Cazz

Mishka started training with a soft crate...then Buffy came along, the crate lasted one night. Since then, they've been in the laundry. I bought myself a stronger crate, it arrived this morning. I put the dog blanket in, covered the crate with a flannelette bedsheet, let the dogs in and watched. Neither of them'd go in! Buffy tried to sleep on top of the crate. What's wrong here?

My 2 got half a boiled egg each today. I boiled eggs for the rats, the cats whine if they don't get any and I thought since everyone got some, why not the dogs? Do they want another one mushed in their food for dinner, or will half an egg (with shell) do to keep them happy?

Mishka's a tiny toy, he has a harness. The collar I got for him's too big, so I've decided to use the collar for identification and a harness if I walk him. He is such a big baby though, he walks in front of my feet and sits so I pick him up. Buffy doesn't go out for walks either. She's only been walked once, she didn'tm pull, but I hated choking her if i had to check her. She'll be getting a martingale collar in the mail. Buffy's built like a small staffy, but she's chipped as a JRTx, which also explains why the lost dogs home rehomed her.

How do you ignore it? The blind is shut anyway, he's taught Buffy how to do it on the window, and she puts all her weight into the thumping on the glass...she's 10kgs, I'm surprised the glass isn't broken. I stuck the top bit from my clothes horse across the gap, she's bent the clothes rack, but it's keeping her off the window. Doesn't help the Mishka noise either. I have flywire across the window in the door, and he's worked out that if he grabs it, pulls and then lets go, it makes a huge thump like the house is collapsing...brings me running everytime.

They both have 2 coats on (they've been bathed today) they took off to chase a stray cat who wandered into my yard and I've left them out for 5 mins, but Mishka insists on sitting, and pawing and whining like someone's hit him with a truck. I'm not particularly worried about the door, it's the window right next to the door that goes down to floor level I'm worried about. I went shopping for an hour and left the neighbor in charge, she couldn't pick him up and take him away from the window without him whining at full volume. I left Buffy with him when I went around the block, he still whines and paws. How do I tell him that he doesn't need me and I hate his nails on my window? edited for my silly spelling mistakes

Mishka got an alarm clock and a heat pad seperately and together. He has a crate too...he still wouldn't shut up! He now has a girlfriend (she's desexed) and now I have 2x JRTx's to annoy me! Hopefully your patience is longer then mine. He's still a bit sensitive if you touch him somewhere he doesn't expect, but as he's been abused there's not much more I can do for him. I wish you luck with your puppy.

Buffy's not just on a speaker cord munch, she's jumped on and bent the soft crate. Geez...anyone want my destructive girl? (PS. I'm only joking about Buffy wanting a new home. If anyone's handy with needle and thread, you can have my medium sized puppy crate.)

Mishka's C4 until Monday week. Will the next injection be C4 or C5, and what's the difference?

Maybe. I think they should impose restrictions on the places who sell them too. They may get perfectly safe prong collars, but there may be a disgruntled employee or something who'll 'adjust' the collar and sell it to someone, which gets the dog owner in trouble. Exactly! Educate on the proper use, don't ban training aids without actually looking at the thing and it's uses.

I originally thought my rats were chewing them, now I know Buffy chewed them. All 5 were chewed through the 1st night, 3 were chewed the 2nd night, so the dogs are now confined to the laundry. I had the dogs in their 'crates' in here. Buffy created a hole(she ripped the zipper off the side of her crate) and she used it as a doorless doorway. What was her fascination with them and how can I stop her from doing it again?

I think the regulations should state how pointy is 'pointed'. Even a pin doesn't end in a point, it just gets very thin before the curved end of it. They shouldn't have perfectly flat ends without the sides being sanded or whatever, because a sharp corner can be dangerous too. These ideas should be put in place of banning the collar, the collar's not a bad thing, it's quite an effective training tool if used properly. Train the people who want to use it, so they'll be less likely to abuse it. Then, if they insist on misusing it, the police can be called in. Don't stop everyone from using this tool because of a few nuts who abuse it.

Erny, will type my ideas. I want to know what format it'll have to be in, letter format, bullet points of my ideas...

My mutts have A laundry mat and a folded up picnic rug on top for outdoor snoozing For bedding in the crates (Mishka has an airline approved box, Buffy has a soft crate from ebay) they both get newspaper on the bottom, then Buffy has the sheepswool underlay that came with hers, then they both have soft cuddly blankets and a polar fleece rug thrown in for them to cuddle under or burrow through. They get a new bone each every 2nd day, the kong's not been touched but they love chewing a rubber ring I got, I forget where I got it. My two have a leash each. Mishka's came with his harness which he hardly ever wears anyway and Buffy's was bought as a Staffy leash (for my ex staffyx) but it suits her anyhow. I could walk her with an old ferret leash she pulls so rarely, but I prefer to know that if she does lunge at something, the leash won't snap. Buffy has got a new martingale collar coming in the mail, because even though I have an idea of how to use a 'choker' chain, I'm a bit slow to react and I might end up choking her and doing regrettable damage.

He stresses when he can't see his paw. I've tried covering it, he chews it because he can't feel anything and all he sees is a big white thing, and if he can't tear it of, Buffy will help him. When he tries to chew it, he breaks the skin on the paw which increases the amount of blood.

I'm buying a blue webbing one. Do they have the slider or buckle?

Erny and I have chatted a little about them. Looking at it, I think I prefer 'normal' martingales, they pull on both sides of the check chain, applying pressure all around the collar evenly. We're thinking that because the chain is attached to the collar at one end, it can't check evenly. I'm also concerned that if the chain does lock, you'll be stuck, but with an unfixed chain, you'd have to have both sides lock. I'd like to learn more about these collars. If anyone has used one, can you tell us your experience.

I'm getting a martingale for Buffy, took her up and down the driveway, she was choking herself on the check chain. I want a crash course in their use plz.

Teaching them to walk on a plain old leash and collar's best to start with. I always kept the leash on the collar and the halti, even on trains. My old dog couldn't walk nicely on just a collar, he listened fairly well on the halti, but he had a tendency to destroy them.

I was in the yard for 4 hours this morning, puppies went toilet, had breakfast. Buffy went to the poopy place unaccompanied and did her business. I scooped Mishka and took him out there. I patted and cuddled Buffy for doing wonderfully well, rubbed her tummy, then her sides and 5 mins on each of her legs and finished with a face rub. She was all limp by the time I'd finished, so I'm guessing she enjoyed it. Mishka didn't poop, but I gave him an all over body rub. He loved it, couldn't find his feet for 5mins afterwards! I went to the library to pick up books on massage for dogs, they don't make much sense to me. I love giving my dogs rubs, and from their reactions I think they liked it too. I'm thinking about using it incase Mishka gets depressed after his operation, but I'm entirely self taught. I'd like to learn about what works for other people.

Yep, that was an oops...I just meant I tie them in the poopy spot again now, and I take out a newspaper and my thermos. I'm sorry if you thought I tie them out there, run in and use the internet. It takes a while when I'm out there, and it's pretty impossible to lead Mishka without him squealing, so I take Buffy out on lead, tie her to the tree, then catch Mishka and loop the handle of his over an old lamp stake (the lamp hasn't been there since I moved in, they just left the stake) and sit back until they do their poopy thing.

My auntie's golden lab Possum'll be there to play with. You were loved on earth, the world has changed because you were here Ratty.

I use Ajax Floor Cleaner on my lino, and Aristopet carpet and room deoderizer for my carpet. Buffy was apparently house trained when I got her. Truth is, she does hold on all night, but she likes pooping under my clothes line on the concrete, so Mishka thinks it's ok to use the dining room floor, not the poopy spot anymore, so now they're both tied in the poopy spot.

She is now. She's originally from LDH, the guy said his gf hates dogs, so she had to go. The lady I got her from told me she's renting so she can't have 3 dogs, she felt bad about having to keep her locked in the yard overnight because apparently she wasn't allowed in the house and her autistic daughter is allergic to her. I'll post pics soon.

Mishka fits in a Virgin Airlines cat box, so he has a few old newspapers in the bottom with a small soft picnic blanket. Buffy is toilet trained, so she gets a large cardboard box with a flannelette bed sheet that was sold as a size larger then it is. She's got Sam's polar fleece blanket folded in half too, I put it in underneath, but it ends up on top of the pile.

Her name's Buffy, she's a 20month JRTxBlue Heeler I think. They play and wrestle like littermates, it's so much fun to watch! I'm a bit worried about Mishka's paw. He wiped skin off the tip a while ago, it scabbed over. I think the scab's come off, they are both covered in smears, Mishka has no feeling in that paw, so he doesn't care. I'd like to let the two play, but the blood worries me. It's not thick blood or anything, but as they're both mainly white, it makes it very noticeable. I want to let them play like the puppies they are, this place ends up looking like something's been killed.