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Jimbuck

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Everything posted by Jimbuck

  1. I'm sure he's still settling in and adjusting to his new life. Believe it or not, my hound seems to get really excited around male strangers and just so-so around female strangers. I'd imagine it may have something to do with who trained, handled and spent time with them during their career that might play a role in a gender preference....if there is any? If only they could talk.
  2. I went through this with my boy for roughly 8 months. I did extensive alone training, behaviorist sessions, desensitizing and finally prescription anxiety meds. I think the biggest thing that helped Freddy (mostly) overcome SA was just time and routine. Our daily routine has, for the most part, remained unchanged since he's come home almost 2 years ago. On weekends I still treat it like a workday and get up early for turnout and big morning walks. When I'm just about ready to go, I open the freezer door and he's bustin' cheeks over to his bed where he receives his Kong. If I forget something and have to come back for any reason, he becomes rather unsettled for most of the day. It's crazy how much he thrives off of routine and structure. Is the crate required? It might be that Luna is just not digging the crate so much. A baby gate or two might be a good next step if your thinking about ditching the crate. The other thing I realized is how well he could pick up on my anxiety and feed off of it. I had months of being scared to leave the house for fear that he would howl and cry all day. Like you, I have neighbors I need to keep happy in my building. The monitoring you have setup was a great aid for me to gauge progress, triggers etc. SA is very tough to deal with but keep at it and things will get better. Eventually Luna will realize that Mommy needs to go to work and earn some kibble money. Another thing to add is it might be worth talking with your neighbors and explaining the situation and that you're working very hard to remedy the issue. Keeping them informed on what is going on might also help ease your mind a bit. My neighbors upstairs complained about Freddy's howling and crying because it sounded like he was being abused and/or neglected. The howling and crying is just absolutely miserable to listen to so I can't blame them. After speaking with them about the situation they now have some invested interest in Freddy and have even offered to watch him while I go out sometimes. They also now realize just how spoiled he is! Good luck and stay positive!
  3. Jimbuck

    Spudzilla

    I'm sorry to hear of your loss. Godspeed Spud.
  4. Best wishes on a successful surgery. On a side note, what were the symptoms that alerted you of blockage? Was she not pooping at all or was it just a decrease in the amount of poop? Was she uncomfortable or slugish? I'm asking because my hound seems to enjoy snacking on things at the park on occasion and sometimes I can't get to him in time before he swallows whatever it may be. I hope everything goes well!
  5. I walk before and after work to take care of bathroom duties, usually 45-60 minutes based on weather and my schedule. If we are in a time crunch or if it's very cold/warm out. We'll modify our route to go past high dog traffic areas so he marks up a storm and empties himself out. He's also got a bladder the size of a beach ball so I continue the walk (if time permits) until he's shooting blanks then head for home.
  6. Ugh. We just switched to Nutro last month and I really haven't noticed anything different about my GH. It appears that I might be looking for another brand sooner than later. Does anyone know if any Nutro recalls have taken place in 2013 so far? Also, at what point does a company have to make a public recall? Thanks for the info.
  7. We live in a fairly urban environment so I was looking for something that fit the bill against loose dogs and undesirable people. The issue with spray is we always seem to have wind blowing and changing directions. I simply wouldn't have the time to take into account wind direction, where my dog is and all the "what if's" in an attack. I need to be able to just react. I ended picking up a baton that extends to 21" at the flick of a wrist. It would be a last resort measure if my feet can't do the job. I've only had one encounter with a loose dog that wanted a piece of my boy and a swift kick remedied the situation. I HATED doing it but I refuse to let my dog be on the receiving end of an attack. If you do go the spray route, try and find something that sprays a stream and not a mist. The mist goes everywhere in a light wind.
  8. lol. I'm not sure if I should feel happy about him cleaning up after himself or if I should be disgusted by the fact that he knowingly pee's on his leg and lick's it up afterwards.
  9. As others have mentioned, I look for the "poop trot". Freddy usually hold's his head low towards the ground and has a bit more bounce to his step shortly before taking care of business. I've had to scrap up the pudding poop off the sidewalk before and it was not pretty! This was while he was still adjusting to home life and a new diet and only lasted a few weeks. Peeing is a bit harder to identify as he will casually lean forward and let it rip. Usually this results in him peeing all over his front legs and then he spends the next few minutes cleaning himself up. I'm glad my dog isn't the only one guilty of peeing on their legs and having no shame!
  10. I think it's a corn also. Freddy started limping on rough sidewalks and harder surfaces which is what gave us the clue. We applied bag balm at night and put a baby sock on to moisten it up for a few days. After that you could see the outlines of the corn better and then we used a small amount of duct tape over the corn. We replaced the duct tape a few times when it would fall off and over the course of 3-4 weeks the corn vanished and we haven't seen it since. I know duct tape doesn't work for some but we had great luck with it as long as we were persistent. There's a lot of info. on this forum that I found helpful with corns, just try a few different things and hopefully something works for you. Good luck!
  11. I haven't tried canoeing with Freddy but he has become my new fishing partner in my boat. He wears a harness and a 10 ft. lead that is attached to the seat. He is a velcro boy so as long as his human is there he loves it! I only bring him during cooler days or early morning/late at night to avoid the heat/humidity. I'd look into a life jacket and at the very least a harness for when something does go wrong. Also have a plan of attack for the what if's that come with canoeing.....and dogs! I know if Freddy were to go overboard in a canoe, it would be quite difficult getting a panick stricken hound back in the canoe without hurting anyone or tipping. Unless we had a square stern or outriggers, I don't think my boy would enjoy it very much. All dogs are different though, let us know how it goes and good luck!
  12. I crate when I'm not at home. We've got a consistent routine and as long as we follow it he's just fine. I've had Freddy for about 14 months now and I'm going to begin weaning him off the crate and give him more freedom to roam when I'm gone.
  13. My boy has been doing this the past few months with me as well. He loves to have his paw held while getting tummy scratches. I look at it as a sign that he's finally settled in and is enjoying the attention.
  14. It may not be venison, but I feed my dog duck and goose from time to time during the Fall and Winter months. It makes a great treat dehydrated or I'll cook a little on the side when I'm preparing duck or goose for myself. I always cook it in some way so I can't comment on how raw would go. Glad to hear the pups are enjoying the meat! Lucky dogs!
  15. She's gorgeous! So glad to see she's fitting right in with the rest of the family. I also agree with what someone posted earlier regarding her tail. Contest material.
  16. My boy is a leaper as well. Anytime he commits to going upstairs it's "look out!" because he likes to do them all as quickly as possible. I've had it happen a few times where I've been carrying something upstairs and halfway up he decides he wants to come with and starts running up the stairs. Halfway up he realizes I'm in the way and just freezes and gives me the look of "daddy, I need help." This results in me having to put down whatever I may have and get behind him to help get up. Coming down it's one at a time very cautiously. I've never thought about the long term effects of this type of behavior but it sounds like I should revisit stair training with him so we don't run into issues down the road.
  17. Oh geesh. I just picked up a bag of vension & potatoes to hopefully work it in to my boys current green bag of iams diet. He seemed rather hungry after dinner yesterday....I wonder if this contributes to that behavior.
  18. I feed pig ears as a treat every now and then. My boy loves em'.
  19. Plenty of great advice here. I think one of the last things the world needs is more backyard breeders. I've ran into people at parks and on walks fairly regularly who talk about wanting to breed their dog. I always tell them to go to a local shelter and tell me if the world really needs more puppies. Plenty of great dogs at local shelters that just need a second chance with a loving home.
  20. I ran into a similar situation with my boy as well. I have mostly shiny wood floors in my condo and main common entryway. For about 3 months he would get halfway through the kitchen or wherever and then just statue up. I'd have to run over and stabilize him, then guide him to the various rugs (safe zones). I think what really helped was just getting out on different shiny surfaces at local pet stores or other pet friendly places. I'd always stay close for comfort and lead the way and he seemed to get more confident with the shiny stuff. Going through the small critters section of the pet store seemed to take his mind off of the floors pretty quick! Freddy is over the shiny floor thing for the most part, but is still cautious on new surfaces sometimes. What about starting to walk him down those hallways now and bringing a few smelly treats with as a nice incentive for tackling those shiny floors? I'm sure it will get better, it will probably just take time and patience. Good luck!
  21. It sounds like you made the best decision for Bo and that's really all that matters. It takes a big person to be able to realize when/if a dog is unhappy and be able to put your feelings aside and do what's best for the pet. Hopefully you can find gratification in knowing that you helped the adoption group better understand Bo's wants/needs as well as being an important step in his transition from the track to the couch. Thanks for keeping us in the loop on the decision.
  22. Derek, Thanks for the link. I'm ordering some of that Tanglefoot tonight. I think I might end up buying some plastic shower caps to apply the Tanglefoot to and then put over my hat. Looking forward to giving this a shot. I might not be the hippest cat on the water but I'll certainly be more comfortable!
  23. We fish in Nestor Falls, ON. every year and have yet to figure out a way to keep those buggers at bay. It gets so bad we'll drive the boat wide open for a few miles to get some relief only to have them hunker down inside the boat and then reappear when you slow down. They seem to really enjoy biting ankles for some reason? Those things are relentless and NASTY! I've been using a product called Thermacell the past few years during the evenings in the boat and that has worked wonders on mosquitoes and horse flies. We'll be bringing it up to Ontario here in a few weeks to put it to the test on those Deer Flies. It's odorless and they have a few different models to choose from including a clip-on style. I'd suggest trying one out and if it doesn't work on the deer flies, it will be another tool in the arsenal against the skeeters. Good luck! I'm curious what others come up with for answers.
  24. When I visit my folks with my boy I'll bring rubber undermats (I think that's what they are called) that keep rugs in place. I cut them to size on each stair so he feels more comfortable with hiking up and down the stairs. This might be something to consider in the meantime? We don't have stairs at my place so it took my boy a while to understand how to use the stairs. Lots of encouragement and I always stood behind him while going up and in front while coming down. Treats at the top and bottom always worked well too.
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