lauranicole re:doggies

[mrsjaymay]

Hey, I saw your posts about your doggies and I remember you mentioning before that you had started to separate them from Pey.

I just wanted to let you know that we are in a similar boat and if you ever want to vent, I am here! We have a super high maintenance jack russell with a lot of issues. She hasn't ever tried to bite Edie, but she gets super hyper around her sometimes and is unpredictable and has scratched her a few times I don't know if it will get better until Edie is much, much older

Anyways, I commend you for your commitment to your special needs pups. It's definitely not easy with a mobile baby in the house!

[lauranicole91]

Jan 15, 2013 21:39:56 GMT -5 mrsjaymay said:

Hey, I saw your posts about your doggies and I remember you mentioning before that you had started to separate them from Pey.

I just wanted to let you know that we are in a similar boat and if you ever want to vent, I am here! We have a super high maintenance jack russell with a lot of issues. She hasn't ever tried to bite Edie, but she gets super hyper around her sometimes and is unpredictable and has scratched her a few times I don't know if it will get better until Edie is much, much older

Anyways, I commend you for your commitment to your special needs pups. It's definitely not easy with a mobile baby in the house!

My Aussie is just so protective over me. We've put her through training with zero changes. What a waste of time and money. I am defending her daily from DH. She has really bad allergies and is constantly itching and biting herself. She whines and howls randomly. Her ears are constantly going her issues and she goes around the house shaking her head and stomping. Her gums bother her a lot too. Whenever you pet her you always manage to hit an itchy spot so she starts kicking.

She also has very little bladder control and pees at the drop of a hat. Happy, scared, surprised, randomly in the night without trying to get our attention. She wears a diaper 90% of the time and at night we just have a pee pad out for her.

Every visit to the dr reveals that her sight is getting more and more clouded.

I love her to death but I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I picked out my adorable last puppy left in the box at a flea market pup.

We were worried from day one with how magic would handle a baby in the house. But she surprised us all and took her under her wing. Until she became mobile. Now she is terrified and runs away from her. She climbs on the back of our couch to get away from her. Yes our 40lbs dog climbs on the back of the couch.

It wasn't until DH's little chihuahua "bit" her that we separated them. He didn't pinch her skin but he opened his mouth and smacked her in the head and left red marks.

DH's dog has always been a bit snippy. Being so little we just assume its a Nepolean complex of some sort because once he gets put on a strangers lap and is getting love he is fine. But for magic it's taken years to get her to warm up to about 5 people outside of DH and I.

I just feel so defeated.

[dixeedeluxe]

I have resolved that my dogs will just spend their final years pretty much living in a crate. I'd try to offer them a new life with someone else, but we can't even bring people over to see them because they'll get bitten. So, they will just live here. As a burden.

Both my children have been bitten by my better behaved dog. Neither drew blood, but there were definitely marks.

[lauranicole91]

Jan 15, 2013 22:17:11 GMT -5 dixeedeluxe said:

I have resolved that my dogs will just spend their final years pretty much living in a crate. I'd try to offer them a new life with someone else, but we can't even bring people over to see them because they'll get bitten. So, they will just live here. As a burden.

Both my children have been bitten by my better behaved dog. Neither drew blood, but there were definitely marks.

I don't even have the hear to try to rehome them. Not that anyone would even be willing to take Magic. Even finding a dog sitter when we go out of town is near impossible. No one has ever watched her more than once, I practically con people in to sitting.

Our dogs go in the crate when we aren't home and when we have guests over. They whine and howl the whole time since they hear us in the other room. And when we leave, we can hear them from the car outside. I feel bad for our neighbors.

[lauranicole91]

Here's a video of cleaning Magic's ears. For an example of her allergies. The kicking and shaking she does mid video is what she roams our house doing just about most days except add in some paw munching too. We've been through all the recommended food diets and several prescription and OTC drugs with no relief. Just more time and money wasted.

[dixeedeluxe]

The thing that makes our hosue bad for two kids is what makes it good for loud whiney dogs. I keep their crate in the other side of the house.

We had one dogsitter who loved working for us becuse the dogs never came out of their crate. And I didn't expect her to get them out. I just cleaned up the mess when I got home. We kennel them now. It's so expensive. But I was totally done being chained to my house.

[mrsjaymay]

Ugh, it's such a shitty situation you're in. I'm sorry. I totally get down on myself for not feeling like I can give the dog the best life that she could have and I understand a lot of your feelings. Poor Magic and all of her health issues :-(

Gappie has major allergy issues, too. She spent a year of her life wearing a cone or else scratching until she bled. We finally found a pill that helps but it's expensive (Atopica).

She has severe separation anxiety and has destroyed a lot of things in our house and she's unable to be crated. She's on prozac. It doesn't help much.

We did a round of training at Petsmart, but it was a waste because I spent the entire time trying to keep her from snarling at the other dogs. She is aggressive towards 90% of other dogs.

What she really probably needs is one-on-one training with a behaviorist, but it's not in the budget. We already spend $150+ on her meds each month.

The worst thing of all is that she's a constant source of argument for us (DH hates her and has wanted to return her to the shelter for several years now). I refuse to do that because no one else will want her. Honestly, it's exhausting and a lot of times I thought it might ruin our marriage.

It feels good to get some of that off my chest. It's good to know that I'm not the only one dealing with a dog that is (almost) more work than they are worth!

[lauranicole91]

Jan 15, 2013 22:48:09 GMT -5 mrsjaymay said:

Ugh, it's such a shitty situation you're in. I'm sorry. I totally get down on myself for not feeling like I can give the dog the best life that she could have and I understand a lot of your feelings. Poor Magic and all of her health issues

Gappie has major allergy issues, too. She spent a year of her life wearing a cone or else scratching until she bled. We finally found a pill that helps but it's expensive (Atopica).

She has severe separation anxiety and has destroyed a lot of things in our house and she's unable to be crated. She's on prozac. It doesn't help much.

We did a round of training at Petsmart, but it was a waste because I spent the entire time trying to keep her from snarling at the other dogs. She is aggressive towards 90% of other dogs.

What she really probably needs is one-on-one training with a behaviorist, but it's not in the budget. We already spend $150+ on her meds each month.

The worst thing of all is that she's a constant source of argument for us (DH hates her and has wanted to return her to the shelter for several years now). I refuse to do that because no one else will want her. Honestly, it's exhausting and a lot of times I thought it might ruin our marriage.

It feels good to get some of that off my chest. It's good to know that I'm not the only one dealing with a dog that is (almost) more work than they are worth!

Wow are situations are soo similar. DH and I argue over her all the time. She sleeps in her cone or else she will chew all night. We've gone through about 3 cones in her life because the wear out from use.

Petsmart training is what we did. She was lunging at the other dogs or climbing up on me because she was scared pretty much the whole time. It was a total waste and she learned nothing.

I wish we could do one on one behaviorist too, but we just cannot afford it. Plus based on tv shows(obviously not 100% accurate) the first thing they tell you to do is show them who's boss which means not sleeping in the bed with you. I could never imagine not sleeping with my dogs. Not to mention the howling that would ensue upon separation would be miserable for all parties...

[dixeedeluxe]

I'd totally forgotten about Braces's allergies. Ugh. Luckily, they are seasonal so we don't have to deal with them year-round.

[mrsjaymay]

Jan 15, 2013 22:32:28 GMT -5 lauranicole91 said:

Here's a video of cleaning Magic's ears. For an example of her allergies. The kicking and shaking she does mid video is what she roams our house doing just about most days except add in some paw munching too. We've been through all the recommended food diets and several prescription and OTC drugs with no relief. Just more time and money wasted.

Aww, she is a good girl for her ear cleaning though!! The 'smile' on her face toward the end is so cute! Gappie used to have a tick/shake thing she did when her allergies were so bad. I really think her severe scratching fucked up her nerves somehow in certain areas.

And dixee, I'm sorry about the biting. Isn't that the worst feeling in the world? And we kennel her while we're away, too. Sometimes if she goes with us while traveling, we keep her crate in the car and she stays in it in there. For some reason, the only place she will stay in a crate is in a car. Everywhere else she goes BSC.

I once came home to her nearly strangled to death with deep lacerations on her neck. She was in sep anxiety freak out mode and she tried to chew her way out of her plastic airline crate and nearly succeeded.

[lauranicole91]

Jan 15, 2013 22:56:43 GMT -5 dixeedeluxe said:

I'd totally forgotten about Braces's allergies. Ugh. Luckily, they are seasonal so we don't have to deal with them year-round.

So lucky!
What breeds do you have? Or are they just muts?

[lauranicole91]

Jan 15, 2013 22:57:53 GMT -5 mrsjaymay said:

Jan 15, 2013 22:32:28 GMT -5 lauranicole91 said:

I once came home to her nearly strangled to death with deep lacerations on her neck. She was in sep anxiety freak out mode and she tried to chew her way out of her plastic airline crate and nearly succeeded.

OH MY LORD!! How scary! The worst Magic has done was I forgot to latch her crate so she got out and tried to dig out of the bedroom. She destroyed the carpet in doorjam...at an apartment. Ugh.

[dixeedeluxe]

Boots is a "purebred" chihuahua and Braces is a "purebred" Pomeranian. That is, according to he story given to the SPCA by the family that surrendered them. They were definitely puppy mill dogs. Boots has an umbilical hernia. Which, is not uncommon in dogs, but is always corrected in puppyhood by good breeders.

[dixeedeluxe]

I'm also super lucky that my dogs are very happy in their crate. It's always been their safe place. It probably helps that it's full of zillions of blankets AND they are crated together.

[mrsjaymay]

Jan 15, 2013 22:54:53 GMT -5 lauranicole91 said:

Jan 15, 2013 22:48:09 GMT -5 mrsjaymay said:

Ugh, it's such a shitty situation you're in. I'm sorry. I totally get down on myself for not feeling like I can give the dog the best life that she could have and I understand a lot of your feelings. Poor Magic and all of her health issues


Wow are situations are soo similar. DH and I argue over her all the time. She sleeps in her cone or else she will chew all night. We've gone through about 3 cones in her life because the wear out from use.

Petsmart training is what we did. She was lunging at the other dogs or climbing up on me because she was scared pretty much the whole time. It was a total waste and she learned nothing.

I wish we could do one on one behaviorist too, but we just cannot afford it. Plus based on tv shows(obviously not 100% accurate) the first thing they tell you to do is show them who's boss which means not sleeping in the bed with you. I could never imagine not sleeping with my dogs. Not to mention the howling that would ensue upon separation would be miserable for all parties...

We went through multiple cones with Gappie, too! Have you tried the inflatable collar type? That worked well until one day she freaked out and somehow destroyed it. She can accomplish pretty much anything if she puts her obsessive little mind to it.

She sleeps in bed with us, too. I'm thinking about doing a 'dog shaming' picture because she has chewed TONS of holes in our sheets and blankets. For no particular reason. Just because she's bored I guess. It looks super klassy! :-|

Our Petsmart training was so similar to yours. On the 'test day' at the end, I wound up bursting into tears because she wouldn't.stop.snarling at another dog in the store. It was embarrassing. Sigh.

[lauranicole91]

Jan 15, 2013 23:01:52 GMT -5 dixeedeluxe said:

Boots is a "purebred" chihuahua and Braces is a "purebred" Pomeranian. That is, according to he story given to the SPCA by the family that surrendered them. They were definitely puppy mill dogs. Boots has an umbilical hernia. Which, is not uncommon in dogs, but is always corrected in puppyhood by good breeders.

Wow! For some reason I had it in my head that you had bigger dogs.
I wonder why the past family surrendered them. I guess they were aggressive even when they had them?

I'm sure Magic was a puppy mill dog too. We got her at the flea market back before they banned selling animals there. They didn't have the parents there or even pictures. Knowing nothing about the breed really I just believed them when they said she was an Aussie. The vet confirmed and then said she was a double merle and would therefore have many medical issues and most likely not live very long.

[lauranicole91]

Jan 15, 2013 23:06:18 GMT -5 mrsjaymay said:

Jan 15, 2013 22:54:53 GMT -5 lauranicole91 said:

Jan 15, 2013 22:48:09 GMT -5 mrsjaymay said:

Ugh, it's such a shitty situation you're in. I'm sorry. I totally get down on myself for not feeling like I can give the dog the best life that she could have and I understand a lot of your feelings. Poor Magic and all of her health issues


Wow are situations are soo similar. DH and I argue over her all the time. She sleeps in her cone or else she will chew all night. We've gone through about 3 cones in her life because the wear out from use.

Petsmart training is what we did. She was lunging at the other dogs or climbing up on me because she was scared pretty much the whole time. It was a total waste and she learned nothing.

I wish we could do one on one behaviorist too, but we just cannot afford it. Plus based on tv shows(obviously not 100% accurate) the first thing they tell you to do is show them who's boss which means not sleeping in the bed with you. I could never imagine not sleeping with my dogs. Not to mention the howling that would ensue upon separation would be miserable for all parties...

We went through multiple cones with Gappie, too! Have you tried the inflatable collar type? That worked well until one day she freaked out and somehow destroyed it. She can accomplish pretty much anything if she puts her obsessive little mind to it.

She sleeps in bed with us, too. I'm thinking about doing a 'dog shaming' picture because she has chewed TONS of holes in our sheets and blankets. For no particular reason. Just because she's bored I guess. It looks super klassy!

Our Petsmart training was so similar to yours. On the 'test day' at the end, I wound up bursting into tears because she wouldn't.stop.snarling at another dog in the store. It was embarrassing. Sigh.

My only concern with the inflatable is that she will still be able to put her foot in her mouth. She even sometimes manages to chew her feet with the plastic cone on.

The teacher we had technically passed her and gave her the certificate, but said we are more than welcome to attend another set of the same class for free if for nothing else other than socialization.

But I was too embarrassed to go back...

[dixeedeluxe]

Story was that the family had three dogs and was moving to a place in Florida that would only allow one dog. So they surrendered two. I only know this because a friend of mine was volunteering there at the time of their surrender. Normally, an adopter wouldn't know this stuff.

I fully believe that sharing my bed with them is where I went wrong with them. Everyone tried to tell me that when it was happening, but I didn't care because I loved sleeping with them. Fast forward 10 years and it was awful. Wakign up 4+ times a night with the dogs AND waking up with a nursing newborn. Not OK. Dogs went right in the crate.

[mrsjaymay]

Jan 15, 2013 23:01:47 GMT -5 lauranicole91 said:

Jan 15, 2013 22:57:53 GMT -5 mrsjaymay said:

Jan 15, 2013 22:32:28 GMT -5 lauranicole91 said:

I once came home to her nearly strangled to death with deep lacerations on her neck. She was in sep anxiety freak out mode and she tried to chew her way out of her plastic airline crate and nearly succeeded.

OH MY LORD!! How scary! The worst Magic has done was I forgot to latch her crate so she got out and tried to dig out of the bedroom. She destroyed the carpet in doorjam...at an apartment. Ugh.

Yeah... so she gets the run of the house when we are gone now. We just keep everything picked up. She still sometimes destroys things, but it's the safest option for all.

I'm so glad yours are happy in their crates! We've tried for so very long to try and get Gappie to like hers but no luck.

[mrsjaymay]

Jan 15, 2013 23:10:30 GMT -5 dixeedeluxe said:

I fully believe that sharing my bed with them is where I went wrong with them. Everyone tried to tell me that when it was happening, but I didn't care because I loved sleeping with them. Fast forward 10 years and it was awful. Wakign up 4+ times a night with the dogs AND waking up with a nursing newborn. Not OK. Dogs went right in the crate.

Ugh, yeah, this was us, too. It sucked so bad. I sometimes think about trying to transition her off the bed but am too lazy.

[lauranicole91]

Jan 15, 2013 23:10:30 GMT -5 dixeedeluxe said:

Story was that the family had three dogs and was moving to a place in Florida that would only allow one dog. So they surrendered two. I only know this because a friend of mine was volunteering there at the time of their surrender. Normally, an adopter wouldn't know this stuff.

I fully believe that sharing my bed with them is where I went wrong with them. Everyone tried to tell me that when it was happening, but I didn't care because I loved sleeping with them. Fast forward 10 years and it was awful. Wakign up 4+ times a night with the dogs AND waking up with a nursing newborn. Not OK. Dogs went right in the crate.

Our dogs don't wake us in the middle of the night. Like I said I just have a pee pad down and they pee and poop on it. Mainly my dog but every once in a while bloo will do it too.

I can't imagine not sleeping with them. Bloo-the little chihuahua-sleeps under the covers haha.

Also my very flameful confession. The few weeks in the early baby days, we did bed sharing, and the dogs were still in the bed too. So it was DH and I along with the two dogs and Pey. We kept all out pillows just the same. Dh laid holding her in his arms propped up next to him. It was only for a few hours a night, but still.

[dixeedeluxe]

Jan 15, 2013 23:15:26 GMT -5 mrsjaymay said:

Jan 15, 2013 23:10:30 GMT -5 dixeedeluxe said:

I fully believe that sharing my bed with them is where I went wrong with them. Everyone tried to tell me that when it was happening, but I didn't care because I loved sleeping with them. Fast forward 10 years and it was awful. Wakign up 4+ times a night with the dogs AND waking up with a nursing newborn. Not OK. Dogs went right in the crate.

Ugh, yeah, this was us, too. It sucked so bad. I sometimes think about trying to transition her off the bed but am too lazy.

I did it cold turkey because I was at my wit's end. They took to it quite easily! I don't know how I would've done it without the crate.