Happy New Year and Go Vols! by Skeeter
HAPPY NEW YEAR PET PEOPLE….
Now here is the Number One Vol dog fan! Aint my little niece doggie the cutest thing in her Vol outfit? I bet she and Dragon’s Smokey would have fun watching the Outback Bowl together! Go Vols….
Speaking of the Vols, lets talk hound dogs...
Well, Minnie is keeping me and the Saint on our toes so much so that I have not had time to snap a picture of her yet! All went well over the weekend with the Saint spending lots of time with her in the sunroom as I kept the girls happy in the front of the house. The cats are doing well considering that their sacred sunroom is now home to a hound dog! Sheba keeps sneaking into the sunroom and gives glares to Minnie from atop the Monkey tree. If looks could kill, that dog would be 6 feet under!
Monday morning the Saint got up for work and took Minnie out first thing to potty. I was getting dressed and making sure the coffee was brewing as I had set the thing to automatic. Coffee was perking and I was on track. I got Minnie’s bowl and as the Saint came into the house, I asked how many scoops of food was the correct amount, 3 or 4… He was standing there holding an empty leash with that dumbfounded Man look on his face. Arggg. Minnie saw a bunny and took off after it and broke her new leash! Now we know why Mom B got such a good deal on that leash at a grocery store! Of course it was still dark outside so the Saint was grabbing a flash light. I jumped into mommy mode and put on shoes, grabbed a jacket and Minnie’s favorite squeaky toy! Ah, how smart was that…. As the Saint was calling Minnie and shining the light into the woods to no avail, I squeak the toy and she came running to me! Ah, I was right! She heard her favorite toy and wanting to do nothing but play after being cooped up in a kennel all night. She would not come up to me but was waiting for me to throw the ball instead. I threw the ball to her and told the Saint to play chase with her. She loved her morning ball time and so was I because I knew all was well now. The Saint on the other hand was ready to kill her as this was not the plan before he took off to work. Thank goodness it was a slow day for him at the office so he had plenty of time to get his head on straight before he came home….
Saint came home from work early and had a new leash with him. This one he picked up at Petsmart and it is made in Germany so it should be a better leash, Lets hope so, heck, he paid a small fortune for the thing!
After we ate an early dinner, we took her for a walk down the street. We first took her next door to drop off some German Chocolate Cherry Liquors to our neighbors and apologize for canceling out on their New Years Eve dinner and games. We knew if we went we would have to put Minnie in her kennel to keep her separated from the girls and how could we have fun knowing she was in doggie jail…. Sniff, so we canceled out on our plans for Minnie. They invited her too but after seeing how timid she was with them, they understood why we had to turn them down….
So down the road we continue. All was fine until the loud truck went past us. The Saint had Minnie sit by him and she did really well. Then the man that came walking down his driveway to retrieve his trashcan from the street about put her into orbit! She was backing up and the Saint was holding his ground trying to keep her in place. She is a strong little hound dog and kept backing up until her collar went right over her head and off she ran into the woods! Arggggg…. I had to explain to the man what had happened, How embarrassed I was for him and the dog and me too! By the time I got the opening in the woods, the Saint had her back in control. Needless to say, we came back home and put a harness on her. She is not happy with the harness but we must do what we must to keep that baby safe.
That is twice now that she has gotten away from us. I fear she may get away and not return the next time! 2 days down and 7 to go! Can you get a refill on your drugs Daisylouu? I may need to borrow one or two before this is all over with for my sanity! LOL…Today starts a New Year right???
posted by Skeeter at 12/31/2007 11:18:00 PM
Pet People
18 Comments:
Thank goodness you had happy endings both times! I agree with using the harness or even a choke collar-you can be sure they will not get away. I have to use heavy braided round leashes for my dogs. They have been known to break a few-especially those that pull out and automatically retract. That wasn't the kind that broke was it?
It was a retractable leash that broke! It was a cheaply made one and Mom B did not realize that when purchasing it. She just assumed they are all the same. Now we have a good quality retractable leash that seems to be working fine. We also have the Gentle Lead muzzle thing but we did not have it on her. We think that looks cruel even though we know it is not. Just our view so we were going with just the collar. Now we have the harness on her and hope that will work better. If not, then the Gentle Lead thing will go back on for walks down the street. Today we plan to play ball with her without the leash in the back yard. Hopefully all will go well. She does love us and seems to trust us in the yard, it is just the walk down the street with all the scary things such as autos and people she does not like.... Poor baby has some serious issues that in time, we pray she will overcome…
Oh Skeeter, you are such a good pet mommy! We know Minnie's history and she's doing so well.
Has the Saint's parents ever considered formal training with Minnie? That really helps with walking on a leash and all that, as you'd see on the Dog Whisperer, which is on the National Geographic Channel. I agree with Tina--a training collar (also called a 'choke' collar but if used properly it doesn't choke!)The trick in that is knowing how to train with it properly. Scooter's trainer taught me and Scooter is really a dream on a leash. He walks right by my side and doesn't even sniff or pee as we go along. Private training is expensive, but it really is worth it for dogs with issues, like Scooter had and with Minnie's fears.
But for now,a harness is good as well, though I did tell you about how Tramp escaped hers and got sprayed by a skunk when we were camping.
I'll never forget when The Boss and I were first married and took Tramp to Pennsylvania. She was at Daisy's house with my Mom and somehow when my Mom opened the front door to get the mail or something, Tramp got out and ran up the street and my Mom ran after her, nearly having a heart attack! Tramp was lucky, becuase she was a country dog and could have easily gotten hit by a car if she had reached the main road!
I think that is SO SWEET you guys stayed home for Minnie!
Oh, I can't believe I forgot to say how darn ADORABLE that dog is in his orange! What a sweetie. He reminds me of Bennie!
Sorry Roxanne, the pills are all allocated and each and every pill-of-joy will be utilized in 2008 to deal with a small house that contains a husband, a daughter, 3 cats, 2 dogs, and a MOTHER.
I'm a firm believer in the harness method. For some reason, I can never get passed the sound of a dog choking or being pulled around his neck. I always feel I have better control with a harness and have trained all my dogs to get used to them. My boys love them so much now, they dance around when they see them.....making it almost impossible to get then in the darn thing.
Minnie is working much better with the harness! She is so gentle and lets us put it on without a fight. She and Zip-Zip (Rat Terrier) played a little bit today. Her more so then Zip as he was a bit taken back by her aggressive ways. He is use to being the aggressor and does not know what to do with such a big doggie compared to his small size....
Kie the Rhodesian ridgeback came over today and I was hoping that he and Minnie would play together. Minnie met him at the fence on Monday. They were playing through the fence when Kie got to close to the electric fence they put up and it must have zapped him. He scream so loud that it made me shed a tear for him as he is a good and happy dog and did not deserve that shocking pain! He screamed all the way to the back door of their house. I felt so sorry for him and I felt as though it were my fault for letting him and Minnie play together at the fence. Heck, I did not know they had activated the dam fence! Anyway, he must now think that Minnie bit him because as soon as he saw her today, he tucked tail and ran home like a scared kid.... Poor Minnie cannot find a doggie to play with!
Cheetah and I laid on the futon in the office today and watched the Outback Bowl together. Yeah Vols!!! We curled up together and I had some quality time with my needy baby. The girls do not like sharing their mommy and daddy with a dog!
You don't choke or pull a dog with a training collar. You give it one quick pop when the dog tries to pull ahead or act crazy. The problem is when people don't know how to use it, which I didn't until my trainer showed me. Two pops the correct way and Scooter was in line. It's a quick tightening and release in a quick second second. A dog will never make choking sounds or pull with a training collar, and that's the point. With a harness there is no way to stop your dog from pulling ahead or jerking around.
I gave Minnie a good choke when I accidently stepped on the leash when she was running around...
Opps, bad pet sitter...
Geeeez, Skeeter I thought you were going to write a book. Great out fit for the pooch. No S.A.F.E. intervention here. I think all precious pets outfits should be orange and white with a big UT plastered on the chest. Hell, I got an outfit similar to what the pooch is wearing. Wouldn’t wear a hat like that myself. But a great outfit. Skeeter, tell your niece she has great legs. How old is she? Inquiring minds want to know.
Collars or harness is to fit the persons need, not the dogs. If it were up to the dog he wouldn’t wear either one.
Skeeter, you ain’t charging for the pet sitting service. In my book that makes you a great pet sitter.
Dragon, I thought you didn't BELIEVE in pet outfits??????
Sandy thanks for the correction. There are outfits, and then there are UT game gear. There is a different. Now, if the pooch was wearing a JET's game gear that would have been outstanding also.
The Dog (wants to remain anonymous) is my female niece!
The legs belong to doggies mom which is my sister in law!
My brother might shoot you if you go for those legs Dragon...LOL
Well it wouldn't be the first time someone took a shot at me. It did make me change my life style though. After about two months it was boring. Then I was back on the challenge of conquest again.
LOL
A choke collar goes against positive reinforcement training and should never be used. Useing a gentle leader head collar or gental leader harness is the best thing to use b/c it allows you to stay in control and allows the dog to correct it's own behavior. There is nothing good or safe about using a choke of any kind.
Hey Adrienne, You had to leave me when I needed you most! Just kidding. The dog sitting is going great over all. The girls are not too happy with loosing their sunroom and I am not too happy about running from room to room and cats to dog trying to keep harmony amongst them all but I will get over it. There will be plenty of time to rest once Minnie has gone back to VA...
Minnie loves us now and looks at us as mommy and daddy. She is really happy with us and the routine we have formed with her. I have even taught her a new trick! She already knew how to sit and lay down and now, I have taught her to crawl! I was so excited about teaching her a new trick. I worked on shaking her paw but that did not go to well, but tonight when doing her routine, she gave me her paw but I did not ask for it so it may have just been a fluke but got me excited all the same...
She is wearing us out playing with the ball but she loves it. We leave the long leash on her and let her run in an area she is familiar with. Good thing too as some wandering dogs went through the woods once while we were playing and we were able to stop her before she took off to play with them. She is such a happy dog with us and the big yard to run in. She loves the woods too and Jetta (chow mix) next door even though she will not play with Minnie. The main thing the Saint hates is when she gets her squeaky ball while he is watching TV. She drives him nuts squeaking the thing. I think it is so funny the way she drives him nuts! We really do wish we had a completely fenced in yard so she could just run like the wind and chase the squirrels.
Hope you are enjoying yourself…
I disagree totally about the "choke" collar. There is no choking involved at all. It's a quick snap and release to get attention not inflict pain of any kind. The problem is when people dont' use it correctly.
Of course, people will disagree, but I've seen it first hand with Scooter and believe me, he was fine, it was safe and it worked.
And things depend on the dog and what it's problems are as well. You might not need a training collar (it's proper name) if you start training a young puppy, but for an adult dog with a lot of bad habits, there is nothing wrong with it at all.
My dog trainer also didn't believe in giving treats to reinforce the postive, just praise. His methods are patterned on how dogs are with each other in a natural pack. It was amazing the way Scooter fell in line and looked up to him and it was not fear, because as we went back week after week, I could tell he enjoyed the work!
It is the same way with Human kids too!
Some respond to a verbal command and Some dont...
Some need a little spanking and some don’t.
Different methods and techniques for different personalities...
Sheba and Cheetah respond differently from each other with certain forms of discipline. Cheetah takes me more seriously then Sheba does…
I dont like putting Minnie in the kennel (cage) at night as I think that is cruel but I know it is best too keep her out of trouble during the night and her safety as well. The Saint puts her in it when I am not in the room so I dont have to see her in there. I know it is best for her but I don’t like it one bit!
Choke collars are the same but I know they work when used correctly and Sandy is a testament to that with her comments. Minnie just needs positive guidance and I think we are doing a good job as we have seen progress with her in the short week we have had her… Did I say short week? I mean Longgg week! LOL…
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