Dog Owner Chat V. 5

[Imzadi83]

im having trouble with my pup and my cat being in the same room. we got my lab pup some months ago, and my cat (bean) has been 100% fine with coming down stairs and sitting near my dog (poppy). but poppy is still extremely curious about bean, and will walk up to him and try to smell him, etc. bean is only fine with poppy if she's ignoring him, so when this happens he starts to growl and swat at her. this gets poppy extremely excited and she starts to bolt away then comes right back to bean and freezes until he swats at her again. they do this until bean decides he's had enough and walks away.

okay, so my question is, what do i do when this happens? ive been told to just leave them alone and dont intervene bc they will "figure it out on their own" but im not sure if this is right. pls lmk what you guys think and what you would do if this was your situation. thank you

(i'd also like to mention that bean's "safe place" is the whole upstairs, as we dont let poppy upstairs. and another thing to add, when bean walks/runs away from poppy, he always ends up coming right back to where he was and plopping back down within minutes)

I don't agree with the "let them work it out" since that could end badly. Sounds like what is going on is play behavior on Poppy's side, problem is she needs to learn when enough is enough and that is what Bean is trying to communicate to her through swatting.

First off if Poppy has the energy to harass Bean then she isn't getting enough exercise (both mental and physical) so up both of those. Physical through walks, fetch, running, etc. (as age appropriate); mental through training, puzzles, etc. Part of that training should be "leave it".

It's good Bean has the upstairs, but there needs to be safe places downstairs as well so he doesn't have to run as far to get away from Poppy, which can incite her chase instinct. Cat trees, shelves, etc. Ideally it would be great if Bean could move around the downstairs without touching the floor and having to engage with Poppy at all if he doesn't want to. You can also put Poppy in another secured area (crate, baby gate) when Bean wants to be downstairs. Make sure there is nowhere (like litter boxes) that Poppy can corner Bean which would make him feel even more threatened.

While you're working on this you can keep a leash on Poppy so you can easily stop her from bothering Bean and remove her from the situation. And of course, don't leave them alone together.

Leave It - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re66qOiso28

[Idle_Arts]

So I need some help,
I have a service dog in training, Abigail Mae, but she gets a little excited as soon as she see me pull out the treat bag, I’ve tried several techniques, including ignoring her till she’s calm and rewarding for that good behavior, but she still gets a little spastic almost. This is especially when she goes from “sit” to “lay” and she won’t stay down for long, she taps her feet to (that’s kinda cute but not really what I need her to do)
Any ideas how to get her to calm down so we can train?

[Imzadi83]

So I need some help,
I have a service dog in training, Abigail Mae, but she gets a little excited as soon as she see me pull out the treat bag, I’ve tried several techniques, including ignoring her till she’s calm and rewarding for that good behavior, but she still gets a little spastic almost. This is especially when she goes from “sit” to “lay” and she won’t stay down for long, she taps her feet to (that’s kinda cute but not really what I need her to do)
Any ideas how to get her to calm down so we can train?

Here's a tutorial for you...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR831Q2fv-U This pretty much covers everything I would've said. Other than suggesting you also work on a calm settle, which will be invaluable in a SD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr1olzgidMw

My cutie pie Lexi when she was about 2-3 months old!
German Shepherd x Pit Bull Mix :'>

Picture isn't working for me.

[Lex.]

Hope this file works now!
My 5 month old puppy lexi!!

[atlos]

Hi, I unfortunately lost my dog, Sally, earlier today, and she is the first dog I had and that I have lost. I don't know what to feel at all. She truly lived a really great and long life(17 years) and she's been with me all my life after we picked her up from the pound. I miss her and I don't know what to do to cope. I just keep thinking she's going to poke her head into the living room again or I'll hear her barking at my other pup. I know its real but I feel like it didn't happen. I just want to look for tips, I'm really heartbroken :c
I really just needed somewhere to show her off a little and talk about it, hope this is the right space.

My other boy, Memphis, has been doing such a good job at helping me calm down and relax. He is so sweet and so gentle and knows when I need him most <3

[Imzadi83]

Hi, I unfortunately lost my dog, Sally, earlier today, and she is the first dog I had and that I have lost. I don't know what to feel at all. She truly lived a really great and long life(17 years) and she's been with me all my life after we picked her up from the pound. I miss her and I don't know what to do to cope. I just keep thinking she's going to poke her head into the living room again or I'll hear her barking at my other pup. I know its real but I feel like it didn't happen. I just want to look for tips, I'm really heartbroken :c
I really just needed somewhere to show her off a little and talk about it, hope this is the right space.

My other boy, Memphis, has been doing such a good job at helping me calm down and relax. He is so sweet and so gentle and knows when I need him most <3

My deepest condolences for your loss *hugs*

As for grieving, are you considering doing some kind of memorial? This could mean actual burial, cremation, etc. And if you go the cremation route you could decide on a special urn to keep the ashes, keeping some in a piece of jewelry, if you have the money they can be made into a planter for a tree, a record, a diamond, etc. Also you could always plant something in your yard in her honor, or if you don't have a yard maybe donate to a local park? You could also donate in her name to a charity. You could have a food drive for a pet food bank in honor of her, or pay the adoption fee for an another dog at the pound were you got her. Maybe there's an animal rescue that will put her name on a brick in a walkway you'd like to support. Or perhaps you'd like to have a star named after her. I've seen some guide dog organizations that, for a donation, will allow you to name a dog. Doing something to honor her and paying it forward (even just donating some of her old things) can be very cathartic while grieving.

There are people online (Etsy comes to mind) of people who can do drawings, ornaments, even stuffed animals or models of your dog. Check out Cuddle Clones too if you're interested in that sort of thing. You could also create a shadow box with some of her favorite things, or frame a special photo of her and put up in her memory.

I'd also recommend looking to see if there are pet bereavement classes in your area. I went to one after my late dog Gumdrop passed and found it helpful. We found it through our local Humane Society, but a Google search might also do the trick. Ultimately, it's good you're talking about her and trying to work through your grief. It's not a linear journey. Give yourself as much time as you need, spend time (out if you can) doing things with Memphis. Cry as much as you need, and remind yourself it's okay to smile and laugh too, especially when thinking of your girl and all the fun time you had together and the great life you gave her.

Take care of yourself (comfort food, binge a show, have a spa day, etc) and Memphis, that's what Sally would want you to do.

[Imzadi83]

Dog Food Recall

Nature's Menu dog food recall https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-recall/natures-menu/

[atlos]

I would love to get a cuddle clone! They are real expensive but honestly I have been working enough this summer that it would be easy to pay more c:
We are cremating her and we are having the vets take a clay print and ink print of her paw which I am thankful for. I will definitely try to find a really nice urn for her. I would also love to plant something for her and that is a wonderful idea and I probably will use it!
I'm quickly learning that little things make me think of her and make me tear up quite a bit, so I am learning it probably won't just be easy for a moment and stay easy.
I will be spending lots of time with Memphis, he is the bestest boy who is really great at noticing when I am not feeling 100%. He's so sweet and I want to pursue seeing if I could register him to help out other people as well through being a therapy dog or something along those lines, if at all possible.

[i<3 wolves678]

Hello, I never usually post on these threads, but lately my mum and I have been doing some training with our two rescues and I thought I might ask for some advice on certain things if anyone has any info that might help.
First we have Mungo (Male), an 11 year old Jack Russell terrier who’s been in our family for almost 8 years now, and then there’s Midge (Female), a Jack Russell cross chihuahua who we’ve had for just over a year now (her age is a little more vague since they didn’t have the best idea by looking at her teeth, but we think she’s around 3 years old).

They get along very well for the most part, and getting Midge helped a lot of separation anxiety that was starting to return in Mungo as he aged, but it has caused a few more problems to arise. For the longest time, Mungo had convinced himself he was the alpha of the house, and getting Midge only strengthened this. Over the past month my mum has been training from an audio book, which has greatly improved this behavior through small but effective actions such as only leaving food out in intervals as opposed to all day, and not allowing them on the couch with us. He’s been stripped of any control he had over these things, and it’s really helped put him back in his place. Unfortunately he still barks and occasionally charges at the door when people leave (in the past he literally ripped off our letterbox hinge by doing this), and even though it’s gotten better, we’re still struggling to stop this behavior.

Another problem has been house training Midge. The rescue centre believes she was a stray living at a travelers site and probably had been her whole life considering she didn’t even know what a collar was at first. We’ve had her over a year now, but despite all our best efforts, she continues to pee indoors. We’ve tried consistent positive reinforcement, praising her every time she goes outside and giving her a treat, and completely ignoring her for at least 10 minutes when she goes inside. She seems to get the hang of it every now and again, and she doesn’t go inside for ages, but for some reason she will always revert back, and we’re not sure what to do about it. Catching her when she is about to go and taking her outside doesn’t help either, as she just won’t go anymore and stares at us blankly.

Midge also has a bit of a hunting instinct, other than bringing us a few dead birds and squirrels, this wasn’t really a huge issue until she recently chased a massive badger into its set, leading Mungo to follow her in. Thankfully we believe it was old and dying, so it didn’t cause them any harm, but had it been a nursing mother, they could have both been killed. We’ve been practicing a lot of recall, but when she gets scent it’s hard getting her back. She has to be on lead in most places now, which isn’t great since she’s very excitable and needs to burn energy. Unfortunately due to Mungo hating people getting close to my Mum, it’s hard to take them anywhere but those fields and woods though.

As troublesome as they are, I don’t know what I’d do without them, this picture is somewhat old, but it’s the best one I have of the two together.

2E67D130-4E3D-418C-A418-FDEE76C4F157.jpeg (103.52 KiB) Viewed 58 times

[Blue_Aussie]

Hey, for those of you who don't know me, I do agility with my 1 and a 1\2 year old Aussie, Mazie. Next month is our first competition! I've been doing classes with her since she was young and my new agility equipment gets here thks weekend (super excited!) So we have time to practice before the show!

Does anyone have tips for training for a show/ what to bring to a show/ what to expect, or anything else you've experienced? Its just a small show in my city, nothing super fancy but I'd love any input! C:

Thanks! -Blue_Aussie and Mazie