What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

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Lotsaquestions
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Lotsaquestions »

Naughty Jasper!

I have heard that putting tin foil on sofas stops them trying to get up and dig when you're not around, but since you want him to settle on it whilst you're not there I have no idea :lol: A spy camera and a walkie talkie? I would imagine he would freak out at the invisible Judy who watches his every move though lol.

I got to see first hand today how well counter conditioning for a guarder can work in a non training scenario. It wasn't 100% but it was fantastic. Went round the corner and discovered someone had dropped half a loaf of sliced bread on the floor. Merlin grabbed a slice and looked a bit fishy about it, walking at the end of his lead furthest away from me he could. I talked to him all silly and asked him to drop it, he didn't, so I knew he was feeling possessive and didn't push him. He's dropped meaty bones on his walk before, but bread is something he struggles dropping because of one time I asked him to drop it and he did and I lead him away from it so he couldn't get it back. He's always remembered my apparent love of his bread after that mistake I made. :cry:

Well, he carried his prize all the way to our front door, and then dropped it on the floor as I opened the door. I picked it up, he was TOTALLY relaxed and happy for me to do so, so he got a big old bit of his favourite treat and then also the bread back. He trusted that I wasn't going to steal his prize, and I couldn't be happier. In fact, other than the initial want to make a sharp exit when he'd picked it up, he showed no other signs of guarding whatsoever. And even his staying at the end of his lead didn't last long. He has unfortunately now buried it in my sofa, so I am waiting for him to be in a deep sleep so I can move it whilst leaving a small bit of it. :lol: Bread isnt great for his belly.
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

What a good boy, Merlin :D Jasper would have wolfed it as soon as grabbed it :lol:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Lotsaquestions
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Lotsaquestions »

Merlin was full up from his morning chicken breasts and lamb liver cake :lol: I'll give Merlin credit where he's due, he's definately not a greedy dog despite loving food so much. He only ever eats what he needs and leaves or buries the rest.
DianeLDL
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by DianeLDL »

JudyN,

I wish I had a solution. Sandy has torn up the backs of two recliners. I have covered the areas with canvas. So, he started on the arms of the recliners.

Since one of the recliners had been mine, OH bought me a new one. So, what I have done is piled boxes on it when I’m not sitting on it. When I want to sit, then I remove the boxes, and let Sandy sit on my lap.

You could try that with your sofa. Or try covering with plastic. It would be a pain to remove when you want to sit, but the slippery plastic might keep him off.

Our sofa was left in Maine, and it’s old, so we don’t care much about it especially since the deer mice have been into it in the past :shock: But, Sandy has started scratching on one of the covered legs. Don’t know why he chose that area, but it could have something to do with the smell from when deer mice have been found underneath the sofa. (They come in during the cold winter and impossible to keep out. We cover everything the last several years with painters plastic (used to protect floors from getting paint on them.) But, I suspect Sandy will start on the back at some time.

As far as beds are concerned, Sandy has never been allowed on our beds. Actually, he isn’t allowed in our bedroom at all.
And, even in hotel rooms, Sandy sleeps on overstuffed chairs or sofas. So, far he hasn’t done damage.
And, he is never allowed on a bed!

Good luck with the bed, but see if these ideas work for the sofa. (The boxes are of outdated routers that we haven’t gotten around to recycling. :lol: But, I guess putting them on my recliner is one way of recycling.)
In Sandy’s case, I thought it might be since before we adopted him, he was in a house with a cat.

Diane
Sandy, Chihuahua mix b. 12/20/09
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

Thing is, Diane, I don't want to stop him going on the sofa or my bed. In the afternoon the sun shines through the window onto the sofa making it soooo inviting - I can't deny him! And as he's a stress-head, it's good for him to be able to sleep somewhere with a nice comforting smell of - well - me :lol:

I could block access so he has to ask each time, and then I could 'supervise'. But I'm too idle to then go and replace the defences when he gets off, or to go back upstairs when I hear the scratching....
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
DianeLDL
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by DianeLDL »

JudyN wrote: Thu Nov 09, 2017 3:00 pm Thing is, Diane, I don't want to stop him going on the sofa or my bed. In the afternoon the sun shines through the window onto the sofa making it soooo inviting - I can't deny him! And as he's a stress-head, it's good for him to be able to sleep somewhere with a nice comforting smell of - well - me :lol:
I see your point. Sandy’s recliners at both homes get the nice afternoon sun...
Ironically, Sandy has free rein to OH’s recliner, which is no where near the sun, but has OH’s smell, and he hasn’t scratched it, yet...

Maybe you will just have to spend more time on the sofa with Jasper. It sounds like you would love that too... :D

Diane
Sandy, Chihuahua mix b. 12/20/09
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

Ha, sadly we can't share sofas with Jasper. He likes to sprawl across your lap, and then gets GGGRRRRRRumpy if you so much as twitch :roll: It's a shame, but then again watching telly with him sitting on my lap wouldn't be easy :lol:

He's very good at getting off when asked though. In fact sometimes I think he gets on OH's sofa when he knows OH will want to sit down just so he can get a treat when OH asks him to get off again. It makes you wonder who trained who!
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

Jasper never eats dog poo - apart from about three times in the last three years when it's been remarkably similar in appearance: orange, soft & smooth, and absolutely revolting. I'm convinced it's the same dog each time. It also doesn't rinse off muzzles in puddles like cowpoo does (sorry if you're eating :oops: ).

Which is why, this afternoon when walking with my friend, he ended up muzzleless, and I was carrying his muzzle in a poo bag, as well as a poo in another poo bag. We came to a poo/rubbish bin - a big dustbin-sized one with a restricted lid opening... and no prizes for guessing which bag I chucked in :roll:

I peered into the bin, and just our luck, there wasn't that much in it. I couldn't reach down to the bag I'd put in there and neither could my friend who isn't much taller than me. Then, who should come round the corner with her lovely saluki x, Ted, but my friend J... my tall, long-limbed friend J :mrgreen: This is where you discover who your friends really are, and she had no hesitation in sticking her arm in the bin and grabbing the bag for me. I'm glad she got the right on :lol:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Erica
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Erica »

What a lucky encounter, Judy! Well, lucky when your friend came along, not lucky that you dropped the wrong bag in the bin. :lol:

I thought having Delta intact would help him be considered a "threat" by reactive dogs despite Delta's nice temperament, but he's so good that most of the time we don't get any negative reaction from the other dog unless they get wayyyyy too close. There have been a small handful of neutered males who take immediate offense to him and never improve (none of my clients yet), but Delta's personality seems to be that "Fonz" type. Other dogs just find his confidence and calmness to be reassuring and safe, rather than threatening. I am very happy about that, but on the other hand, it would be nice if my own dog was not considered a completely different story from other dogs, and I could have him post as a decoy that didn't get a total non-reaction from reactive dogs and give owners overly-high expectations of what to expect with other dogs.

This post brought to you by the little sweetheart I worked with recently who took to Delta immediately but still yells at other dogs if not managed carefully, and several similar stories. The Goldilocks puppy I chose three years ago did turn out to be the perfect temperament I was looking for. Not a bully, not a doormat, but a good, steady, calming presence that can get along with most any dog.

Edit: Though Delta will still grumble at a rude person or dog when needed, and he will also be more stiff and unhappy if the other dog is ill. We don't do on-leash meetings in training sessions (and I try to avoid them at all, but life happens), so as long as interaction isn't forced, Delta is fine just settling down and being a shining star.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
Shalista
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Shalista »

ahahahaha i think bax is done with kibble. im running low on peanut butter so to make it last i mixed it with some of his kibble before i stuffed his bone with it. just to add more bulk to the bone stuffing. hes cleaning out his bone and theres now this circle of kibble that hes SPAT OUT around his bone and i havent heard him crunch on kibble ONCE. so much for me trying the raw/ kibble route. :roll: :lol:

yup, def spitting it out, im watching him do it. the jerk! =P :wink: :lol: :lol:
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Lotsaquestions
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Lotsaquestions »

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Last edited by Lotsaquestions on Fri Aug 14, 2020 7:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Shalista
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Shalista »

I am amused that i just cracked 1000 posts and im still having crazy issues with bax all these posts later :roll: :wink: :?
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
MPbandmom
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by MPbandmom »

Glad you were able to have that poo bag retrieved JudyN.

Erica, I know what you mean about mellow dogs that don't get a reaction out of other dogs. Of course, those are the kind of dogs that I like to take my dogs, especially Sky for walks with.

She has a similar to Delta, mellow/confident male Samoyed friend that she absolutely adores. Every time she sees him, she throws herself at him in energetic/excited invitations to play. Sirius is less enthusiastic, but will walk with him without getting grumpy. It is the other dogs we encounter while out walking that then become the problems. Like Delta, the Samoyed generally could care less about the other dogs we encounter even when Sky gives a bit of a grumble. There are the rare few that he will also grumble at.

We have been participating in a fall walking challenge and scavenger hunt. We are doing better with the walking than the hunting. The goal is 100 miles between Fall and Winter and we are over 80 miles at just the halfway point. There is also a list of 100 items to find. We are only at about 50 finds so far. A bunch of the remaining finds are something some color or geometric shape, which I could get fairly quickly if I paid more attention to the things I was walking by.

I am amazed at how peaceful most of our walks are these days. Of course we don't encounter very many other people and dogs out and about and it still works best to walk the dogs separately, just in case. I do often walk them together during the week now that time has changed and temperatures gotten colder. So far, all has gone well.
Grammy to Sky and Sirius, who came to live with me, stole my heart, and changed my life forever as I took over their care and learned how to be a dog owner.
Shalista
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Shalista »

Just spent over $100 on chews and toys for bax and the only one he likes is the .99 cent squeaker penguin i picked up spur of the moment at check out. this is my life. :( :? :x
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Shalista
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Shalista »

no you idiot i gave it to you to chew!!!!

he finally decided he liked the big bone i gave him. Licked it twice, then decided it was to high value to leave undefended and buried it in my couch under my blankets. CHEW IT YOU IDIOT!
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
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