courtnek

Freebee would kill the vacuum in a heartbeat if it was alive - she growls, snarls, shows teeth, barks, gets completely out of control. Alex (so laid back almost comatose) would watch you turn it on and go back to sleep, but resented being moved because of it..... MY solution was to ditch all the carpeting and get hard wood floors. Best decsion I ever made. I sweep up the area rugs with a dirt devil non-electric sweeper thing....

Nylabones are good for the aggressive chewer - I am trying to wean Alex off of rawhide and onto nylabone. But for teething, the best thing I have ever come up with for my dog was....well.....ice. I would take beef or chicken broth, (the unsalted kind) and mix it with 1/2 water and freeze it. It's less expensive then bones, and they love it cuz it tastes like food. they will crunch right through it and ask for more. :D

ROFLMAO - OMG that got me started and now I cant stop.... Thanks, I needed that! :laugh2_2:

AMEN ti that. This particular troll knows NOTHING about dogs...I have a cat. AND DOGS....

Frebee is HOME!!! YEA!!!! sluggish, kinda doped, stiff, but HOME!! she seems ok, except ofr the sluggishness, but that should wear off soon. aLL OF THE OTHER CRITTERS ARE BACK TO NORMAL TOO! It's SOOOOO good to have her back!! My poor puppy girl, she's had a rough time of it. thanks to everyone for your support asd good wishes towards her!!

That's a good idea pets, thank you! :D

yea it is actually. Have you ever seen those animal "rope sticks" they use to capture wild animals? It's a stick with a collar rope on the end. They are perfect for stair training because you can make the dog stay behind you as you come down. I have one from when I was training Jarvis, and it works quite well once you get used to it. Or you can make him sit and then call him once you're down. Either way, you led the way. I frequently have to make Alex come down or up from the stairs when he went down before me, and make him stay till I call him.

when walking down or up the stairs, you lead the dog. The whole "top of the stairs" Alpha posture is because in the pack, the pack lead and mate sleep on the "high ground" to keep watch over the pack, and because they are safest up there. But if you lead, you are still the Alpha, either going up or down. All those pictures you see of the wolf howling at the moon standing on a rise...that's the Alpha, on the high ground, calling the pack to order. If they are all up there with him (unlikely but you never know) and it was time to come down, he would lead them down. :D

She is doing better. She didnt want any water today, but they still have her on fluid IV's so that may be why. They're gonna try to get her to eat a little tonight and see how she does...I hope she gobbles everything up and keeps it down so I can bring her home tomorrow!!!! They said the incision is healing fine, but she did throw up a little today, which worries me.... They also gave her some pain meds cuz she seemed stiff, so maybe that's why. Pain meds dont always agree with me, either. I gotta look on the positive side.... I'll keep you all updated.... thanks.

Looks like Wednesday night - I want her now!!!! but they have to watch her for possible complications.... :cry: :cry: :cry: My poor baby....

well, she's through surgery. They found some kind of plastic "something" in her belly and intestines....could be a toy that the kids threw, or could be anything. The couldnt determine what it was, since it was all chewed up. I guess I have to canvas the yard everyday and make sure nothing is there...She seems to be ok....She learned this behavior from Alex. She never used to chew anything until he moved in..... Poor Freeb! I'm just very happy that she's ok...My boss already authorized overtime to help pay for it..... thanks for everyones support.

couple of things I trained mine recall using long leads (40-50 feet) in my backyard originally. Neither of them are very good at it when loose, however. :oops: I think I need more work. But I used both praise and treats. They figured out long ago that I cant really catch them in the yard. So for situations when I want them back NOW I use the command TREAT! that will bring them back every time. I dont let them loose off lead, not yet, because they are labs and wandering is part of their nature. We are still in training mode however. I use TREAT as an emergency call, just in case. Otherwise I reward them with games and affection when they return willingly. Most of the time they do, but if they're in the yard chasing squirrels they tend to ignore me. They have learned to come back if they get out of the yard, which does happen sometimes. I intend to take them to the new dog walking park this summer and try them offlead. But more work on it first! Training them takes long, because I work full time and it's dark 3/4 of the year when I get home.... so we're kinda stuck with weekends....

She has to have surgery. Whatever it is, it wont move on it's own. Poor Freebee..... I probably wont get her back until Wednessday night, and I really miss her. Alex misses her too. He keeps looking around for her and nudging me to go outside, then he stands there expecting her to come running up.... :cry: I'll keep you updated.....thanks.

ROFL@PADDLE!! Can I cross-post that? I have some friends who's husbands should see it..... No offense, Pik.... :lol: :lol: :lol:

Glad you had fun Daisy - labs and water are like air and breathing - not surprised they were all swimming!! It's good to feel some warmth. We had 60's yeaterday...that was SOOOO nice!! :D

They had a radiologist look at the xray - she thinks there is something "not normal" in her stomach and they're still not sure what the thing in the intestines is, so they're going to do an ultrasound. She hasnt passed any movements. They have her on IV fluids and right now they say she seems perky, but I am really afraid this is going to mean surgery. I have NO clue what she could have gotten into, but the kids in the neighborhood throw things in the yard all the time and maybe she ate a toy or something.....there are two small kids next door and they always throw their toy balls over the fence. Thanks for all the good wishes. I'll let you know as I find out more. Katy

I had to take Freebee to the emergency vet. She started throwing up and couldnt stop. They X-rayed her and there may be an obstuction in her intestines. I am SOOO worried about her!!! She has to stay at the vet tonight. They say she doesnt look too bad, but they want to watch her. Please send helpful wishes her way. She is only 5 and I dont want to lose her...... :( :(

It's ok Rowie - dont beat yourself up. Take her to the vet and have her examined. It could be nothing, but it's best to check. I had a purebred G/R and weird things happen to them. Mine used to EAT rocks (literally - chewed them up and swallowed them) and the vet found a mineral deficiency..... Let us know what happens, OK?

This may sound crazy, but if he was found on the street quite possible he was raiding garbage, and eating potatos....people usually throw out the skins....Maybe the potatos make him protective because he was starving.... those are hard lessons to unlearn, although it can be done. He might just be protecting what he remembers as a food source... In time when he becomes confident that he wont be thrown out on the street again the behavior may subside. In the meantime, I would just put the potatoes away and work on your training with him.

welcome Icey - what is the squiggle after "queen" please? and Pik, your insanity may just keep us all sane, so keep it up!! DP, is he always like this, or just here??? LOL :lol: :lol: :lol:

LOL - definitely a smart pill! Mine wont go outside alone. They go out and come in in pairs. They've gotten so used to each other that neither one wants to be oustide alone. :o

unfortunately, the entranceway from my back door is this little tiny cubbyhole where the coats hang up - It's about 3 feet by 3 feet, and then theres stairs that go straight up to the kitchen. Both dogs AND the cat insist on greeting me there every night....and Freebee has to jump up and kiss...it's quite a tangled crowd for the first few minutes.... :D

You might want to ask the vet - there may be some vitamin/mineral missing from her diet and that's why she's eating the tomatos.

reading back I see he's male. He is still protecting the potatoes for some reason though.... I have known of females who do this, but not usually males... I fostered a rescue male that used to steal towels, underwear, etc and wouldnt give them up. The vet said it was an insecurity thing. They had me do the whole alpha training thing and give the dog lots of positive attention in between and he eventually got adopted out.

You definitely have an Alpha problem. now for a strange question....Is your dog male or female, and is he/she fixed? Since the dog doesnt go alpha over anything but potatoes, I get the impression he/she is trying to protect them. If it's a girl, maybe she is doing the false pregnancey/baby thing and think's they're her puppies? just a thought... I would put the potatoes away where she cant see them, and then watch for other strange behavior (if she's female), Does she try to "nest", rip up newspapers, that sort of thing?