Yeah, that's sort of what I was thinking. I've heard a dog is basically on the reasoning level of a two year old--a fairly bright and athletically gifted two year old in this case, but still one that can't grasp the concept of complex punishment like being grounded. Oh, she definitely knows when she's misbehaved. If we're within sight of something she's done wrong and I notice it the doggie guilt comes on full bore. But being able to understand that she isn't allowed out for a week because she ran away is probably beyond her. Heck, I'm having a devil of a time teaching her "roll over" because she's two, not a pup (and I'll admit I'm a bit rusty on training dogs). I can reinforce the things she's been trained, but that's about it. Well, the "Silent" Fence (I think you meant "invisible") is a bit redundant. In researching it, it is basically a perimeter you bury and then train the dog not to cross it. I've already got a physical perimeter, albeit one that The Dog has found breaches in. I suppose I could install something like an invisible fence on the existing fence to provide the reinforcement (warning beeps, shocks, etc) when I'm not keeping an eye on her, but I think I'm better off just being vigilant and diligent. So for now, she can be in the yard when I'm awake and doing things around the house. While I'm asleep or away, she needs to be inside with the windows closed.
Dogs need immediate reinforcement that they have dome something good. That is why those fences are teh awesome.
Well, the theory that she'd behave as long as I was on the property was blown yesterday. Out back, sweeping the patio and suddenly I realize I don't see The Dog anywhere. Hurry round to the front yard and then do a quick walkthrough of the house. Judging from the time it took her to come back when I called, she'd made it up to the neighbors who'd babysat her the first time she jumped out. Now she's gotten it into her head, I've got an uphill battle in front of me. For the short term, I realized she doesn't like holly leaves (for good reason), so I gathered up the dead holly leaves and scattered them under the part of the fence I'm told she likes to jump. More when I have time.
Man, you're gonna have to control your dog. Down in the south, someone might shoot it if they thought it was gonna get their kids. In Portland, they will most likely just molest the dog.
She's part Lab? In that case, she was born to run. You can either train her to use a treadmill, or find the time to run/bike/skate with her at least once a week. At the very least, she needs access to the yard when you're not home. Keep her pent up indoors for long periods, and at the least she'll start chewing everything in sight. It's looking more and more as if training her with the invisible fence will solve the problem for both of you.
And she's part border collie. So she's light and fast and insanely smart. She also feels compelled to guard and organize small animals that are acting randomly (sheep ideally, but the neighbors' kids are also a powerful temptation). So she's going to be a handful. It's funny (sorta) because she clearly knows she doesn't belong outside the fence. I can open all the gates and she'll stay on her side as long as I'm there. But the fun of jumping the fence and the temptation of what's on the other side is apparently too much for her. Also, one of the neighbors decided to cure her of barking at them when they walk their dog by giving her a treat. It worked. But it also established that treats and other dogs and people to play with are all on the other side of the fence.
Sure, what the hell. My first pic didn't turn out--she's so black that she's just a blob anytime close to dusk. This is her, vegging out after a game of fetch in the sun. I've started letting her out a bit--mostly because I'm a big softy, but I'm trying to keep an eye on her--and only letting her out into the yard enough that it is a novelty and a luxury, not a privilege. I've got to get my contact info on her nametag and make some upgrades to the fence before she can be out wholesale. Black. Anyway yeah, she's a little furry ninja. Yesterday I let her out to do her business before I headed for work. In the time it took to close the front door and get to the living room window right next to it, she was gone. I knew she hadn't had enough time to make it to the fence so she must've went around the side of the house to the back yard and I didn't want to overreact and make her nervous so I nervously went around to the back and sure enough, that was where she was, laying in the grass. When I get home I'll play fetch with her in the backyard. Because it is 3:30am-ish and I don't want to bother the neighbors, I take her collar and tags off and it is eerie to see the little shadow, silently chasing balls. I can't see them in the dark, but she sees them well enough. Not always well enough to catch them in midair like she does during the day, but if she loses them, she'll lock on when she hears them bounce. This morning she managed to knock the ball into the blackberries, next to the wood fence, so she completely disappeared for about 2 minutes. And because she was navigating the thorns she was completely silent too. Along that wall is a corridor with the garage as the other side, that leads to the front yard, so that was a nervous time as well. In retrospect, shortly after I got her she was limping for a bit I had just chalked it up to over exertion, but the more I think about it, I bet she made a go at the fence. Thing is, my fence was installed so the chain links end in points above the top. I bet she cut a paw, trying to jump it and that is what has kept her in the yard this long. Now that she knows the gates don't have points on them, that is where she makes her jump. So I have to fortify them. Like I said, smart phuqing ninja. When her owner was dropping her off and having car troubles, she opened the gate with her nose. When I put her inside she was out a window and met me at the gate. The last time I mowed the lawn she learned that one section of fence is a gate that she hadn't known about before--and that it doesn't have a latch, it has a bungee cord holding it shut. That afternoon she escaped by pushing enough to get past the bungee cord. (That was an easy fix by just rerigging the bungee, but now she knows there are spots where she can jump the fence, making the openings a moot point.)
My Dog Has Fleas... No, I'm not tuning a guitar. I'm told Portland has a flea problem the way New York City has bedbugs and my dog's got 'em. I tried the trusty old Hartz tick & flea collar to no effect. Bought a stronger OTC treatment, but I've got to take it back because it only had 2 doses in the box instead of the 3 it is supposed to have. I also picked up stuff you're supposed to spray on anything the dog lays on. Finally, Wiki says vinegar has some effect as a topical repellent, so periodically I've sprayed her down, brushed her out and then manually picked for fleas on her belly. They're tough little bastards that are hard to kill even if you manage to grab one. All that said, I think she's getting them in the yard. And I can't very well spray the entire yard. So what's the word? Any flea advice?
Re: My Dog Has Fleas... Frontline* Plus has always worked well for me. And there is some stuff that comes in a bottle that you hook up to your hose to spray your yard, and it's supposed to keep it bug free for a month or three. I think Ortho and Spectracide make their versions of it. I tried that once and it seemed to work pretty well. I've also heard that giving your dog brewer's yeast every day keeps the flees off, but I have no idea if that really works or not. On the other hand, I drink a lot of beer and I don't have fleas so there may be something to it. *No. Not that Frontline.
Fleas...ugh. We had an infestation early in our marriage when a friend's cat had fleas and he visited us and gave our cat fleas. We had to flea bomb the trailer and send Lightspeed to the vet for a professional flea dip. It did the job, though. You have to get rid of the infestation for flea collars to really work the way they are supposed to as a preventative.
Ugh, right now we're spraying all the carpets, turning the whole house over vaccuuming, and we gave the cats pills that worked quickly, and there's some other shit, some drops, it's an ordeal, everyone's got 'em this year.
Ugh. That's the problem. I've got dogs on two sides of me (so it is a bitch to wipe out the environment to keep them from coming back). Actually, I wonder if she picked them up when she jumped the fence and wound up spending a couple hours at the neighbors' house with their dog.
She seems to be reset on respecting the fence. This morning she had a squirrel trapped up a light pole across the street. Every time he'd come down from the pole and try to make his escape, she'd make some kind of move towards him that would send him scurrying back to the pole. This went on for a couple minutes, but she didn't try to jump the fence to go after the squirrel. Fingers crossed I've figured out the fleas as well. Gave her a medicated shampoo and watched the dead fleas literally fall off her into the tub. The next day, however, she was still scratching and licking, so I used this Sargent's stuff that is sort of like a poor man's Frontline--permethrin-based vial that you apply to the spine from the neck to the middle of the back. It seems to have done the trick--in spite of my less than perfect application.
Actually I douched pretty much everything except my pillows down with a permethrin based spray too. I expect to use up the entire three months of medicine with the shampoo mixed in between doses. That gets me out about 4 months. We'll see if that makes the nut.
It doesn't really show in the photo, but she has significant amounts of black on her tongue. This makes a lot of people think she's part chow, but a little research reveals that black spots on the tongue are relatively common in black labs (among other dogs) and possibly border collies. Based on her physical and mental traits, I'd bet money she's half black lab, half border collie. I need some sheep or something for her to watch.
She was born to run. Geese, maybe? j/k, but they make great watchdogs, and they're fierce enough to keep her busy without letting her eat them. Although, if she's part Lab, she'll have a "soft" mouth. She's bred to retrieve game without damaging it. (Relative of mine has a half-Lab/half-Weimarinar. Dog's so black he shines. Dumb as a bag of hammers - took him three months to figure out the dog door - but he's all grace and beauty. Runs like a gazelle, gentle with kids, small dogs and even cats.)
It looks like she's still picking up fleas somewhere, but the treatment seems to be working. When I find any on her--which is rare--they are slow & listless. I'll also find dead ones. She is quite well behaved. I'll take her to a nearby schoolyard on evenings and weekends to run her silly with the ChuckIt. Technically she isn't supposed to be off leash, but she's quite controllable when we're playing fetch and I figure I can talk my way out of at least one ticket. I did luck out today, though. In this heat, about 10-12 throws is enough to wear her out. After throw 11, she didn't bring it back and stood staring across the street. Once I got to her, collected up the ball, and snapped on the leash, she really wanted to go where she'd been looking. (Usually she demands to carry the ball back. One time when I picked it up with the ChuckIt, within a block she'd worried it free so she could carry it home.) I figured it was another dog, although I didn't see anything. When we got close enough, I saw that it was a spotted white rabbit in someone's front yard--I assume their pet. I'm fortunate that she's disciplined enough that she didn't bolt when she first saw it. Back to the fleas, now I suspect my big problem is my reaction to the permethrin. I've had some mild cold symptoms--sore/runny/stuffy nose--and I suspect it is because the rugs in the bedroom and even the comforter got sprayed with it.
I've owned dogs for all my life. The best way to control fleas is to get rid of all the carpet. Go with hard, smooth floors. Easier to clean and no hidden home for fleas and ticks.
It continues. To recap: Bath with flea shampoo. About 36 hours later, she got dosed with Sargent's OTC equivalent of Frontline. Floors got swept, carpets vacuumed. Then pretty much every textile in the house got sprayed with a permethrin based spray. Bedclothes and such got washed. I couldn't, however, spray the throw pillows on my bed. The spray really isn't good for you. Last weekend all the floors got mopped with Pine Sol. This kept things under control for about two weeks. (Dosing rate for the medicine is once a month.) Fleas are back now and about as bad as ever. I was holding off on the room fogger because it also kills spiders, but it looks like I'll have to use it. Other thing I hold out hope for is that I misweighed The Dog. I thought she was only 35# and she is actually 42#. Next time I'll go for the 40-60# doggie dose. I've heard vinegar in a spray bottle is good at repelling fleas. Hippie friends advise lavender used in a similar manner, along with brewer's yeast in the diet. Probably give it a try.
OK. This is really more of a Blue Room post, but it is dog-related, so I'll share it here. The dog has a couple vices when she's bored. If she's outside, she'll dig. If she's inside, she gets into the wastebasket under my desk. She knows she's not supposed to do either, but she can't help herself. I'm no Cesar Milan, but basically, dogs have a pretty highly developed sense of right and wrong--but they live so much for the moment that if something looks fun, they'll completely forget they aren't supposed to do it until after the fact. So I come home today and the dog is, as always, happy to see me. It was chilly, so I put on a warmer jacket, since she seemed to be up for her 4am game of "fetch". After we wrapped that up, she decided to stay outside. As I went around turning on lights and such, I noticed a cookie box laying on the bed, completely devoid of crums, as well as a shredded tissue on the floor, so I went outside and said "Panic, come here." "Panic. Come here." "Panic. Come. Here." All this was met with "oblivious" looking in another direction and a nervous tail wagging. So I came over to where she was laying and asked "Do you want to explain what is going on in my bedroom?" At this point she managed to continue to wag her tail while rolling onto her back. Since she clearly knew what she was in trouble for I gave her a ceremonial cuff on the side of the head and said "You know better than that. No 'cookie' tonight." After a few minutes, she came back in and is doing her best to look cute while curled up on the bed.
Our dog loves being outside too and is often slow to come back in. Associating discipline with a specific action is a difficult task for a dog. Wouldn't doubt that your dog only knew you were angry.
Re: My Dog Has Fleas... Yes you can spray the yard. We always did when we had cats that were indoors only because the damned things found their way onto the jeans cuff and came in for a visit and never left.
Fuck, fleas are pernicious beasts. They're in the house at this point. And it looks like the OTC treatment is ineffective (although I misweighed her and she is actually 7# heavier than I thought, so I can move to a stronger dosage). I bought a room fogger, but that is odious on many levels. At the base level, it kills beneficial bugs like spiders as well. And it is highly flammable, so you're supposed to turn off pilot lights and unplug electronics and such. Then you need to cover some stuff up so the fog doesn't damage it--but it seems that the stuff you need to cover is exactly the same stuff you're trying to kill fleas on, so it kind of defeats the purpose. Finally, you only need to miss one that is carrying eggs and it was all for naught.
