Big Paws Only Dog Forums

What consequences have you given your kids for noncompletion of their chores?  A time limit with a consequence is what they will face in the real adult world, and as parents, you owe it to the kids to prepare them to be successful.  Practice saying that until you can say it to the kids without laughing. 

Random objects left on the floor are a safety issue.  At one point, I guess her girls were maybe 9 and 7, and she told them on a Friday that they were going to practice fire safety and that if it was necessary for them to get out of their bedrooms fast, the mess on the floor could make them fall and not get out as fast.  She said that anything left on their bedroom floors after they went to bed would now be considered trash and Mom would remove it for their own good.

After they went to bed, my sis went in their rooms with a laundry basket and took every single thing on the floor out that was not furniture or their slippers and locked it in the trunk of her car.  She got several toys, their shared Game Boy and some games, and one girl's finished homework.  The next night she got one girl's school shoes and sent her to school in old ratty sneakers.  They got the important things back at Christmas; luckily for the kids that was only 2 weeks away.

Another thing she did was to not allow them to have friends over or leave the house unless their rooms were spotless.  Her oldest girl, now a drum major and concertmistres s of an orchestra, missed one rehearsal and got it.

Best of luck with yours.  If they were mine I'd so go for supervised visitation. 

The thing mentioned about pups who can move OK on stairs that are new to them but fall at home can be because they focus more on new ones and have muscle memory for where their stairs were last week when they were a different size.  Stairs have such a high risk for injuries that I do a whole lesson just on them.  The short version is be careful when they are going down.

Ditto the need for free movement.  When I get dogs that fall asleep in lessons, the owners get advised to take afternoon lessons, tire the dog early in the day and let it sleep until lesson time.  They also have lessons in focusing their attention on the owner.

Has a Vet. checked the dog's range of motion and patellas?  Our BP's funny walk is partially caused by loose patellas.

Lucky us, nobody around here cares if dogs bark.  There are a few that bark for hours.  We don't care because our house has such good insulation that we can barely hear our own.

The smallest lots in this area are five acres and the largest are 160.  Sound carries very well in the desert.  The neighbors half a mile away have dogs we can hear if we are outside.

On the topic of those shocking collars...sinc e the dogs have to be trained to make them work, it seems like it would be easier to train the dog without the collar.  The collars I like are the ones with trackers and beepers designed for hunting dogs. One beep means it's OK and Doggie can relax and be quiet.

If we had a Pyr I so would have a tracker on it.  Hubby chose the Newfie over a Pry mostly because of the wandering and barking traits.  I was going to get the Pyr some pygmy goats to keep it busy.

My husband's Australian Shepherd was diagnosed with bridging spondylosis and has been on Rimadyl for several months.  Without it he cannot stand or walk. 

I am more likely to give pain meds to spayed dogs.  Neutering seems less invasive. 

We tried Cody, bilateral luxating patellas, grades 3 and 4, one repaired, on Rimadly and it caused to him to become dangerously frisky.  It was discontinued except in cases of imjury.

The top suggestion from my family for what breed to call it is "Hairless Rat."  For information, I would look up the breeds individually and use whatever information seems most appropriate for your little mutt.

Got photos?

If the tail continues to hit things on a regular basis IMO it is unlikely that the hair will grow back.  Our Vizsla had damage to her tail and our Vet. suggested docking the injured area.  We didn't and wished later that we did because she kept damaging it by wagging it into things with sharp edges.  Eventually we kept the tip covered with layers of gauze for padding and tape over that for more protection.

Someone else on here has a dog tail story that ended in surgery.  If I were better at searching, I'd look.  Sorry.

It has been decades since we put anything on a coffee table,  With the Newfie, even end tables are next to useless.  His fluffy tail doesn't hurt and the Italian Mastiffs have docked tails so my shin pain is over.  Yaay.

Ditto the crate.  It is the best way to keep a dog safe and a home intact.  Gates between rooms also help.  We have four, but it a big house.

Zita went through a stage last fall where she was trying to eat the plaster off the walls in the bathroom.  Turning on the shower while she was doing it cured her of that one fast.

Drywall is not easy to do well.  That is why so many new buildings have that textured coating under the paint--it is to hide the defects.  I would hire someone who does that for a living.

I am happy the dog did not get into the wiring.