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

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

Post by JudyN »

I feel bereft :( Now DS2 has left home, Jasper has decided he doesn't want to sleep with us any more and wants to sleep on DS2's bed instead. Most nights now he won't even come into our room for his bedtime chicken strip.

So much for our lovely spare room with a bed all made up. I guess when my mum comes to stay she'll just have to sleep on the dog bed next to us :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 »

Bax and i continue to make progress. he was being a butt and i couldn't figure out what he wanted (whining under my bed like he does when he has to go out.... but he'd peed 8+ times and pooed X2 AND had a snack) so i let him out into the living room and kept the door open so he could snooze on the futon or on my bed. that quieted him and i went to bed.

but he didn't bark and he didn't potty! he spent the whole night quietly snoozing without pottying anywhere or barking at my down stairs neighbor. even early in the morning when she got up he'd bark once or twice at a thump and then quiet on his own.

that's been one of my main things i want for him. it's okay if he barks a few times cause something is scary but i want him to be able to self soothe and he DID IT this morning. one or two barks after a thump and then he'd go back to bed instead of going on and on and on and on.

so no pottying and being able to self soothe without mommy this morning. i call that a win! :P :P :P :P :P

Correction: he did potty - he pooed again... ON HIS PUPPY PADS in my room
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 »

Great news Shalista!

My two are vacationing at Oldest's house. We dropped them off on Saturday. The only concern I had with Oldest's yard was a shed on a hill with open space underneath. Sky had demonstrated a tendency to go under on our test visit. We took along plastic fencing to cover the opening and had to call Sky out several times while we put the fencing up. :lol:

Oldest opened the dog door in the door and it only took Sky one introduction to this opening for her to have it down pat. I was concerned about Sirius using the door though as she doesn't like tight spaces.

After Oldest worked with her a bit on it, it was reported Sunday morning that she let herself into the house and then took herself upstairs to where the family was. :D

Dogs seem relaxed and loving life. Oldest posted a picture last night of each dog sleeping soundly in a place of their choosing in his house with the caption that dogs were sleeping but baby was not. :lol:

Oldest has encountered one area of difficulty, neither dog wants to go down the stairs to the basement where the dog door is. Sirius will go with bribing, but Sky flat out refuses. Oldest has resorted to taking the dogs out the front door and around to the yard. Then the dogs bring themselves back inside and upstairs.

The original plan was that dogs would stay in the basement with access to outside if needed while Oldest was at work. He des have ex-pens available that he could use to block off the stairs from the basement. I will be curious to hear how things went today.
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.
MPbandmom
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by MPbandmom »

Oldest reported that when he arrived home, Sirius was out in the yard and greeted him at the gate and Sky was in the basement. They used a baby gate on the stairs to keep the dogs in the basement. He is still having to take them out the front door and around the house on leash to get them into the yard as they will only come up the basement steps and refuse to go down them.
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 »

Bax had another impromptu playdate with Kirby again.

Kirby is now bigger than Bax! he's just as long and a good deal wider. poor soul is just as meek as ever though, i called bax off a couple times for bullying the poor dear. the fur parents just LOVED bax and Kirby did enjoy play bowing and rearing up (he plays the EXACT same way bax does) but he also kept sitting on his butt when bax tried to sniff it and once rolled over in full submission.

Bax meanwhile was frustrated by the length of his leash and didn't understand why kirby (who was on a retractable) could run so much farther than him. he vented his frustration by running in circles around me until my arms and legs were wrapped together like a cartoon! i dearly wish we could take them somewhere fenced in so i could let bax off lead to play but on the other paw he'd prolly swamp poor kirby and i wouldnt be there to step in and save the boy :?

Still its nice to see him playing well with a friend for however long this lasts
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 »

I took Monty the cat to the vet's yesterday for a check-up and booster. For a 20-year-old he's doing awesomely but let's face it, just being alive at that age counts as awesome, so I shall overlook his wobbly rear end and occasional incontinence...

Jasper gets very anxious when I take M out of the house so I was hoping to do it quickly and efficiently. Not a hope - the moment I stood up to start getting ready J was in my face, 'Grrrr, you stay right there,' and I had to use the raised finger and firm voice. Then he followed me upstairs and tried to hump me... In the end I just had to put him into the front room with his Kong behind a stairgate, then go and get M and put him in his carrier, put shoes on etc, and open the stairgate as I was going out the front door. According to DS1 he as 'very whiny'.

How did he know? Not necessarily that I was planning to take M to the vet, but that something was different? I've developed a Zen-like calm with him over the years so I wasn't fretting before I made a move to go, but he must have sensed something. I popped up the shops today and he was absolutely fine.
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 »

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Last edited by Lotsaquestions on Fri Aug 14, 2020 6:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Lotsaquestions
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Lotsaquestions »

Some days I just really loathe my dog. Is that wrong?

Today he decided to wear his reactive hat. He barked at a cat, then people passed by and because he was worked up he barked at them. Then on his walk three little dogs really went off on one on him (on lead), he had a go back (on lead) before his brain snapped in and he sat down and watched me. Then tonight a cat climbed over our fence and he just lost it. Never seen him react so strongly to anything. Full on whining, high pitch barking, pacing. We managed to get him in, and he just humped his teddy for ten mins and calmed down.

It is getting to the point where a blood test is probably a good idea just incase his thyroid is off or something. He reacts on a hair trigger sometimes, pupils dilate, whining, pacing, at the smallest of things. I try my best to look out for triggers, to play 'find it!', to take him away, but it really doesn't seem like it sinks in.
Shalista
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Shalista »

*hugs* I feel ya LOQ always seems like its one step forward two steps back. just when ya got one thing under control something else snaps. i know exactly how ya feel. whenever that happened i always felt better working with him on something that i knew we'd both enjoy, like reinforcing a basic command, learning a stupid new trick, or just spending some time playing tug. you need to work on the good stuff to so you dont burn out when he does something mind blowingly stupid and you feel like a failure. we're here for ya!
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 »

Focus on the positives, LoQ :wink: He's hardly the first dog to get worked up by a cat. After the three dogs had a go at him and he reacted (and who can blame him?) he did calm down and focus on you. And after the cat in HIS garden, he found a great way of calming himself within minutes.

This is all good! Don't waste his youth fretting over the bits that aren't perfect, enjoy him for the mostly well-behaved dog he is and accept that whatever you do, you can't expect perfection because dogs are imperfect individuals, just like humans.

We were once trapped inside a garden centre by their resident cat blocking the way out. Eventually I had to ask the owners to remove the cat. I took Jasper outside and chatted to the owner while he had a full-blown tantrum, jumping up at me and bashing me with his muzzle. It was all fine, he soon got back on all fours and I gave him a reward for doing so, then we set off home. Sure, we got some funny looks from other customers but they can think what they want.
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 »

I had a good night sleep and woke up to your lovely messages.

Thank you Judy & Shalista, they really do mean alot. Sometimes it is easy to get bogged down by minor things if all you focus on is them. I think because the people he barked at looked at me with absolute distain it set me up on a lose the rest of the day. He has his scent class this afternoon which I am regretting signing up for (half the class was in a small room last week and he does NOT do well in small rooms with dogs whilst on lead). Going to just ask if we can wait in the doorway I think, or I hope most of it is outside this time as the 'introduction' is now done.

Aside from all of the barking and me stressing, we did actually have a lovely walk in the woods yesterday. One where he recalled away from a deer that just popped up 10ft from us (little Muntjac deer who are far too good at hiding!). Been using beef for his whistle as I think chicken has almost no value for him, or at least not enough to recall away from wildlife. :lol:

Going to spend this evening just teaching some tricks or playing tuggy as you suggested Shalista.
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Nettle
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Nettle »

That's a whole lot better, Lotsa. Everything is better after a good night's sleep (same for you, Shalista!).

Remember you don't have to do anything you don't want to do, even if you've paid for the class. Rather than ask if you can sit a certain exercise out or avoid a difficult situation, just say that's what you are going to do. No need to be confrontational - just smile and say you can see the value of the exercise/situation, but your dog isn't ready for it today/ever. So easy to go along with something you know is wrong for your dog just because someone "in authority" has said you must. Really good trainers won't have an ego about it, but the rest - we have to manipulate. :wink:
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
Lotsaquestions
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Lotsaquestions »

Thanks Nettle.

This morning is unfortunately not off to a good start. He doesn't get his morning walk pre scent class (as it is at 1:30) so we just took him out for a poo and he went for another dog (on lead). My partner thinks it was playful (as he was very excited), I only caught a bit of it as I had just opened our door but it didn't look playful to me. Merlin jumped on the other dog growling, the other dog tail tucked and continued on. Merlin got in and just went nuts, mouthing and biting and running around. I personally don't want to go to the scent class at all now, but my partner is insisting and thinks I am overly worrying. He said if I don't go he'll take him on his own, and to be frank I don't trust my OH to be careful enough. If I was walking Merlin I would have avoided that dog or asked for a watch, OH did neither and let Merlin wait for the dog to approach.

I'll let you know how he gets on, but right now I'm quite nervous about it. :(
Shalista
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Shalista »

um.......... sounds to me like its a rubbish scent class.... Bax has taken....3? and we all had to wait outside while each dog went in off leash complete the course free of distraction. how can a dog focus on following the scent if theres a hundred dogs yapping at him? :? :? :?
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 »

ahhhh bax finally met my downstairs neighbor properly and there was no barking! just lots of treats and snuggles! I'm so proud of my boy!
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
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