My DH and I have:
1 year old Boxer male - hopefully starting Schutzhund training this coming week with a local working dog club.
10 year old female cats (DSH and DMH) - one is super fat and the other is super dainty.
4 year old male cat (DMH) - the most glorious thing, super snuggler.
9 month old kittens (3 of abandoned litter of 5, two went to their new homes already) - two tortie females (homes waiting for them) and a solid black male (who we have to keep, because he loves me and is huge - 12 lbs already and not fat).
I'll try to upload pictures of everyone later today! I tried to skim from the beginning, so some of these quotes are ancient, by message board standards!
Haha! Hawaii must be so nice!
We have a porch at the condo where we live now, but I'm afraid to let them out because the elderly couple who used to live upstairs let their cat out on the porch, and a big hawk swooped down and stole her! He probably ate her.
She was such a pretty kitty.
We have hawks in TX, none of ours are allowed outside ever. I just won't risk it. My boss had an outdoor cat that met an untimely end thanks to a coyote - just too horrifying to think of, so all our kitties are inside forever with no exceptions.
Love, LOVE that you started this thread! I actually run a kitty rescue out of my home (we're not official 501 c(3) yet, but soon!) So far this year i've rescued 48 kittens off of the streets in my town and have rehomed 42 of them!
I also have 8 kitties of my own. LOL. And two doggies- both APBTs.
We are TTC and have no doubt that our love for our animals will not change one bit. We are excited to be able to raise our babies around rescuing and showing them to treat all living creatures with respect!
The temperament of the APBT is so similar to Boxers, which my family has had for generations. My brother and I grew up sharing our beds with a 70 pound one, some of the best family dogs with awesome natural protective instincts!
dontworry, why do you say Rory has a drooling problem? Just curious.
My oldest drools and kneads when we hold and pet her. I asked the vet about it and he said it's natural just like when they knead during feedings as kittens. (she was probably weaned too early, I did get her at 6wks. But it's not a "problem" per se)
It's weird, but normal. My 4-year old glorious male cat does drool when you snuggle and pet him just right. My Fat One (one of the 10 year old ladies) is a sucky cat - she will start "making biscuits" on you while suckling a piece of your shirt or a nearby blanket. I think it is from being weaned too early - at least that's what I've always been told.
We got another dog! Her name is Sophie & she's the perfect addition to our little family. She is a Jack Russell/Dachshund, she turned one on Feb 7th, and we rescued her March 1st.
She has an issue though, and I'm hoping you lovely ladies can help us out. She
REFUSES to pee outside on a leash. We live in an apartment for now, so we have to walk her on a leash. Whether we take her out for 5 minutes or 45 minutes, she will NOT pee. But then she'll walk her merry butt upstairs and pee on my carpet. What is her problem!
If you've not already resolved this - I would kennel her inside for at least a weekend. Take her out every two hours or so - immediately to a single spot that you've designated appropriate for peeing and use a word (aka potty, outside, scheiße - if you are weird freaks training your dog in German like us), whatever word that you want to mean go outside for the bathroom. Every time you take her out, carry her to the spot, say the word. After a few minutes take her back in and put her back in the kennel - repeat. Even when you let her roam free, continue to use the word. And remember the kennel isn't punishment, it's a training aid - you don't want to make her feel like it's a bad thing, she should feel like it's her house.
Thanks LillyTame
Does anyone have any tips on training your puppy not to jump on you? Percy jumps on me every time he sees me and he is getting so heavy that I almost loose my balance :/
We have been training him, decided not to take him to a trainer. I do think he does it for attention and I have been ignoring him when he does it but he is still doing it for some reason
My past dogs usually learned by me ignoring them not to jump but for some reason Percy sees it as like a challenge to jump more.
Taken from a website:
How can I keep my dog from jumping up?
The most important thing to remember, no matter how you choose to train your dog, is to be consistent. If you let her jump up on you Saturday morning when you are wearing your old jeans, she will think that it is okay to jump up on you Monday morning when you are dressed for that important meeting. Your dog does not own an iPhone with a calendar, she cannot tell the difference between the weekend and a work day. Don’t let her jump up only when you are in the mood.
1. Teach her to sit: If you have not taught this command you should. It is one of the most basic obedience commands you need to teach every puppy. Every time your dog starts to jump up tell her to sit and then lean down and praise her.
2. Tell her to go fetch: If your dog acts like she is going to jump up and is so excited that she may not respond to a sit command, throw her something and tell her to go fetch. She will burn off some of the excess energy and when she comes back she should sit when you tell her to.
3. Turn your back on her: You may need to do this for 10 seconds, you may need to do it for 5 minutes. All dogs are different and if she is really excited she might continue to jump. Outwait her.
This is not the best method for kids or the elderly. If your dog is big and might knock someone down, be sure to focus on the “sit” command to calm her down.
Our Boxer is already 50 pounds and all Boxers love to jump - at least at first and if not taught better. You can effectively body block a jumping dog and make them sit - and continue to give them the command to sit. If guests are coming to our home who are unfamiliar with our dog, I put our dog on his leash until he calms down - especially if it's a person of smaller-stature. Mostly ours is still a puppy and they all have ADHD until they are about 2 or so, and wiggle so much that sitting at the same time is almost a physical impossibility. I always make him sit on the leash to be approach by older people and hold it so he can't go anywhere if he stands up. For small children I make him lay down (and hold his leash short enough he cannot get up), so they can pet him.
Also - as with all dog training -
it must be consistent. My DH would let our dog jump on him, even though I've never let him jump on me (even at 10 weeks old). He accidentally popped my DH in the mouth a few months ago. You either have to forbid jumping always - all the time, under all circumstances - or let them jump.
Here's one from September last year. Both my babies!
This is just the cutest thing ever, so I had to add it to the list of things I was commenting on!
Thank you so much for finding homes for those little guys.
