Returning a dog I adopted to the shelter because she isn't the "right fit?" (rescue, adoption)
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personally i find cats a bajillion times "easier" than dogs...
not because they require less attention but because its a different kind of attention.
a cat doesnt need to be taken out every few hours to house train it....typically keeping a clean litterbox and showing your kitten where it is is enough for most...
a cat doesnt NEED to be taken on hikes, walks, run around at the park, worked through agilty ect to keep it properly excersized and mentally stimulated, instead they can get enough exxcersize indoors playing kitty fishing, crumpled paper, a lazer toy ect...
cats do naturally sleep alot more than dogs...and its much easier to keep a pair of kittens and yet stilly have happy well rounded cats with alot less physcal work than it would be to raise 2 puppies
ect.
YES they need time and attention, yes they need feeding and litterboxes changed ect...BUT...when it comes down to it...for someone who works realy odd hours and doesnt want to come home from work and take puppy outside or for a walk, for someone who works long hours and doesnt want a puppy howling at the neighbors (sure cats can be loud but compared to a puppy even a siamese is quiet lol).
i personally think for people with long/odd hours adopting an older cat or a pair of kittens is usually a MUCH better choice than adopting a young dog...
cats ARE easier when it comes to the physical labor required to keep a pet happy...
i have cats and i have dogs, and i love them all equally...but my cats are much more indepedant, happy to entertain themselves when i cant be around and EASIER to properly excersize than any of my dogs...
my cats dont need a 3 mile walk, they dont need to be taken out every 2 hours to make sure the dont pee on the carpet...and unlike the dogs they dont panic everytime i leave the house without them...
they get a clean litterbox, food, playtime and plenty of attention, but id never ever consider a cat as physically demanding as raising a young dog.
Just read your post adn I have a couple of suggestions from someone who works your schedule and also has a terrier (westie poo). Now mine is 4 years old but maybe some of my advice will help.
1) You have to get a smaller crate. Believe me, I didn't want my dog in a very small crate, but dgos like dens and even though we may thing that the crate is too small for them, it is not. Second, you can't have puppy pads in the crate. Dogs won't mess in their space.
2) I can't tell if you have a backyard or not. What I do with my dog is I wake up around 10:00 a.m. and let her out, then we play around the house a bit and I either take her walking or to a dog park. Around 4:00 p.m., right before I leave for work, I talk her or a pee walk. My dog isn't crated anymore so she has run of the house, but I do leave a television on for her while I'm gone, and a hall/living room light. I get home around 2:00 a.m. and I let her out then we head to bed.
3) Is there a way maybe once or twice a week Toffee can go part-time to a doggy day care.
4) Have you talked to a vet about any other tricks or advice on the separation anxiety?
I don't have any other advice but I do want to say I feel for both you and Toffee and I hope things work out for you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ccheng82x
Here's an update in case you guys are interested in what's going on.
I decided to give the dog a chance and I still have her right now. It's been 6 days, and I'm sad to report things aren't getting any better. She is very destructive (for example, I've triple fenced my garden to keep her out, but she'll push, dig, and bite relentlessly for hours if necessary to get in) and she also appears to have separation anxiety.
I've been taking her out for runs twice a day. I found a fenced field near my house to let her run free and burn off all that energy. But usually an hour after we get home she's doing laps in my living room again
Last night, I had to go to work, and I left her in the crate with a blanket and a stuffed kong. As soon as I walked out the door I could hear her screaming her lungs out. I'm surprised my neighbors didn't complain. I left work early and came home 5-6 hours later to find that she had somehow managed to escape the crate. After she escaped, she clawed the crap out of the front door, curtains, and windows.
The crate I have for her is a heavy duty chrome one. I got her an oversized crate because I wanted to put food, a blanket, and a wee wee pad in there (pretty fruitless as her only interest inside the crate is breaking out). I was really shocked that she had escaped, and managed to do so without hurting herself. The crate has two doors with two latches on each door. I inspected the crate when I got home and found that the door that is placed AGAINST a wall has its top latch open but the bottom latch was still closed. I have no idea how she managed to squeeze out of that small crack on the top of the door that is way taller than she is. She also managed to move the crate several feet which shows that she must've pushed and clawed relentlessly, because the crate is about 70 pounds while she is 20 pounds. This dog is freaking insane.
I later inspected her body and the only injury I found was a little gash on her chin, which I'm guessing is from yanking on the crate.
I really don't know what to do at this point. I have grown more attached to this dog, as she has me, but she is far too wild especially when left home alone. I wasn't sure if her problem was the crate, so I tried stepping outside while she was not in a crate, and she still screamed and clawed at the door until I came back. I'm starting to wonder if her problems are beyond being young and a certain breed. I've never had a dog this wild before.
work 6-10 hours a day, 5 days a week This is Normal work hours for most people!
from 6pm-3am? This late shift also makes it difficult for me to exercise the dog when I come home from work. I wouldn't feel safe taking the dog for a long run at 3am as a single woman I think This is her Major Problem getting home at 3 am & Not feeling safe to walk her! I personally dont blame her! Main reason I suggested a Cat! Getting a Bigger or even an older dog will not solve this problem! IF this was me I be Moving to a safer area! OP how do you get from your car to your apt at nite IF you are afraid? How long do you think it would take to walk in drop your purse grab you cell phone put Toffee on leash walk him outside to potty & come right back in when hes done? Then you can play with him in your living room! When he starting to tire out take him back out side for another quick potty then into the crate you go to bed also! When you get up take him out for run! Now this is just ideas not set in stone LOL
Thanks for the suggestions. I like the putting her dinner into a Kong idea and I've been doing it for her breakfast to keep her stimulated. But I don't think it's a good idea to put a stuffed Kong in her crate when I leave for work. I've noticed she often uses the bathroom after she eats, and I wouldn't want her to poop in her crate. For the record, she has been pooping/peeing in the oversized crate.
I just got a smaller crate for the dog tonight. I've tried putting her in there and "fake leaving." I spied on her through the window and she was of course still very distressed, screaming and biting the wire. I've realized that it's not the crate she minds. I leave her in there when I'm at home and while she'll wait for me to let her out, she won't cry or try to break out. But as soon as I step out the door, all hell breaks loose.
We'll see how that works out when I leave for work tomorrow. Sigh.
I live in a decent area. However, it is still Los Angeles. I still would not feel safe walking the dog at 3am. When I come home from work I'm usually very cautious, and make sure there isn't anyone lurking around.
Foxywench, thanks for outlining your schedule with the dog. I was trying to figure out one for myself and it looks something similar. I do have a large patio where she usually potties.
A main issue I have is sleep right now... The dog is on a different sleeping schedule as I am. Her sleepy hours are around 7pm to 8am. I sleep from 4am - 12pm usually. During her "awake" hours she's often hyper and running around the house.
I let her sleep in my room ( i have an orthropedic dog bed for her) because I don't trust her with the run of the house. She wakes me up every day after I'd only slept for 4-5 hours. Maybe I should bring the crate in the room and have her sleep in it, so she'll stop jumping on my bed to wake me up?
Last edited by ccheng82x; 01-04-2012 at 02:21 AM..
Putting the crate in your room would be good idea! Also have you considered Litterbox training her? I have LAdyBug in a crate With a plastic box on one end linned with papers! & Now a towel as a bed next to it & of course foobowl & water bowl. She can eat sleep potty & chew on toys in it! Does Toffee let you know when she has to potty...I mean when your home? Does she wait til you take her out? IF Yes then she is Housetrained BUT still to young to hold herself!
when you have been home with her all day & nite How long can she wait for you to take her out? Well I betting she cant hold herself for 10 hrs! So how about putting a litterbox in the larger crate so she Can potty?
Maybe I should bring the crate in the room and have her sleep in it, so she'll stop jumping on my bed to wake me up?
I have a friend who's a nurse with two Malti-poos, and that's precisely what she did back when she worked the night shift... normally their crates are in the laundry room (open door w/ a baby gate), but when she was sleeping until 12 or later, they'd just wake her up by banging on their crates at dawn. But they weren't capable of being loose while she slept, so she ended up moving the crates into her bedroom. They were much more content with that arrangement, so it's worth a try! Glad to see you're working with the dog, and I wish you the best.
So glad my dog (who's never been crated) is a late sleeper like me... even when I sleep well into the afternoon, I'm usually the one who wakes up first. Maybe he just knows the wrath he'd face otherwise, LOL.
Toffee may still adapt but you may have to get a bicycle and really run her alongside everyday and then play fetch with her for a while when you get home. If that doesn't work you'll have to do all that and then put her in her crate when you get home until she learns her boundaries, that is if she can learn them. Dogs are not as complicated as many here seem to think. It's discipline, energy release and leadership by you that makes the difference. You may have to send her back. I wouldn't feel bad about it at all as long as I did my best.
sorry but NO...no forced running for puppies, while a bycicle is a great form of excersize for a human and running wiht a bicycle if a great form of excersize for a dog,
1: the dog needs to be GOOD ON LEASH, plain and simple, haivng a dog pulling or trying to change sides (even on a special bicycle attatchment ect) is down right dangerous...
2: puppies shoudlnt be forced to run untill thier growth plates are fully developed (this is why its suggested to RESTRICT structures physical excersize with giant breeds untill they are at least 2 years old) its bad for the oints and hard on the bones. this dog is a PUPPY and shouldnt be forced to run or jog at this time...(running around the park/for fun is fine. and light jogging on soft surfaces (dirt, trail grass) starting at 8 months for a smal breed, but NO forced running untill shes a little older (id never start a dog on a bycicle harness untill a year old at MINIMUM...
3: the op has alot more to focus on right now than teaching a pup whos got alot of other things going on how to run next to a bycicle...i wouldnt be suprised if she barly knows how to WALK on leash at this point.
OP...it definatly sounds lik a seperation anxiety issue going on...the good news is shes yougn enough that you can np this in the bud. first id try a product called rescue remedy by bachs...its a herbal suppliment completly safe and not a drug and is just a natural rlaxant, its not a true seditive doesnt make them sleepy, its just calming...a few drops in her water or directly into the mouth. its very sweet and safe for animal and human use (ive used it myself on me and my animals.
if the bachs doesnt work and shes still having issues it might be worth talking to your vet about getting a MILD sedative for when your not home. the stres shes feeling builds up and up and makes it worse...you dont want to knock her out...just enough to take the edge off so she can refocus. a kon in the crate realy has elped in most similar situations ive encoutered.
she WILL adapt to your schedual eventually, it sjust a case of being perisitent, if shes good in the crate when your around id absolutly crate her while your sleeping, it wont do her any harm aslong as when your awake and home she get plenty of excersize and attention.
im realy glad youve decided to give this a try and put in the effort...theres alot of potential here.
you might want to see if theres a local agility or flyball club, and even check meetup.com to see if theres doggy playdates in your area so that on your days off she is getting out and getting lots of good solid mental and physical stimulation.
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