Equal time for dogs and other pets!!! Tell us those stories!
 

I love the cat thread. But I have dogs as well (and a bunny--and three kids). I think our other pets deserve equal time.

We have a wonderful pet sitter and it's much cheaper to keep our menagerie at home. What have your other little darlings been up to while you're away? I'll go first.

We had a psychotic Boston Terrier. Seriously deranged. We got him as a puppy and I think he was deprived of oxygen at birth. He chewed, he dug, he peed--constantly--he was completely out of control. We worked with this dog for over a year. He was expelled from canine kindergarten. Then we "home-schooled" him with a trainer who gave up. After that we sent him to "boarding school" and he came home worse. The vet put him on anti-depressants--didn't help. Completely exasperated, we brought in a behavorist (doggy therapist). After spending an hour with us, she announced that the dog wasn't the problem--we were--too much stimuli or some such nonsense. "Let me find a good home for him," she said. "No way," I said. "Please get rid of him," my husband said.

The final straw came the day we returned from a weekend away. We came in to a mass of feathers (from torn up pillows), a flood of pee, mountains of poop and overturned plants. My husband was livid, calling the pet-sitter every curse word in the book. She KNEW the rule was that the dog was locked in the bathroom while we were gone. Upon further investigation, we found that "Willy" had gone through the dry wall and insulation--he literally dug his way out of the bathroom to freedom. Without any discussion, I placed the call and Willy has lived happily and politely ever since with a single nurse in a beachfront condo.

Glad you were able to find a new home for Willy - maybe a "single" mommy was what he needed! I'm a dog lover, and the only problem with my travels is leaving my dogs. I always feel so guilty, but they seem to love the petsitter, and survive. I had multiple dogs at one time (now I'm down to 2), and didn't mind leaving so much then, as they had plenty of company.

I love going to France, as I think dogs in restaurants are great - and I don't even mind dodging the dog poop on the streets of Paris! That seems to be getting better - maybe people are using those poop-bag dispensers you see on the streets. The French dogs seem so well-behaved. Actually, the children I saw there seem the same way - very polite. We Americans could learn something from the French in our training methods!

Jayne, it sounds like you went through a lot with the Boston Terrier, BUT..."locked in the bathroom while we were gone?" Yikes. I can't understand why you refused the behaviorist's offer to find him a new home and I'm glad you finally relented and found a better situation for him.

Poor Willy, be locked in the bathroom while you were away, this is surely cruelty to an animal despite that your intentions were good. I am so glad that he finally found peace and happiness with a new Mom.

I think I would be pretty pyschotic myself if someone locked me in the bathroom for long periods at a time!
Happy for Willy he got a new home.

I too have a psycho-dog (yet not as bad as Willy)

I left for 4 hours and my golden retriever, Winston(a.k.a Houdini) got out of a locked crate and proceeded to eat, not just chew but consume, my husband's size 12 leather oxford. He was kind enough to leave the sole of the shoe in the middle of the living room floor as he napped after his big meal.

Needless to say, there was soon a pile of black muck on my kitchen floor.

And for all you people who are criticizing Jayne for locking her dog in a bathroom when people are not there:
Yeah it may sound initially a little off, but where do your dogs go if you can't get a pet sitter in the home? To a kennel where often the space is much smaller than a bathroom.

That's why my husband has never been willing to kennel our dog, because it just seemed too harsh for the poor guy. Sadly, our dog has developed diabetes lately. He's doing well on his new regime. It was awfully difficult when he had to spend several days in doggie hospital.

Point taken 123 but dogs are social animals and it seems to make them crazy to be alone.

To sastify the travel portion of this post: There are doggie care centers that don't lock them away in kennels. There is a professional dog care woman where we walk our dogs and each morning she is out with a huge group of dogs that she walks off leash. The dogs are well behaved and listen to her. I asked her how she managed this and she told me they know that dogs like to know someone is in charge so she establishes alpha dog status quickly and there are no problems.
My own dog had been locked in a bathroom and when I got her it would freak her out if I was in the bathroom soaking in the tub. She's still a little skittish about the bathroom but only because it means she'll be taking her own bath there when it's too cold outside.

xxx123, I would no sooner take a dog to a kennel that was going to keep it confined in a small space than I would lock a dog in a bathroom for 2 days. These are living creatures, not things. We cannot "turn them off" when it is convenient.

When we have pets, we have a responsibility to care for them, physically <i>and</i> emotionally. A dog does not understand why he is suddenly put into solitary confinement, nor does he know that he will be released in 2 days or a week. As far as he knows, this is the new permanent condition of his life. Can you imagine how terrifying and stressful that is?

As much as I love to travel, if I couldn't make satisfactory arrangements for my animals I would stay home.

I take my lab to a kennel here in the city when I go on trips. He gets a large pen (much larger than my bathroom) and comes back very happy and energized. I think he likes it better than being at home watching the National Geographic channel all day. As for mischevious behaviour - he got into the habit or shredding my 400 thread pillow cases - until I smartened up and put my pillows in my closet (doh!).

Jeez, I didn't know the bathroom comment would cause such as issue, so PUUHHleeze let me clarify. The vet, the handler AND the doggy psychologist all suggested a small but ample space for this dog. If you know dogs, you know that many trainers, reputable breeders and vets suggest &quot;crating&quot; dogs as a part of their routine. Dogs are den dwellers and love to have a cozy consistent space to call their own. In addition, dogs do not like to soil their dens, thus aiding in their obedience training. We feel that a crate is too confining, and fortunately we have enough bathrooms that one can be dedicated to our animals. FYI, the bathroom is a former master bath and is the size of a small bedroom.

Our current dogs, a Wheaton Terrier, a Boston Terrier (this one is sane and lovely) and a new lab puppy all have the option to sleep with us, but often choose to sleep in their own dens--OUR master bath.

If my dogs had the choice of being able to stay at home while we were out of town, albeit in our bathrooms, I'm sure they would choose that over a loud smelly kennel with unfamiliar faces.

For your further information, I serve on the board of the local humane society, my children and I have fostered dozens of abandoned kittens and puppies over the years, we make an annual weekly trek to Best Friends, a habitat for abandoned animals in Utah-- It is a volunteer vacation. Do I sound snippy? Good. The next time you accuse someone of being cruel to animals, know your facts.

P.S. ALL 12 of our pets are rescues.

Well honestly my first thought was that all of the reputable dog rescue outfits that I've come in contact with (big believer in adoption) require that you agree to crate train the dog. And I also agree that crate training does seem to be a positive influence on not only their behavior but the overall disposition as well. It's said that the small, personal space is a comfort and that seems true. &quot;Go get on your bed&quot; and ours head there straight away.

However... and I truly don't mean to gang up as I know there are times when it seems like it's too much. We have two bouncy 50+ pound monsters, eh pups around here, one of which is not yet a year old. But I have to say that most dogs would have taken some pretty drastic measures to get out of that bathroom! They're very social creatures and will get more than a little unhinged at solitude.

We drive them both (plus the cat) 4.5 hours (each way) to my family so they can watch them, and fly from there. Silly I know, but we've never boarded them.

I'm sure some kennels are good and provide good care to the dogs. Our dog is used to being around at least 1-2 family members at any given time, and has his own fenced backyard, a porch on a perch so he can look out, and lots of attention. For him, going to a kennel would be a rather extreme difference.

Jayne, I was typing as you were. Trust me, I can't type that fast, so timing and all that.

I'll admit that the first vision I had was a little hall bath as well. Our &quot;crate&quot; now is small areas secured with a child gate, for the puppy anyway. She still tends to go looking for trouble at night (think toppled trash cans). I think as long as they can see others and have some stimulation, the crate &quot;philosophy&quot; works very well.

Jayne, you wrote: &quot;The next time you accuse someone of being cruel to animals, know your facts.&quot; I am very relieved to know the facts, but to be fair, you didn't provide them in your original post.

I was taken aback by the &quot;locked in a bathroom&quot; remark and I am certainly glad to hear the rest of the story. Thanks for clarifying. Unfortunately, as you know all too well from your work with the Humane Society and foster animals, people do not always care for their pets in the kindest way. Bless you for the work that you do.

Gee Jayne I can see where you might feel ganged up on. On the bright side, isn't it nice to know that there are so many nice, well traveled and literate people that love dogs too? It's like message board heaven.

Clifton, if you love animals it's a very passionate topic if you think one is being treated cruelly. You make a good point--I guess most would assume that it would be a small bath. Hopefully everyone feels better knowing it's not a compact area. We live in Florida, and they LOVE sleeping in our huge garden tub--cool on the tummies. We have a 15X12 walkin closet that is part of their bathroom &quot;suite&quot; and the Boston loves sleeping in our laundry basket.

We had gotten Willie to help perk up our 17-year-old Wheaton, but the little thing was so hyper it drove our old boy nuts (he lived to the ripe old age of 19.5--also a rescue).

Initially the bathrooms were our choice because they were tiled. We've since renovated and we have NO carpet since we have so many animals in and out. But the dogs still love the bathroom. The lab we just inherited was given up by her owners because of a chronic bladder issue--surgery will take care of it--but thank goodness she loves bathroom along with our other two--now if we could just figure out a way to toilet train them...

Thanks Marilyn--it's good to know that so many of us love animals. That's one reason why I love traveling in Europe--their dogs are like family and they take them everywhere. You can get a &quot;doggy fix&quot; just about any time you need one!

After 10 days in Paris, I'm dying for a &quot;pocketbook dog,&quot; if you know what I mean. They were all so adorable and well-behaved, shopping, riding the Metro, lunching out in cafes. Unfortunately, the 2 cats in the family (both rescues)vote a united bloc: <b>NO!</b>

On a more serious note, I volunteer at a wildlife rehab hospital and see the ill effects of oblivious humans all the time. And you are right about being passionate -- I go berserk over mistreatment of animals.

It's almost a curse to love animals. My sister and I took my youngest to his summer camp in North Carolina this year and found the most pathetic kitten eating out of the dumpster at our hotel. The manager said the mother cat &quot;dropped a litter every few months&quot; her kittens were now having kittens. He told us we could NOT bring the kitten in. So of course we sneeked him in. We tried to get the mom but she was terrified. My sister put him under her jacket, however, halfway through the lobby his little tail poked out the bottom and I was praying the manager would see it! We drove that darn cat all the way back to Florida (THAT was a treat) and Mountain Kitty has lived happily ever after with my sister.