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

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Shalista
Posts: 1363
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:04 pm

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

Post by Shalista »

today went fabulously with bax. minimal barking, he let me take a nap, and he remembered my parents and welcomed them with open paws when they dropped by for a visit!!!

EDIT: and hes chewing quite merrily now!!! gnawed his way through THREE of his fish skin sticks all the way through. i guess it was just anxiety that was making him picky.
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 »

Hope Jas' wound heals quickly and no more seepage on the bed.

We have had several days of cooler weather. The dogs and I are enjoying the refreshing change.

I recently purchased a new leash for Sky as the one I had for her had become frayed. I normally walk the dogs hands free using a dog walking waist belt designed for use by Samoyed owners. I combined a homemade bungee section with a regular leash and it has served me very well. The new leash is specifically designed for hands free walking. It came with a waist belt which was reasonable, but not wide and padded as the one I use. The leash has a clip on either end, a traffic handle, bungee section, second handle about mid way up the leash, and then another bungee section at the top. I have been using it to walk both dogs on solo walks and am almost absolutely loving it. I really only have 3 issues with it. The first two issues are the clips at either end. I am accustomed to much sturdier looking clips. The other is with the strength of the bungees used in the leash. Much stronger than what I had going in my set up. It is also slightly shorter than what I was using, which has advantages in that the leash doesn't drag the ground, and disadvantages in that the dogs are used to going to sniff over there and I am used to them being able to do that while I remain standing on the path. :lol: My muscles are getting used to the stronger pull, and dogs and I are getting used to the shorter length.

With the cooler weather, I am learning that Sky is a creature of habit, pretty much always following the same route on her walk, whereas Sirius is starting to branch out to new areas of the neighborhood and take herself for longer walks. I am fairly certain Sirius follows her nose because her routes are very inconsistent.

We too have been having trouble with an off leash dog. Well actually a dog sometimes out in a yard with a fence which is insufficient to contain dog. First greeting didn't go that well. Both dogs were stiff and when the other dog didn't behave in a hello, I want to be your new best friend manner, Sirius gave him a sound lecture that she would not tolerate his rudeness. Second encounter, we had gotten a little ways past his house when he hopped out. He saw Sirius puff up and stopped where he was. I thought maybe he had learned his lesson and decided Sirius should be avoided. Until third meeting, when he once again ran up close and both dogs ended up snapping at each other.

After giving it some thought as to why all of a sudden we were encountering this dog being outside on a fairly regular basis, I determined it may well be due to the encroaching darkness moving our walk time up earlier in the evening. I have started walking Sirius as soon as I get home from work, and so far we have not encountered the dog out in his yard.

Health issues with Sky. She had a pretty severe UTI. After 3 rounds of antibiotics and urinalysis, it has been determined that the white blood cell count is in normal limits, but red blood cells remain elevated although much lower than previous. X-rays were taken when we first took her in and now we are getting an ultrasound appointment scheduled. They may also do a urine culture. The person who does the ultrasound travels to the various vets offices, so we are waiting to see when that person will be available to visit our vets office. Sky has been her usual self during all of this. She never went off of her food or seemed tired or lethargic. We are hoping it is something simple.
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 »

i think i accidentally adopted a border collie instead of a rat terrier :shock: bought bax two new puzzle toys to eat his dinner out of and he mastered them both in seconds. would it hurt him to be just a LITTLE bit stupider about getting his food? make him work a HALF A SECOND longer for it? sigh...... waste of money :x

EDIT: ill be honest, being with bax is one hell of a journey but i kind of like his high maintenance version. back at home i was slacking, doing the bare minimum walks and vet visits he needed. this whole thing has been a giant wake up call to be more engaged with him and keep his world hopping, be it new toys, more traing, more play time, puzzle toys, a change up in diet, extra walks, or extra new chews (like this HIDEOUS smelling beef trachea). i hope i keep putting in the extra effort even when he mellows.

EDIT 2: i am once again reminded actually of when i first got bax. you may recall that we had a tough time bonding to begin with. he was a pain and didnt give affection and i resented him and sometimes hated him (he chewed everything i loved and never did get potty trained in that house) but i always found that it was in those moments were he pissed me off the most and i pushed THROUGH it and did that extra bit of work that we were brought closer. the angrier he got me the harder i worked on US and the closer we became. so in way this whole thing has been business as usual. bax has made a fuss. i got angry and resentful and frustrated. i worked harder. and i couldn't love him more.
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

Shalista, I'm sure there's something special about the bond you develop with a dog you have to work with - you really have to get on their side, to be their advocate, to defend them and to love them the way they are.

Jasper picked up activity toys really quickly too. The most challenging one was Nona Ottoson's Dog Trubble - he could do it if I aligned it so he started off having to push away, but not if I put it the other way round or side on. And even then he sometimes got stuck pushing a peg backwards and forwards (I haven't done activity toys with him for ages as he's nice and settled between walks now). So if you have any money left, you might want to give that one a try?
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Shalista
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Shalista »

oooo that one dooes look tricky. ill have to give it a try next pay day!
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Erica
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Erica »

The Facebook group "Canine Enrichment" is my new favorite. A lot of ideas that can be done without equipment or with things you may have already, or can get without breaking the bank. :)
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

Jasper's had an afternoon of being pestered by adoring girly dogs. The first was a houndish crossbreed we often meet, who kept barking at him to try to get him to play and wouldn't let up, so after a while we headed in different directions. Then we met another friend with her gorgeous 17-month-old deerhound, who thinks that J is wonderful. We walked together for a while, but again we split up because J was being so good, and so patient, but wasn't enjoying it.

I tried to get some photos to show their size difference - they're similar shapes, but she's a couple of inches taller and still has at least a year of growing to do. The photos didn't really show this, but I noticed when I looked at them how he really didn't look like he was enjoying her attentions.

'Can I tell you a secret?'

Imager

'Go on, gizza kiss!'

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'I wanna look where you're looking'

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'Muuuum, save me from her, Muuuuum!'

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Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Shalista
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Shalista »

i love the coats on these two <3 so pretty. you dont see that kind of thing much around here, maybe cause its the states?
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

They're rocking the gelled look because it was a bit drizzly :wink: I don't think you get many lurchers in the US? Though I believe you have Scottish deerhounds. It'd be interesting to know if the differences in terrain and wildlife had led to the development of different types of dog.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Shalista
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Shalista »

well we got rat terriers cause our big farms, i know that much =P i guess the US has an abundance of rate?

and yeah you rarely see really leggy dogs like greyhounds or whippets or their crosses.
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

There's plenty of rats in the UK too! We don't have rat terriers, but we do have the Jack Russell, which is very similar and is also used to deal with rats. The Yorkshire terrier was originally bred to hunt rats and other small animals too.

I'm guessing one difference between the UK and the US is that 100+ years ago, farms in the UK would have been much smaller than those in the US. I'm trying to work out how many acres my grandparents' farm would have been when they actively farmed. Just found the details on Rightmove: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for ... 40716.html Hmmm, if the orchard and garden are about 2 acres... add on all the fields I know they had when I was young & a few more from before that... I doubt it would have been much more than, say, 60 acres? I'm guessing you couldn't walk around the average US farm in an hour or so :lol: That might have an effect on the types of dogs that were needed, and also the distribution of rats. Hmmm, I can feel a PhD study coming on :lol:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Shalista
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Shalista »

Yeah thanks f there’s one thing the states has it’s an abundance of land for farming
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 »

Me and my lovely monster went on his usual morning walk. Everything was sunshine and rainbows. Merlin was choosing to turn away from dogs instead of pulling to see them. He dropped a chicken bone he found when I asked (and ate the bone aswell, of course, its only fair). Everything was fabulous... Then he found a used condom and wolfed it down :lol:

I've rang my vet, he's now being given sunflower oil twice a day to help it pass... I now have to wait around to see a condom poke out of his backend so I can 'help it out'. :roll: Life of a dog owner, so glamorous.
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

Eeeeeeeeew!!!!! I'm trying to think of a joke but if I managed to come up with one it probably wouldn't be suitable for a family-friendly forum anyway :lol:

Did you check that the chicken bone was raw? It can be dangerous for dogs to eat cooked bones.
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 »

It looked raw, but it had no meat on it and was old. It could have been a bone from a fox eaten bird, since it was a little bit bigger than an average chicken bone! There have been a few deceased birds lying around (and lots of feathers!). Once he found a dead pigeon chick in the middle of the park, luckily he was on a long line there and we avoided the massacre it would have been. :roll:

People put bread out to feed the pigeons (I think its a religious thing, not sure what religion though. They come out early morning and just dump bread out for them) which means the foxes (and rats) have a field day.
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