The Trail Of Destruction Continues

[Guest momofevie]

I'm sorry this is such a stressful situation. Robin's offer sounds like it could be win-win for both of you.

[Guest kydie]

I vote with lonly, since most greys are raised with a pack,, and your life has changed (you are his pack),, he is stressed,, gateing him alone makes it worse,, I vote a dogsitter,,, summertime may make it easier to find a neighborhood teen,, or a neice or nephew,, I have a list of responsiable teens who love to stay with my pack,, when I have to be away,, maybe it's 'cause I pay well who needs some extra cash,,

[krissy]

Leiden, do you live in Guelph? I live in Kitchener, but if Summit is cat safe, I'd be happy to let him hang out here on the days that I work from home, which I do a lot. Treasure is lonely and would love the company.

 

Thanks for the offer Robin. I'm not in Guelph right now though, I'm in Stratford. That would be a 40 minute round trip twice a day to drop him off and pick him up so I'm not sure that would really work. I think if he isn't showing any signs of improvement by the end of the week when my boyfriend comes down for the weekend I will have to send him home with the BF. I do worry though as the rabbits aren't getting to come out or getting attention as it is. I know he won't walk the dog in the morning. He gets up at 5 for work and he's been on about a dozen evening walks with us over the last 7 months. He'll just turn him out in the backyard in the am and probably take him around the block before bed. But if he prefers home with no exercise or attention to the place we are now with lots of exercise and attention then that's what we'll have to do. Strange animals greyhounds are sometimes. [sigh] He'll still have to travel because BF has to come down every weekend until I'm done to fix the damage, but at least it'll only be on the weekend when we're both home.

 

I wish they could understand English so I could point out that he had it pretty good with being downstairs gated on his own. Oh well. Poor boy. We'll see what happens. Another older greyhound just came in... owner is a little older too so I may see if her grey would like some company a few days a week.

[Guest Swifthounds]

Maybe I missed somethig, but why is the exercise and being at home and either/or proposition?

[robinw]

Leiden, do you live in Guelph? I live in Kitchener, but if Summit is cat safe, I'd be happy to let him hang out here on the days that I work from home, which I do a lot. Treasure is lonely and would love the company.

 

Thanks for the offer Robin. I'm not in Guelph right now though, I'm in Stratford. That would be a 40 minute round trip twice a day to drop him off and pick him up so I'm not sure that would really work. I think if he isn't showing any signs of improvement by the end of the week when my boyfriend comes down for the weekend I will have to send him home with the BF. I do worry though as the rabbits aren't getting to come out or getting attention as it is. I know he won't walk the dog in the morning. He gets up at 5 for work and he's been on about a dozen evening walks with us over the last 7 months. He'll just turn him out in the backyard in the am and probably take him around the block before bed. But if he prefers home with no exercise or attention to the place we are now with lots of exercise and attention then that's what we'll have to do. Strange animals greyhounds are sometimes. [sigh] He'll still have to travel because BF has to come down every weekend until I'm done to fix the damage, but at least it'll only be on the weekend when we're both home.

 

I wish they could understand English so I could point out that he had it pretty good with being downstairs gated on his own. Oh well. Poor boy. We'll see what happens. Another older greyhound just came in... owner is a little older too so I may see if her grey would like some company a few days a week.

did i call you Leiden? Stupid iPad!! it takes such liberties in changing words and names, and the changes never make sense. I know you're Krissy

[Guest Duke]

no advice, just cyber sympathy and support.

 

that is what you came here for.

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

Putting him somewhere else isn't really an option even if I'd like it to be. I can send him back to live with my BF in our home which is familiar. But he'll also only get two short walks a day and breakfast and dinner. My BF doesn't look after the animals. I do. As it is he's looking after the 3 rabbits, and it's almost more than he can handle. If I throw the dog back to him all 4 are going to end up getting minimal care. The BF means well, but he's just not the caregiver for the pets.

 

 

How could that be worse than the stress he's currently under? He'd probably be much happier in his own home, getting a couple walks, meals and to sleep where he's comfortable than being in an unfamiliar place where he hears people and another dog he can't get to.

 

How much care do three rabbits and a dog take?

 

What more does Summit need than a couple walks and to be fed that is so important that it's worth the stress to you, distruction to the house and potential harm to Summit?

[krissy]

no advice, just cyber sympathy and support.

 

that is what you came here for.

 

Thanks. It is I guess what I was looking for because I do know what the problem is, it's just a situation with no really good solution. I'll just have to see how he's doing by the end of the week and pick the lesser of the evils.

 

Robin - No worries, I figured you meant me.

[greytpups]

Krissy, I know how much you love Summit, but even if he doesn't get a whole lot of exercise while your gone, he may be less stressed. It's a tough situation, so hopefully you'll find a solution. Plus it's only for a short period of time in the whole scheme of your life.

 

Brooke still shakes like a vibrator when she's stressed, even when I tell her I won't ever let anything bad happen to her...you'd think they understand that by now

 

You can always keep me on the back burner as well for doggie care...no charge!

 

Jan

[Guest carmasims]

what about the two baby gates stacked on top of each other + muzzle? you'll just have to ask the people you're staying with not to let him out of the arrangement though... maybe also kong/ or treat ball or something?

[fionasmom]

Can you ramp up the exercise by having him wear a backpack during the walks? I have a young English pointer and could not possibly walk her enough to burn off her energy. On days when we don't go to the dog park, she walks with me for an hour while wearing a backpack with weights in it. That is enough of an extra workout that she is much better behaved now.

[Guest Swifthounds]

I can't imagine a backpack with weights is a good idea on something like a sighthound. It's probably fine for dogs not subject to huge health impacts from as little as 5# of extra weight.

[Yamaha_gurl]

How loud is the radio? Perhaps turning it up...adding a tv, that way he can't hear what's going on upstairs? My offer still stands, with Robin, Jan and I, we can keep him so busy he won't even have a minute to think about being "bad"

[cleptogrey]

what about the two baby gates stacked on top of each other + muzzle? you'll just have to ask the people you're staying with not to let him out of the arrangement though... maybe also kong/ or treat ball or something?

 

baby gates can easily be knocked down by a dog in distress. at the end my poor old welsh terrier was confused. i tried gating him in his well known kitchen. no problems in the past, but w/ his advanced age and confusion he destroyed the gate inorder to get out to the other dogs. any barrier can be broken down.

[Guest Swifthounds]

Not only can they knock down a barrier, but a distressed dog can and will hurt himself/herself in the process and make quite a mess.

[krissy]

Going home vs. exercise is an either/or situation because my boyfriend is not a walker and he won't walk the dog farther than around the block twice a day. He works long hours too and has to look after the 3 rabbits right now too.

 

To whoever asked how much work can 3 rabbits and a dog be, it's a lot for someone who has looked after absolutely no animals before. So like I said, if he's not showing any signs of improvement by the weekend when the BF comes down to visit then he'll take Summit home, but he will get much more attention and care being with me than with his dad which is why it really is better for him to adapt to the new living arrangements. I literally mean he will get minimal care. He'll get 2 short walks and no more. He's got an iron bladder, but even I would prefer him to get out at least 3 times. He's not old but he's not exactly young, and I worry about the stress that puts on his kidneys. Not to mention that the BF doesn't always listen to the things I tell him... things like "No, the dog can't have that, it has onions" or "No, you cannot let the dog off leash" or "No, the dog can't run around like a mad thing 4 hours after his surgery" or "Please don't let the dog stick his whole head out the window while you're driving". Maybe I'm a little over protective because I see the ramifications of these things at work and school, but the BF totally doesn't get the significance of some of my precautions.

 

Note that when I say people are in and out, I don't mean all day. The little girl is at school, her mom is at work, and her dad works 2 hours away and is therefore only home Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I leave about an hour before the kid goes to school and her mom comes to work, and I get home usually an hour after the little girl gets home with her grandmother, and so long as she doesn't have an after school activity to go to before I get home they usually let him out when they get home. So it's not all that often that he is home with people tromping in and out, just our schedules don't perfectly match so there's a bit of overlap.

 

In terms of ramping up the exercise, I don't think I can. He's tired when he gets home. I've tried to take him jogging with me, but he will only go for about 3 minutes, dragging at the end of the leash the whole time. I could get him a backpack and put a 500 ml water bottle in each side but I'm not sure he's really lacking in the exercise department, especially with the warmer weather.

 

Anyway, I'm thinking about moving his crate upstairs to the living room. He doesn't break out because he wants to look for me, because when I come home he has his 2 seconds of "hey! You're home!" and then runs straight upstairs to the living room to sleep. All he really wants is to sleep on the carpet in the living room. I have no idea why. He's allowed on the bed which is way comfier. So maybe being in his crate in his favourite spot will resolve this issue. It will also be somewhere he can see people if they do come home so he knows who's home and can see the action.

[Guest Swifthounds]

By two short walks you mean for exercise? I hope that's not all the potty breaks. Even my youngest boy who has an iron bladder and could do that goes out a minimum of 4 times daily.

 

Yikes. For me the boyfriend issues would make the hound issues seem negligible. Wish you lots of luck.

[krissy]

By two short walks you mean for exercise? I hope that's not all the potty breaks. Even my youngest boy who has an iron bladder and could do that goes out a minimum of 4 times daily.

 

Yikes. For me the boyfriend issues would make the hound issues seem negligible. Wish you lots of luck.

 

No, I mean 2 walks the entire day. Might get 3 some days if I really stress the importance. The BF is amazing, and he's been taking good care of the bunnies... he tries to get them out to hop around every day or every other day because he knows it's important to me even though I'm sure he feels like there are more enjoyable things he could do with his free time than supervise rabbit free time. He doesn't look after the pets regularly. If I'm sick or away he will look after them for me, but he's never had to do it for several months. He's the kind of person that likes animals and likes having pets, but not so much that he would have one if he had to look after it all by himself. On the other hand, I enjoy looking after the animals. I love feeding them and seeing them so excited for dinner, I love going for walks and having someone to accompany me. So it works out that we can have the animals, I have a back up when I'm sick (when I was single no matter how sick I was I still had to drag my butt out of bed to take care of them which was really tough) or have to be away for a few days, but I have no issues being the main caregiver. He never grew up with pets, his parents are one step further than him... they like animals but they would never have pets because they're very particular about the cleanliness and orderliness of their home. And to be fair, the 3 rabbits were mine from before we started dating, so I really don't expect help with them. He likes dogs and he wanted a dog someday, but we got the dog because I wanted one as soon we could handle one.

 

At home if the BF gets home from work before I get home from school, he usually doesn't walk the dog. I get home and take the dog out to do his business. I sometimes invite the BF to come with us on our evening walk, and if it's nice out he might take me up on the offer. The boy is just not a walker. Before we got the dog I would sometimes go for walks on my own just to have a nice stroll. Anyway, maybe he would if I asked him to and made a point about it being really important, but I think just the bunnies are quite the handful for him right now as it is.

[Guest momofevie]

Thinking good thoughts for you and Summit during this stressful time.

[kamsmom]

Other people and goings-on in the house that he can't see or get to. That will drive most dogs absolutely nuts -- one of the toughest situations to live with.

 

This.

 

 

 

Also didn't you say you are only interning for about 4 more weeks? Maybe Robin could help for that time? Or maybe you and the boyfriend could "swap" the animals. You keep the bunnies in the basement and he keeps the dog.

40 minutes round trip is not that bad. I drive 45 minutes each way to work and back every day.

Edited June 7, 2011 by kamsmom

[krissy]

Other people and goings-on in the house that he can't see or get to. That will drive most dogs absolutely nuts -- one of the toughest situations to live with.

 

This.

 

 

 

Also didn't you say you are only interning for about 4 more weeks? Maybe Robin could help for that time? Or maybe you and the boyfriend could "swap" the animals. You keep the bunnies in the basement and he keeps the dog.

40 minutes round trip is not that bad. I drive 45 minutes each way to work and back every day.

 

My externship is 4 more weeks. Then we go to OSU for 3 weeks. OSU should be better though because we are staying with greyhound people. They have a couple of greyhounds and a non-grey, so he should be fine hanging out with them all day... real company as opposed to being jumped on by a puppy.

 

I can't bring the rabbits. The family has cat allergies (they do have a cat) so they don't want the rabbits in the house. I did think of that and ask but they can't have the bunnies in the home.

 

In terms of driving 40 minutes twice a day, yes, it's do-able technically, but I wouldn't be able to when I'm on call. But like I said, I did just meet a lady today with an older grey that is local and could maybe be convinced to have Summit over a few days a week as company for her old girl, so I'm going to try that avenue and see where that goes. I don't know where all the other greys in this town are. I'm told there are lots but so far have only met 3, and none have really been a good match for a dog sitter... todays being the best bet. I am going to call the doggy daycare as well and see if that's an option... but I'm still not sure he would enjoy that.

[greytluck]

Nevermind

Edited June 7, 2011 by greytluck

[BootsyCollins]

If you can afford doggy day care, talk to the owner about having him stay in the office and not in the main part with the pack of dogs. My sister's aussie goes to day care, and they have an old golden who stays in the office / front with them, and never goes in with the dogs. It's very cute.

 

Just to clarify, the golden is a client, and does not belong to the day care.

 

 

[Guest sheila]

I have read every single post thoroughly both yours (Krissy) and the replies and I can see that this is really a pickle and there is no 'ideal' solution. When I am faced with dilemma and can't find the ideal solution I then go back over my options and find the ones that are 'least problematic' If I were in this position the least problematic would be to have Summit go back home with BF. I would much rather do something like that then leave my dog with someone I really don't know well (if at all). JMO.

As for those who made off hand remarks about the BF in this situation. I think that is unfair. It sounds like the BF is willing even he is somewhat reluctant to take on the care of the critters. Not everyone is a natural caretaker of pets, that doesn't make them a bad person. In fact, if a person such as this is willing to take on the responsibility, even when it is not a passion of theirs I think it's a testament to their character that they are willing to try.

[tuff]

I had a dog who was the sweetest, nondestructive girl ever. She was recovering from a broken leg. I had her confined in a small bedroom. The day my housekeeper came in to clean, my gentle girl destroyed all the woodwork around the door and ate a hole in the drywall. I know it was because she could hear them.