I am at it again (help)

jorussell23 · Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2006 8:56 am Post subject: I am at it again (help)

Right off I go again, sorry to be a pain but you lot here are so helpful I just do not know where else to turn.

On Friday I got a telephone call from my next door neighbour saying they had a man round to deal with the barking (in a nutshell she said it wasn't her dog but mine). I thought this was all sorted and that keisha was behaving apart from scratching the door (she has now got a hole big enough to fit her head through). Well I went to the council who have loaned me a citronella collar which when they barks emits this fragrance. I do not think it is her barking what is the problem tho as we have a sliding door, when she scratches it, it bangs like anything and it sounds like the house is falling down (i cannot change the door as bathroom is awkward). I do not want her to be a nuisance and unhappy but can not think of anything else to do. As she is in season I can not take her to the park as I normally do to wear her out!! so I think she is restless, I cannot at that time in a morning have her running up and down the stairs, as I would soon get complaints about that too. Can anyone help me I am at the end of my tether and really need some guidance. When I am at home Keisha is the best dog in the world, the only problem is I need to work or the bills do not get paid.

Sorry for the long explanation Jo Sad

emily · Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2006 11:07 am Post subject:

Jo, sorry to hear about your troubles with Keisha. Does she have issues with a crate and that is why you cannot crate her? Sorry if I missed that in an earlier post. If she doesn' t have issues I would crate her, just for her own safety.
Secondly, is there a reason why you're keeping her intact? The reason I ask is that sometimes bitches in season can be extremely pushy. If they smell a male dog, they can go crazy as the need to reproduce can be strong. Not saying that that is the case here, but it is a definite possibility. Especially if there are any intact male dogs around your place. If there is not a need to keep her intact, I have heard that in some cases this actually calms a dog down(not all, but there have been cases). Also by spaying her, then you wouldn't need to mess up her dogpark schedule either. If you do keep her intact, is there any reason why you can't take her on a long walk or short run in the morning(again I don't know what your neighborhood dog situation is like and certainly wouldn't advise this is there are a lot of intact male dogs roaming around).
Another thing to consider for exercising, public tennis courts are usually empty this time of year. Its fenced and a great place to toss the tennis ball.
I'm sure more will chime in to help! Best of luck...

Emily

jorussell23 · Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 8:51 am Post subject:

Sorry it took me so long to post but I have been getting some advice of Bark Busters (don't know if you have them in america). My real problem with Keisha is dominancy and seperation anxiety. When she was a pup I stopped crying by allowing her in my bedroom and now a year on she is having real bad seperation anxiety, which as I have said before when we leave her in the house alone, she barks, chews, bangs doors and is generally a madam. The reason we cannot put her in a crate is that it makes her even more agitated and upset. We now have to go back to square 1 and she is not allowed in our bedroom or even upstairs (dog trainer says). It is heart breaking because we are sleeping on the floor downstairs (to tell her off if she is "naughty") and she is in the bathroom, we can hear her crying, and banging to get out and all we can do is tell her to be quiet. I just hope this works as we are getting a lot of complaints about her daytime behaviour. Crying or Very sad

We also have to keep in front of her at all times as her leading is a sign of dominance. The trainer said that she does not respect me as much as she should and I should ignore her totally unless I want to fuss her. This is really hard for me because I cannot resist the eyes she gives me when she comes for a fuss.

The good thing is she is now out of season so I can take her to the dog park (the reason I didnot before was that there are a lot of male dogs there and i do not know if they are intact)

I am sorry to go on for so long I just need to talk to people who understand what I may be going through.

If anyone has any ideas they would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Jo

Kags · Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 9:47 am Post subject:

Just a thought but if she is getting so distressed when she is left alone, and lets face it we all have to work, have you considered daycare for her? I offer a service where pets can come to my home whilst people are at work or away on holidays. I have 2 weims of my own and I used to have a regular daycare dog weim who came to me 3/4 days a week for the very reasons you have outlined. He barked all the while he was left and had started to become destructive. They have moved away from the area now so he only comes and stays when they go on holiday now.

It is worth looking into and saves the distress to both you and the dog. She would have a home form home to go to while you are working.

They do get very highly strung when they are cooped up though, my boys have been stuck at home for several weeks as I have just had a hysterectomy and have not been able to exercise them as normal. Friends have helped me out once or twice in the past few weeks and I am very grateful but it has not been enogh for the dogs. I am at the Drs tomorrow so fingers crossed we can go back to the old routine again very soon. Very Happy

jorussell23 · Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 12:57 pm Post subject:

hiya

Thanks for your input would you be able to provide me with some details of your daycare please.

Thank you

Jo

Kags · Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 1:11 pm Post subject:

Jo,

No problem - e mail me at kibbotson@ntlworld.com and I will forward you some information. Where abouts are you in the UK? How is she getting on? Things any better?