashed out dog who needs her human to stroke her ears and tell her what a great woofer she is.
Veb
The easy solution to the big dog little house problem is to ask if the people you got the dog from will take it the dog back. They often will.
Michelle - I’ve picked up several dogs. Some I’ve returned back to their rightful owners (“Rover was on the highway? How’d he get there?”), some I’ve found homes for, and a few I’ve kept myself. I let the dogs approach me, and if they’re too shy or wary I put food down, wish them luck, and hope I can help the next animal to come along. I’ve accepted that I can’t save them all, and help those I can. BTW - What is your opinion of Rimadyl (I think that’s what it’s called). My oldest dog, a 14 yr old pointer/dobe cross is having a good bit of pain. She’s on a prescription med, but my vet doesn’t seem to have a high opinion of the stuff. I’ve heard other pet owners who say it’s done a lot of good.
Rimadyl, in my experience, is a very good drug. All the vets I have worked for use it with good results. I believe that there are some side effects that can come about after long term use, so you might want to ask your vet about that. However, if he already doesn’t like it, you may not get an unbiased answer.
In regards to picking up strays, my vet tech friend has done this from time to time. The last time she did it, the dog jumped happily into her car, but then refused to get out and became downright mean. She doesn’t do it anymore. Just be really careful. You don’t want to get bit and have to worry about rabies.
Michelle - Thanks for the update. Now, do you want an alpha border collie and a fuzzy black dog? g I also have a 5 year old thoroughbred gelding and a cat.
Irishman, my condolences on the loss of your lab. A similar thing happened to one of our family dogs when I was a kid. She was a Boston Terrier, who lived in a small enclosure with her mate. For fun, my sister once taught her to climb up the chain link fence, and jump out. She ended up biting one of our elderly neighbors and had to be tied in the pen. Unfortunately, the lead she was on was long enough for her to get to the fence and climb up, but not long enough for her to reach the ground on the other side. She hanged herself while most of us were out of town, and my mom was left alone to deal with the tragedy. I can’t imagine how terrible that must have been.
Insert Random Witticism Here.
I was listening to Dr. Laura (don’t tell any of my friends) and some dorky mom called because her cat had some ‘really bad habits’ and they had to put it to sleep, and “How can I explain this to my 4 year old?”
To her credit, Dr. Laura innocently asked what bad habits the cat had - “He sprays. In the house.” Yeah - great reason to kill a cat. Why’d you get the damn thing? Dr. L’s parting comment was “What’s your 4 year old going to think, if he wets the bed he’s next?”