No No Bad Dog?

I used to get so upset at the thought that any dog was yelled at enough that they thought their name was No, No, Bad Dog. What kind of life is that? Dog should be nurtured and loved. If they are doing something that wrong, the human has an issue, not the dog! Why are humans so awful to other creatures? This really bothered me.

Then I brought home Sunshine. This dog lives to get into trouble. She will tip toe up to you steal a flip flop out from under your nose, and tip toe away without you even noticing. She's like a little 4 legged ninja! You can holler at her and all she does is blink at you. She is not put on this earth to be a good perfect dog.

It took me a long time to finally realize why she was brought into my life. Sunshine was brought into my life to teach me all about a shy dog. To totally debunk the whole dominance theory that was still rattling in the back of my head. To make me a better advocate at the Vet's office. She made sure that I didn't sweat the small stuff. Learned to laugh at the disasters that don't really matter in the long run.  Houses were meant to be redecorated with stuffy fluff. Flip flops, hats, and used wash clothes taste really yummy and help with itchy teeth. A few holes eaten in the wall can just be spackled and sanded. I learned how to clean up corn oil off the kitchen floor along with the rest of the trash can contents. Did you know that fish food is irresistible?

One of my favorite memories is when BF caught her eating his slippers. He yelled at her, took them away from her, and banished Sunshine to the bedroom. I was reading in the bedroom. I watched while she walked in with him following her to make sure she got to the bedroom. Then he turned to stalk back out in a huff. Sunshine proceeded to tip toe follow him. I have never seen a dog tip toe before and I may have peed a little trying to only silently laugh... BF turned around to make sure she was staying in the room and Sunshine instantly froze with a paw midair. He corrected her again and sent her to her bed on the other side of the room. Turned to walk out and the exact same thing happened. By this time I was howling with laughter and he couldn't keep a straight face anymore.

Then there was the first time I left Sunshine at a close friend's house for the weekend. She's a shy nervous dog so we weren't really sure how it was going to go. It was a house where she had visited often and she was comfy with the people there. We expected her to be a little stressed. Well no one yelled at her the entire weekend, they just laughed at her and that egged her on. I gather that it all started when she cried a little in her crate at night. She was immediately let out of the crate and it all was party time from there! She started out by stealing tissue boxes and escalated, to jumping up and knocking the breath out of people, to stealing toilet paper, and jumping on top of dressers! She didn't stop running around the entire weekend. Oh the naughtiness!

It's amazing how time and experience changes your thoughts and opinions. Sunshine embraces the No, No, Bad Dog title. She's quite proud of it. I now have this proudly displayed on my minivan

Funny business

So I bought 11,000 BBs from a seller on Amazon. The green ones are a fresh bought 10,000 from Walmart. The container only holds 10,000. The black ones are what I received in the mail. Supposed to be 11,000. I think not! Seller is going to ship me some more, but this is not a happy online shopping experience.

 

Doctor Vent

This is going to be a bit of a rant on human and critter doctors. Both are serving the public and need to have some listening and communication skills. Being a pompous ass is not going to get you very far.

I don't envy them, in this day and age the general public is much more informed via the internet.  Your job as a doctor is to be up to date on the most current protocols and have the communication skills to advise your clients on any misinformation they may have attained. It more of a PR position than actually treating clients. I sure wouldn't want the job!

Competent doctors not only listen to their clients, but they retain the information and use that to help diagnose.

Dear human doctors,
If I tell you that I went 5 hours northwest over the weekend. Went hiking in the mountains,  spend the next 2 days picking over a dozen deer ticks off my dogs, then developed a bulls eye rash on my inner thigh within a few days, pay attention! Don't proceed to tell me that dog ticks do not carry Lyme Disease. Although that fun fact is true, it is irrelevant to the conversation. Don't act like your patient is an idiot and belittle them. Don't tell them that you see patients all the time who pick ticks off their dogs and then think they have Lyme Disease just by touching the tick.  I realize there are many idiots in the world, but do not automatically assume I am one of them. If I actually go to see a dr, there is usually a good reason for it.  Lastly, do not tell any patient anything unless you are up to date on what the CDC recommends.  It just makes you look like an idiot and fractures any trust your patient has in you. People should be able to trust their doctors.

Dear vets,
You guys have it even harder. Over the past few years I have developed less than a zero tolerance for any mistakes. I am a nightmare client, but your many colleagues have made me this way. One bad experience after another has made me the crazy owner who questions every single thing you tell me. Everything you diagnose. Everything you prescribe. Everything you suggest. I try not to be rude about it, but you better be able to tell me why, how, and what my other options are. Your got into this field to work with animals. Hell animals are the easy part!

Really good doctors can also interact properly with the pet parents. If I leave our appointment feeling like I needed to be more of a Momma Bear, you're not going to get any repeat business. If you listen to my crazy ideas, really listen, and talk to me like a human, you will have one hell of a loyal client. Don't ever tell someone their pet needs something just because that's what you reccomend. Tell us why. Be knowledgeable. If you need to go research and get back to me, I am 100% fine with that! No one knows everything and I would rather things are double checked instead of guessed.

Don't bring extra unnecessary people into the room and just tell me that you need extra help holding my dog who stands there politely. If you have someone who wants to observe, just tell me that! Please make sure they are quiet and not distracting during the exam. Don't rush and half ass my appointment! I paid a crap ton of money and rushing makes my dogs anxious and makes me not be able to ask all my questions

Dear vet techs,
Please learn something about body language. If a dog is shy and scared of strangers, screeching while trying to call the terrified dog over to you, will not get you far in this field. Exams should be a quiet calm environment. It's better for the vet, owner, and easier on the dogs that way. Rubbing the terrified dog all over, while they are frozen in fear will get your face ripped open at some point in your career. It will not be the dog's fault that you asked to be eaten. Pushing on that same dog's butt while asking the vet if the dog should sit, will get you bitch slapped by the Momma Bear who is trying their hardest not to kill you. I do feel bad about this vet tech rant. You just didn't know any better and the vet should have corrected you, but she was not doing her job correctly.

Bonus Dear petsmart check out person from two weeks ago,
Don't keep repeating that I 'Really take such great care of my dogs' Of course I do! That instantly gets my hackles up. Who are you to pass judgement on me??? I'm sorry you see so many fat, long nailed, smelly mouthed, greasy mutts. A better way to phrase this would be "Your dogs are gorgeous! They are so soft!" Those are complements. the above is some backward offensive crap.

PHEW! I feel better now! I need to rant more. Today was Sunshine's last acupuncture appointment and I'm back to being anti Dr for me. I'll just treat myself with antibiotics when I can and only go to the Dr if my arm is chopped off. Tomorrow is another day for us all...
 

 

So your dog is terrified of life?

Ever had a dog who is terrified of everything? Strangers? Dishwashers? Air Conditioning Units? Cars? Birds? Leaves? Sound of change clinking together? Being leashed up? Pictures hanging on doors or walls? Wind? Elevators? Any closed doors? (There could be strangers on the other side) Terrified of any part of life outside their safe crate. Terrified to the point of fear poop and peeing at the sight of a stranger who is still a solid 50 yards away? A dog that you have to physically drag outside? Not pull along but dragging, sliding dead weight across the ground?

Ever felt like you were completely in over your head? Wondering if you can ever both survive? Will your dog ever be comfortable in their own skin? Is it even humane to let them continue living in this fear? To what extent is our responsibility to our critters? Does it stop at physical health? Or mental health? What's an owner to do? Where does an owner turn to get help for their pup?
I certainly do not have all the answers, or any answers. I only know what worked for me and my borderline spooky little girl Sunshine. We are years in and still work on her braveness daily. It's become a way of life and will remain for as long as I am able to have her in my life.

Hopefully I can let others learn from my mistakes. I am still kicking myself about them years later. First thing I did was turn to my veterinarian. Your supposed to be able to trust them to help your pets, right? While waiting for the appointment I threw myself into researching anything and everything about shy, scared, timid, phobic dogs. I researched greyhounds in general along with other fearful phobias in all canines.

There is a wealth of information out there! All different theories ranging from always ignoring your fearful dog, to theories allowing you to comfort your friend. the one thing I ran into multiple times was that some greyhounds who have borderline low thyroid levels may display the signs of a thyroid problem. Anxiety, loss of hair, dull coat, low self esteem, etc.

So off we go to our vet trip and I explained all the issues we were having. How it was impossible to potty train since she was so terrified that she couldn't possibly go potty. Once back inside or when safe in the car she would instantly pee. She couldn't help it. At some point you just cannot hold it anymore! When that scared she would poop without even knowing that she was doing it. No squatting needed! That usually happened inside when we were surprised by strangers. Or at the vet office in the waiting room. She was basically living in a crate with a towel on the bottom, since it is easier to wash than giant comforters. We were at management and survival level for all of us.

I advised the vet that some of the members of the rescue group that I adopted through suggested putting her on some Clomicalm to help her adjust to normal life. Once your that scared, no one can learn any behaviors. Your body is in survival mode and adrenalin is taking over.  I then asked about the possibility of testing her thyroid to see if possibly that was causing some of these issues.
The vet was not happy about prescribing medicine but agreed to try the clomicalm, which would take about 4 weeks to kick in her system. We were refused any short term anxiety meds. The vet did agree to testing Sunshine's thyroid. What happened next still haunts me. I was so stupid. It took one vet tech pulling and two others pushing from behind to get the 60lb greyhound into the back room for a blood pull. Extremely traumatic for the dog and 100% unnecessary! Looking back they easily could have just picked her up and carried her back.

Her thyroid test came back borderline low but he vet did not want to let us try treating her for a low thyroid. After 6 weeks the clomicalm still wasn't helping and it was suggested by the vet that I accept that this dog could never go outside and that I should build an inside potty area in our 2 bedroom apartment for this 60lb dog! At that point I was asked to leave as a client. I have never stepped foot back into that vet's office and never will.

Next I called around to a number of other vet offices in the area to see if any of them were willing to consider medicating Sunshine's thyroid based on behavioral symptoms vs medical. Of course these places could not discuss this over the phone with me so this started our expensive vet hopping. We exhausted the other 5 vet practices in the area. None of them would help us. I finally heard of a place about 90 minutes away in another state. This vet actually owned a greyhound and had tried the thyroid medicine for some previous clients going off behavior instead of just clinical blood test numbers.

Third day of the new thyroid meds and BAM we have a new dog that knocked me on my ass when I came home from work! She became a crazy zippy dog inside the 4 walls of our home. Still scared outside with all the same fears, but at least she was outside of that crate. We started some Prozac and that slowly helped things get better...

It was a lot of hard work. Through trial and error I learned how to socialize Sunshine without flooding her. If I pushed to hard and exposed her to too much she would shut down and nothing productive would be learned from that experience. I had to learn to work within her comfort zone and notice her very subtle communications that things were too scary.

Having such a scared dog creates a flight risk. I had to make sure she NEVER got loose. There's no way she would come back to me while she was in a panic. So we created some rules. Mommy is your safe spot. I you come to me I will step in front of you and get between you and the scary thing. You cannot EVER run from a scary thing. You are allowed to be scared but if you run we will go back towards the scary thing. If you run away from the scary thing, but run to Mommy as your safe spot, your the best smartest pup ever and you get a pile of praise rewards and an endless supply of cookies! If you get scared and freeze on a walk, you can stand and look for a bit. If Sunshine still didn't want to move forward I would bend down and hug her tight with my arms around her chest right behind her front legs. Then lift her front legs off the ground a bit and jiggle her slightly in a silly way. Then release her and in the silliest voice possible say "Lets go little piggy" and immediately skip/jog/hop in the direction we were going in the first place. The jiggling and silliness distracts her from the scary thing and makes it fun instead.

We worked on obedience, which helped her gain confidence  She's a fence jumper so we channeled that into jumping onto picnic tables or boulders where we walk. She oddly calms down on top of boulders. She is higher up and can see things way before they get near her. The more skills she learns the more relaxed about the world she becomes. Jumping through hula hoops, jumping straight up to touch your hand with her nose, sitting, waiting, laying down, etc.

I researched and learned specific ways to interact with a shy dog. When she was scared, stroking on the top of her head triggers a brain response that establishes the fear. Stroking on her chest is a much better idea. It triggers a different part in their brain. Always stoke her underneath her neck to lift her head up to help increase her self confidence. Every normal dog behavior was rewarded. Stalking squirrels on leash was encouraged. Sniffing was praised. Rolling in smelly stuff on the ground was celebrated (This was clearly not thought through all the way!)
We managed through her fears in a pretty decent way. She improved so much that I was able to wean her off the Prozac and keep her just on the thyroid med. She was still a very shy dog, but I thought this would just be normal for her. We were past crisis level and I'm not really fond of keeping her on meds forever.

Over the next 6 months she slowly gradually slipped back into crisis level again. Our vet that was 90 minutes away no longer worked at that practice and I didn't know where to turn. We got a vet recommendation from one of our greyhound friends and I went to the appointment prepared for battle. This vet is about 40 minutes away and now I really know what people are referring to when they ask if your vet is greyhound savvy! Amazing! This vet listens to what I have to say and during our first appointment Sunshine even sniffed the Drs face for a millisecond! This is a stranger who is a vet! Amazing!

We started her on Prozac again and a heavy dose of Xanax for short term. 2mg twice a day. That heavy dose of Xanax is a miracle. The dog we had at home the first day of starting that was unrecognizable. Not scared out on her potty walks, she pranced everywhere, no longer hid behind me at every noise, excitedly embraced the leash because it meant a new adventure. No more hiding in the bedroom, she was active and into everything. Instant solution! I was shocked.

After a month of the Prozac we slowly weaned her off the Xanax and she reverted back to her scared spooky ways. The vet wanted to try Clomicalm and I advised we had tried that when she was first adopted and it did nothing. Then she suggested Amitriptyline. Cheap drug that has been around for a while and can easily be gotten at any drug store. Sounds perfect to me so we tried it. 4 weeks in and we had an amazing relaxed mentally sound dog.

It's almost been 2 years since we started on the Amitriptyline. I'm really not a fan of medicating my dog for the rest of her life, but I don't think it's every going to be worth the risk of her reverting back. If it shortens her life by a few years, she will have an AWESOME life. It is horrible to watch the dog you love and the dog that you are supposed to care and protect be trapped inside their own body and head.

My advice to anyone with a shy dog is to research! read as many different opinions/case studies/ and articles. The truth is somewhere in the middle of all of that conflicting information. Do not rely on your vet to fix this. Don't be afraid to insist on drugs. If the first one doesn't work, there are half a dozen others to try. Be assertive about your dog's medical and mental care, you are their only advocate. Make sure what the vet tells you makes sense and if you don't understand, ask! If they can't or won't explain it to you, RUN to a different vet.

Medicine is not the magic fix. It only allows you to get their brain's calmed down enough to be able to socialize and teach them that the world is not a scary place. I feel very guilty. If I had embraced the medicine on a serious level during the first two years we would not have had to go through the struggles and heartache that we did. Sunshine would have had two more years of a really nice life. You will never be done socializing and training.  You will have to keep this up until their last breath.

Sunshine is still a shy dog. When she gets scared she recovers like a normal dog, instead of shutting down for days. Most recently we were jogging on a trail and she suddenly spooked forward for 3 steps then swung in front of my path and faced behind us. A millisecond later a mountain biker called out, as he popped up over a hill, that he was coming up on our side. She spooked so hard that clumps of hardened dirt flew. I initially thought she was bit by a snake. She calmed right down as soon as I saw and acknowledged the scary bike. While laughing I told her she was a good girl for turning and coming back to me when she was scared. Of course I about died laughing, which helps her relax and realize the scary thing is not a threat. She is a great watch dog. We continued on our way as if nothing happened.

If something like that would have happened back when we first got her she would have been facing behind us for the rest of out jog/walk and have been fixated on something else possibly attacking us from behind. Everyone gets startled and scared of things. The normal reaction is to recover and go back to normal after it's realized the threats aren't real.

I try to get her out in public as often as possible. She has learned that kids aren't as scary as she once thought they were. Plus they usually have cookies! We travel very frequently. Basically every weekend from April-Oct, with three separate week long trips tossed in there for fun. She's used to packing up and experiencing different things. Used to being flexible and sleeping in hotel rooms. She's shy but so darn NORMAL. I can't wait to see how she is in another 3 years. She just might be jumping on strangers for pets as we meet them.

I am the pain in the butt owner at any vet. I do not allow anyone to take Sunshine into the back. I made that promise to her and I plan on keeping it. When she needed Xrays the ER vets let me walk her into the Xray room, lift her onto the table and position her. They held her into a pretzel while I exited the room. When it was time for position #2 they actually called me back in to help turn her over. They commented that she instantly relaxed in their hands as soon as I walked back into the room. How can you even begin to quantify that level of trust?

At our normal vet I only had to explain "My dogs don't go in the back without me because Sunshine had some very bad previous experiences and I promised to her that I would never that happen to her again. " I apologized for being a crazy owner, but this is what I require as a client.  Our vet rocks so much that she does everything in the room with me holding the dogs! They don't even ask to take any random foster dogs in the back. They do all procedures right in the room with me. Blood pulls, staple removal, stitch removal, etc. I figure they have my files labeled as crazy owner, but that is fine with me! :)

Hopefully some of my gibberish will help others with shy dogs. For my babies, their mental health is just as important as their physical health. If anyone wants to bounce any ideas off me please feel free to contact me. I would be happy to help if I can.

Letter from a Galgo

3 Box of tissue alert! I should not have read this at my desk!

http://www.yeartohelp.com/day-152-some-words-from-charlotte/#comment-3012

One evening, after rescuing Galgos, Charlotte broke down into uncontrollable tears.

She sat down at the computer and wrote the following letter. It is written to a hunter, a Galgueros, from a hunting dog, a Galgo. It came out in one single breath.
Señor galguero,
I sat waiting and waiting today as time passed and my hunger grew. You never came, even though we who are here fear your footsteps. You may just bring us those crumbs of bread which we all have to fight for, even though we wish there was enough for us all.
It’s cold in here tonight and the floor is damp, I cannot sit and I cannot lie down but for you”my master” I will wait in the cold and feel the hunger. When I saw you last you came and took my mother, I still await her return but she just has not come back. I don’t understand Señor Galguero, for I am a good Galgo and I try my hardest.
Can you bring my Mother back for I miss her terribly, and amongst the other dogs we are all chained up and behind bars? Can you bring her back Señor galguero for I miss her, I will do all I can for you in return? The morning follows and its colder than cold, my body is trembling and am so very hungry. My bones hurt when I try to sit but for you Señor Galguero I will not complain.
As dawn arrives I hear what are familiar voices and the door screeches open, I think we are going to play today. I don’t understand why you are so very angry with us all and your boot has more than once thrown me acros the floor, as now I see you angry with the pretty white galga in the corner, I didnt see her do anything wrong but while she feels the pain, today it is not my turn.
The door opens and we are all told to get into the box with wheels. The mud is wet and we scramble into the tiny trailer. Señor Galguero did you forget a rug to sit on? For you Señor I will sit with the rest – this way we are warmer as we are crampt together. We arrive at the fields and its play time, we run and chase and are ordered to catch the running hare that crosses the field. The pretty white galga who felt the boot is struggling to win, for she is lame and bleeding.
Señor galguero I hear you all laughing and cheering, and I dont understand it? I feel cold today, and so very very hungry. We move across the fields for what seems like forever, the white pretty Galga could not keep up, she was left behind to find her way. They didnt wait for you “pretty white Galga”, though I tried, but Señor Galguero hit me with a stick and I am shivering so I must run faster and faster, I am sorry pretty white Galga.
At the end of the longest day I am so hungry I feel so empty and raw, I am so tired and weak, did I not run fast enough master, for I tried all I could? We return in the box minus the white galga, and thrown into what is our hole with chains and irons.. A stick of bread all green and blue is thrown at us, but the biggest and faster ones reach it first. For me, my hunger reigns on.
Señor galguero as you laugh with the men – did you forget my share? I did good today for I didnt get left behind like the pretty white galga, I did good didnt I Señor galguero? I didnt catch your lunch but I ran as fast as my legs would carry me, all for you my master. The night is colder than ever and the floor outside is covered with crunchy white clouds, it’s all frozen and Ive not lived long enough to know what that is, I am sure my Mother would have explained. Where did she go, she never came back? I hear the footsteps yet again and I crouch in fear yet I hope there is food for my empty stomach.
Today its my turn, alone, Señor galguero grabs my collar pulls me and gives me a beating for I have not been as good a galgo as I thought. I limp to the cold crunchy white grass and we move along into the woods. I think this is a special day today as we are alone, and I hope I can catch his lunch for him today if my weakness lets me. We reach a hidden bearing of trees, and I smell a smell I don’t recognize, but there is a familiarity as I see a body there on the tree, what is she doing Señor galguero like that? I am so cold and hungry I dont know why we are here, it smells not nice.
Señor Galguero puts a wire round my neck and I sit patiently as perhaps we are going for a longer walk. I shiver as I am frozen and I almost can’t feel my body in cold. All of a sudden there is a rope placed on the wire, I don’t understand this.. but the tree is getting closer like the galga on the other tree. I am hoisted into the air, my feet begin to scramble I cant place my front paws on the ground for the wire is hurting my neck.. Señor Galguero what’s wrong why can’t I breathe? I hear him say “play the piano Galgo” and I don’t understand as he walks off saying “there’s more of you!”
I try and try and try but I cannot reach the gound, the pain is intense around my neck now and I cannot breathe, cutting m skin he blood runs warm down my neck chocking me in my mouth. I was a good Galgo I tried my best, I just didnt keep up with the rest. I am scrambling and my back paws are weak for they are what is holding me up. I have been here hours now, and I am giving up, Señor Galguero I think I am giving my life for you.
I close my eyes, and yet in the distance I see the most beautiful figure, so sleek and bright there is a white glow around her, she looks in the distance like the other on the tree..closer and closer she comes for me, she came back after all this time, my mother my beautiful Mother has come for me. It’s alright now she tells me, Señor galguero has gone and we head on now to “Rainbow Bridge” where no more Galgos suffer, we are all happy and run free.
Come and see! I close my eyes as the sun sets, I fought all day to stay with my master and its taken all this time. I’m free now, I feel no pain and my Mother says we will look down now and help the good people try to save more galgos who need rescuing. we will be like Guardian angels from above.
Goodbye Señor Galguero.

 

Petedge.com

I've been ordering from them for years! They have awesome prices on bulk items, which helps economically feed Sunshine's chewing habit. Those chipmunk cheeks of her need at least an hour work out every day to keep her sane. I wonder if she will still have teeth by the time she's 10 yrs old? Petedge's shipping has always been pretty expensive, but their good prices have always made it easy to overlook that

I've never had an issue with Petedge! Until now... I placed an order Sunday around noon. They charged my card immediately for payment. I decided about an hour later that I did not need one of the items, so I sent an email off to their customer service department requesting that is be removed if possible. I received no answer even though they were open until 6pm.

I called first thing this morning at 7:30am as soon as they opened and was advised that they haven't shipped out my order yet, but they would be unable to change anything on my order since they already authorized my card. Only they authorized my card immediately, so is it impossible to change any order EVER? No, no, no I was assured that they can usually edit orders but since mine has been charged already that they could not edit anything. But again they charged my card immediately.  So I was on the phone with a moron first thing this morning.

Honestly the item I needed taken off was only $15 so it's not a huge deal to me. I realize I was the moron who didn't think all the way through before placing my order and I should have. What is preventing them from getting my repeat business is that I hate being lied too and being talked in circles. It's just not worth the few dollars savings! I will find another wholesale website that wants my business.

One angry kitty

Frizzle and I are sparing again!

She darted out the front door last night. She had been so good ever since we put the Xpen out back to create a double gate. That's just not possible for the front door. Seriously now, even the dogs know they will die if they walk through that front door without being told to. Their ability to instantly calm down from a "yay people are home" crazy greeting to a concreted feet planted stay is a sight.

Why can't kitties be easier? The cats are now wearing the soft claws again so if Frizzle does get loose she has no hope in hell of ever catching food since she has no claws! The soft claws are staying since I really like my brand new furniture. Luckily I was able to throw everything down and tackle Frizzle as she was creeping into a bush. I've gotten smart and no longer try to carry her nicely back inside. She gets so mad that there is always a screaming hissy fit and she does still have teeth and back claws. So I always grab by the skin on the back of her neck with one hand and the second hand grabs the skin on her back by her tail. Meanwhile she's yowling and trying to thrash around and extract her revenge.

I get inside and am so mad that I throw her into the bathroom and slam the door. At this point she has smartened up and is very quiet... I stomp up to the attic to get out the Pet Safe Transmitters that are in storage. I've never been up in the attic... The ladder terrifies me and does not help the vertigo that I have off and on. Anger is an awesome motivator for pushing through fear.

http://www.radiofence.com/products/PetSafe-Indoor-Cat-Barrier.html Is what we have.

I set one up at the front door and a second one at the back door. Now the collar that was included with this set has been shredded by Frizzle. She shredded it in 3 weeks of use. So the replacement collar that I purchased is one that has replacement nylon collars available.

http://www.radiofence.com/products/PetSafe-Deluxe-Ultralight-Dog-Fence-Collar.html Is the replacement collar that she is wearing right now.

Since we stopped using it months ago when she darted through it and didn't care about the shock, I had to make it more impressionable for her. I shaved her neck! Yup that's right, no fur to protect her! Makes me sound like a big meany doesn't it? Any cat who was shocked like that would cower under a bed for hours and be freaked out for days right? Not Frizzle. She came down the stairs and got zapped by the front door. She felt it because she ran back upstairs at the speed of light. Took her all of 90 seconds to regroup and come down the stairs a different way to avoid the door. 90 SECONDS! This cat will be the death of me! How is she still alive? How have *I* not killed her yet?

Her retaliation has been scratching/trying to shred the collar all night long so I can't sleep. Both cats might be sleeping in the downstairs bathroom by next week if she doesn't knock that crap off.

Anyone want a free grey kitty? She cuddles really well when she wants to. I just purchased extra collar batteries....

Chilling Blast From The Past

Below is a post that was written back in May 2010. I'm one of the m0st anal people I know about my dogs getting loose. NO ONE is immune to this happening and it's important to know how to react. This was also a turning point in my life. We all lived through one of my worst nightmares and came out fine!

If your dogs get loose do not chase them! Turn in the opposite direction and try to look like your doing something interesting. Or make squeaky squealing noises and drop to the ground to get them to run over to you. You can even just try opening the car and asking if they want to go for a car ride.

I think I just stopped hyperventilating in the past 2 hours.

Last night I was going to buy a freezer off a dude from craiglist. Neighbors have been complaining that the dogs are barking/whining so I decided to take them with me. So I put them in the SUV and off we go. I was stopped and waiting to make a left when the SUV Grate in the back fell on the girls. Rainy panicked and wiggle wormed sideways out the window. Seriously was wiggling for a while then slammed into the ground on her back. By that time I was out of the car and luckily she ran up to some stranger, who I was able to plead/beg into putting a hand on her. I think he was scared of dogs....

 Once I had her my brother (who was behind us in his pickup) was already out and walking towards my SUV to get a leash. That triggered Sunshine to wiggle sideways out her window and bolt. Monkey see monkey do, right? Only she bolted up the middle of the street, deaf dumb and blind at 45 MPH. My brother followed her while I got Rainy back into the car and threw that wretched grate on the side of the road.

I followed by-standers directions to a teeny tiny ally, which backs up to an empty field. I finally got a hold of my brother via cell phone and told him to STOP chasing her/following her. He just didn't know any better, but it worked out since she ran into a wooded area away from the road. So I told him to stay put and NOT look for her since little Miss Sunshine will bolt if she sees a stranger.

So Rainy and I went tramping down in the wooded ravine. There was a creek at the bottom and I was thinking that maybe she wouldn't cross since she didn't seem that fond of water... but she is panicked so could easily jump the water. So Rainy and I so tramping in sticker bushes, poison ivy, and who knows what else... Sobbing and trying to sing and keep pleasant sounding chatter flowing... Hoping she didn't cross the water and climb up the other side of the ravine since there is a 4 lane busy road there.... braced waiting to hear screeching brakes and a bang.

We hike to the top of the ravine, get back to the field and stand there. I'm wondering if I can pull myself together enough to place a phone call to GEGR, and wondering how to get fliers made, and where I can find a giant live trap, and if I will ever see Sunshine alive again, etc

Then she stepped out of another wooded area and made eye contact with her cute little half perked ears. I had enough sense to calmly say "hey piggie piggy" slapped my thigh, turned away, marching off and called out "lets go" Little girl was heeling at my right side in a blink on an eye. She must have bolted to me. Then I tackled her!  Made a slip rope out of the end of Rainy's leash and promptly started to throw up in the cemetery.
Lessons learned
#1 those grates are all evil and should be torched!
#2 No open windows in the car more than 1" If Rainy gets overheated, oh well! Those windows were only open 4-5" Darn skinny dogs!
#3 I was a lot more upset yesterday then when the exhusband left, so I will be just peachy alone with my critters  
#4 don't get too upset over new icky neighbors! If they evict me they evict me! We will figure it out.

Then I got back to my car and my wallet was stolen. Bye bye $250 cash plus my wedding and engagement bands. I slipped those into the coin zippered part when I was moving.  Not to mention checks, debit cards, drivers license, the wallet that I really loved, etc My brother was PISSED about the wallet but I'm ok as long as I got my puppies back. It was nothing short of a miracle that Sunshine came home with us last night. I was at home for a few hours before I was able to calm down enough to breath correctly. The ING person kept telling me that it was ok.  I think he was scared to hang up the phone.

I'm really hoping yesterday was rock bottom and things are going to start looking up.

 Rainy is a bit sore today and not as cheerful as she usually is. Sunshine has some bloody nails from running on the pavement and some bruising on her belly. But other than that they are home safe! 

Wow, Mom really likes to yell!

Sunshine here! I'm starting to think Mom likes yelling at me... In the middle of he night a pitcher fell in the kitchen. It was highly dangerous so I alerted the entire household right-away-quick! Mom came down and found the evil plastic pitcher and said I was a good guard dog. Then she let me outside to pee.

We all went back upstairs and settled in to sleep. Then I got to thinking maaaayyyybbeee there was someone going to mess with my backyard! So I woke Rainy up and we crept downstairs really quiet so we can surprise the bad guys in our yard. As soon as we got down there I started barking really loud! Whoever even thought of messing with our yard must have run right away.

Mom came rushing downstairs yelling. I don't understand why... She let us outside so Rainy could pee and yelled at us to go back upstairs to bed. Then she put a baby gate in the doorway! We aren't babies!  It's insulting.

So I was trying to sleep and a little voice in my head told me to go look outside again. So I got up and shook the sleepiness off. Walked over to the baby gate and slowly started to worm my way underneath it.

Mom has a demon voice when she's really mad. Usually only the naughty kitties get that voice. She growly, demony, raspily, hollered at me and told me to "GET BACK TO BED" She gets scary!

I belly crawled backwards back into the room and slinked back to bed very quietly. She always says we live at a zoo and I was just showing her that she should take us puppies with her in the morning to the Philadelphia Zoo. Maybe I need a new nicer mommy.

Husky involved in newborn's death gets reprieve

http://www.examiner.com/dogs-in-national/husky-involved-newborn-s-death-gets-reprieve?CID=examiner_alerts_article

Bill Yuhring, you are a hero! So glad someone finally has some brain cells! Who leaves an injured dog, with a ghetto home made splint, that you have only known for a month, alone with a 2 day old infant!!! The stupidness of people never cease to amaze me. I've known my dogs for years and I wouldn't leave them alone with an infant for even a second. At the very least I would make sure the infant wasn't on the floor!

I'm so glad someone intelligent stepped in and saved this puppy. Yes he is an 18 month old puppy! Of course puppies are the most reliable dogs ever and should always be 100% trusted. We really do need a sarcasm font.

I really hope they pursue charges against the mother, Brandy Furlong. Who has a dog with a broken leg and doesn't take them to the vet? All of the animals should be removed from that home.

People never cease to disappoint me.

My humans are evil

I was sleeping and behaving under a warm blankey and they put my muzzle on and left!



Look at this tiny spot on the bed that I have to cram myself into!



Plus they starve me! Look I'm wasting away to nothing... Don't even have the energy to stand up. Quick someone call the authorities!

 

Sunshine lost another privilege!

That dog is so lucky the crates are in the attic! I was very close to going up there at 4am, carrying down the crate, setting it up, and shoving her in it!

At 1am Rainy got up and started wandering around. I got up and told her to lay back down and sleep. She gets back up around 2am and starts whining. So I toss on a bathrobe and we go outside to pee. Sunshine of course bounces along and decides it's zoomie time outside. So I finally whisper in a scary enough voice that she decides to listen and we go inside/back to bed.

15 minutes later she jumps off her bedroom couch and runs down stairs. 30 second later, "woof... woof... woof..... woof"  So I get back out of bed go back downstairs and see that there is nothing to bark at out back. Wrangle her back upstairs and we all lay back down. As soon as I'm starting to drift off I hear "woof... woof... woof..... woof" from downstairs again.

I go back down and now she's growling at the sliding glass door in between the barking.  I let her outside and she wanders off to pee again. I think she just squeezed some out so her chances of being murdered were less.  She's wandering around the yard sniffing calm as can be. Not concerned about any possible threat that would induce barking.  I call her back inside and we go back upstairs to lay down.

10 minutes later "woof... woof... woof..... woof" This time I hollar at her from the top of the stairs and she comes back up. I shut the bedroom door completely not caring if I'm locking the kitties in or out. I figure they can hold any litter box needs for the next 3 hours!

I get about an hour of blissful Zzzzs before I wake up again to  "woof... woof... woof..... woof" I SEE RED! I think the cats wiggled the door open. Smart asses that they are.

Storm downstairs. She is barking cheerfully at the sliding glass door, just like she does on Sunday mornings when she decides to bark at the cars that drive by the back of the fence. Which is cute and fine at 10am on a weekend!

I grab her collar on one hand drag her to the stairs, grab a baby gate in the other hand and drag both the dog and gate upstairs. Turn on the lights, fiddle around with the baby gate for 10 minutes to get it to fit in the bedroom doorway, while Sunshine innocently snoozes on her couch.

The gate is up but I am on the wrong side.  So I walk through the bathroom to get back to the bedroom (shutting the bathroom door securely) Wake BF up to tell him the baby gate is in the doorway so he doesn't fall on his face in the dark. He of course slept through this entire ongoing drama!

Finally I get to go back to bed. Only now I'm too mad to sleep. I eventually doze off and start playing the snooze game when my alarm starts going off. During the snooze game Sunshine gets on the bed and cuddles up to spoon with me. Manipulative little shit!



It's so hard to get a good night's rest around here



I'll just sleep while Mom's at work!



Depending on how mad I still am tonight she will either be babygated in the bedroom or crated! She's lucky I'm not duct taping her and locking her in a closet...

 

I don't have enough time for my pet anymore

Everyone be prepared for a rant...

People's excuses irritate me! "I love my pets so much but no longer have time for them. I feel so bad that they just sleep on the couch all the time and I cannot walk them for 3-4 hours every day. I have no yard and they only go to the park once a week"

Seriously people??? My dogs sleep over 18 hours a day! They were SO abused for the past 3 years by only going for a long walk once a week and having to only deal with short potty walks 3 times a day.  If you don't want to deal with your pets anymore at least be honest. You just don't want to deal with them anymore. It's not that hard to say the words. Have a backbone and stop worrying what people are thinking about you.

How much 'time' do people really think pets take up?

1. They need to be fed

2. They need to have their waste picked up

3. You need to interact with them, which you can easily do while watching TV

4. Training is always a plus, but should never be more than 5-10 minutes or so at one time

5. It's always a good idea to exercise/tire them out. This can be cut into less than 1/2 the time with some methods

So where is this large amount of time that is required???

Stop making frivolous excuses for your laziness and lack of commitment to training. Yes, you have to train a new dog as they enter your home. No, they don't automatically know exactly what the rules are.

Of course there is always a reason that people cannot return the pet to where they came from. That's why they are whining on some internet forum or posting on craigslist. Any reputable breeder will take their animals back. Puppy/Kitty mills usually will not! Any reputable rescue will take their animal back. If you thought enough of the rescue to use them in the first place why is it such a horrible thing to return the pet there? Usually breed rescues are the best places to return a pet.

Of course the crappy owner who wants to be rid of the pet in the first place is always more educated in how to rehome their animals. No no one ever lies to easily collect bait animals on craigslist, who would do such a thing? Why would anyone ever need to check references?

Next, stop using your age/life situation as a reasonable excuse. It's not. You just threw that out there to make yourself feel better.

Those of us who have been through a bit of life just grit our teeth, roll our eyes, and try our hardest to be polite to you in hopes that you will in fact be responsible by returning your poor pet to a rescue. Secretly we are ranting the above in our heads silently...

You decided you made a mistake and can no longer care for your pet? Fine. Take care of things like an adult and return the animal to the rescue group. Stop being a dramatic baby and thinking of only yourself.

 

Phew, ok I feel better now