NeedlenoseJake

Yes, I feel guilty for being so annoyed at him, but this is escalating to the point of barking in our faces. It's actually kind of scary! I'm okay with a little whining, but he is getting ridiculous. We're thinking of getting labs done to make sure it's not a medical thing.

Jake is a whiner, but lately (2 weeks?) it's been out of control! He whines all the time, and if you don't pay attention to him, like 100% of your attention, he escalates to barking and has even growled. He does this more when sitting on the couch with us, but he will still do it when on his bed. He stops when you pay attention to him, again, like 100% of your attention. We do try to ignore him, but it's hard with a dog barking in your face. I'm thinking we need to get him out more (usually one walk a day, but he has a dog door to go potty) and keep ignoring him. Just looking to see if anyone has other ideas or can commiserate!

Beautiful! You were lucky to have each other for so long, but it is never enough

Luckily Jake's only real fears are thunder and fireworks, but I have been there with that army march home if he hears one of those two. There is no reasoning with them!

Southside Animal Hospital. We use them and we like them. They don't have appointments, just walk-ins, and the prices are pretty good I think. Or is this the one where you don't like the new provider?

I'm not sure if this is what you mean, but if you crate the dog in your room while you and the kid are home wandering around, the dog may be very unhappy. They want to be with their people usually.

Whereabouts in Scotland are you? I was in Edinburgh for a year and I hope to travel to Scotland again someday! I use photobucket to host photos and it works really well

Congratulations! Getting on the couch already is a good sign she's comfortable!

I didn't even notice... I was too excited! What was it supposed to be? BTW, I got a large bag of bully sticks at Pet Club yesterday for $30. I think it was a pretty good deal.

Just curious, is this when you wipe his bottom or for a true bath? Just FYI they only need baths maybe 2-4 times a year at most.

Woo-hoo! I'll have to check that out! That's the cheapest I've seen not on clearance (49 cents/lb one time at Fry's- it was like Christmas!) Not sure about the whole chicken question. I usually use thighs with other add-ins.

First off... for the above comments, been there and think these are PERFECT ways to describe them! Are you muzzling him when you clean his bottom? I would! Also, I think to some extent this is normal unless it's happening all the time or seems to bother them. Jake "cleans" himself every once in awhile and I just look away and try to ignore the sounds People with much more experience than me will probably chime in here, but if you want to stick with a grain-free food, we fed Costco's Nature's Domain food for awhile and that seemed to be pretty good. Also, some people here swear by IAMS green bag for upset stomachs (not grain free). Do you have any photos of the little poop monster?

We call these "emergency blankets"... even though we need them most nights

Oh she is adorable!!! I love her fuzzy face!!! Have to ask- why "Wash"?

This week's issues with Jake... We left the top off of the trash and Jake pulled 3 pieces of trash out of it. He has been whining like crazy the past few nights- will stop when you pet him He keeps his butt by our heads when on the bed. I prefer the other end

Great advice! Read the "Cute and Funny" thread instead!

I would try to focus on your anxiety and getting that lower. As someone else suggested, try hand-feeding her kibble. Jake is my first dog and I was a little afraid of him. We've had him almost two years and I'm still a little cautious, but now I know what he likes and doesn't like. If it takes a growl to get there, that's okay. As time goes on you will learn what she likes and doesn't like. In the meantime, try to relax and give her love while she's standing up. Maybe this won't be helpful (I hope it is), but Jake bit DH once on the arm (apparently he doesn't like being dried off with a towel!) and DH is fine and we still love Jake. We just learned that he doesn't like towels! Hi, my name is Carla and my dog is not bed aggressive...

Well I suppose that is a step in the right direction. Congrats on getting to keep Arthur! Just looking at the photos you posted above, I would say that Sam likes him! I can't imagine him letting Arthur cuddle up with him if he didn't like him in his own way! That is a difficult situation with the grandparents, but just keep showing them how wonderful both of the dogs are. Does Sam like people?

That seems kind of harsh considering he allowed it and now is not. Can you tell him that you adopted this dog thinking it was allowed and don't feel right returning him because he's part of the family?

Jake gets this way in summer here when it's just too hot to do anything. He eats less and is much less playful.

We have Healthy Paws and, luckily, haven't needed to use it much. I was a little disappointment when I discovered that their deductible only includes what is allowed AFTER taking off your portion. For instance, we just had a $260 bill. $95 was office visit and not covered. So I thought the $165 remaining would go to the deductible. We have 70% coverage, and so only about $115 went to the deductible.

I think they have stuff called Angel Eyes for little white dogs who get tear stains. Maybe that would work?

This is what I was thinking!

Sending good thoughts! Just keep busy and she'll be home before you know it!

I can believe it! She looks a lot like my Jake