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FreeMars posted:Sorry if this has been asked, but the thread is 300 pages long. I just got a five year old dog from the humane society, and I want to change his name. Your dog has no emotional attachment to his name. Change it to whatever you want. All it really is, is a way to get him to pay attention to you. Say the new name and give him a treat. Repeat the process and he'll learn to look at you when you say his name. 
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Oct 7, 2012 06:35
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Awesome! I guess I just needed some reassurance. Ninja was such a lame name for such a mellow dog.
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Oct 7, 2012 06:45
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Heeeeeelp Kitty has tick. She's fine, but I can't get the fucker out. My tweezers, quite frankly, are cheap pieces of poo poo. They've mostly been okay when cat or I have gotten ticky before, but this time all I managed to do is yank off the abdomen and piss off my cat. The front part of the body is still in there, and I just can't grip the loving thing. It's 10pm on Sunday night in a small town, no way am I going to find a chemist open where I can get nonshit tweezers. Is there any way to actually get a tick out without using tweezers? Medical sites all say, "Simple, if you have no tweezers just use a tick remover!  " And every other site says "Use rubbing alcohol or lit matches", which aside from sounding like something that will make my cat kill me, I'm pretty sure these don't work.I have some spray-on Frontline, it says I can kill ticks by applying the stuff straight on, but that sounds kinda dodgy. And it might get into the wound or something. e: the cat is totally fine despite everything, she's pretty tick resistant and she's still eating and jumping around and whining that I'm not playing with her. I'm keeping an eye on her in case the traumatised tick poison affects her, but she just grabbed me and kicked the poo poo out of my arm and purred joyfully about it, so she's probably okay for now.
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Oct 7, 2012 12:12
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Getting the tick off immediately isn't an emergency, it's just icky. That said, it may die eventually and fall of with the Frontline, but the longer it is on there the more potential for it to transmit disease, so if you can't get it off this morning call your vet and see if they'll do it or if they can sell you a tick-remover. They might even do it as a "tech appointment" instead of making you see the doctor (and charging you for the doctor's time), like a nail trim or vaccine.
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Oct 7, 2012 15:56
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My cat used to be a farm cat, free fed with lots of cheap, low-quality food. She ate a lot - but then she also had worms, so she was always super skinny. Now I've got her, had her dewormed, and have transitioned her to a higher-quality diet. I'd just feed her in the morning and a little in the evening like she's used to, but at her old home they'd give her a cup or so at a time. According to the food bag, 1/4th cup to 1/2 cup is enough for a cat her size...much less than she's used to eating, even though she's gained some (I think) healthy weight since coming to live with me. I've been giving her a little less than a half cup of food a day, split up into three meals to try and keep her from feeling hungry. She still feels hungry. I can't walk toward the part of the apartment with her food without her crying and crying and walking to her bowl, I can't leave my room without her crying and crying and racing to the food bowl, she's always begging and crying like she's starving  When I feed her she wolfs it all down and comes back and begs. I feel like a loving monster! Is there anything I can do to make this easier on her? Will she get used to this new schedule? Or is there a better schedule I could put her on?
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Oct 7, 2012 17:22
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Huntersoninski posted:My cat used to be a farm cat, free fed with lots of cheap, low-quality food. She ate a lot - but then she also had worms, so she was always super skinny. Hungry cats like this will always be hungry. At his last home, my cat's designated feeder was the teenage son, so he's always begging to be fed when you're near his bowl, even if he just ate. I countered this by giving him some of his meals in a treat ball so he has to work for it and it takes him longer to eat so he can feel like he's eaten more. I actually put a few pieces of kibble in his bowl and the rest in the ball set to the highest difficulty so it will take him a while to knock it around and get all the food out. That way he gets to eat from the bowl, but when the bowl food is gone it;s like there's a bonus ball of food too. It seems to be working since he's not bothering me two hours before mealtime any more and he hasn't puked in nearly a week from eating too fast.
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Oct 7, 2012 19:47
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There are two problems probably contributing to her being hungry--less volume of food than she's used to, plus she probably likes the food more if it's one of the higher quality foods. So, of course she begs. As long as she isn't losing weight, you're feeding enough, no matter how much she begs. The other option is to use a diet/low calorie food, which she can have a larger volume of without getting fat. Then she may beg less. Once she gets used to the schedule she may only beg around mealtimes--mine wake me up and won't leave me alone around dinner time, but in between they don't beg.
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Oct 7, 2012 20:59
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I have a large window above my bed, it's as wide as the queen sized bed we have and has a large sill, probably 9 inches wide or so. About a month ago he started scratching at the window, at first just a few times a day but it quickly escalated to all the loving time. It's loud and makes a terrible screeching sound sometimes. He does it when I'm trying to fall asleep, wakes me up frequently throughout the night, and makes sure I never end up sleeping in the morning until my alarm rings. Luckily my husband is a heavy sleeper and sleeps through the night still, but it still drives him crazy in the morning and when he's falling asleep. I barely get any sleep at all anymore, I have huge bags under my eyes and I'm exhausted all the time. Sometimes I feel about ready to kill him when he wakes me up yet again. I thought it was because we'd started shutting the window more frequently because it was getting cold out, but now even when the window is open (it opens to the side, not up and down) he just sits in the half where the glass still is and scratches that. He has several scratching posts he uses all the time and I trim his nails weekly, so I think he just likes scratching the glass. At first I tried squirting him water when he'd do it, and he'd stop long enough to lick himself off then start again. I squirted him for weeks with no change in his behavior. Then I started shutting him out of the room once he started scratching, and at first he'd meow his head off until he got to come back in (and there is seriously no out waiting the meowing, he can yowl all night) but now he just darts under the bed where I can't grab him as soon as I get up. I looked for double sided tape to cover the window with, but all I can find is tiny little Scotch tape sized rolls that I'd need like a hundred of. We have a thick sheet of plastic to put over the window that's supposed to help insulate it winter, but we tried using one a few winters ago to keep heat in and he broke through it in just a few weeks so he could sit in the window again. So I'm not sure how much time this will buy us before he starts scratching again. My husband wants to rehome him, and I can't really blame him. I've always loved this cat like crazy but I'm so exhausted and cranky all the time I can barely stand him sometimes now. When he wakes me up for the fifth time a night I just want to break his little paws until he never scratches anything ever again. I'll board the window up entirely if I have to, but is there anything else I can do to make him stop before I go crazy and kill him one night in a fit of rage?
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Oct 7, 2012 23:05
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tse1618 posted:I'll board the window up entirely if I have to, but is there anything else I can do to make him stop before I go crazy and kill him one night in a fit of rage? Kick him out of your bedroom at night?
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Oct 7, 2012 23:08
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tse1618 posted:Cat induced insanity Is there anyway you could put a Ssscat in the window sill? Or maybe use the vacuum trick that others have talked about?
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Oct 7, 2012 23:12
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Why would anyone tolerate that poo poo for even a single night? It's a cat, you won't hurt its feelings kicking it out. Also link to this sheet of plastic you're talking about please. I need something to insulate my balcony door.
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Oct 7, 2012 23:13
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Kicking him out doesn't work, he will meow loudly nonstop until he can come back in. Believe me, we've tried waiting out his meowing before. It's the whole reason we have him, he was a nice stray we pet one day and he followed us home. He hid in our bushes for four days, meowing nonstop and trying to dart in our door every time we came in or out. I seriously don't think he even slept, he just meowed all day and all night for four days until we let him in. The meowing doesn't actually bother me as much as the scratching, but it bothers my husband more. I can try a Ssscat, vacuum cleaner doesn't really bother him. Here's a window insulator kit, you can find others by googling for plastic window insulation.
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Oct 7, 2012 23:22
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Have you tried wearing him out as much as possible for you sleep? If one of you is home during the day avoid letting him nap if you can. Thanks for the link.
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Oct 7, 2012 23:40
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I have a question related to house training: Bronwen's a small anyone-could-guess dog just over a year old (about thirteen months as near as we can guess). She's been fully house trained for well over six months with no accidents, until last night when she peed on her bed. She can get in and out no problems thanks to a dog door and hasn't peed anywhere else. Last night I had to keep her in my room (where the dog door is so she can get access to the outside) as we had people over and she gets a little over excited and couldn't be around one of our friends for medical reasons. When I went to bed I found that she had peed on her bed and cleaned it up right away and we had no other issues since. She hasn't had an accident like this in well over six months now, I just want to know if this is something all dogs go through where they have the occasional accident when they're still young? She can pee when she gets over-excited, but that's been getting much better lately and hasn't been a major issue in a while, just a few drops here and there. *shrug* if anyone has any advice that would be great .
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Oct 8, 2012 03:42
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Serella posted:Hungry cats like this will always be hungry. quote:I countered this by giving him some of his meals in a treat ball so he has to work for it and it takes him longer to eat so he can feel like he's eaten more. I actually put a few pieces of kibble in his bowl and the rest in the ball set to the highest difficulty so it will take him a while to knock it around and get all the food out. That way he gets to eat from the bowl, but when the bowl food is gone it;s like there's a bonus ball of food too. ...I didn't know there was such a thing as a treat ball, that's amazing. I just ordered a $5 food ball with decent reviews from amazon. Fingers crossed! Dr. Chaco posted:Once she gets used to the schedule she may only beg around mealtimes--mine wake me up and won't leave me alone around dinner time, but in between they don't beg. I hope you're right! She's a chatty catty already, any reduction in crying would be a benefit.
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Oct 8, 2012 04:44
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Dr. Chaco posted:Getting the tick off immediately isn't an emergency, it's just icky. That said, it may die eventually and fall of with the Frontline, but the longer it is on there the more potential for it to transmit disease, so if you can't get it off this morning call your vet and see if they'll do it or if they can sell you a tick-remover. They might even do it as a "tech appointment" instead of making you see the doctor (and charging you for the doctor's time), like a nail trim or vaccine. I dunno what ticks are like in the US, but I live in NSW Australia where the ticks will legit kill you if left on your body, even if you are a human. Because she's had lots of them before, she's semi-resistant to the poison. This one was huge in its adult stage and she was still cheerful. Anyway, I shoved some Frontline on the thing before I went to bed, which cat hated, and this morning she was hiding from me and very upset but the area is scabbed over instead of all red-raw like yesterday. So... good, I guess! Poor kitty, day before yesterday I gave her a flea treatment. I wrestled her into a blanket and put two nasty stinky chemical things on her in as many days. She's so upset.  Kitty you are such a wussy princess.
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Oct 8, 2012 04:48
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Corridor posted:I dunno what ticks are like in the US, but I live in NSW Australia where the ticks will legit kill you if left on your body, even if you are a human. Because she's had lots of them before, she's semi-resistant to the poison. This one was huge in its adult stage and she was still cheerful. Anyway, I shoved some Frontline on the thing before I went to bed, which cat hated, and this morning she was hiding from me and very upset but the area is scabbed over instead of all red-raw like yesterday. My bad, I didn't realize you were in Australia. You're right, your ticks are nastier than US ticks. Glad it came off!
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Oct 8, 2012 14:24
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Question about house breaking a dog. So we've got a year old chihuahua/chihuahua mix, male, just neutered a week ago. What I'd like to know is, what tricks are there to teach him to poop outside? We've pretty much mastered getting him to pee outside. He goes out with Nia, they hop off the deck and do their business. But he can be outside for 15-20 minutes, sometimes more if he's playing with the kids. And the instant he's back inside, he runs off and shits in a corner or something.  Is this a sign of an underlying issue? Or is he just stupid? I'd love to know what to do about this.
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Oct 8, 2012 23:07
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Canadian Bakin posted:Question about house breaking a dog. So we've got a year old chihuahua/chihuahua mix, male, just neutered a week ago. What I'd like to know is, what tricks are there to teach him to poop outside? We've pretty much mastered getting him to pee outside. He goes out with Nia, they hop off the deck and do their business. But he can be outside for 15-20 minutes, sometimes more if he's playing with the kids. And the instant he's back inside, he runs off and shits in a corner or something. Lockdown. He's not housebroken, so don't let him loose in the house when there's a high likelihood he'll go poop in the corner. Going out with him and walking on leash for 10 minutes about an hour after he's eaten will most likely have him poop outside. Then you can praise/treat.
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Oct 8, 2012 23:38
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Engineer Lenk posted:Lockdown. This. Also, clean anywhere he has pooped with Nature's Miracle. Keep him tethered to you at ALL times when indoors. Feed him, give him an hour, then a good brisk walk/jog and praise/treat the hell out of him when he shits. Don't let him have a chance to poop in the house, ever.
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Oct 9, 2012 13:11
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Engineer Lenk posted:Lockdown. My dog was stubborn about being housebroken, and lockdown is definitely the way to go. She was at my side 24 hours a day, including sitting in the bathroom while I took a shower and bitching about having to lay down on the floor while I was on the computer instead of getting to play with her toys. But after several days of her being basically tied to me she got the hang of where she was and was not supposed to go and we haven't had an issue since.
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Oct 9, 2012 14:14
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Also, since you don't want to gently caress around with housebreaking (a partially housetrained dog is about as useful as a hole in the head) I would recommend you do total puppy lockdown via crates, ex-pens and 100% direct supervision until the pup has gone A FULL MONTH with zero accidents. If he has an accident, reset the counter, even if it was on day 28. It sucks for that month, but the freedom you can allow your dog afterwards more than makes up for the inconvenience.
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Oct 9, 2012 14:44
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Thanks, guys. I kind of figured this was going to be the case. Unfortunately, hardcore lockdown is going to have to wait until my family gets home so I can drill them on this, and so that there will be constant supervision. I'm puppy and house sitting on my lonesome with an 8 hour work day out of town. I'll do what I can in the meantime. So far today, since I got back to the house, he's been plastered to my ankles and gone outside twice. No poops yet. Dinner was just under an hour ago. We'll go outside and try again once I've finished my own food. Also, we are using Nature's Miracle, and probably need to stock up again.
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Oct 10, 2012 00:56
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This might sound like a stupid question, but can dogs sleepwalk? Max was being really weird in the middle of the njght last night, pacing around my room making weird grunts and groans. I turned on the light to see what was going on and he seemed shocked that he wasn't in bed anymore and got back in bed and went to sleep. He was fine this morning, just a little more tired than usual. Could he have been sleepwalking? He has lots of viiolent dreams that involve lots of twitching and sleepbarking, so I wouldnt put it past him to start sleepwalking too.
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Oct 10, 2012 17:02
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:This might sound like a stupid question, but can dogs sleepwalk? Asa has done it more than once, so I'd say yes. Its not overly common, but she will wander around like a horrible drunk when she's REALLY sleepy heh.
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Oct 10, 2012 19:04
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I have seen videos of sleepwalking dogs on Youtube. My favorite is the one who leaps up in his sleep and slams into walls. There are less dramatic ones as well though.
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Oct 10, 2012 19:26
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Andrias Scheuchzeri posted:There's probably some kind of horrible chemicals involved in curing the leather, too, but I don't know how hard you want to worry about that. If it's on a toy, I really highly doubt it.
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Oct 10, 2012 20:12
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2 questions: 1. My dog is on Revolution, the kind (if there is more than one) that is a liquid that you put on his back. When we bring out the med, he sulks over, gets all nervous, and then when we put it on he kind of flips out. He runs around the room, rolling on the carpet, but from body language mid-freakout it seems more playful "get-it-off" rather than painful "GET-IT-OFF" if that makes any sense. I thought it was just that it was, like, alcohol based or something similar and it was cold on his skin. Coworker said it might be that he's allergic to it. My googling says allergic reactions are the more typical hives etc. so I don't know what to think. Does this warrant a checkup/vet call? 2. Same coworker said that beagles tend to not eat much in the summer and then wolf food down in the winter. After our fist cold snap this year I believe it. But it also coincidentally happened when we were a few days late giving him his Revolution, which I've read can make them lose their appetite (though, I guess not for the whole month. right?) Any truth to drastic appetite changes across seasons?
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Oct 11, 2012 13:33
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1. It does have alcohol in it as the 'carrier' for the chemicals, so it evaporates quickly. It can make some dogs feel funny as it is quite cool. I wouldn't worry about it unless you notice him getting any irritation in the area, loss of appetite, etc. 2. During cold weather, we need to eat more so that we have more energy to keep us warm. It's pretty common for animals to need more food during the winter.
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Oct 11, 2012 13:55
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Is it a bad idea to have an outside cat (as is standard in the UK) if you live near train tracks? Or is that entirely dependent on how stupid your cat is?
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Oct 11, 2012 17:28
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loki k zen posted:Is it a bad idea to have an outside cat (as is standard in the UK) if you live near train tracks? Or is that entirely dependent on how stupid your cat is? Its just generally a bad idea to have an outside cat.
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Oct 11, 2012 19:55
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I would strongly advise against having an outdoor cat if you live near to a train station, yeah. No matter how smart your cat might seem, every time you let it out you'd be risking it sunbathing on a track or something.
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Oct 11, 2012 20:01
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drat Bananas posted:2 questions: My dog does the same thing over Frontline, except that she will also sulk about it for hours afterward. I asked the vet if it could be irritating her and the vet said that it could be irritating to some dogs, but unless she has any symptoms (redness, hives, etc), it's not a big deal and there's nothing we can do about it.
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Oct 11, 2012 20:47
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drat Bananas posted:2 questions: My ferrets act like they have been set on fire when given their flea meds, so I'd say your dog's reaction isn't too bad.
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Oct 12, 2012 03:21
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Fraction posted:I would strongly advise against having an outdoor cat if you live near to a train station, yeah. No matter how smart your cat might seem, every time you let it out you'd be risking it sunbathing on a track or something. Yeah, even people have a really hard time judging how fast trains are coming and get hit crossing tracks all the time. I wouldn't trust even a savvy outdoor cat to do better.
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Oct 12, 2012 05:48
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wtftastic posted:Its just generally a bad idea to have an outside cat. I don't think I even know anyone who has a cat and keeps it indoors all the time. Correct me if I'm wrong, other UK goons, but I don't think that's even a thing over here. Anyway thanks for replies.
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Oct 12, 2012 21:00
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loki k zen posted:I don't think I even know anyone who has a cat and keeps it indoors all the time. Correct me if I'm wrong, other UK goons, but I don't think that's even a thing over here. Hey I'm not judging, I'm just saying. You asked, I answered.
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Oct 12, 2012 21:09
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Actually having indoor-only cats is slowly becoming more common and popular here lately. I know a bunch of people who're getting sick of their indoor/outdoor cats being hit by cars, stolen by someone, etc, etc, and are starting to keep them indoors instead. If you live in a quiet town or something then sure, indoor/outdoor at your discretion, but not if you live right on a busy main road or next to a train station. Since I live right next to both, I wouldn't let a cat out unsupervised if I had one.
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Oct 12, 2012 21:15
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Either it's too many treats/unfamiliar treats, or stress at the family being gone, but either way Nia's rear end exploded all over the kitchen floor. At 3am. And it hasn't cleared up yet.  How much pumpkin can I feed her??? I've got a canned of pure pumpkin, but no idea how much to give a little dog like her. Help, goons!
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Oct 12, 2012 21:21
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Canadian Bakin posted:Either it's too many treats/unfamiliar treats, or stress at the family being gone, but either way Nia's rear end exploded all over the kitchen floor. At 3am. And it hasn't cleared up yet. Pumpkin is not for that and that's way too long to have explosive diarrhea. Go to the vet. (Like right now) Kerfuffle fucked around with this message at 21:52 on Oct 12, 2012 |
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Oct 12, 2012 21:50
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