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My two year old dog is a oval office. She can hold her bladder without incident throughout the day, but treats her crate like a portapotty. She can't be free because she can't be trusted. Last night she was let out right before bed, and within 5 hours when I woke up she pissed her crate again. This happens multiple times a week. I should note that she is neurotic and timid, and has separation anxiety. I suspect that may be a part of it. Any suggestions or ideas? I've spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on beds, blankets, and towels just for her to ruin, and quite frankly I am at my wit's end.
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Aug 31, 2011 18:36
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MoCookies posted:That sounds really frustrating to troubleshoot, but maybe there's nothing wrong at all. It's quite possible she's just not all that hungry in the mornings, and what she eats in the evenings (plus the PB kong) is enough for her. My mother-in-law's greyhound isn't an enthusiastic eater either, and minus a little muscle, still looks like she's around her track weight. She seemed to do best when my MIL was just free feeding, but all the other dogs got so loving fat, they had to go back to scheduled meals. I might raise the bowls a bit more to ~12 inches just because, though. I've been working half days the first three days this week just to help the adjustment a bit, and I go back to my normal schedule tomorrow. I did break down a bit and give her about 3/4 cup of BB just now because she seemed awfully hungry, though I obviously won't be home to do that at 1 PM tomorrow (I get back around 4:15). There haven't been any issues with the neighbors though in terms of her being too loud during the day, so that's good. Tomorrow morning could I try leading her to a bit of peanut butter and putting it in with the food? She'll always go for that.
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Aug 31, 2011 19:01
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Kerfuffle posted:In addition to that you might want to blacklight the area and clean with nature's miracle since it's probably on your carpet somewhere too. Fortunately, our floors are laminate, so I don't have to worry about getting pee out of carpet. Other than that, she hasn't been acting strangely at all. The first couple days after moving she was pretty stressed out, but she still used her litter box just fine. Will book a vet appointment.
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Aug 31, 2011 19:21
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Cat-crazy goons with far more experience than I, a question if I may, with a small bit of background: My roommate recently adopted a cat that his family more or less rescued and had checked out and given shots (the whole family has extensive experience with owning cats). The cat is sweet as can be, very well-socialized, and is a lap whore, even with complete strangers. No problems with the cat herself, other than some drooling worthy of a dog. My concern is that she may not have enough room in our apartment. A ballpark estimate for the size of our place would be around 750 square feet. This is made much smaller than that due to lots of weirdly angled walls and concrete pillars (the building is a converted factory). With our furniture setup there are a few places here and there where she can safely climb up and come back down, and big windows that she can reach with which to watch passers-by. But, ultimately, the same issue that humans have may arise for her: there's simply not much room to move around. As a first-time cat owner, I have little-to-no knowledge of what cats need to remain entertained. So, I ask: is our apartment too small for a cat, or does it matter less than I think it does?
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Aug 31, 2011 19:36
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Is there a space for a cat tree? I have a six foot one and my two beasts are happy as clams.
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Aug 31, 2011 19:42
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2508084 posted:Is there a space for a cat tree? I have a six foot one and my two beasts are happy as clams. Yeah, I suppose there's a derelict corner of the apartment that literally nothing else will fit in. It's seriously a 30-degree angle and useless.
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Aug 31, 2011 19:57
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Baron Fuzzlewhack posted:Cat-crazy goons with far more experience than I, a question if I may, with a small bit of background: Cats like vertical space more than horizontal space. You could go to IKEA or somewhere similar and get some cheap shelves for like $3 and hang them up in your apartment for just the cat. Some people make them go all the way around the room, which is kind of cool, so that the cat can get all the way around without jumping down, but you could do them more sparingly than that. Maybe a few around some windows or something. 750 square feet should be plenty for a cat.
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Aug 31, 2011 20:13
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Insignificunt posted:My two year old dog is a oval office. She can hold her bladder without incident throughout the day, but treats her crate like a portapotty. She can't be free because she can't be trusted. Last night she was let out right before bed, and within 5 hours when I woke up she pissed her crate again. This happens multiple times a week. Have you tried taking her to a vet or thought about consulting a behaviorist? (Go to the vet first to rule out any possible medical problem if you haven't already) And this is more me presenting the possibility than assuming anything, but do you know where your dog came from? A lot of dogs rescued from mills were raised in conditions where it's "normal" to pee and poo poo in the confined spaces they're housed in. Neurosis from living conditions and poor breeding is sort of par the course in those situations.
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Aug 31, 2011 20:15
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I've had her since she was five weeks old. She has NEVER been abused, hell, you can't even raise your voice around her without her fear pissing or sulking off. Even if we are upstairs playing a game and yell or something she runs and hides in her crate. She isn't even on the same floor....why she does this is beyond me. These behaviors started at a very young age, so I assume I just have a dog that I love that is always going to have problems. I can't afford a behaviorist, and the vet said she was perfectly healthy, indicating that because she was a large breed her bladder may take a while to catch up in growth with the rest of her. She came from a terrible breeder, and is a Z factor Doberman. (Inbred as gently caress 7 generations back) The breeder wasn't unclean or unkempt, and took good care of all of her dogs, but she is proliferating genetic defects. Also noted, I would NEVER breed my dog, as much as I adore her, I can't allow that to be passed on. Also, she has only poo poo in her crate a handful of times, all of which were sickly nasty poops I know she couldn't hold. Insignificunt fucked around with this message at 20:37 on Aug 31, 2011 |
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Aug 31, 2011 20:34
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Insignificunt posted:I've had her since she was five weeks old. She has NEVER been abused, hell, you can't even raise your voice around her without her fear pissing or sulking off. Even if we are upstairs playing a game and yell or something she runs and hides in her crate. She isn't even on the same floor....why she does this is beyond me. A dog doesn't need to be abused in the way we typically think of it (physical abuse) to develop anxiety. Dogs can develop anxiety from mental abuse (not saying you did this, but I've seen the results for other dogs), a traumatic experience that doesn't seem like much to a person, or just from fear of the environment in early stages of development. If your dog has been doing this from way back, then I imagine she developed anxiety from something in her puppyhood and has been holding onto it. I understand not being able to afford a behaviorist. Is a positive reinforcement trainer a possibility? It's pretty obvious that working on the separation anxiety will only benefit you. I would also consider ditching the crate and starting over with a different crate and/or form of confinement that you can build up as a positive thing. I would also start working on training to build confidence. Obedience, basic agility, tracking...anything you think your dog might enjoy and you can join a class or do it at home. You can work desensitization in there. If your dog can't handle loud noises, then start there! Reward her for holding a stay (or just not reacting if she doesn't have a great stay) while you slowly increase the volume of your voice. Keep the tone nice at first but then work on sounding mean and desensitize her all the way up to yelling and waving your arms around. You can expand this to desensitizing her to all sorts of things and just playing games that are designed so she can win and experience something new to help her confidence. If that and working on separation anxiety don't result in improvements, then you should consider medicating for the anxiety. It's best to talk to a veterinary behaviorist for this, and it has to be done alongside training anyway, so it's best to start with training.
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Aug 31, 2011 21:02
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Insignificunt posted:My two year old dog is a oval office. She can hold her bladder without incident throughout the day, but treats her crate like a portapotty. She can't be free because she can't be trusted. Last night she was let out right before bed, and within 5 hours when I woke up she pissed her crate again. This happens multiple times a week. Is there a reason for the crate training? Like, you said separation anxiety. Will she eat your house if you're away? The occasional dog just doesn't take to crate training. If she won't kill your house, maybe see if she does better in a baby-gated room (like a kitchen, so it's easier to clean).
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Aug 31, 2011 21:19
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How do I tell a postal pigeon where to go? Because there's one that's been sitting on my grandma's balcony for 10 days and he won't fly away. [Also I don't know where should I ask this question]
Dr I am a Doctor fucked around with this message at 21:32 on Aug 31, 2011 |
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Aug 31, 2011 21:28
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Dr I am a Doctor posted:How do I tell a postal pigeon where to go? Because there's one that's been sitting on my grandma's balcony for 10 days and he won't fly away. [Also I don't know where should I ask this question] http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=1806183 Bird crazies might have some advice for you, but I know a few of them hang out in this thread too.
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Aug 31, 2011 21:36
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Let's talk dog breath. Roger had a wellness exam today, and I wanted to know if they could see any problematic teeth because his breath is just plain rank. The vet said that his teeth and gums look good, and he wouldn't necessarily recommend a cleaning since Roger is so young and has no forming problems. He has tartar which probably causes the smell, but no real health risks for now. If I wanted to, they were running a special on teeth cleaning through October: 40% off, making it $200 before extractions etc (!). So that's sitting on my "probably not now" pile. He also told me there are some disinfecting dog breath mints that kill the bacteria in the tartar but are safe to chew, and last a couple days at a time. I'm stupid and forgot to ask what they were called, anybody know something like this? The "Puppermints" in the Petsmart checkout line were a joke.
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Aug 31, 2011 21:37
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Are cats balcony-safe? I have a little patio about 15 feet off the ground, with a 5-foot handrail that is too narrow for kitty to go through. But I am worried he will try to jump up on the handrail and fall, or even just try to jump over it if he doesn't grasp that falling = death.
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Aug 31, 2011 21:52
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:Are cats balcony-safe? I have a little patio about 15 feet off the ground, with a 5-foot handrail that is too narrow for kitty to go through. But I am worried he will try to jump up on the handrail and fall, or even just try to jump over it if he doesn't grasp that falling = death. The grace and balance of cats has been grossly overstated. Cats are clumsy and dumb and will fall to their injury or death. Also they will surprise you on what they CAN squeeze through. Generally balcony cats are tethered to the point where they can't even reach the edge in any way.
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Aug 31, 2011 21:56
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:Are cats balcony-safe? I have a little patio about 15 feet off the ground, with a 5-foot handrail that is too narrow for kitty to go through. But I am worried he will try to jump up on the handrail and fall, or even just try to jump over it if he doesn't grasp that falling = death. No. Lots of people let their cats hang out on balconies without incident, but lots and lots of cats just jump or fall right off. It's not worth the risk. Supervised time is ok though.
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Aug 31, 2011 22:05
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drat Bananas posted:Let's talk dog breath. Roger had a wellness exam today, and I wanted to know if they could see any problematic teeth because his breath is just plain rank. The vet said that his teeth and gums look good, and he wouldn't necessarily recommend a cleaning since Roger is so young and has no forming problems. He has tartar which probably causes the smell, but no real health risks for now. If I wanted to, they were running a special on teeth cleaning through October: 40% off, making it $200 before extractions etc (!). So that's sitting on my "probably not now" pile. Have you tried Greenies? They aren't breath mints, but they are gummy and are supposed to clean teeth while the dog chews them. I give my dog one once a day as a crate treat and her breath seems better for it.
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Aug 31, 2011 22:14
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drat Bananas posted:Let's talk dog breath. e: Insignificant, if you're looking for more long term guiding type of advice check out this thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=0&threadid=3364451&pagenumber=41#pti1 Several people on PI (including Kiri Koli) deal with anxiety issues with their dogs. Kerfuffle fucked around with this message at 22:35 on Aug 31, 2011 |
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Aug 31, 2011 22:17
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drat Bananas posted:Let's talk dog breath. Raw bones are good for this. I think they work much better than the treats and whatnot that supposedly help bad breath, too. I make sure to clean my dogs' faces afterwards, or they'll sometimes smell like meat for a few days.
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Aug 31, 2011 22:39
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Any ideas for a pvc doghouse? Is this even possible? Just want something crate/houselike for sleeping outside, but I dont want to spend the money on a legit one. Wouldnt be for the wintertime so... mostly want a frame/cloth?tarp?? covering..Dr I am a Doctor posted:How do I tell a postal pigeon where to go? Because there's one that's been sitting on my grandma's balcony for 10 days and he won't fly away. [Also I don't know where should I ask this question] ...whats a postal pigeon? Do people even use those now? Racing pigeons are usually banded, I'd recommend trying to catch it, and you can look up the number. http://www.pigeon.org/lostbirdinfo.htm Malalol fucked around with this message at 22:47 on Aug 31, 2011 |
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Aug 31, 2011 22:44
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Insignificunt posted:My two year old dog is a oval office. She can hold her bladder without incident throughout the day, but treats her crate like a portapotty. She can't be free because she can't be trusted. Last night she was let out right before bed, and within 5 hours when I woke up she pissed her crate again. This happens multiple times a week. Have you tried just not putting anything in her crate with her? The fabric just soaks up the pee, so she doesn't have to lie in it. She might be less willing to pee if there's a puddle instead of a soaked towel or whatever.
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Sep 1, 2011 08:20
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Malalol posted:...whats a postal pigeon? Do people even use those now? Racing pigeons are usually banded, I'd recommend trying to catch it, and you can look up the number. http://www.pigeon.org/lostbirdinfo.htm I probably meant a racing pigeon, they're still called postal pigeons here  And I read his band and reported it to our pigeon union, but nobody ever called. I tried to contact some nearby breeders, but nobody would take him, and they all said that they abandon birds that don't come back 
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Sep 1, 2011 14:13
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Yea i hear thatsthe case, in rehab we git in 3 racers and the ownersdidnt want a pigeon that got lost back  Cadn you contact some pigeon association/fancier club or forum to see if anyones interested in adopting them? Rescues might take em too
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Sep 1, 2011 14:16
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Kiri koli posted:Have you tried Greenies? They aren't breath mints, but they are gummy and are supposed to clean teeth while the dog chews them. I give my dog one once a day as a crate treat and her breath seems better for it. I have some, but how quickly he eats them worries me. If the pieces swallowed are too big, Greenies can cause intestinal blockages. I haven't given him any in a couple weeks. Re: Raw bones: Along with Greenies, my vet said that tartar is so rock-hard it's not something you can brush/chew off. I think the bones might work a little bit better than Greenies (if at all), but it won't get rid of much of the bacteria living in the grooves of the tartar. I was more interested in something that kills bacteria in the mouth. I might just have to call back up there and ask what he was talking about. Thanks  vvvv I'm not sure, but he's a really squirmy guy so I wouldn't be comfortable trying that for fear of hurting him! Damn Bananas fucked around with this message at 14:16 on Sep 2, 2011 |
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Sep 1, 2011 14:55
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Where is the tartar building up? Depending on the tartar, the dog, and your carefulness you might be able to use a dental scaler to (gently) work off some of the worst bits. Combine that with brushing and it might help. There's videos to show you how to use a scaler.
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Sep 1, 2011 15:54
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A couple of unrelated questions. 1) How soon after a spay would giving a dog a bath be okay? She stinks to high heaven and sort of desperately needs one, but I don't want to before it'd be safe. 2) My cat has taken to squalling at the early hours of the morning - those deep, loud meows that are the territorial sort? He stops when I call to him, but he's been waking me up at around 4-5 every morning and it takes me awhile to go back to sleep. Any ideas on how to discourage this and why it'd be happening? He's 6-7 years old, neutered male, indoors all his life.
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Sep 1, 2011 18:28
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Abby update: I got her to eat this morning! I put a bit of peanut butter with her food, and hand fed her a few pieces to let he know I added it in. After that she ate about a cup or so! I'll have to keep doing this for a little while. She can't resist the PB. This is her first day being alone for the whole workday. I'm a bit nervous - I decided to leave the cable channel with constant classical music on. Good idea? Can't hurt I suppose. I don't want to put on Animal Planet since it has lots of ads, and if there's a show about small yappy dogs or cats she might get upset instead of being relaxed!
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Sep 1, 2011 19:53
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Malalol posted:Yea i hear thatsthe case, in rehab we git in 3 racers and the ownersdidnt want a pigeon that got lost back I personally called all people who were registered in the national association, and the most help I've got is that someone would take the pigeon if I bring him to that guy, and that's not really possible, since he's sitting in an unreachable place most of the time and I'm 500 kilometers away Guess we've got a bird now
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Sep 1, 2011 20:36
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I got some Blue Buffalo Banana/Yogurt treats from the salon where I had her nails clipped. They were on sale because they expired in February, but the owner said they'd be fine if we went through them fast. Cue this morning and Abby has diarrhea! Guess I'll have to give them away or something. Trying to clean diarrhea of the end of someone's driveway is somewhat futile. My question is why would something like this cause diarrhea, especially when it has yogurt? Also any quick remedies to return her to regularity besides stopping the treats? I don't have any plain yogurt available right now.
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Sep 2, 2011 14:28
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actionjackson posted:I got some Blue Buffalo Banana/Yogurt treats from the salon where I had her nails clipped. They were on sale because they expired in February, but the owner said they'd be fine if we went through them fast. Cue this morning and Abby has diarrhea! Guess I'll have to give them away or something. Trying to clean diarrhea of the end of someone's driveway is somewhat futile. Because it is 7 months expired? Either they processed it so bacteria wouldn't grow (and thus the active cultures of yogurt would have been destroyed removing the probiotic effects, and therefore you're giving dairy) or they didn't overprocess it so that the bacteria wouldn't be killed off, and thus a contaminant took over and populated through the 7 month expiration time. Also, yogurt doesn't 'cure' many causes of diarrhea. It can be helpful in some cases, but just because it's yogurt doesn't mean it can't cause diarrhea. Like fiber - give too much and you cause diarrhea. If the diarrhea is due to the yogurt treats, it should be resolving by the next day. If it doesn't start resolving, it might be something else.
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Sep 3, 2011 03:32
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I don't think this deserves it's own thread so here we go! I was gone for the weekend and had a neighbor come in to feed the cats/empty litter while I was gone. I scoop the litterboxes daily into a plastic box with a bag inside, and them dump that at the end of the day. I told him I still had old litter to be dumped from the day that I left. Well, the guy did come over and feed the cats and scoop the litter but never dumped it, so when I got home I had like a 10 pound bag of old cat poo poo in my bathroom. When I went to throw it out there were some sort of bugs inside. I read they're most likely gnats, not fleas. I checked my cats fur and found nothing so that's a good sign. Aside from disinfecting the poo poo out of my bathroom should I bring the cats to the vet to make sure?
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Sep 3, 2011 13:42
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HelloSailorSign posted:Because it is 7 months expired? Either they processed it so bacteria wouldn't grow (and thus the active cultures of yogurt would have been destroyed removing the probiotic effects, and therefore you're giving dairy) or they didn't overprocess it so that the bacteria wouldn't be killed off, and thus a contaminant took over and populated through the 7 month expiration time. Should I be upset they were selling this? Seems like they could've mentioned it could cause diarrhea due to expiration, if that's indeed what the cause was.
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Sep 3, 2011 13:53
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Yeet posted:I don't think this deserves it's own thread so here we go! I was gone for the weekend and had a neighbor come in to feed the cats/empty litter while I was gone. I scoop the litterboxes daily into a plastic box with a bag inside, and them dump that at the end of the day. I told him I still had old litter to be dumped from the day that I left. Oh, ew. Thanks, neighbor. I wouldn't expect fleas to be particularly congregating in a bag of cat poo poo--something that eats/lays eggs in feces or litter would be more likely, and it's prrrobably not something to worry about in terms of your cats' health? Were these small and flying? More like beetles?
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Sep 3, 2011 14:03
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Andrias Scheuchzeri posted:Oh, ew. Thanks, neighbor. Yeah small and flying. I just combed the poo poo out of my cats again and didn't find anything, so I think I'm in the clear.
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Sep 3, 2011 14:06
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actionjackson posted:Should I be upset they were selling this? Seems like they could've mentioned it could cause diarrhea due to expiration, if that's indeed what the cause was. Um, you bought it knowing it was expired. That's your fault not theirs. The diarrhea could possibly be from eating something new too..,but probably isnt.
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Sep 3, 2011 14:10
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I was just taking a bath when I heard a loud bang against the wall. I knew the cats were dicking around, so I figured they had knocked over the cat tree. When I checked, nothing was knocked over! I looked to where the Stupid One (aka Tulien) was, and she seemed fine. I tried to pet her head though, and she kept ducking to avoid me. I held her down and touched her head, and she winced. It was a pretty loud bang, so I'm afraid she really hurt herself. However, besides avoiding being petted, she's acting normal. Should I take her in, or just monitor her?
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Sep 4, 2011 07:09
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Found a kitten at work. Very tiny, looks to be in rough shape. Haven't been able to catch it yet. If I do catch it and keep it in the bathroom for a couple days until vets / shelters are open, are there any diseases I could be exposing the other cats to? They would be separated by the bathroom door, and of course I'd wash my hands after touching the kitten.
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Sep 5, 2011 00:04
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RheaConfused posted:Um, you bought it knowing it was expired. That's your fault not theirs. The diarrhea could possibly be from eating something new too..,but probably isnt. I'm just asking if there's any serious risk from expired treats to an animal, or if diarrhea is really the worst it can get.
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Sep 5, 2011 02:31
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actionjackson posted:I'm just asking if there's any serious risk from expired treats to an animal, or if diarrhea is really the worst it can get. I would assume it depends what's in the treat. I personally wouldn't feed my pets expired treats, because I don't eat expired foods myself and why should they? I have a question about Nature's Miracle. I've seen it recommended here as the go-to enzyme cleaner for urine stains/smells. When I was in PetCo the other day, I noticed they have several different versions, like "Orange-Oxy" "Just for Cats" "Advanced" and "Urine Destroyer". Is there a significant difference, or one that is the most effective overall?
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Sep 5, 2011 03:53
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