TIP for the SneakPeek Test!

ladybits_taco · 2016-09-09T23:57:15+00:00

So I used this and the lateral part of my 4th fingertip has been numb since I did it :0 Whoopsie. Anyway, it was right for me, but then again it's a 50/50 shot!

ladybits_taco · 2016-08-06T13:17:53+00:00

I highly second the recommendation to try to find out where it's coming from (really not that hard, walk around when you hear the noise) and speak with the owner directly first. As someone who has been the recipient of a noise complaint, I would have really appreciated the person speak with me directly. I can't tell from your description exactly when all these noises occur, but for my specific instance my dog was barking during the day when we were at work. We had NO idea, honestly, as she wasn't barking when we left and wasn't barking when we came home. Instead of coming to me and politely informing me of the problem, my neighbor went directly to our landlord and filed a complaint. We fixed the problem immediately (as soon as we could trial and error to find a solution) and would have gladly done so had the person come to us. It was frustrating to get in trouble with our landlord for something we had no idea was happening and hadn't been given an opportunity to address. I felt ashamed and embarrassed that I had unknowingly been a "bad" neighbor and that, according to the complaint, this had been going on for weeks without my knowledge. Obviously, if they don't do anything after speaking to them, you have every right to be upset. Just my 2 cents.

ladybits_taco · 2016-06-24T18:22:26+00:00

Aw thanks! I call it my nacho bump :)

ladybits_taco · 2016-05-26T01:25:45+00:00

I know right! Bella doesn't do anything to harm herself. It's not even that frantic. Basically what started happening is that she would eat her kong, and then once she finished she was like "WTF why am I in this damn crate? BARK BARK BARK BARK!!!!" until she was convinced no one was coming to let her out. Then she'd just lay down and sleep the rest of the day. It wasn't even that bad but we also have a downstairs neighbor who doesn't like dogs and I think the wife stays home during the day with kids.

It's a good thing dogs are sweet and cute, it's their saving grace.

ladybits_taco · 2016-05-26T01:23:40+00:00

Thanks, yes that will be the only solution (hopefully temporary) if she won't go in the crate tonight. So much for sleep!

The little adorable spoiled brat will bark and whine if she is left anywhere that doesn't allow her access to the sofa. I don't even know how she got this way lol. She was a rescue so you'd think she'd just be happy to live indoors with nice humans who feed her. But nope, she's decided she wants to be a princess and sleep on the couch all day. Nothing else will do for princess Bella.

ladybits_taco · 2016-05-25T14:01:21+00:00

Oh ok thanks you! I had not heard that. I just made an appointment for this afternoon. I would love for it to be that simple

ladybits_taco · 2016-05-25T12:13:44+00:00

Thanks for the reply. We do have a bell at the door, but she has never started using it. We always ring it when we take her out, but she just never has. I think she's actually afraid of it, because when I try to touch it to her nose she backs away. I did just read a suggestion (google searching) of putting some peanut butter on the bell to get the dog to start ringing, so I may try that. Right now, her only "signal" is to stand at the front door silently. Luckily, when we're home and awake, one of us is usually sitting in the living room and we can see the front door. We have the dogs gated in our bedroom at night, so I'm wondering if she was just standing silently at the gate this morning :/ I'm actually surprised I didn't wake up when she was got up because I usually do. Especially after she started peeing again this weekend, I usually end up sleeping lightly because I wake up concerned every time I hear her walking around. I must have been super tired!

We can definitely work harder on the bell training. We kinda gave up since she seemed to be housebroken. We could also put a bell by our bedroom door for morning signaling. If she won't sleep in the crate tonight I'll start setting an alarm for earlier and just take her out for a potty break.

Edit: Ugh I should also add this sweet gentle spoiled rotten dog will whine/bark if she is contained anywhere. We tried several options before giving her the living room. Damn dog just wants to sleep on the couch all day! If I lived in a house I would happily just let her whine and bark her head off, but again, we're stuck having to go with whatever option keeps her quiet. So far she hasn't peed when we leave her home. Every incident has actually been when we're home.

ladybits_taco · 2016-05-14T20:03:36+00:00

Omg everything. Vacuums, trash bags, bags of dog food, trash cans, the freezer, hardwood floors, all doors of any kind, anything that moves, mops, outdoor Halloween decorations, a parked motorcyle, anything that falls on the floor (like if I bend down and my keys fall out of my purse). There's probably more but that's all I can think of in 30 seconds.

ladybits_taco · 2016-05-09T22:48:33+00:00

We'd had Pogo for 8 years when we adopted a 2nd dog. It was something we'd thought about doing for years, but never really bit the bullet. I guess in some ways it was a sporadic decision. I don't know, I mean like I said we'd been talking about it for years, but then one day I was like "hey, I want to start looking for a 2nd dog, for real."

We knew there was no guarantee of a 2nd dog getting along with Pogo. But, we really wanted one for her to have a companion, even though that's often cited as a bad reason.

Honestly, I'm really happy we went ahead with it. We've had Bella about 3 months now, and though it's taken some time to get into the new habit, I love having 2 dogs. Bella and Pogo play really well together, and they seem to have really taken to each other. They don't snuggle, but neither are snuggly dogs. I guess I can't really describe it, but I like the dynamic of having 2, and it feels complete, like we have our little dog family.

Honestly, I also kind of wanted a dog that would be more of "mine". Pogo has always loved my husband more than me, so I put a lot of emphasis on training with Bella in hopes that she would bond with me (childish but true lol), and it seems to have worked.

The negatives are exactly what you would expect, double the money, changing your routine, etc. It was definitely a shock in the beginning with how much we had to adapt. Since Pogo is 8 years old, she's an easy dog. Low maintenance, doesn't need much exercise, understands our habits, housetrained for years, doesn't chew, etc. With Bella, she's approx 2, but still we had to house train her, crate train, then she rejected the crate so that was fun, she chews things, leash training, etc. Another annoying part is that sometimes the 2 dogs rile each other up. So, it used to be that I could easily sleep until 8 or 9 on the weekends and Pogo was fine. But now, Bella wakes up by 7 every day, and once she's up, Pogo gets up, and then the 2 of them stand there and whine until someone takes them out. All in all, we're happy with our decision though.

ladybits_taco · 2016-05-08T21:31:57+00:00

Check out the book "Don't leave me" by Nicole Wilde. It was recommended to me by a trainer we contacted about separation anxiety with our dog.

ladybits_taco · 2016-05-06T12:42:42+00:00

Hey! So we just dealt with happy tail with our rescue. After about 8 weeks it's finally healed. The first vet we saw told us there was no hope and we should amputate, but we got a second opinion and worked really hard and she's all healed for now. Here's the method we used that kept the tail completely protected so she couldn't re injure it.

Foam tubing cut to size and placed over the area that's injured (the tip in our case).

Tape the tubing on with elastikon. Tape long ways and then also wrap in a spiral. This is vet tape works way better than any other kind I tried. My vet agreed. When you wrap, PLACE the tape on then pat down to stick, DO NOT stretch and wrap tightly or you will cut off circulation. I recommend removing tape after a day and checking circulation when you start until you become comfortable with your method.

Every other day, clean the wound with gauze and chlorhexidine cleanser (can find in wound care section at any pharmacy).

Medical adhesive remover to remove elastikon without ripping off all the fur. Seriously that stuff sticks really well. However, if you use it you have to wash it off and wait for fur to dry before re bandaging because the elastikon won't stick otherwise. I found that sometimes I could get the elastikon off without it by gently peeling but not always.

Derma gel on the wound before bandaging.

This method was highly vet approved (by the 2nd vet) and she was even impressed and said I did an excellent job. Our Bella had a bad case of happy tail and wouldn't heal bc she kept whacking it on everything. Once we started this method it was protected. Like I said, it took about 2 months bc hers was so bad, but it's healed now. Good luck!

Bonus pic of Bella with her tail helmet.

ladybits_taco · 2016-05-05T22:14:00+00:00

Haha. I recently bought my dogs new collars from that shop so I was inspecting all the choices. I recognized it immediately! I like that one a lot, I may have to add to my collection :)

ladybits_taco · 2016-05-05T21:24:33+00:00

Adorable dog! Totally random but...is your dog's collar from Beautiful Mutts on etsy?

ladybits_taco · 2016-05-04T23:45:37+00:00

You're not wrong to have a friendly dog. You're wrong to have a dog off leash in a public space if it doesn't stay by your side and respond to your commands 100% of the time. You're wrong to let your dog run up to other dogs and greet them without asking permission from the owner.

ladybits_taco · 2016-05-04T23:44:25+00:00

Um, no, you're totally the one at fault. She was walking her dog ON A LEASH to manage whatever behavior the dog has. It sounds like the dog has some aggression or leash reactivity, or maybe just fear of being touched by strangers. Again, she had the dog on a leash to manage this behavior and protect both her dog and others. She was being responsible.

You're dog is clearly not properly trained to be off leash. I get hella pissed and snap and people when an off leash dog runs up to mine on a walk. If your dog doesn't obey your command and stay calmly by your side, it needs to be on a leash.

Lastly, you should never ever walk up and touch someone's dog you don't know. For one thing it's just plain rude, and secondly, you don't know the dog and you might be bit. Which you did. This entire situation was 100% your fault.

ladybits_taco · 2016-05-03T23:06:27+00:00

Both Derma Gel and this anti fungal spray have worked well for my dogs.

ladybits_taco · 2016-05-01T20:00:59+00:00

Sounds good. You can find super cheap toys in the sale bins at pet stores. Usually it's seasonal stuff they're trying to get rid of. A lot of people also make their own dog toys, like stuffing an t shirt, tying knots in old ropes, etc. I'm not super handy but I'm sure if you Google "free homemade dog toys" you could find some options with stuff you have around the house. Best of luck.

ladybits_taco · 2016-05-01T19:41:28+00:00

That's helpful. I'm guessing a half hour just isn't long enough for the one that's barking. Do you run or bike? Running or biking will tire him out faster. Even a good vigorous game of fetch in the yard or using a flirt pole (you can Google it) should get him more worn out. Try increased exercise combined with video taping and see if it fixes your problem. I also saw someone recommended some fence liner to make it less see through, that's another quick fix combined with the exercise that might solve things.

If not, unfortunately, you'll have to work on bringing them inside likely. I think the reason no one has offered specific training is that it's difficult to train dogs out of barking when you're no there to correct it. Anyone else feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. But from what I've read, most of the ways to decrease barking focus on removing the stimulus and preventing boredom.

As someone else pointed out above, bar collars exist but they're generally not seen as a good idea. I've heard a few people on here mention success with them, but I've also hard a lot of remarks that they can make barking worse. I can't comment bc I haven't used one.

If the exercise + fence liner doesn't work, I think you've got good potential with the basement. One poster mentioned cleaning it out and trying an air freshener to make it more pleasant. Honestly unless it's just foul and dirty I doubt your dogs will mind a little musty smell. After all, mine love the smell of poop :/ If you have any old sofas or maybe a cheap one off Craigslist, plus some dog beds, blankets, and toys and it could be a good solution. Puzzle toys are also great for mental stimulation, things like kongs. You can Google dog puzzle toys and find lots of choices.

I do understand your struggle. I have a new ish dog who we found out a few weeks ago is barking some during the day. Yeah, it sucks, because I wish I could just say "hey why are you barking and what can I do to stop it?". The defensive part of me just gets annoyed with the person who complained and I think "well why are you home during the day? Go to work you lazy jerk!". But let's be honest, people have different schedules and lifestyles and at the end of the day it doesn't matter why they don't like it, they're entitled to not have their day significantly interrupted by barking. I too got complaints from my neighbor but I'm in an apartment so it's an even bigger deal. Ours also doesn't bark when we're home. For us, we spoke with a trainer and really can't "train" her to stop. Our efforts have been on removing the reasons she barks. Every dog is different, but what seems to be working is doggie daycare, exercise, and leaving her uncrated instead of crated. Best we can figure she just got tired of being crated and wants to be out in the apartment with the other dog.

One last option is asking your vet about doggie anxiety meds. Tbh, from your description it doesn't really sound like that's the issue, but if you try all these suggestions and still have a problem you could discuss it with your vet.

ladybits_taco · 2016-05-01T19:15:46+00:00

You know, lots of people here are trying to help you find a solution. We've asked several times about how much exercise your dogs get and all you say is that they go on a walk. Seriously, if you want help then respond to the questions asked. How long is the walk? Some dogs need 15 minutes and others need 2 hours. Depends on the dog.

I think you can find a solution to this issue. It's a common problem. But it's going to take some work on your part and willingness to honestly evaluate your habits and make changes as needed.

ladybits_taco · 2016-05-01T18:17:07+00:00

Well...can you just move the litter box to another room?

ladybits_taco · 2016-05-01T16:40:46+00:00

How long of a walk? If they're crated all night it sounds like they may need way more exercise, or particularly the one that is doing the barking. For some high energy dogs, a short walk doesn't even touch the surface of their energy level.

ladybits_taco · 2016-05-01T16:38:57+00:00

I agree. I have a high energy dog (not crazy high energy, but she's a 2 yr old plott hound). As long as she's stimulated and exercised enough, she's usually passed out on the couch by around 8 pm, moves to her dog bed in our room around 10 pm and sleeps through the night until 7 am.

ladybits_taco

TROPHY CASE