atghylin

[quote]the only thing I trust is a 6 foot high cast iron fence with a paddlocked gate[/quote] lol, Mouse. Sorry but I live on the 3rd floor in a 2 bedroom apartment otherwise I would use your suggestion. And the balcony wall is about 4 ft and I'm pretty sure that if Felix really wanted to he'd jump it. Thanks Daisysmom. :D Felix already sits/stays well inside. The trick is going to be getting him to calm down enough to sit/stay when I go to the front door. He bounces like crazy. :roll: Amanda[/i]

Okay... I've heard it mentioned before and know it can be done. But when I looked for a post on it specifically I couldn't find one. Felix needs to learn his boundries before something bad happens. Here's the problem... Felix is an escape artist. When the front door is opened just a tiny bit he's gone. He does the same with balcony... and I DON'T want him going out that door. The new neighbors have a cat that comes to visit over the balcony wall. It's entirely too easy for him to jump over the wall chasing after said cat and we're 3 floors up. :o He hasn't jumped yet but I'm guessing it's only a matter of time. The main problem with the front door are the kids. I've had every kid in the nieghbor at my door at one time or another for one reason or another. And when the door is opened Felix is gone. :chainsaw1: Division street, Spokane's biggest and busiest road, is literally right around the cornor from us. The last thing I want is to have to chase him into or even close to that street. :errrr: I had a sign up telling everybody that he's there and to be careful but the landlord threw it out. Said it was scaring potential renters away so she threw it away instead of asking me to take it down. :bad-words: I'd like to try teaching him his boundries to prevent anything from happening. Could anyone tell me the best way to go about it? I'd appreciate it. Thanks, Amanda

Ooooooooooo! I like the poem! Gonna print it out and frame it with pictures of Felix and hang it on the wall across from the front door for the In-laws and my sister to see as soon as they walk in the door when they come over for visits. They don't Felix; they think he's an nuasance(sp?) but he's not (he's better trained then my sister's dogs whom she barely even trained with obideance) and we love him dearly. thanks! Amanda

I have the type that Kendalyn pictured. Felix loves it. :iloveyou: My experiance with kennels/cages/crates is rather pleasant. I taught Felix "kennel" to mean it's time to go into his kennel whether he wants to or not. He stays out of trouble when no one is home to watch him. He also hids in it when he knows he's in trouble or when he wants some peace from the children. :roll: It it HIS room and the children have been taught to leave it alone. [quote] You'll need to put something soft in the bottom though.[/quote] If you're going to do this I suggest putting down an old blanket/ towel(s) that you won't mind getting torn to shreds. Puppies get bored... though I'm sure you already know that and have thought of ways to prevent it. :wink: Felix sleeps on the plastic bottom since he's shredded every blanket/towel I've put down for him. My only problem with these new types of kennels/cages/crates is the the door lock. I have difficulties rotating the little tab thingy... though my husband has no problems with it. Amanda

[quote]He should have had the dogs on leashes in the car as well. [/quote] My Felix is never on leash in the car... safety issue. Wouldn't want him to tangle himself up in the seats and hurt himself or others. But I always make sure he is on leash BEFORE I open the door. Or if he's not getting out with me then at least he's in a sit/stay or down/stay. I would at least talk to the police and your landlord about the incident. Yes... it may have been an accident this time but if the owner has a habbit of not putting his dogs on leashes then it is most likely to happen again and not with favorable results. I'm sorry to hear about the incident but am glad Amaya is okay. Amanda

You won't get flamed from me Courtnek... as I agree with you 100%. Too many ppl line breed their dogs in too small a gene pool and that's why they have so many problems with their dogs. Amanda

I took Felix to work with me once. NEVER AGAIN! He barked comtinuosly there too. He was worse then most of the barkers we get in put together... drove everybody insane (the place has an echo somewhere... I swear). I even found a place for him as near to my work table as I could get him so he wouldn't bark so much but it didn't help much at all. I think his main problem is that I had to pay attention to strange dogs most of the day and not him... though I did talk to him all day and every chance I got I scratched his ears... he got treats and lots of attention from customers, I even bought him a new lovy to play with for the day (waste of money... completely ignored it :roll:) but I think he wanted more attention from me then any one else and I just couldn't give it to him. What can I say... my dog thinks I walk on water. :wink:

Got home yesterday to a note on my front door saying that Felix had been barking all day and was annoying the nieghbors. He was in his kennel in the apartment and for some unknown reason refused to stop barking. He usually settles down after a few minutes in his kennel once he figures out that no body is home and he's not going to be getting out anytime soon. I left for work around 9 am and didn't get home until after 5 and by then the manager had called my husband's work to find out if someone could come get him so he'll settle down but they told her that hubby was out of town for the weekend (hubby went to car show in Wentachee about 3 hours west of us). Apparently the manager also had the impression that the boys and I had left too and we left Felix to fend for himself for 3 days :-? . So she talked one of hubby's co-workers into coming to get him until someone got home. I had been home for all of 5 minutes trying to remember what I did with my keys (I put them down somewhere but still haven't found them yet) so I can down and talk to the manager when she showed up with Felix's leash in hand... I was so tired I didn't even notice it was gone. She was going to get him ready to be picked up. She starts talking to me like I'm a child :evil: about Felix. I stand there thinking I'm too exhausted to be showing any kind of emotion other then surprise but I'm not stupid either. I remember telling her that if we were leaving for an overnight trip that he would either go with us or go to my parents' in Moses Lake and we would NOT leave him here. Then she said he had been barking since 7:30 that morning. :o HUH?! I told her that was impossible 'cause I was still home at 7:30 and he was NOT barking. I may have been tired but I do remember what I was doing at 7:30... getting myself and the boys ready to go and tripping over Felix in the prcoess (the usual morning retuine)... me to work and them to daycare. She said she it documented. I don't care... barking all day is the issue and I need to figure something out before we get kicked out. And before hubby gets home this afternoon I really need to have some kind of a solution. When I put him up for the day I always give him a toy and a treat so I know that's not much of a solution. I've tried using a muzzle to kind of quiet him down a bit while I was home but it took all 5 seconds and he had it off. :roll: I've put a blanket over his kennel to muffle any sound he hears or makes but that doesn't work very well at all... and it's getting warmer so that's last thing I want to contiue doing for the next several months... I don't mind during the winter his coat's not really all that thick and little extra warmth won't hurt him. And yes through all this over the last several months I've been trying to teach him "quiet"... you guess how well that works. But even if it did work how much good does it do when no one's home to give the command? So what is there left for me to do? Any suggestions at all would be welcome... PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEE :puppydogeyes: Amanda

His tail is fine. He's not favoring it in any way and it was wagging happily when we got to my mom's 'cause he knew he was going to get the chance to run with mom's lab and shihtzu all day on an acre of land. i also checked it thorughly when I got to mom's... I didn't find ANY adnormalities. If I had to guess I'd say that Felix was walking away from the moving car as the idiot was backing up when the tire caught the fringes of hair on his tail. And the hair that was caught got yanked out 'cause he kept walking and the car kept moving. Bear in mind I didn't see it happen exactly... I was steering Kristopher toward the curb and had my entire attention on him. Felix and I thank you for your well wishes and concern. Of course he's too busy with his new stuffed lady bug toy I bought him at the moment. It squeaks! :roll:

I recently saw a Corki/Husky mix and a Shar Pie/German Shepherd mix at work. The Corkie/Husky was a taller then a Corkie but shorter then a Husky with the husky markings. The Shar Pie/ German shepherd was as tall as a GSD with the markings of a GSD but had the face of a Shar Pie. Adordably cute :angel:

He's fine... just got a few hairs on his tail yanked out by the roots. But... GRRR!!!! the JERK didn't even stop to see if he was okay just kept driving!!!!!!! Deep breath.... from the top... Because I got Easter off we decided to go back to Moses Lake for the day. Give the grandparents a chance to spend some Easter time with the boys. Not quite a quarter of the way there Kristopher starts complaining about needing to use the bathroom so we pull into the next rest stop. Figured while we were there we would let Felix relieve himself too. Hubby parks next to a green car. The driver was just starting his car as Hubby and I are standing a few inches from his car... Hubby with Felix's leash in hand and Felix at the other end and me opening Kristopher's door so he can go to the restroom. Now I ask you... WHO in their right mind even considers pulling out of a parking space when they see (in full view) 2 adults and a 5 yr old kid standing inches from the passenger's door of their car? This jackass... excuse my language :oops: ... not only considered it HE DID IT! :evil: :WTF: Felix (for once :roll: ) was at a perfect heal by hubby's side when the front tire backed over his tail. Now I understand that with as small as Felix is the driver could never have been able to see him BUT... when I heard Felix yelp and sprint forward I KNEW what happened and told hubby as much as I caught up with my dog and checked him over for injuries. Hubby informed the driver over the sound of highway traffic that he had run over the dog. The asshole... excuse me again :oops: ... aknowledged my husband with what I don't know wasn't paying much attention to them...I think it was something about ALLOWING my dog to be under his tires while he was backing out... he was there for seconds only as hubby was stepping onto the curb :evil: . The resulting verbal collision ended with the driver driving off with the sting of hubby's final insult in his ears. What pisses me off is that the jerk never stopped and asked if Felix was okay. Just kept driving and throwing insults back at us. The good news is that Felix has only a tiny bald spot on his tail and the hair will grow back. But still.... :evil: :evil: you get the idea. Amanda P.S. I guess I should apoligize for the delay in the tell of the story but work has kept me too tired to check back with you guys as often as I'd like. Sorry :oops:

ROTFL!!!!!! :rofl: :rofl: :roflt: :roflt: Oh, HF! Thank you... I so needed a good laugh today. I've been way too stressed. :roflt: :roflt:

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr... wish I'd have known this last month. My Felix has a Banfeild chip. What am I supposed to do with "my peace of mind" and "sense of security" until this universal scanner is developed (who knows how long before that happens)? And what is Banfeild telling it's patients who already have this chip? Are they offering some form of compensation(sp?)? None of the press releases mentions answers to these questions. All they say is that Banfeild has been asked to stop distributing their chips. That doesn't make ME feel any better. Sorry, Carolk9s. :oops: I don't mean to upset you. Thank you very much for posting this. With it I'd have gone on thinking that if something happened to Felix I'll get him back no matter what. Now I'm scared to death I won't. Amanda

Let's see I have a pretty tiny car and it get's filled quickly... I have (in addition to what I need for the boys)... Leash sandwich bags baby wipes several empty 20 oz Pepsi bottles with lids (in case I forget to grab some water) extra collar plastic bowl currently filled with small children's toys I think that's about it... any more and I won't be able drive.

the Fromm Family dog food? I'd like to switch Felix to a better quailty food but have been having problems finding one. I'd like to know if this is a better alternative then what he's on now. (I will not tell what he's on now 'cause I do not wish to be flamed. :P ) Here is the list of ingrediants on the sample packets I received... Chicken, Ground yellow corn, chicken meal, oat flour, wheat flour, whole egg, fish meal, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), brewers rice, beet pulp, wheat germ meal, natural flavors, flaxseed, dried whey, brewers dried yeast, lecithin, monosodium phosphate, salt, potassium chloride, DL-methionine, vitiam A,, d3, e, b12 supplements, choline chloride, nacin, pantothenic acid, ascorbic acid, riboflavin, thiamine monoitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, manganous oxide, cooper oxide, cobalt carbonate, calicum iodate, sorbic acid, sodium selerite. Crude protien..... not less then 23% crude fat............ not less then 15% crude fiber......... not more then 4% moisture............ not more then 10% ash................... not more then 6.5% I did a label comparison this morning and liked what I saw on Fromm's label. This one does not have any meal by-products or by- pruducts listed specifically. The other had quit a few of them listed and all near the the begining of the list. Let me know what you think. I would like to have a second opion(sp?) before I make any switch in Felix's food. Thanks, Amanda

*opens mouth... shuts it* I don't know what to say except... what a jerk! I'm sorry you had to go through that. :(

PUPPIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats to mom and pups! glad to hear all went well :D Must ahve lots of pictures soon, please! :D Amanda

[quote]Bentley is forever trying to lick my feet and toes.[/quote] Same with Felix when I first got him. I hate my feet being messed with so i taught him to "leave it" No more problems licking my feet... now if he'd just stop licking my hand when I put on/take off his leash :roll: The more licks= the more kisses= the more he loves you, nea. :lol:

Cute!!! I wanted to the license with a bit more detail though. :( Still, adorable.

Let's see... stupid questions I've gotten about Felix... mind you all of these come from people in or around the Moses Lake area (people in Spokane seem to know a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel when they see one). "Wow! What a beautiful Cocker/ Terrier mix." I'm sorry, he's a purebreed. "He's too small to be a purebred Spaniel." He won't get any bigger I can assure you. "What a cute little spaniel pup." He's actually an adult... he's over a year old. My personal favorites... "Have you trained him to hunt yet?" No, the Cavailer is a COMPANION breed only! "All Spaniels make wonderful hunters, you know." I repeat... he is a CAMPANION only... his hunting instincts are to chase anything that looks like a cool toy from butterflies to tweety birds... he simply is not suited for hunting. Amanda

When I went to pick him up last night they gave me a read out of his heart rate and blood tests. Even explained what I was looking at. I was told everything looked good. The graph they gave me of his heart didn't have any abnormalities... every little line was the same as the one before it. They even gave me a complete typed explaination of his diagnoses, proceedures, and alll medications/boosters they gave him. :D The vet we saw in Moses Lake never did that for me. :-? The techs said that he just sat there and looked at them after he woke up. But as soon as he saw me he all energy. Then when we got home I watched him fall asleep on his feet outside the bathroom door when I was bathing kids. :roll: He now has 3 tags dangling from his new collar. (I bought him a nylon/choke collar combination yesterday that way I can use his actually choke collar for what I bought it for... bathtime.) He is offically registreded with the city of Spokane, microchipped, and has his 3 yr rabies booster. Which I like since I won't have to take him back once a year for a booster but will probably take him anyways just for a physical. All 3 tags have 800 numbers plus there's the microchip itself... now when he escapes and I loose sight of him if someone else manages to catch him there are 4 ways for him to get home. Amanda

He's okay! :multi: :multi: :multi: :multi: :multi: :multi: Vet said that because he was bred in Ireland it maybe a case of lungworm. Said the breeder may have missed treating it as did everyone else (including me :oops: ). That's okay, 'cause he's going to get a some antibiotic just in case and we'll hope that's enough. I was so relieve to hear his heart sounded fine I nearly cried. He's getting his teeth cleaned too. Apparently, even though I brush his teeth regularly, he a bad build up of tarter. Better to get them cleaned now then come back because he has gingivitis(sp?). They'll call when he wakes up to let me know how he's doing. Figured since we were there anyways I'd go ahead and get him micro-chipped too. They had a $10 off deal going. :banan: He'll be home this afternoon. :megagrin: Amanda

Tomarrow morning. I decided that the PetSmart vet was my best bet. I spoke to the vet tech/receptionist this morning about Felix. She gave me a [b]detailed[/b] describtion of what the vet would do and check for. That made me feel better about their practices. At least I got the impression that there's a lot of communication flowing there. I have only one thing left to say... Please let him be okay... let this be something minor and easly corrected. Amanda

That's okay Courtnek, I'm used to bluntness. My hubby can be painfully blunt on a regular basis. And I understand about human doctors. I went through at least 6 before I found one that actually listened to me. I saw one male doctor who was more interested in making a move on me then in treating the hives on my sons butt. Then completely dismissed my suggest that his "hurried" diagnoses was wrong. Didn't even prescibe an anti-histamine, either. :evil: Needless to say I filed a complaint and found someone else. A few weeks later I proved his diagnoses of an allergy to pull-ups wrong by changing the wipes I was using... my son cleared up 12 hours later. I ended up seeing the same doctor my sister does... why? Because her kids are in and out of this doctor's office constantly with fevers, various infections, and allergies.

[quote] cough and hack at times....and her breathing was very...deep, or huffy[/quote] That's exactly how Felix sounds! My biggest fear is his age. Of everything I've read so far on MVD one thing stands out... dogs diagnosed before age 5 stand an increased chance of not living past that age. Felix is only 18 months old. :( I will defiently look into Coenzyme Q10 and it's useage. Courtnek, I really didn't want to hear your suggestion... BUT it rings true in just about every aspect of my life (excluded husband of course :wink: ). I tend to overlook/ignore it more often then not blaming ignorance for that particular attitude.