Monroe Chat

Brandy, JMO.... I cannot imagine the smell in that persons home if she is intentionally keeping the dog indoors and making it potty inside. Other than that, dogs need exercise and some fresh air. My dogs (and I assume other peoples' dogs as well) will go outside and just look around at things and listen to things and I cannot imagine not allowing them the opportunity to do that. My neighbor puts his dogs out at 6:00 AM no matter what the weather and doesn't let them in until 10:00 or 11:00 PM.... My dogs are pampered princesses (is that a word?) and go out to play for 20 - 30 minutes every 2 or 3 hours and then they are ready to come back in. If it's extremely hot or cold or raining, they don't even stay out that long.

Just a quick note if you haven't already heard this one before. An easy way to tell if your dog has fleas is to brush them out on a white sheet (anything white) and if you see any specks on the sheet when you are finished, get them wet. If they turn red, your dog has fleas. The dark specks are flea waste (dried blood from your dog).

As far as what you said about the smell in her home....I totally agree. She looked at me like I was "nuts' because I said I wanted to break him outdoors. I guess each to their own?

Both of mine are indoor dogs and for some reason they don't like to stay out any longer than it takes them to do their business Sometimes they do...but not often. I don't have a fenced in yard, and would love to. But I have taken them to my mother's on occasion so they can run free in her backyard. (fenced of course) Five minutes and they're ready to come in??

Thanks for the info on the trick to finding fleas. This could be helpful to some who don't know. I was however already aware of this

After writing this that day, I went to feed them, only to find out they eat Pedigree in both hard and canned food. Where was my brain on that?

Still...they both tend to do real good for days at a time, then one ends up sick?
Last night my puppy was sicker than I have ever seen him. He's been the one that has only got sick maybe once before. Last night I was up with him all night. He's eating good so far today, and very hyper, so hopefully whatever it was has passed. If not, off to the vet.

wifostarz wrote:Brandy, JMO.... I cannot imagine the smell in that persons home if she is intentionally keeping the dog indoors and making it potty inside. Other than that, dogs need exercise and some fresh air. My dogs (and I assume other peoples' dogs as well) will go outside and just look around at things and listen to things and I cannot imagine not allowing them the opportunity to do that. My neighbor puts his dogs out at 6:00 AM no matter what the weather and doesn't let them in until 10:00 or 11:00 PM.... My dogs are pampered princesses (is that a word?) and go out to play for 20 - 30 minutes every 2 or 3 hours and then they are ready to come back in. If it's extremely hot or cold or raining, they don't even stay out that long.

Just a quick note if you haven't already heard this one before. An easy way to tell if your dog has fleas is to brush them out on a white sheet (anything white) and if you see any specks on the sheet when you are finished, get them wet. If they turn red, your dog has fleas. The dark specks are flea waste (dried blood from your dog).

Now I have ran into a couple of new questions

1.) The youngest one (regardless of all the chew toys his spoiled butt has... ) still likes to chew on things he shouldn't. Mainly my daughter's shoes, whenever she forgets to put them up, and my new desk chair. Any suggestions?

2.) The oldest, who is now 3 1/2 yrs has NEVER bitten, or been mean to anyone. Never! In the past couple of weeks on different occasions, I have seen a side of him that I have never seen before. He has gotten really angry, for whatever reason, and has growled and acted like he would bite me, my daughter, and mother. I don't understand what might have changed his disposition?

I talked to someone about this and they said one of two things.
1.) He's getting old.
At 3 1/2 in doggie yrs...could this really be the case?

2.) He's jealous of the other puppy.
These puppy's are like Frick and Frack. They play together ALL day long and we try to give both of them equal attention.

Anyone?

TIA

There is a product called Bitter Apple that normally deters them from chewing. It's supposed to taste really bad. Now I tried this stuff with my cat who - get this - used to lay on top of the bookcases in my living room and and literally gnaw off the corners until she bled and blood would be spattered all over my walls. Nothing like walking into "Carries" house! I added some Bitter Apple and that damn cat would lay up there and lick the stuff in front of me!! I still have this evil cat but now she is too old and fat to jump that high so my furniture is safe. Maybe it works better on dogs.

Stitch HAS to have a Nylabone chewy before bedtime every night. We get the puppy flexible one. He does wear it down and we cut it when it looks sort of frayed like he could choke on it. He doesn't chew anything else and doesn't like hard toys. He adores stuffed toys and rips them into pieces - I just love it when he covers the floor in stuffing - not - but again Nylabone makes a hard to find soft toy called a Squeaky Cheeky pet. It's seems indistructable and "Rita Polkapants" has a very special place in the dogs heart.

I'm sure the baby will eventually calm down on chewing, they all do. In the meantime, lots of discipline and alternative toys. (Chewing a shoe? Give her a toy instead)

The other dog is not old and grumpy at 3 1/2. It is like "puppy transferance". The older dog is probably acting out because of the puppy. Puppy see, puppy do; why can't I be bad, too and get more attention, kinda thing. Then again, I'm no Dog Whisperer!

As for fleas - regular ole white Ivory dish soap and warm water works well to kill them. I use Frontline but I like Revolution, too. Advantage doesn't work well anymore and over the counter stuff like BioSpot or Harts is crap (not to mention can be dangerous). I'm not familiar with anything new. If you have a bad flea infestation, you can get a pill from the vet called Capstar. It instantly kills all the fleas on the pet. It's around $7-10 but you still need a topical to control the eggs and fleas that hop on later. Sometimes my cats get a little "wiggy" after giving them Frontline. A friends cat goes nutso and bangs into the walls - that's a pretty severe allergic reaction. Some are more sensitive the action on their nervous system. Stitch starts running around all crazy too, so I cut the dose in half and keep him occupied with a game of fetch for a half hour of so and he's fine.

Stitch loves Pedigree but he only eats dry. Duck & Potato is a good food and often recommended for allergies (expensive, tho!). Are you giving the baby vitamins? Stitch gets a half tab per day of Vi-Sorbits.

I'm so glad the two get along so well. All animals really do need a mate. One of the kittens we had last year adored Stitch. They tumbled all over this house together. Stitch was never happier than when he was playing with Tom-Tom. I shoulda kept him. I have hysterical video of them. Maybe one day I'l put it on YouTube for all the world to see that cats and dogs do get along.

Brandy I don't have all the answers but you know I'll help in anyway I can! How's the ear?

Thanks! I'll try the Bitter Apple and see what happens. So far he's only been chewing on my desk chair. Since he's already made his mark there I sure don't want him doing this to any of the other furniture.

Hahaha! That's funny about the cat. Someone had told me to use different kinds of peppers, make a paste and spread it on. I thought this sounded a bit cruel...lol, plus I "thought" they meant the ground peppers. I had several flavors for cooking, so I made a small paste a couple weeks ago and rubbed it on the legs. What did he do? Licked every bit of it off! He loved it!
I thought he would run for water but he didn't. This person later brought me different types of "hot peppers" from the garden to mix, mash, and use. I never had the heart to do that. I have been pretty successful in keeping him away from the chair lately though.
Also, I do keep the chew toys out to replace the shoes as well

I agree. The Advantage is no good. (At least on mine) But the Frontline works great. Don't have a problem with fleas using the Frontline. They do carry a couple in when they go out, so we just make sure to comb them after every potty break.

The first week we brought the puppy home, the other one didn't seem to want to have anything to do with him. He kept his distance. But we made sure to give equal amounts of attention. After that first week they started sniffing one another...lol...and became best friends. They play good together and wear one another out playing all day. They have been together for 4 months now, so it just seems unlikely to me the older one is jealous all of a sudden? I could be wrong...but after 4 months you would think this just didn't happen over night. I don't know. It's times like these when we wish they could speak...lol.

His ear? If your talking about the boo boo I made, that healed within the week. The vet also said it was healing when he looked at it that day. Having "tremors," I should have known better than to attempt that on my own. I would have thought he would have yelped or something, but he didn't make a noise.
If your talking about them standing....they have stood for almost 2 months. The 2 of them were rough housing a few nights ago and back down that ear went
Sooooo....I am back to point 1, trying to retrain that one. He looks "odd" with one up and one down. Not to mention how I shaved and trimmed around them to where they look like elephant ears But the hair is growing back...lol.

Maybe I was told about the vitamins and forgot? I'm glad you brought this up, I will definately get him some.

Snickers likes ANY kind of dry dog food, and will eat it dry. Cocoa on the other hand don't like eating dry dog food at all. He would rather starve. Lol

That video sounds like a hoot! You need to youtube that so we can see it!

Thanks for your help...I do appreciate it!

catnipandcarrots wrote:There is a product called Bitter Apple that normally deters them from chewing. It's supposed to taste really bad. Now I tried this stuff with my cat who - get this - used to lay on top of the bookcases in my living room and and literally gnaw off the corners until she bled and blood would be spattered all over my walls. Nothing like walking into "Carries" house! I added some Bitter Apple and that damn cat would lay up there and lick the stuff in front of me!! I still have this evil cat but now she is too old and fat to jump that high so my furniture is safe. Maybe it works better on dogs.

Stitch HAS to have a Nylabone chewy before bedtime every night. We get the puppy flexible one. He does wear it down and we cut it when it looks sort of frayed like he could choke on it. He doesn't chew anything else and doesn't like hard toys. He adores stuffed toys and rips them into pieces - I just love it when he covers the floor in stuffing - not - but again Nylabone makes a hard to find soft toy called a Squeaky Cheeky pet. It's seems indistructable and "Rita Polkapants" has a very special place in the dogs heart.

I'm sure the baby will eventually calm down on chewing, they all do. In the meantime, lots of discipline and alternative toys. (Chewing a shoe? Give her a toy instead)

The other dog is not old and grumpy at 3 1/2. It is like "puppy transferance". The older dog is probably acting out because of the puppy. Puppy see, puppy do; why can't I be bad, too and get more attention, kinda thing. Then again, I'm no Dog Whisperer!

As for fleas - regular ole white Ivory dish soap and warm water works well to kill them. I use Frontline but I like Revolution, too. Advantage doesn't work well anymore and over the counter stuff like BioSpot or Harts is crap (not to mention can be dangerous). I'm not familiar with anything new. If you have a bad flea infestation, you can get a pill from the vet called Capstar. It instantly kills all the fleas on the pet. It's around $7-10 but you still need a topical to control the eggs and fleas that hop on later. Sometimes my cats get a little "wiggy" after giving them Frontline. A friends cat goes nutso and bangs into the walls - that's a pretty severe allergic reaction. Some are more sensitive the action on their nervous system. Stitch starts running around all crazy too, so I cut the dose in half and keep him occupied with a game of fetch for a half hour of so and he's fine.

Stitch loves Pedigree but he only eats dry. Duck & Potato is a good food and often recommended for allergies (expensive, tho!). Are you giving the baby vitamins? Stitch gets a half tab per day of Vi-Sorbits.

I'm so glad the two get along so well. All animals really do need a mate. One of the kittens we had last year adored Stitch. They tumbled all over this house together. Stitch was never happier than when he was playing with Tom-Tom. I shoulda kept him. I have hysterical video of them. Maybe one day I'l put it on YouTube for all the world to see that cats and dogs do get along.

Brandy I don't have all the answers but you know I'll help in anyway I can! How's the ear?