Escape!... Into the House?

[Buddy'smyboy]

He is scared of the gunshots and he wants to come indoors where he might feel safer - so yeah, slapping his nose won't help him not be scared of gunshots.

I realise this IS really really difficult for you as it isn't up to you where he lives/stays most of the time, but would it not be possible to have him as an indoor dog, maybe crated if you are out and only allowed into certain rooms?

Alternatively, whenever you are home and there are gunshots going off - go out and give him a reward for every single gunshot - so that in the end gunshot = treats. When he starts to get the idea that gunshot = reward you can try giving him really easy Kong toys with something good to lick in there, or a big meaty bone, or a box stuffed with good stuff that takes longer to do.

My mom says he can come inside- when he is clean (he is ATROCIOUSLY FILTHY ) and we have an indoor matt for him. I will ask her to get him to the groomers as soon as possible, or if that is not soon enough for me, we have warm water, a trough, and doggy soap That might require a warm day though... or a long walk afterwards to air dry , perhaps a towel, too.
She is okay with me having him in the kitchen/dining room area since the kitchen is wood floor and I usually draw/sit at the computer in the dining room so he would be able to lie down at my feet on his bed and there are certain rooms he can't enter due to knick-knacks at whack-whack-whack-tail level. But that is easily manable. If nothing else, he can be in the den (cats forbid ), kitchen, and dining room, and possibly the stone area leading to the front door. So about half the house, basically. Now I just need a good bath day!

[emmabeth]

Go for the bath and as long as it isnt really cold I'd do it sooner rather than later (you could always fill up the trough with some hot water from the house to take the cold edge off it!).

Lots of old towels to dry off then a good walk, do NOT let him go once hes rinsed off or he WILL go roll around on the ground to dry himself, and make himself filthy again!!!

Before you bath him - really really really good brush, all over, preferably when he is warm from running about so you get as much loose hair and dirt out as possible and are not washing hair thats gonna fall out anyway!

[Nettle]

Buddy is such a lucky dog that you are understanding him so well and trying to help him with his fears. Well done!

[Buddy'smyboy]

Buddy is such a lucky dog that you are understanding him so well and trying to help him with his fears. Well done!

Thanks Nettle From the looks of the clouds, today's going to be overcast. According to the weather report, the next three days' high is in the seventies and the lows are in the mid fifties. Is that a little too chilly for a bath?

[emmabeth]

Have to convert that to Celcius but 55f is around 12c, thats a little nippy unless you are using warm water and going for a good brisk walk after and then into a warm house. 70f is around 21c and thats fine!

To put it into perspective though, my dogs will swim in ICE cold water in winter here, when it is well below 5C, though they don't tend to get wet to the skin then.

[Buddy'smyboy]

Last night after I was in bed Buddy got up on the window and I heard it and then my mom going out to put him in his crate so I got up. She said I kept on babying him everytime he got on the window and she said everytime he gets up on the window I go out and cuddle him so now he's starting to do it to get affection (since we didn't hear what was setting him off) . I didn't really have an answer at the time except he only does it because of fear, I just don't know what he's afraid of right now, so I let her look at me kinda smug while I went back to bed and thought about why for a while. I eventually arrived at the conclusion of how can he feel I'm rewarding him? He only ever stands on the window when he's scared so if anything he should associate being scared with rewarding as I come out. Almost everytime I come out after he stands on the window I put him in the crate because we heard what he was afraid of and don't want him to jump up anymore as we can't make the gunshots stop or force the coyotes to shut up. Getting put in a box is rewarding? Around this time I had a different unrelated thought so I jumped out of bed and went out to see if my mom was off the computer so I could type it down and she was still on unfortunately for my thought. However, she then said the coyotes are howling and opened the screen door to let me hear my uncle's three dogs barking mad at them. Coyotes are one of the sounds that sets Buddy off (I think because he's on his own; he doesn't have a companion and there is strength in numbers so it makes him worried) and since I later heard them through the closed door they sounded pretty close. So after making this statement I did my own little thing of looking vaguely smug as I less than mildly said, "See? Fear. That's the reason, just like it always is when he does that." This time she was the one that really couldn't argue as the tables had turned as the coyotes had proven my point that he always jumps on the window because of fear (gunshot, boom, coyote, scent) as much as my mom thought otherwise, she made me feel even better by saying, "Well, I guess you're right " . I kind of enjoy a bit of table turning; it's very refreshing at the end of a hectic day and beginning of a bad night since my grandma was up with diarrea and retching all night so I was up half the night listening to her. Tired? Yes. Glad at being able to silently say, "hahaha I told you so,"...yes. I'm glad my mom's good sport when it comes to being wrong though

I just wish we would actually have a summer day This summer is awful. Nights are cold and days aren't all that warm either. Definitely not a good time to give him a bath!

[emmabeth]

I reckon I would give him that bath - take out hot water and mix it with cold to take the edge off it, do it FAST and then take him for a RUN once you have towelled him off hard (on the leash, if you let him off he will roll about and get filthy!!!). He wont take long to dry, especially if you give him a good brush through first to remove loose coat.

[Buddy'smyboy]

I reckon I would give him that bath - take out hot water and mix it with cold to take the edge off it, do it FAST and then take him for a RUN once you have towelled him off hard (on the leash, if you let him off he will roll about and get filthy!!!). He wont take long to dry, especially if you give him a good brush through first to remove loose coat.

I think either tomorrow or the day after will be great. Tomorrow is going to be 26.1 Celsius and the day after will be 28.3 Celsius- given if the weather man is right!

[Buddy'smyboy]

The neighbors' horses got into our field yesterday so they came today and got them out. It was raining pretty hard and Buddy was pretty excited watching. The neighbor, Pam came up to the door and opened it to say hi and Buddy tried to get in so I just held him back and then when I tried to get in after she went back with the others and the horses, he tried to get in the house as I got in. Then I went to get some dinner since it was just served and I heard him get on the window.
My mom said hey and shortly after he jumped down and I cam into the living room going towards the front door and her exact words were he got down, he doesn't need to be babied every time, he needs to be told no. And my sister said, "yeah, every time you're like oh Buddy, good Buddy," which is NOT what I do, every time I go out and put him in the crate, and she said yeah and then you pet him, which I don't, I don't even pet him through the bars of the crate, so basically she's being a ****'in little twit thinking she knows what I do even when she doesn't watch what I do, saying it her snotty antagonistic voice just to egg me on.

This is so ridiculous. I don't know why he doesn't it. I can't figure out why he does it. Every time there's something that's happening but only I seem to even notice it as a valid cause so of course the dog gets blamed by my mom and everyone else for bad behaviour when I think I know the cause, and then they just say he's doing it for attention and that he doesn't need to be babied every time he jumps on the window he needs to be told no. So I'm tired of putting up with all their comments and trying to figure out what's going on with him and why he's behaving in such a manner and trying to explain to them that there's always a reason for everything and what else am I supposed to do asside from managing his behavior by putting him in the crate?

[Erica]

Could you teach him a different "trigger" to come into the house? I know some people have a few jingle bells they hang from the door to let the dog ring when they want to go out; if you can hear him and let him in when he rings them, it'd be a way for him to ask to come away from the scary things without bothering your mom. I believe you'd start by jingling the bells every time you let him in the house, and eventually, if he's smart, he'll start trying to jingle them on his own to ask to come in...you'd have to be quick and immediately let him in, though, so he knows it's reliable.

[Buddy'smyboy]

Could you teach him a different "trigger" to come into the house? I know some people have a few jingle bells they hang from the door to let the dog ring when they want to go out; if you can hear him and let him in when he rings them, it'd be a way for him to ask to come away from the scary things without bothering your mom. I believe you'd start by jingling the bells every time you let him in the house, and eventually, if he's smart, he'll start trying to jingle them on his own to ask to come in...you'd have to be quick and immediately let him in, though, so he knows it's reliable.

Buddy doesn't come in the house, when he gets on the window I put him in his crate which is outside and then he is quiet, so I guess the bells would really be a signal for me to put him in his crate. I hadn't thought of bells.

I have been so stressed out and busy that I can't even think about taking the time to adapting him to life in the house like I wanted to. I have volleyball practice every other day three days a week until five then two games where I get home past nine, then if there are any football games or basketball games I am expected to show up to play at them with the band and football games are over at ten thirty. Last week I only was home two of the five school days before six and then it was with math homework and english assignments, not to mention I have to practice my flute music since all of it is new to me. By the time the weekend rolls around all I want to do is be lazy and relax. This is only the second week of school! I have yet to get to sleep before ten since school started and that's because I have so much stuff to do.

The only light I can shed on my stress is that it might change soon. My mom put an offer on a brand new house in town and her offer was accepted. If all goes according to plan, she will take possession of the house on October 15. After that it shouldn't be much longer before Buddy and the rest of us can move there. Since it's in town I won't be home nearly as late and hopefully I'll have more time to do stuff since we can't have chickens in town. The yard is a good size, but a fence will need to be put up and grass put in. The only thing I can say that I don't like about the house that I've seen is that right behind the house is a cliff that drops off about one hundred feet. But a net can be put up there and stuff. So I guess it's all a waiting game then. No window to jump on = less stress + backyard and our own home = grandma won't be bothered by a dog in the house and my mom is fine with Buddy being in the house as long as he's clean = relief on my part and he won't be nearly as lonely since I can spend more time with him. Right now I'm struggling to spend even an hour with him, but I'm trying to make it as worthwhile as possible.

By the way, no one has to reply this, I think I was just writing to burn stress

[emmabeth]

I'll reply anyway - i feel for you, it is so frustrating when there is so much stuff you have to do and you cant get anyone ELSE to deal with Buddy the way you would. So just so you know... I hear ya!

[Suzette]

Yes, I "hear" your stress as well. I'll share something my mom told me many years ago -- "At the end of the day, when you lay your head down and look back on your day, if you know you did the best you could do, then you did well." You're doing the best you can do and you're doing well! We're here for you, so vent away when needed!