Well my lab is a quivering wreck, shaking beyond belief, nowhere in the house can he settle. His usual haunts at times like this, under the desk, in the cupboard under the stairs just aren't calming him. Neither seem to be the sedative thingies we got from the vet!
It will probably be like this every night till the end of the weekend.
Joy!
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Is your lab quite old? I think that makes quite a difference.
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Only 4 years old, the first year was fine, thereafter it has just got worse and worse!
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I would thought at 4 it wouldn't bother them? I guess it depends on the dog, none of mine have every been bothered lucky I suspose.
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The older they get, the worse it affects them. My lab at 13 was a quivering wreck, I had to build her a hide out of pillows to cower in.
And the "its a gun dog they should cope" does not wash. Fifi the lab was fine on the gun line at a shoot, because there it was expected. At home its not.
The goldie, who is scared of nowt is a little scared, specially as some oiks set off display fireworks that she could see out the back.
I will need to condition the goldie off it a bit tho, part of her field trials will be a test of courage - i.e. a man fires a starting pistol, and she has to remain in the sit and calm. When we progress onto PD trials she will need to leap at someone who fires a pistol at her.
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>> The older they get, the worse it affects them. My lab at 13 was a
>> quivering wreck, I had to build her a hide out of pillows to cower in.
Yep, this is our experience too.
We used to do a BBQ / drinks thing most fireworks nights, and our collie-lab x would happily sit by the barbecue scrounging food while fireworks went off all around. Now he struggles even indoors.
We started noticing the change around 5-6 years old.
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My terrier isn't enjoying it. He never does, but his reaction is limited to wanting to be close to one of us. He's currently sitting at my feet gently pressing his shoulder against my leg. Seems to help him get through it. He won't go outside though. Hope he had a pee recently...
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I don't think mines even noticed yet, none really close though.
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I used to have the same with my two retrievers. Nothing seemed to work although keeping physical contact with them seemed to help them cope.
It never went away. Makes you wonder how wild animals cope.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Wed 5 Nov 14 at 19:02
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My Beagle doesn't give a toss, the first dog we've ever had that isn't a quivering wreck on bonfire night.
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>> My Beagle doesn't give a toss,
i've always quite liked a beagle, what are they like to live with?
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Beagles only care about beagles, and if you haven't got a biscuit in your hand, forget about any kind of recall. It will be away. Fantastic garden escape artists as well.
Last edited by: Zero on Wed 5 Nov 14 at 19:59
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Years ago, a friend returned to his then two week old BMW tourer in which he had left his pair of Beagles while he went into the corner shop for fags and a newspaper. In the few minutes that took they had trashed the interior. Spike and Henry they were called I'm sure.
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It's on bonfire night and new year that it's a blessing our elderly cat (19 years old) has been deaf for a few years.
On the subject of dogs.... if you're visiting someone with your dog in tow, do you expect the person visiting to let the dog in the house? We've got a cat so not really an option but step-son has got a dog now... thinking of Christmas etc. Poor thing can't be left in the garden but what is the protocol?
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We only take the dog to houses that we know welcome him. Otherwise left at home.
If out for a walk and "call in" on someone then quite happy for dog to be left in the garden if they are not doggy friendly.
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>> We only take the dog to houses that we know welcome him. Otherwise left at
>> home.
correct. Teaching a dog to be happy at home on its own is part of the training.
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Teaching a dog to be happy at home on its own is part of the training.
Left for how long? I ask because two of my household (me being one) would like to have a dog. Mrs Beest (who doesn't often, as things stand, have to be out for more than a half-day at a time and does much of her work from home) resists on the grounds that a dog couldn't be left at home, and I've reluctantly had to agree, but I'd be interested in the panel's experience.
It wouldn't have to be a wolfhound; something border terrier-sized would be plenty.
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Our dog is regularly left at home for up to 5 hours a time alone - think going out to a friends for dinner at 7pm and not coming back to midnight.
On a rare occasion has been left alone form 8.30am - 3.pm but only after he has been out for a good walk before that. But that is very rare - but he is a Lab and sometimes they like the lazy life....
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Will be interested in Zero's take on dogs left at home. My own impression though is that it's very breed dependant.
We have one locally that seems to be left out in summer and barks on and off all day.
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>> Teaching a dog to be happy at home on its own is part of the
>> training.
>>
>> Left for how long?
Well I have had the dog, a very lively two year old (today actually - its her birthday) goldie, since September, on Tuesday this week it was left from 07:30 to 18:00 so thats 10.5 hours. The previous dog was left for similar lengths of time when I was working.
Several points to consider.
Its is breed dependent. If I left an Akita, or Malamute at home for thous length of time, upon my return the house would be like a syrian war zone, it would rip my throat out and throw my torn off limbs out the window. Breeds to avoid for home dogs are very high drive/low boredom threshold/not very bright/highly pack dependent dogs. Get all of those in one breed (Malamute/Husky) and you can't leave it - at all.
given that you can condition a reasonable dog to being happy at home.
1/ Work up to it a few hours at a time. Dogs think you are not coming home so they need to know you are. They can tell the time (there are shed loads of external clues around that the dog uses) so you can extended it day by day, hour by hour.
2/ The dog needs exercise when you get back.
3/ The dog needs rewards for its patience - 2/ above might do it, but treats, games, cuddles, praise will help. mix it with the exercise..
4/Never scold it when you get back for any reason. Its too late by then, you can only scold a dog for misdemeanours exactly at the time it does them.
Of course it needs to be medically fit, and well toilet trained. Home also needs to be (for the dog) a place where its happy, comfortable and feels safe. A well loved bed, toys, water and the radio on (talk channel)
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Thanks, Z. I'll add that to the evidence folder.
Any thoughts on breeds smaller than your retriever that might take to this treatment? Unlikely to be more than a day a week in our case. Friends of Beestling Minor have a malamute; beautiful animal but seems too big for the house he lives in, although he's not wrecked it yet.
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My retrievers could do the school day without distress. However, they were retrievers which makes it easier, and since there were two of them boredom was less of an issue.
Also, we had a dog flap so they had free access to the outside world. [no accidents]
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>> Thanks, Z. I'll add that to the evidence folder.
>>
>> Any thoughts on breeds smaller than your retriever that might take to this treatment? Unlikely
>> to be more than a day a week in our case. Friends of Beestling Minor
>> have a malamute; beautiful animal but seems too big for the house he lives in,
>> although he's not wrecked it yet.
Sorry missed this
If your choice of dog is small (but not toy) say about 30cm high, 5 kilos or so, then check out the Norwich Terrier.
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>> Beagles only care about beagles, and if you haven't got a biscuit in your hand,
>> forget about any kind of recall. It will be away. Fantastic garden escape artists as
>> well.
>>
Dead right. It's the only dog we've had that daren't be let off the lead, even in the garden she has to be on a running lead after a couple of trips over the field behind us to retrieve her.
Lovely dog though, they are great pets if rather demanding.
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Our lab used to be a quivering wreck at the sound of fireworks and, as others have said, it seemed to get worse as she got older. She was 14 at the end of August though and, over the past couple of years, has become as deaf as a post. Alas, an inability to hear fireworks seems to be the only benefit of her old age! We can't take her for her beloved long-walks any more as she is very likely to develop cruciate problems.
With a quick mental calculation - not even 'back of a fag packet' - we reckon she'll be a hundred (dog-years) on Dec 15th.
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My parent's german shepherd loved fireworks. Whenever he heard them he'd stick his head through the curtains and watch.
Mum used to get quite annoyed because he invariably slimed the glass with his nose.
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I was worried that my cat had taken fright. Relief all round when I got in 10 minutes ago and she emerged from the cupboard under the sink.
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Was round at daughter's for grand-daughter's 10th birthday party..with fireworks today. Ollie, the Havanese Terrier didn't give a tuppeny fart about the noise. Spent most of the time hunting for birthday cake crumbs under the table.
We had a Beagle many years ago..Muffin. It was the most anti-social dog. Didn't want our company at all. Ended up at a Beagle pack in the High Peak.
I always thought it was very clever of Guy Fawkes to start the Great fire of London on bonfire night so as to hide the sound of his explosion amongst all the bangers and rip-raps going off...smart move.
Or am I getting confused again ?
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We're still in the middle of London. Since early this evening the sound-effects of savage, resolutely opposed civil insurgency have filled the skies. But not a single rocket or flash have we seen, so high are the surrounding roofs and so incurious are we. Didn't even see anything when I nipped out to the shop for vodka.
In our old gaff we used to see the Shepherd's Bush council fireworks out of our back window. Reet canny that were, they could even afford blue ones. Looked good among those ugly tower blocks.
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I had three of our five cats trying to sit on my knee all at once last night, the other two were 'hiding' somewhere in the house and none of them like fireworks.
To make it worse there was a local organised display last Saturday and another this Saturday.
Visitors with dogs to this house rather depends on the owners.
They are welcome to bring a dog in provided it is kept restrained from pursuing the cats, if not, them it stays in the garden.
It never ceases to amaze me how many owners find that hard to do with one coming in and taking the dog on a lead to the back of the sofa where the cats had fled to saying 'Look Buster cats, go find them'.
It took us two days to get one of the cats back in the house after that visit and needless to say Buster is now not welcome, not his fault of course, but the fault of his owner.
Pat
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If that were me, the owner wouldn't be welcome.
I could probably manage the dog!
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It's a tad complicated....he is my Father in Law!
Always had dogs, never had cats and convinced the two can't live together.
Pat
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>>convinced the two can't live together.
Oh they can, very happily. We had two retrievers and 6 cats at the same time and they used to sleep together.
Mind you, they had all arrived in the household at a similar time as puppies/kittens.
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Nobody would actually choose a beagle for a pet.
Even though the pet beagles diverged from the hunting beagles after the war, so a pet beagle is 20-25 generations away from beagles bred specifically to hunt, they put their nose down and that's it.
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Beagles honk loudly and make bad neighbours. (Bitter experience!)
Greyhounds are, however quiet pooches - we have one, a female, as a neighbour and our daughter has a very large male, never raced, who is quite nice for a canine.
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Neighbours look after retired Greyhounds as does one of my former CS colleague Facebook friends. oh speak highly of them as pets.
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My dog is quite happy to play with cats, in fact he thinks they're the best toys ever. He can chase them for hours without having to wait for anyone to throw them.
;-)
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Mine loves squizzers. She is now learning to stalk them in the undergrowth, and pop up fairly close. She will catch one one day before it rushes up a tree. Just mildly interested in cats tho,, not in a prey kind of way.
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There's a squirrel who hangs about in the trees at the bottom of our garden. It sits on the shed roof taunting the dog who is too stupid to realise that he can't jump that high and keeps trying.
It had better not turn its back on him when it's on the ground though !
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>>Mine loves squizzers
I've had a couple of dogs that got all the exercise they needed tearing around the local woods parking squirrels up trees. They both lived to ripe old ages and never caught one, but I understand they can be vicious little beasts.
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Friend's late Dalmatian used to chase squirrels and also rabbits. Apparently he once caught a young bunny and (presumably instinctively) shook it and broke its neck.
He'd no idea what do do with immobile corpse though.
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>> Friend's late Dalmatian used to chase squirrels and also rabbits.
The goldie chased a rabbit and fell in the river. She is a fantastic swimmer and would have been fine just going with the flow, but the banks were high and she would have got out miles away from where she went in. So I recalled her and she swam to where I had to lie on the ground (in a nettle patch) and reach down and hook her out by her collar. She used me as a ladder.
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Brought a smile, the vision of you laying in a bed of nettles with a soggy dog walking over you.
In a car, or a wet walk home?
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>> Brought a smile, the vision of you laying in a bed of nettles with a
>> soggy dog walking over you.
>>
>> In a car, or a wet walk home?
Car. I stripped off to boxers to drive home.
I have a zip up drying bag for the dog. She is the kind of hound you need to be prepared for at all times.
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>>I have a zip up drying bag for the dog
Whats that? You put the dog in it and zip it up and it cleans it??
Or a bag with a towel etc in it?
On a slightly different note, my local 24 hour car wash now has a 24 hour dog wash! I originally thought it was a hot dog type stand but realised it was a dog wash! I have never stopped to see it close up but guess its basically a big stainless steel sink/trough type thing!
I will continue with just using my hose at the house for washing the lab!
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>> >>I have a zip up drying bag for the dog
>>
>> Whats that? You put the dog in it and zip it up and it cleans
>> it??
Yes - Exactly that.
Its a large bag made of tough highly absorbent micro fibre. you unzip it and stand the dog on it (well you lay it on the boot floor and the dog jumps on it) you then fasten the neck piece (velcro) round the dog and then zip the rest of the dog in it. Hey presto! dog in bag.
Goes in dirty, comes out clean and dry.
www.amazon.co.uk/Dry-Dog-Bag-Size-Neck/dp/B000EDWHMW
As for washing my dog, I just throw it in the canal or river.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 7 Nov 14 at 07:08
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Interesting item - have never seen or heard of that - wonder how a 4 year old Lab would take to it.
Come on , confession time, have you ever, you know, just even once, watched the dog try to walk whilst in the bag?????????
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>> Interesting item - have never seen or heard of that - wonder how a 4
>> year old Lab would take to it.
A two year old goldie hates it with a passion. Has to be done tho.
>> Come on , confession time, have you ever, you know, just even once, watched the
>> dog try to walk whilst in the bag?????????
Nope
Watched her fall over in the back as I pull away tho!
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My wife confesses that once when she was a little girl she tied her dogs front paws together and back paws together whilst it was sleeping and then whistled for it to come to her..........
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>> The goldie chased a rabbit and fell in the river. She is a fantastic swimmer
>> and would have been fine just going with the flow, but the banks were high
>> and she would have got out miles away from where she went in. So I
>> recalled her and she swam to where I had to lie on the ground (in
>> a nettle patch) and reach down and hook her out by her collar. She used
>> me as a ladder.
>>
I would pay good money to watch that.
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>> I would pay good money to watch that.
Suspect such events are not uncommon.
Must be nearly thirty years ago Mrs B and I walking a path from then York youth hostel to city when we heard a call for help. Found a guy under bank of Ouse(?) who'd got into difficulty after trying to rescue his dog.
We managed to help him out but Fido had, by that time, come ashore himself.
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>> We managed to help him out but Fido had, by that time, come ashore himself.
>>
Dogs rarely drown in accidents, owners trying to rescue them frequently do.
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>> Dogs rarely drown in accidents, owners trying to rescue them frequently do.
>>
No, only once.
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greyhounds make excellent pets. They don't need vast amounts of exercise - one quick sprint down the park a day is it.
They are, however very aloof, not at all cuddly or sociable.
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"Greyhounds...are, however very aloof, not at all cuddly or sociable."
Not so, Z. They're gentle, especially with children, and very friendly by nature BUT ex-racers have usually had good cause to learn to mistrust people. That leaves a mark that takes a long time for them to recover from. Even then, they won't bite or bark unless provoked beyond all reason, far beyond what any other breed would tolerate.
Our previous two greys were failed racers. One was a loveable googly thing who, however, never really got over her fears such that she'd sooner hide in the kennel than be in the house with the noise of the children playing. We rehomed her to a dog free, child free home where she's thriving.
Her sister was the smarter cookie, and went from being plain terrified to the canine embodiment of cat-dom (they feed me, and walk me, and take me to the vet...I must be a godess). Sadly she died early in the summer.
Our latest arrival is a long dog (greyhound with some whippet in him) who has all the best greyhound traits, but actively seeks out the kids to play with, would sleep on their beds - when he's not on the armchair by the fire - in preference to anywhere else, and plays happily and gently with our six-month old kitten. Though he moved in with us two days after the cat turned up, which did help. He'll share his bed and food with MiL's doberman without protest when they visit too.
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We've a wee Sealyham terrier, great little guy. My brother in law has a Weimeraner ( think that's how you spell it ) and he's also a very good dog. The two dogs know each other and get along just great. ( they've both been "done" ) Anyway, they're going away for a weekend soon and it has been suggested that the Weimeraner comes to us for a few days rather than going into kennels.
Now, looking after two dogs isn't a worry, I was brought up in a household with multiple dogs at any one time but my silly question is to do with feeding.
My terrier is a grazer, he'll only pick at his food and sometimes a bowl will last him all day and take him all day to eat. The Weimeraner however, is inclined to eat everything in sight as soon as its within range and would certainly polish off the terrier's food too if it saw it.
Any clever suggestions other than tipping a word to the wise to my dog, I mean he's quite bright but y'know, he might not fully grasp the situation no matter how simply I put it !?
;-)
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>> Any clever suggestions other than tipping a word to the wise to my dog, I
>> mean he's quite bright but y'know, he might not fully grasp the situation no matter
>> how simply I put it !?
The only way round this is to temporarily have set feeding times for your terrier. Secure the Weimaraner and give the terrier a 1/4 bowl of food 4 times during the day. They may well get on but one dog sticking its snout in another dogs food bowl will strain any friendship. By doing set feeding for the individual dogs will prevent this
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The voice of canine reason. I hoped Zero would speak.
I figured the Weimaraner would have to be secured, but I was thinking wimpishly the thing to do might be to take it out for a short walk while the Sealyham was eating, and vice versa. They could go out for a romp together later, if the owners were still up to it that is.
He's a shrewd individual so I doubt that Zero would willingly die for his dog, but he'd certainly risk his life for it. Dogs and their owners are funny like that.
I don't think I'd risk mine for our cat, although I suppose I would suffer a dirty hand and a couple of scratches to get it out of the cess pit.
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>> I don't think I'd risk mine for our cat
Especially since I had to lift a lot of its puke from an upholstered chair and two cushions, which I think are just kaput, and do my best to scrub the places with water and paper towels. Cat food it looked like, not small animals for once. It eats any food put in its bowl and then spends a lot of time staring into the empty bowl, occasionally looking impatiently over its shoulder for a steward. Certain people are suckers for this technique.
Herself says there may be something wrong with it and she'll take it to the vet. It's a nice pretty friendly little animal and I'm quite fond of it in a way. But a small, steely part of me can't help hoping the damn animal's got a deadly disease and has to be put down.
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Hairball most likely. Ours (short haired) sicks up on something every week or so and ingested fur is usually the reason. You should be stuck with yours for a good long time yet.
}:---D=<
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Sack, bricks, river....seemples !
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Ted!!!! That's you off my Christmas cake list!
You need baby wipes AC, they are excellent at cleaning anything like that from carpets and upholstery.
I don't know exactly what comes out of a babies bum, but baby wipes are built for power:)
Pat
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Motorbike visors and windscreens as well...clear insects in seconds. Always carry a pack.
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Fireworks & dogs - sooty123
