i buy my dog toys to destroy.
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Mar 14, 2018 12:58
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boop the snoot posted:i buy my dog toys to destroy. 
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Mar 14, 2018 13:00
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Phuzun posted:Mine just likes to chew, so it has to be tough not to break. The squeaking is like a bonus stimulus when it happens, though squeakers are usually the weak point. She has some heavy toys that she likes to toss around, I put those out of reach at night since we are top floor in an apt and they are loud when she drops em. Thanks! I'm in a chipper mood, have a complete list of Apollo's toys and what I think of them! For reference, Apollo is a 40lbs GSD/Husky mix who's two years old now. - Tennis balls, a boring pack of three from Walmart. They're perfect for fetch, and occasionally light chewing, and he likes to play with them in conjunction with other toys. He cannot fit two into his mouth, but he can fit a toy and a tennis ball into his mouth, which makes him super happy. - Rope toy. Yep. The first toy we got him, and honestly still one of the standards. Over time we have to trim the strands that he loosens, or replace the toy, but these things are relatively durable. They're kind of the standard in the household? You can throw him, do light tugging, etc - this particular kind is too short for good tugs. But he still uses 'em and likes to carry them around. I keep one in the bedroom so if he gets bored while I'm asleep he can play with something quiet that isn't a shoe - and yes. I have woken up to find the toy in my bed sometimes. - I cannot find it online, but I also bought a longer rope toy from the store, the kind with the knot in the middle. This is the tug toy, and it's like the other rope toys but a bit more durable and, well, longer. - Kong - Kong. An essential. It's kind of so-so as a toy at this point, but it's saved me from how fast he eats. I fill the kong, then the bowl, and he has to eat around the kong and then clean it out for his meals. It's been in use since, what, October? Still intact, and sometimes he'll pick it up for chewing. Also doubles as a peanut butter repository! (If shelters had way better budgets than they do, I'd honestly want this toy to be a mandatory gift along with a leash / some dog food / etc for new owners.) - Teeza Ball Treat Dispenser - a gift from a friend, essentially a mistake. He loved it for a day and a half and ripped it apart. - Kong Jump N Jack - bought this a few weeks ago, he loves it. It bounces, it's great for fetch, it's kind of okay for tug, I can put peanut butter in it, etc etc. When I ask him to bring me a toy he often picks this one these days. The best part is: he hasn't even dented it despite all of that chewing. - Nylabone - Durachew Ring Toy. Bought this back in November, it's still holding up. It's a mess, with tooth marks in it, but it hasn't come apart or quit being a good chew toy, which is excellent. It's basically his chew toy, for when he needs to sit and really dig into something. Keep in mind that it's heavy, so it's really bad for fetch, and tug, uh.... Yeah. But I've had no problems with this thing. And finally, the king: - Kong Safestix - this thing! This thing was a gift from a friend, it's the absolute best thing she's ever done for me. I never would've bought this thing on my own, but it's perfect. It's durable, it's fetchable, it's tuggable, he can pick it up and a tennis ball and then whack the other tennis balls with it, he can shake it... All of the other stuff on this list is great (except for the dud) but this thing, this is the toy I have spent the most time with since I got Apollo. He brings it to me most of the time, it's been inside and out, it's just... perfect. I mean, right now it has heavy competition with the Jack and the squeaker, but I'm sure that once new toy wears off we'll have the three in rotation for best toys. In conclusion I'm very very lucky that he doesn't destroy toys outside of like, toys that are asking for it.
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Mar 14, 2018 13:35
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My new 26 lb 8 year old Boston Terrier mix inhales his food. I bought him a slow eater which is helping a lot. But when it comes to treats and dental sticks, I could use recommendations. For the latter, my current plan is to get him one of the Kong dental toys but that requires me to put peanut butter on it and he’s not going to get peanut butter every day, especially when he needs to lose 5lbs. So, treats and dental sticks for a small-medium dog that inhales everything?
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Mar 19, 2018 09:04
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My beagle's at the veterinary dentist today getting a fractured/abscessed tooth and a toothless root pulled. He seems to crack teeth a lot because he had another like it pulled 2 years ago at his last dental as well. Does anybody have a dog with similar problems, and what examples of softer rubber chew toys would be best for him? I think I'm going to throw out his hard plastic Nylabone even though he loves it. His classic Kong gets kinda ignored, I wonder if he'd go for some other non-stuffable shapes. I've been recommended to avoid bones/hoofs/antlers. Thanks for any input.  Follow-up edit for anyone curious: Vet dentist says to use only chew toys that you can make an indention with your fingernail, or treats you can break in half with your bare hands. Damn Bananas fucked around with this message at 19:28 on Mar 20, 2018 |
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Mar 19, 2018 21:04
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my dog has free roam and has never been crated. he used to sleep in bed with me, but last night i evicted him to preserve my sheets (he drools worse than the worst human i've ever known to drool and also goes on sneezing fits when he wakes up and it ruins my sheets). he is 3.5 years old. i got him right around 5-6 weeks and he has slept in bed with me every single night since i got him. he got under my bed and whined. or would pace around the bed waiting on me to say it's okay for him to get in. it's heartbreaking and i'm mostly just venting, i know that he just needs time to adjust. here is how he was looking at me this morning at 5am.  that's his bed i made him last night. it's a dog bed with a blanket nested on top of it. i put the pillow there, he put the toy there.
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Mar 19, 2018 22:43
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Oh bu he looks like such a good boy. Its really hard to undo behavior like that. They've grown to accept that as standard. When we got our puppy, we weren't entirely prepared to bring him home and we didn't have a bed/crate the first night or two. Also, we lived in a townhouse with 2 floors with all the bedrooms upstairs and the living room downstairs. He was only 10 weeks old and the stairs were too much for him. In order to be up every 30-45 minutes to bring him outside to pee, I decided to sleep on the sofa with him. Guess who thinks they own the sofa now? Also, once he did start being able to get up the stairs safely, he slept in a bed next to ours. Once he got big enough to stand up against the bed, he would stare at my face, lick and whine. I gave in to him once and slept on the floor. Once I laid down, he fell right asleep. After he was big enough to jump onto the bed, he would sneak up while we were asleep without us knowing or feeling it. I thought it was my wife at first and then realized I had a puppy face laying against my face on the pillow and snoring. After a while it was hard to keep pushing him off. He's very snuggly so we just learned to accept it. He mostly sticks to the foot of the bed, sometimes he'll crawl under the blankets if its cold. When he really wants attention he'll army crawl up between my wife and I and lay with his head on my pillow. Sometimes he lays on the outside and likes to be spooned. The poo poo we tolerate from our dogs ...
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Mar 19, 2018 23:28
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Blinkman987 posted:My new 26 lb 8 year old Boston Terrier mix inhales his food. I bought him a slow eater which is helping a lot. But when it comes to treats and dental sticks, I could use recommendations. For the latter, my current plan is to get him one of the Kong dental toys but that requires me to put peanut butter on it and he’s not going to get peanut butter every day, especially when he needs to lose 5lbs. Depending on the type of toy, you could probably fill it with canned dog food as part of his daily calorie allotment. Also freeze it so it takes him longer to eat it. I fill my dogs’ Kongs with peanut butter (no sugar added with the oil drained off) and nonfat yogurt mixed together. They love it and it’s not as bad as sugary peanut butter. I also make peanut butter bread croutons for my dogs as treats. Pretty low calorie and they think they are getting something REALLY special.
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Mar 20, 2018 00:15
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My dogs sleep with me. Well, one is a blanket hogging little poo poo who won't sleep anywhere else. The other sometimes sleeps on the other side of the bed and sometimes sleeps on the couch. And sometimes the terrible orange cats tries to sleep on my face. He's the worst.
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Mar 20, 2018 04:56
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Blinkman987 posted:My new 26 lb 8 year old Boston Terrier mix inhales his food. I bought him a slow eater which is helping a lot. But when it comes to treats and dental sticks, I could use recommendations. For the latter, my current plan is to get him one of the Kong dental toys but that requires me to put peanut butter on it and he’s not going to get peanut butter every day, especially when he needs to lose 5lbs. This thing has really helped when my 22lbs pup has her last burst of crazy before bed. You can put a couple larger treats in it or a few smaller ones. There are a couple smaller holes in it instead of the big one a Kong has, so it is harder to get the treats out. It occupies my pup for quite a while. I do switch it up with kongs and other treats so she is always surprised or interested in what we have for her. I do not put anything squishy like pb in it because the dog can't get it out like she could in a kong. https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/dog/dog-toys/dog-treat-dispensing-toys/leaps-and-bounds-smart-snacker-mini-unicorn-dog-toy
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Mar 20, 2018 04:56
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My dog sleeps downstairs, I sleep upstairs. He's not even allowed upstairs -- I put a baby gate at the top of the stairs. It means I don't get fur all over my bed, and that he doesn't get anxiety over where to sleep.
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Mar 20, 2018 17:29
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HungryMedusa posted:This thing has really helped when my 22lbs pup has her last burst of crazy before bed. You can put a couple larger treats in it or a few smaller ones. There are a couple smaller holes in it instead of the big one a Kong has, so it is harder to get the treats out. It occupies my pup for quite a while. I do switch it up with kongs and other treats so she is always surprised or interested in what we have for her. I do not put anything squishy like pb in it because the dog can't get it out like she could in a kong. Thanks! I got the red medium one for my guy. I put some of these in there and my dog played with it for some time, but in-between sessions of putting his tongue in it to lick the treats, Mickey gave me long looks and was like "Help, these treats are never coming out." He eventually gave up with all five treats left in it. https://www.chewy.com/blue-buffalo-blue-bits-tender-beef/dp/49574 Are the treats too big? What treats do you usually put in there? Maybe I bought the wrong size? Blinkman987 fucked around with this message at 04:59 on Mar 22, 2018 |
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Mar 22, 2018 04:51
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We have adopted my sister's 1.5 year old German Shepherd because she needed to move and is no longer in a situation where she can care for her. Ostensibly it's only for a couple months, but my wife and I agreed to do it assuming we'd be her new home for the long term. We had generally planned to get a dog at some point, but neither of us have had a dog of our own before and it's really a big adjustment. It's only been a week so I'm still wondering how much of her behavior might change as she continues to get settled. The poor thing had a pretty traumatic move. She was driven by another family member for two days to get to us. He's a real dog person so they bonded pretty quickly (helped, I'm sure by the close proximity). Then of course she's handed off to us. She was frantic when they got to our house, especially when he went out to get stuff out of his truck. Unfortunately, neither of us are experienced and while I was holding on to her leash for dear life, my wife tried to pet her and got bit hard enough to draw blood. As soon as the dog heard her yell, she looked incredibly cowed and actually crawled into her crate for a few seconds. She really knew she had done something wrong. Both of us kind of operated under "petting = comfort" so that was our bad. The other thing is that it's a massive change of environment for her, going from a household with three young children and a mom who's almost always home to a quiet house with just the two of us and being home alone while we're at work. Since then there's been a lot of good and (kind of) bad. Good: -She is very well housebroken and hasn't had an accident even with the extreme change. -She is crate trained and (apparently) loves her crate, but actually hasn't used it since she got here. I've put her in it once when we had company. Not because she was bad but just because she was on top of everyone and just in the way. She was fine in the crate. -She has been absolutely fine left alone for long periods. No destructive chewing so far. -She's generally quiet aside from some light barking when louder cars or trucks go by. She barely even barks at other dogs. -She's good with people and seems OK with other dogs. Actually, generally it's other dogs that go nuts toward her while she sort of looks at them. I think she wants to play but they don't seem to want any of it. -She's OK on a leash. pulls but it's actually not too bad and seems to have gotten the picture about what I want in terms of walking. Still, we'll go through several rounds of stopping, waiting, going. But sometimes we go pretty far with her walking beside me just fine and she'll even occasionally bop my hand with her nose as if she's checking on me.  -She really is a sweet, sweet dog. The greeting she gives us at the front door is incredible - knocking stuff over with her tail, mouthing (no teeth), spinning around, jumping. It would be better if she weren't so freaking huge. When she wants to get close, she can very cuddly. Bad(ish): -This might be the adjustment but she doesn't really seem to like a lot of toys or even to chew things much. She more or less ignores nylabones aside from taking them from me. She came with an antler that she has since destroyed and I took it because I was afraid she would swallow chunks. We've ordered a yak milk stick and will see if that works. Other toys she's mostly ignored except for her old tennis balls and a huge rope tug we got, though I don't leave them out for her unless we're going to play fetch/tug. -Training is slow (though I know it's only been a week), but that's almost certainly more our fault. She's pretty food motivated, but it gets to the point where I have to try to hide my movement of getting a treat because she recognizes it and goes for that instead of what I want. I can tell it's going to be really hard to phase out lures. She has a mediocre sit that she ignores pretty often. I've gotten her to sit outside maybe twice without a treat. -She is attached to me at the hip. I can barely go into the next room without her tagging along and lying back down next to me. Some of this I think is, again, the adjustment. And I think I need to exercise her more so she'll just chill when inside. -On the flipside, and the biggest issue: she is not getting along with my wife very well, which is causing some strain. She isn't aggressive, but she's resource guarding, including chew things she doesn't even use. She's growled softly a few times and bared her teeth at my wife. I hope this is just a matter of time and making sure my wife keeps giving her walks, treats, etc. I also think (though maybe this is bullshit) that she bonds with men far more quickly. -Oh god the shedding. I think we keep forgetting that it's still only been a handful of days since she got here. Since she is a GSD, and a young one at that, I know she needs a lot of exercise. She seems OK sleeping or lying down most of the day, but I try to give her a 30-minute walk in the morning with some tug if I have time, a short walk followed by some fetch in our backyard when I get home, and then a 45-minute walk before bed. I've also tried to do some training sessions but she loses interest kind of quickly. We have yet to take her to a dog park, but there's one not too far (not walking distance and we want to get a cover for the car first). As a side note, when out walking I've noticed people do seem to look at her nervously. And I get it - she's kind of an intimidating looking dog and I know GSDs have a reputation. Anyway, that was way more words than I thought, and I don't really have a question so much as wanted to rant? vent? I've definitely had a couple "oh my god what have we done?" moments. As compensation, here's a picture of the derp looking far more regal than she should.  And just because, here's one of her in her more natural state: 
z0331 fucked around with this message at 18:29 on Mar 22, 2018 |
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Mar 22, 2018 18:19
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It's only been a week! You're not going to see this dog's true colors for at least a month, if not longer. That's when she'll be settled into her new home and used to all the new rules and people and such. "-She is attached to me at the hip. I can barely go into the next room without her tagging along and lying back down next to me. Some of this I think is, again, the adjustment. And I think I need to exercise her more so she'll just chill when inside." Mine does this too, so, uh, that might not change. I've got a two year old GSD/Husky mix who will not leave me alone. Like, he has his own problems - separation anxiety being the big one - but even when he's not anxious he's just going to be near me. I haven't gone to the bathroom alone since I got him, send help! (I'm exaggerating for comedic effect, he lets me close the bathroom door and generally hangs out nearby - but for serious, I cannot go from my laptop to the bathroom without being followed.) "-She really is a sweet, sweet dog. The greeting she gives us at the front door is incredible - knocking stuff over with her tail, mouthing (no teeth), spinning around, jumping. It would be better if she weren't so freaking huge. When she wants to get close, she can very cuddly." Same! ... But work on the jumping, if you can. My pupper loves to jump on people so he can kiss them. "-This might be the adjustment but she doesn't really seem to like a lot of toys or even to chew things much. She more or less ignores nylabones aside from taking them from me. She came with an antler that she has since destroyed and I took it because I was afraid she would swallow chunks. We've ordered a yak milk stick and will see if that works. Other toys she's mostly ignored except for her old tennis balls and a huge rope tug we got, though I don't leave them out for her unless we're going to play fetch/tug." I rec a rope toy, a Kong, a Kong SafeStix, Tennis Balls, and also not pushing it if she's not into the toy. I'm concerned about her not getting along with your wife, but I don't have the experience to really rec things here. Uh, have your wife give her treats / spend time with her? I mean, be careful! One more thing: my dog doesn't like pets unless he's specifically looking for them, and he seems to prefer chest pets and bellyrubs to anything on the top of his head. You might have been giving this lady some of the same stress when you were petting her - petting her in a place she didn't like, etc. Good luck with her!
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Mar 22, 2018 18:34
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Yeah, the only concern I have from what you said is the dog's interactions with your wife. You really want the dog to get along with everyone in the household. I'd wager that this is just because of that one semi-traumatic event when the dog first arrived at the house. This can be fixed; you just need to have the dog have positive interactions with your wife. Don't push it; figure out what makes the dog react badly and stop short of that. When you consistently get no negative reactions, you can move the goalposts a bit. For example, if the dog growls when your wife pets her, then don't have her pet the dog, just have your wife stand around near the dog instead. If you give treats/pets/praise/attention when the dog is misbehaving, you won't reassure the dog, you'll just reinforce the bad behavior. This is I think the most important rule that every new dog owner should learn. Rewards include just things like talking to the dog, so you need to be very careful about how you behave when you're trying to train out a bad behavior. As for the dog going for your treats instead of doing the command you want them to do, I suggest carrying a small handful of treats in your hand, which you can hand over one at a time when you need to reward the dog. Also, once she's learned a command, you don't have to treat her every time she does it; keep the treats irregular and she won't have such a finely-honed instinct to go for the treat.
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Mar 22, 2018 18:45
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Thanks, guys. Moving forward, that was basically what I was thinking re: interactions with my wife - just take it slowly. Again, she's not actively aggressive; she's never tried to bite her since, and lets her give her treats and walks, etc. And she didn't complain or resist when my wife got her off the couch one time. She's just having trouble not taking it kind of personally (and I would be feeling the same if it were reverse) and also feeling bad about not approaching the situation the right way before. Unfortunately my wife works a lot and has been on a business trip for the past couple days, which obviously won't make things any easier. But we'll just be working on spending time together. Petting/touching has been a little tentative since Elie (the dog) bared her teeth a couple times, (to be fair, she did this to me too very early on but hasn't since) but already recently seemed a little better about letting her pet her. Listening to my wife's commands has also been tougher but that's just another thing to work on. Otherwise, somehow it's been so easy to forget how little time really has passed. Maybe it's because she hasn't had many issues that I was really afraid of at the start, like separation anxiety or forgetting her housetraining, etc. She took to me so quickly that it sort of seemed like "oh she's fine!"
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Mar 22, 2018 18:55
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Blinkman987 posted:Thanks! I got the red medium one for my guy. I put some of these in there and my dog played with it for some time, but in-between sessions of putting his tongue in it to lick the treats, Mickey gave me long looks and was like "Help, these treats are never coming out." He eventually gave up with all five treats left in it. I break up whatever we have, usually biscuit type treats. I forget which brand we have right now. I also put the tiny tiny training treats like "Little Jacs" in there. https://www.amazon.com/Bil-Jac-Little-Small-Liver-Treats/dp/B00IT4MONK I have no idea if the Blue Buffalo ones are a little bigger or not. My pup also does get fed up and bring the toy over for me to help her get it out if there is a particularly big chunk. It is cute and pathetic.It has been happening less and less as she gets older, though. If your pup gives up too easy, maybe squeeze and shake a couple of the treats out in front of him once in a while so he is rewarded periodically. After doing that a few times, he might be more willing to stick with it.
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Mar 22, 2018 22:02
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Don't ask the dog for the behavior when you don't have treats on you until it's rock solid. Wearing a treat bag full time for a few weeks isn't a bad idea for both of you. Also get your wife to feed all her meals unless she's away. And stop trying to pet the dog until she basically puts her head in your hands.
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Mar 22, 2018 22:28
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Engineer Lenk posted:Don't ask the dog for the behavior when you don't have treats on you until it's rock solid. Wearing a treat bag full time for a few weeks isn't a bad idea for both of you. Also get your wife to feed all her meals unless she's away. This person knows whats up. even light aggression needs to be crushed right off, too much of a liability. respect your dogs.
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Mar 22, 2018 22:32
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Thanks for the suggestions on the treat toy. I'll order the size smaller and see. My new doggie Mickey has three things I'd like advice on. Again, 8 year old male Boston Terrier mix. 1 - My dog loves killing squeakers. My roommate is concerned that he'll start destroying other things, like expensive furniture. Is there any concern with that? He's only really shown interest in killing the squeakers and pulling stuffing out of anything that has a squeaker. I have an absurd amount of pillows in my room and he has had three weeks free reign to get into those, but he hasn't. No interest in them. 2 - My dog needs to greet and be friends with everyone. The one thing he doesn't understand is that he can't go right at the dog's face to get to their scruff and start sniffing. The roommate's dog is a 10 year old Yorkie and she does NOT like the way Mickey approaches her, nor do most dogs. Mickey also doesn't understand that when she goes away, she wants to be left alone. Any suggestions on how to get them to better get along in the house? When they go on walks together, they mostly ignore each other but every so often they get onto the same smell and the Yorkie does not like Mickey getting close to her face. 3 - My dog loves everyone. When we go to bed, if my roommate is in the living room, he'll stand longingly next to my closed bedroom door. When I tried to get him to bed last night, he snapped at me as I tried to usher him into the bedroom because there were two new people in the living room and he didn't want to go to bed. When I put him in his crate (I left him in his crate a few times early on and he was ok with it) because we were moving furniture, he heard people in the living room and whined until he was let out. What can I do to make him better about his crate and not freak out whenever he has to be separated from new people? Note that he also gets super excited when we're on walks meeting people, but he's very good on a leash and gives up after I give him a few firm tugs away from the person. Here's a pic of the pup who has his mind on one thing-- my sandwich! (Img tag not working for some reason): https://imgur.com/a/byPpv Blinkman987 fucked around with this message at 06:00 on Mar 25, 2018 |
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Mar 25, 2018 05:46
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1. Killing stuffed toys is fine. 2. Don't let your dog be an rear end in a top hat. Distract and call him to you to break it up. Keep high value treats on your body at all times until he reliably will turn away from distraction. Don't let him greet other dogs or people on leash if he's pulling towards them. 3. See (2) for moving him along, and teach a solid 'go to bed' or 'crate' command as well.
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Mar 25, 2018 12:13
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My dogs both murder stuffed toys. One of them chewed on some pillows. She also hates zippers and chewed the zippers off of a couple of pillow cases and a pair of pants.
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Mar 25, 2018 15:11
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GoodBee posted:My dogs both murder stuffed toys. One of them chewed on some pillows. She also hates zippers and chewed the zippers off of a couple of pillow cases and a pair of pants. My dogs murders toys which can kind of suck because toys can be expensive if you don't stick to the clearance bin at the pet store, which has toys fit for a teacup poodle, not a 65lb toy murder machine. His other thing is blankets. He's pretty good about sticking to *his* blanket but every now and then he will try to chew my comforter or something.
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Mar 25, 2018 16:04
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My blankets do have some nibbled edges too.
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Mar 25, 2018 16:06
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So after my wife got back from her business trip, her relationship with the dog has been fine.  My guess is Ellie (the dog) needed some more time to feel secure/stable, and once that happened she no longer had any issues with feeling that my wife was a threat in any way. Now she greets her in the morning and when we get home from work just as happily. Actually now the issue is the other way. Both of us leaving work in the morning is a huge hassle trying to keep Ellie from bolting outside with us. No easy thing given how ridiculously strong she is. She doesn't have any interest in a stuffed Kong when she figures out we're leaving. She gets really frantic if even one of her humans leaves and she can't follow. We really need to work on desensitizing her to us heading out the door.
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Mar 26, 2018 14:37
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z0331 posted:So after my wife got back from her business trip, her relationship with the dog has been fine.  https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/common-dog-behavior-issues/separation-anxiety
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Mar 26, 2018 15:02
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StrixNebulosa posted:
Yeah, we've been talking about whether it's full-blown SA. Luckily she doesn't exhibit some of the worst symptoms, like destroying stuff or peeing everywhere. We've given her free reign of the first floor and so far she's been fine as far as we can tell. Even when one of us leaves she'll be pretty frantic for a while. We had her in the car the other day and my wife got out to run in somewhere while I stayed in the car and I thought Ellie was going to jump out the window. I know shepherds aren't known for their independence, but she comes across as pretty needy. We went to the dog park for the first time (she'd been taken to a park by her previous owners, so not her first time ever going to one) and she did more or less fine but was a complete wallflower; she wouldn't play with any of the other dogs. She was all excited and barking as we got there, and once we entered she wouldn't leave our side and would chase other dogs off if they got in our circle. We got a treat pouch and I've been working on things. With treats, she's actually pretty good with sit; can do sit-stay OK inside; and reliably does down if I lure her with or without a treat. I'm also working on treating her for loose leash walking.
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Mar 26, 2018 15:24
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Why not crate her?
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Mar 26, 2018 15:59
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She's had a major change in life experience quite recently. You should expect it to take a few months at least for her to get more comfortable in her new situation.
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Mar 26, 2018 15:59
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Engineer Lenk posted:Why not crate her? I guess overly worried about her being in a kind of small crate (can stand but not really fully upright) for so long. The crate came with her and she likes it fine, but my thought was, if it wasn't necessary, I'd like to give her some room to move around during the day if she wants to. If she's going to be anxious and frantic when we leave, I'm also a little concerned about how that'll be if she finds herself in an enclosed space. Maybe we need to get a bigger one? And again, she seems to be OK outside of the initial departure. We haven't come home to anything destroyed. TooMuchAbstraction posted:She's had a major change in life experience quite recently. You should expect it to take a few months at least for her to get more comfortable in her new situation. It continues to be really tough to remember this given how good she's been overall. I've seen certain things develop. For example, she absolutely had no interest in a nylabone we got her until maybe yesterday when she randomly picked it up and started chewing. We got her a bed that she kind of ignored but then the other day started lying down on it. One annoying thing is she's started barking more, but it's generally not too bad. Sometimes she acts almost like a cat and will come over and rub herself against me and press into me for scratchies. Edit: Also, are those Himalayan chews actually supposed to take "hours" like it says? We got her some Chewy brand ones and she destroyed it in like 15 minutes. z0331 fucked around with this message at 16:35 on Mar 26, 2018 |
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Mar 26, 2018 16:31
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z0331 posted:I guess overly worried about her being in a kind of small crate (can stand but not really fully upright) for so long. The crate came with her and she likes it fine, but my thought was, if it wasn't necessary, I'd like to give her some room to move around during the day if she wants to. If she's going to be anxious and frantic when we leave, I'm also a little concerned about how that'll be if she finds herself in an enclosed space. Maybe we need to get a bigger one? And again, she seems to be OK outside of the initial departure. We haven't come home to anything destroyed. Paradoxically, an enclosed space can make a dog feel more secure. I wouldn't leave a dog in a crate they couldn't stand up and turn around in, but you might consider a larger crate or expen.
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Mar 26, 2018 21:17
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How do you get a dog to play tug "correctly"? Ellie won't do the whole, grab it and try to pull it straight back thing. Instead she just shakes her head trying to snap whatever toy's spine and then sort of pulls from side to side. And I don't think the game tires her out nearly as much as it should because of it. Anything other than just praising her anytime she comes close to doing what I want? Most of the time if she gets lined up correctly she comes toward me when I lightly tug on it instead of pulling back. 
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Mar 27, 2018 14:51
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Engineer Lenk posted:Paradoxically, an enclosed space can make a dog feel more secure. I wouldn't leave a dog in a crate they couldn't stand up and turn around in, but you might consider a larger crate or expen.
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Mar 27, 2018 21:54
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z0331 posted:How do you get a dog to play tug "correctly"? Ellie won't do the whole, grab it and try to pull it straight back thing. Instead she just shakes her head trying to snap whatever toy's spine and then sort of pulls from side to side. And I don't think the game tires her out nearly as much as it should because of it. Walk slowly backwards, to pull the dog a bit. Every dog I've played tug with will try to use it's neck to try to snap the toy out of your grip, if you just sit in one spot.
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Mar 28, 2018 01:37
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Hopefully I'm in the right place, looking for some general opinion: Is it at all workable to get a dog while working full time, and living alone in an apartment, and also having a cat? And also being a first time dog owner? I don't know if a dog exists that will be OK loose in an apartment with a cat, and will just chill out until I get home and still be affectionate and cuddly when I'm there. I'm out from 8-5 during the week. There is a doggy daycare down the street from me, I've also thought about hiring a dog walker. Ideally I'd like to find an adult small dog from a shelter or rescue, if they'd even consider my application. I've really wanted a dog for a long time and have been holding out until I can make it work.. is it worth considering or just keep dreaming?
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Mar 28, 2018 06:15
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dracky posted:Hopefully I'm in the right place, looking for some general opinion: I did this except I got a kind of big dog and I have 2 cats. Then I got my dog a dog. Then I got my dog a house. I adopted from a shelter and I told them about my situation and they said my dog would match up. She has been trying to chase my orange cat lately though. She's about 3 and the cat is about 13 so he doesn't really want play with her. The cat is also fat so he could use the exercise.
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Mar 28, 2018 14:07
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Phuzun posted:Walk slowly backwards, to pull the dog a bit. Every dog I've played tug with will try to use it's neck to try to snap the toy out of your grip, if you just sit in one spot. She just follows and walks into me.  I'll try it outside maybe. Inside we only have one area she can tug because it has a large rug. She slips all over the place on the hardwood. Also we had our first shoe casualty so clearly her separation anxiety is getting worse. Until we can get a bigger crate for her, we're going to try penning her in the kitchen. I look forward to seeing what trouble she gets into that I didn't predict. (We don't have chemicals under the sink or anything so at least she hopefully won't poison herself.)
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Mar 28, 2018 15:07
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Does anyone have any experience with getting a custom painting done of their dog(s) from an etsy seller? After scratching my head for ages trying to think of something to get my maid of honor as a thank you, I struck gold with the idea of getting a painting done of our two dogs together, but there's a million custom painters on etsy, ranging from $20 to $hundreds, and it all feels a bit like walking past the guys offering caricatures on the boardwalk with a bunch of advertised "sample" drawings that they clearly just printed off of the internet. I don't mind paying in the $hundreds range (I'd prefer to pay more knowing I'm getting a really good work, rather than paying $20 and getting my picture thrown into photoshop, "sketch"-ied, and printed out onto crappy paper), but I feel like I remember someone talking about getting it done somewhere upthread and would love recommendations.
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Mar 28, 2018 15:32
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I feel like you'd be more comfortable going to a site that is explicitly for artists more than for businesses, and finding an artist that takes commissions. Such sites have galleries where you can review the artist's past works, so you can a) see if they're actually artists, and b) find one whose style you like. The main problem with this approach is that you don't get access to reviews, which mostly means that you run the risk of hiring an artist that flakes out or takes a few months to turn around the commission. I would expect to pay around $100 for a good-quality, greyscale piece of two dogs, more if you want it colored or painted, more if you want them to ship you a physical copy. But you can just request a high-resolution (at least 300dpi) digital copy and then go to a print shop to get it printed; pretty much any shop should be able to do a decent job on nice paper.
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Mar 28, 2018 15:41
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dracky posted:Hopefully I'm in the right place, looking for some general opinion: I was in your exact situation when I got my dog. Except I got a big dog (greyhound). He just stays in the crate during the day and I let him out and walk him when I get home. He was super interested in the cat when I got him but now they mostly ignore each other. You can ask the shelter for a dog that does well with cats and just be careful with introductions and don't leave them alone in the same room for at least a couple months. Also greyhounds come crate trained and are essentially 70 pound cats that sleep 16 hours a day so they're well suited for apartments and people working 9-5. They're fantastic beginner dogs. Something to consider if you're not wedded to them idea of a small dog. bamhand fucked around with this message at 15:57 on Mar 28, 2018 |
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Mar 28, 2018 15:53
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