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TINMANPDX

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Posts posted by TINMANPDX

    Designated Poo Space?

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    If they're used to pooping on much - put down a square of much. You might have to leash-walk to it for a while, until they get used to going there. If it's the right place - put the much where your boy already goes. Once dogs establish a poop-area - they generally stick to it. Both my greys - and 90% of the fosters - would go to my back fence line to poop. Easy clean-up, small area. I think once one dog established it as the poop-area - everyone else followed. BUT - we had fosters that would poop all over the yard. No biggie - as they were temporary - but if they were MY dog - I'd have leashed-walked them to the poop area, so they got in the habit of going there. A poop-area is pretty easy to establish. Pee - that's a WHOLE different story. Expect yellow grass circles all over your yard.

     

    I had not considered using my boy's existing area of preference or leash walking Lea to that area to get her to go there too. She is extremely efficient and does her business immediately when she goes out, so I don't think I would have to do much but walk her out and unleash her when she finishes. I am going to give this a try for a couple of weeks and see if she can get the idea.

    Designated Poo Space?

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    I got some decorative fencing panels from Lowe's, and fenced off an area for my grey. Her area is 8x12, just off our patio. The fence extends to the deck, so she can't get to the rest of the yard unless I let her. It took a couple months, but she got the point and will now generally return to her yard if she decides to go while out in the main yard. They are the type that sit on pegs in the ground and interlock. I keep one of them from interlocking, and clip it closed with a carabiner, and it makes a nice gate. (They probably sell gates with some of these fences, but not with the style I chose).

     

    I use straw on the ground to prevent muddy feet in wet weather. My grey faces the fence when she poops, so they all land outside her walking path. That really helps prevent poo foot, for her and me. The straw is excellent for pickup too. I scrape it all up and replace it in the spring, but during the rest of the year I just put more down when it gets bare in spots. I go through about two bales a year with this method. She almost never tracks any straw into the house either.

     

    I took this pic before I started using straw.

     

    yard_zps82eb06e0.jpg

    She was looking into the rising sun when I too the shot, that's why she's being all squinty.

    I like the fancy fencing! Hadn't considered straw ... Seems like it might not get dragged back into the house as bad as mulch or pine shavings. Thanks for posting the pic!

    See these threads

     

    http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/300777-potty-yard-surface-suggestions/?do=findComment&comment=5560768

     

    http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/294913-greyscaping-a-small-yard/?do=findComment&comment=5430766

     

    In the first thread there is a pic of Rocket's turnout area with horse stall bedding to control the mud (pine shavings). This worked well, and since we are getting 3 inches of rain today following the snow melt, i actually put down a couple of bales of shavings about an hour ago.

     

    There is also mention of a mulch call "hog fuel" in one of the threads. Being in Oregon, you can probably get that and have it blown in instead of having to lug bags or wheelbarrows full of the stuff. Unfortunately, there is no company here in Central IL that uses a blower truck for mulch, or that's what i would have used instead of the shavings.

     

    I like how the cones give him something to aim at. There are some dog parks here that use material similar to the hog fuel, and my two don't seem to like it much, I think because it is kind of rough.

    Designated Poo Space?

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    We recently moved from a duplex with a small yard, to a single family house with a HUGE yard. The yard at or old place had a grassy area surrounded by mulched beds with bushes. Both of the dogs did all of their business in the mulched area and used the grassy area for play and laying down. It was great because it was really easy to scoop poop off the mulch, and they almost never got the dreaded poo foot. In our new yard, our boy does his business at the far end of the yard, pretty much always in the same place, which makes it easy to clean up, but our girl does it everywhere, and unless I follow her around and scoop immediately, it is really hard to find. In the interest of keeping the yard cleaner I am wondering if we could somehow train them to do it in one designated space. There is an area off the side of the house with a door that leads into the house from our laundry room. I'm thinking we could put pine shavings or mulch in that area and plant a few small bushes and start letting them out through the laundry room door and somehow encourage them to do it there.

    I would be grateful for any suggestions or stories about how others deal with this issue.

    Another Positive Step Forward

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    This is the one I have. It would work great if Payton would let me trim his nails.

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003TU0XFU/ref=pd_aw_sbs_2?pi=SS115

    We have this one and I think we paid around $35 for it, so $24.97 looks like a good price. We take the dogs in every few weeks to a groomer who does $5.00 nail trims, and we dremel in between. We need to be more consistent about it, though. Neither of the dogs like it much, but treats help, as does having one of us distract by petting while the other dremels. I like the smoother appearance of dremeled nails, and would love to get my two's nails short enough so they don't click on the hardwood floors.

    Duct Tape For Corns - What's Your Method?

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Elliott has a reoccurring corn on one of his toes ... He has had countless hullings and one surgical procedure to cut it out of his pad, which took a long time to heal. The damn thing always comes back. We use a therapaw on walks, but he can't wear it all the time and we have hardwood floors. I feel so bad for him. I am going to try the duct tape. I never really thought it worked because it just sounds wacky, but it looks like people have had some luck with it. I so hope it works.

    Should I Change Insurance Companies?

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Is the premium increasing every year because your dog is getting older or just because the premiums increase every year due to inflation? I expect about a $5 increase per year just for inflation. Even if we switch to Trupanion the premiums will generally be increasing (though as Riverhound noted, they CAN actually decrease some years) but it's not because the pet is getting older, it's just because things tend to get more expensive

     

    In all fairness, it our Healthy Paws premiums have only gone up around 5 or 6 bucks a year .... I just assumed for age, but inflation may be the reason

    Should I Change Insurance Companies?

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    I don't currently have pet insurance, so I can't really speak to specific companies, but I do like the one that doesn't increase with age. I generally seem to have senior pets, and was very annoyed with VPI for increasing my premiums based on my pet's age, regardless of the fact that I had never submitted a claim :angry: After Molly's recent $$$ (and ongoing) I am reconsidering, but premiums not automatically increasing with age would be a deal breaker for me. I have heard good things about Healthy Paws, but no experience.

    I have had Healthy Paws coverage at 90% on my two and have never made a claim because we've never had anything exceed the 250.00 per dog annual deductible. The monthly premium has gone up every year due to their age, which is a little disappointing, since we've never made a claim, but they do disclose that the premium will increase annually.

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