JMFS

I board my bigger dogs and have had no issues in the past. They only asked that I come do a tour of the place to ensure it was up to my standards. They have boarding and then I can add on day care. Here's the link so you can see what ours looks like: https://cuddlebugspetresort.com/ They take pictures daily of the dogs playing (that's an add-on I gladly pay for) and post them to Facebook (I had to create a FB account, but it's comforting to see pics of your dogs being pampered and playing so it was worth it). When I was on a cruise they emailed pictures to me each day as an extra favor because I couldn't sift through all the pics on FB with the limited wifi plan on the ship. Abbi goes to a personal sitter who takes care of one dog at a time because Abbi can't have immunizations any more and requires so much extra care (she's 15 and her legs have been stitched up and wrapped up numerous times for months now - toileting is a challenge). So there's that option. We were connected to that gal through Abbi's veterinarian and they offered to give the sitter a break once in a while if Abbi tired her out (the sitter is in her 70s but probably healthier than me with all my arthritis issues, lol). Rover.com is another place we found a sitter for Abbi. We ended up not going with him again because he had two friendly little Shitzus (Abbi does best with humans and humans only) and we're fairly certain he did not follow instructions fully. We gave him full bags of treats in lieu of portioning them out into more bags (we're environmentally conscious when possible) and the bags did not come back to us so we're thinking he either overfed Abbi or his pups partook. His dogs also charged out of his door as soon as he opened it when we first arrived - not a good sign to me. When we initially met him we did so at the dog park at a picnic table away from the actual dog enclosure (lack of immunizations) and held Abbi. She didn't mind his dogs and eventually settled into his lap as we talked so things Looked good, but after all was said and done the husband wanted better for his Abbi girls. If we Had used him again I would have portioned the treats and labeled them with the days and times, lol. We did get updates from him every day and for well-trained dogs who don't rush out of the door I think he'd be fine so it wasn't a Terrible experience, we're (the husband) just very particular about Abbi's care because she's so old and sensitive to change. Here's an example of a Rover.com search. You can use the slider for dollar amount, enter your dog's size, set preferences for other dogs / cats / children in the home, etc . . .. I used my hometown as the example with a small dog and up to $35 per day Rover Search for Austin There are other search engines like Rover, you can ask your vet, friends, other people you meet with dogs, etc . . . who they use or would recommend. Cuddle Bugs has day care, boarding, and you get freebies for x number of days you board / use day care. On my birthday I get $25 towards grooming, for example. Before Cuddle Bugs I used a gal who lived close to us. She boarded / did day care in her home but the county got involved and she had all sorts of headaches trying to get set up again and stopped responding to me so I had to go searching for someone else. My guess is she gave up because our county likes to make life difficult for people who don't have lawyers to go to bat for them. So there you go, lots of options in case you're not entirely convinced with the place you are looking at currently. :) I will say also that Cuddle Bugs is very good at ensuring they match dog personalities for play time. They keep the small dogs and big dogs separated as well. They always have staff watching during play time. I even get Gertie the 20 minutes of personal cuddle time every other night and Yappy Hour (a Kong stuffed with peanut butter then frozen) on the nights she doesn't get cuddle time. She gets a nail dremel when she gets there and I call ahead to let them know when I'm picking up so they can bathe her for me - wash off all that dog slobber from the playing, lol. I give them a sheet with special instructions and add-ons, which they then transcribe and put on her kennel with a picture of her so they don't get dogs mixed up. I don't even have to bring her bowls - they have tons of them that they wash after every feeding. Any toys or bedding I bring in for her they label with masking tape and her name so we always get back what we bring in. After boarding, Gertie is docile for a few days - moreso than usual, lol. Based on our experience I say yes, day care / boarding can be a good thing. Especially for the socialization aspect.

I was up late last night working on our Cloud and admin rights and whatnot and of Course I came across a bump in the road so at 3:35 this morning I called it quits. Did the dogs care? Nope! They were kind enough to allow me 5½ hours of sleep, but I was suddenly awoken by that rhythmic sound of a dog getting ready to vomit. Boy, that'll wake you up Fast! Apparently Esther's tummy has an alarm on it and that alarm got angry. I was able to move her to the LVP flooring for easy clean up so at least I'm not doing laundry as well today. To further complicate matters I fed the cat while the dogs were out pottying / playing. Normally Monks gets fed last so I can give him pets while the pups are whacking their Kongs around their kennels. Esther has a thing about doors getting shut on her. If she's being stubborn about staying outside I simply step inside, say, "bye," audibly shut the door, and wait. Same with the bedroom. It takes between 1 and 90 seconds before she realizes I'm serious, makes her way to the door, and starts sniffing around. Well, I feed Monkey, shut the door so the dogs don't come Flying in and bust their rumps on the slick tile. That was enough for Esther to attempt to do exactly that, but instead she got a door closed in her face. We're off to a Great start, lol. So I get Monkey's water, let the dogs in and Esther goes rushing up the stairs only to find her enemy - the door - closed. Back down the stairs she comes. I start moving towards the kitchen, Uuuuup the stairs she goes, but oh no, I head to the bathroom to get calamine lotion (some rude skeeter bit my ring finger and I'm trying to get the swelling down so I can put my ring back on). She comes Running into the (tiled) bathroom, steps onto the mat and Sliiiiides into the bathtub, flips herself around, play bows, is told no, flattens on the ground and growls, is told no, hops from side-to-side and growls, is told no, whines, no, wiggles, no, play bows, no, sends the mats flying in a flurry of zoomies, a sigh, a no and I've finally got my finger taken care of so out of the bathroom I go. Uuuup the stairs she goes. I open the coffee maker, down she comes (I normally make my coffee after I feed Monks), circles the island a couple thousand times, nose sniffing the air. I make my coffee and uuup the stairs she goes. I wish I could bottle and sell this energy, fyi. Finally I fill their cups with their food and head upstairs to find two pups staring down at me, ears perked, tails wagging, and bodies tensed. I'm really not sure where Gertie was this entire time . . .. I have them wait, this takes several repeats for Esther and she knocks poor Gerts out of the way each time as she attempts to position herself for the ultimate entry stance. Gertie is her stoic self, with a bit of eye rolling added. I open the door but lo and behold Esther's kennel is latched shut (because dogs don't steal, but Gertie sure will take Esther's unfinished treat toys and knows how to open the gate). I've Completely upset the balance of this puppy's day at this point, lol. Gertie opens her door and hops in so Esther follows. Now Gertie is Really rolling her eyes. I set my coffee down - this adds further confusion but I can't juggle the coffee And the filling of the Wobblers. At long last I walk to Esther's crate, get a nice wait out of her (she's about tuckered out at this point), open the door, in she goes, Wobbler gets filled and all is right in her life again. So, for anyone who is unsure whether a routine will help your pup, I submit the above. When I follow our routine I get lovely waits and follows. When I break the routine it's utter chaos. Routine works. 😆

Hi Patsy and welcome! I have a similar issue and mine is absolutely bonkers about other dogs. We're finally getting to a point to where we can watch TV without her going into a frenzy if a dog shows up, and heaven forbid it bark or whine! She'll bolt upright from a dead sleep. I've never had a dog so nuts about other dogs. We're discussing solutions on this thread if you'd like to join the fun: It's about running to other dogs, but the solution is similar for barking at other dogs. It involves repetitive training and it can be mind-numbingly boring for us, but it definitely pays off at the end. I'm over here with Esther watching YouTube videos with dogs barking, running, howling, whining, etc . . . so we can work up to training with actual dogs. I used the methods we're discussing with the neighbors' dogs and she ignores them now so there's hope! How long has she been with you?

Agreed on MSG. I won't eat it for health reasons so why would I feed it to the pups? ProbioStrive . . . sounds like some kind of probiotic thing. I'll have to do some Dr. Google sleuthing on that one. I did up Esther's food portion - they've been exercising so much with the play that her ribs were starting to show when she turned her body and she was acting absolutely ravenous so I figured she may have a growth spurt upon her. Unrelated to the topic: these girls are getting So svelte with all the playing they do. Gertie's shoulders are rock hard. Wish I could play like they do but who has the energy?!

The search feature thinks this is a taboo term and I agree! 😆 Monkey is a free cat who tends to poop in the piles of leaves our trees provide. Given that he buries these I can't easily scan the yard before letting the pups out so I was wondering if there was a product known to make cat poop taste less appealing. Failing that, maybe a supplement I could add to Monkey's food. He's an outside cat who won't use a box. Gertie ignores these <gag> "treats" but Esther finds them to be Amazing. <gag again> I was hoping someone has found something tried and true. We're working on leave and drop, but we're not there, yet.

Ruth, I am considered advanced in computer skills and I Still get pictures that turn sideways. It all depends on the software used to edit or take the picture. Aggravating for sure! He looks like a little scamp. <3 I adore the white splotch in the middle of his forehead.

You're having the same issue I will be having. Esther is the same way, to the point of being a barking insane mess when a dog is even on the television! I play dog YouTube videos often, but she goes absolutely mad when the dogs start to move and heaven forbid they bark or run. Yikes! I will not take her inside the dog park initially as I know she's going to have the same troubles yours does. She's going to be overzealous and some dogs can handle that, most cannot. She bit Abbi to the point of puncturing Abbi's neck so I'm being extra cautious to do this right. Esther is scrapper, but never Starts the fight. She's sure going to finish it, though. Or try. No one wants that and I want her to enjoy her time at the dog park as well as have others enjoy her time there. What I plan to start with is counterconditioning her response when she sees another dog. Instead of getting all excited and wanting to run over to them, but getting frustrated because she can't (barrier frustration), I am going to do the "look at that" game and give her a reward every time she looks and reacts calmly. A sweeping tail wag or silence, for example. When she's finally no longer barking at dogs on the screen (good grief this child has issues, lol), I will take her to the dog park but Not inside. We will walk around the fenced perimeter playing the "look at that" game. Slowly but surely we'll decrease the distance as she exhibits calm behavior. I expect to have to increase the distance again as they almost always do 1 step forward, 2 steps back. We have to go at their pace, not ours. And this training is Booooring and repetitive, I'll set you up for that expectation right now. However, when you're finally able to go past other dogs without a Tasmanian devil on your leash it will all be worth it! The Real pleasure will be when you see someone else dealing with the same problem, lol. There's a sort of satisfaction in having your dog behave while someone else's is being a handful. 😆 Oh, we'll also practice this at Lowe's and Petsmart. When we were at Petsmart the last time there were no dogs there so training was super easy, lol. The training does work. Esther used to bark at the neighbor's dogs and pull me towards them, or rush to them when off leash. Here's a picture of how far we are from their yard - this is not even showing the sides they have available to roam. I have a Lot of work ahead of me with this little monster. Please ignore the nose marks distorting the view. Dogs . . . you wash it, they put the marks Right back up.

Oof! That's a tough one because we are nowhere, and I mean Nowhere, near as interesting as critters to a dog. How big is he at 8 months? I recall he's an Aruban pup and I'm so curious now! Momo was Horrid about creatures. Especially squirrels (no chipmunks this far South) with their nervous twitching. It's like they're Asking to be prey. I never broke him of the hunting and honestly, didn't really try. He was our watchdog so it came with the job. I stupidly tried to bicycle with him once. Road rash over 2% of my body taught me to never try again. Adrienne calls that "single instance learning." 😆 That's what these furry beings are to dogs - single instance teachers. I swear you can practice "sit" all day long and Finally get it whereas all they have to do is hear "squirrel" once, see one, and Bam, they know it for all eternity. With Gertie I did the "look at that" game and treated her every time her rump stayed on the ground or she didn't flinch when I pointed out a squirrel. I can now walk with her on leash and not get my arm dislocated (thank goodness she's only 42 lbs), but off leash forget about it. Crows are the worst! I actually allow her to chase those because I can't stand them, but she still has to wait for a release. Does she? If I see them first, yes. If not, nope. Most of what I have for you is stories, and lots of them, about our experiences and what worked and didn't work. The "look at that" game is the most effective tool in my belt. It's how I'm teaching Esther to stop being so insane when another dog is anywhere near (it's barrier frustration - she wants badly to play but can't so she barks, growls, whines, and pulls on the leash). If you haven't seen that one in the training, yet, I can find the link for you. It's been posted often here so a search for "look at that" would likely turn it up as well. I have to get back to work, but wanted to drop that tid bit of info before I go, and to let you know you're Definitely not alone and there is hope. :) Gertie is far better than Momo ever was and Esther is going to be even better than Gertie. I think the flirt pole may end up being your friend as well as "leave" is another tool for this situation. If he's all excited about bunnies then I'm going to guess he's got a strong prey drive and getting that energy out of him before walking around may help. The flirt pole is a great way to train "leave" and "drop" for dogs with prey drive. A shorter leash at night may help, too. You'll have more control and he'll have less distance to build up speed, which means less tug force on your poor arm. Remembering he's from Aruba (I think you adopted him from there, but my memory is fuzzy) and my recent visit there I have another curiosity stirring. Aruba was really quiet during the day and it started coming alive around 9 pm. I wonder if that might have somehow affected his day / night cycles. Do the pups sleep when the humans are partying, or do the dogs also come alive at those hours. I don't know that it has anything to do with the issue at hand, but it Could affect his evening alertness if it's something he learned or if it's ingrained in the breed. From what I read they do have a high prey drive to the point of being poor matches with households that have cats. They were bred to hunt the iguanas, of which there were Tons when we were there. It's a very interesting breed.

Thank you for the caution! I had no idea. I'll be sure to keep it low for Esther so she can get used to it but continue to grow like a proper pup. This one only has 4 weaving poles, but I figured it's a good start to see if they take to it or not. It was super easy to assemble, set out, and pick up. Monkey showed them both up by going through the tunnel without treats, lol. The girls were looking at me like, "do what?" and Monkey casually strolled through. 😆

I mentioned this item in another post and I got to try it today. Recommendation: wait until it's cool - even in the shade at 88º in Florida it was too hot! This is an inexpensive beginner agility set I got from Amazon - Chewy likely has one as well, I just happened to have a promotional credit at Amazon and part of my purchases go to the Humane Society here so either way it's a win. :) https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B017TBQ4Z2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Esther was Not about the tube inside the other night until I started throwing small handfuls of her kibble into it. Inside on the hardwood floor it slipped and slid, which was not cool to her, but we eventually got there. Outside I was able to anchor it to the ground and it's far less slippery. I used small treats and a lot of encouragement to get the girls to enter the tube. I set the jump at about 8" for Gertie and had to lower it to 4" for Esther (floppy puppy feet, lol). This presented an idea for an opportunity to counteract Esther's barrier frustration so I'm keeping that in mind. As it was I let Gertie go first, Esther was on a lead going nuts so Gertie's turn was cut short. Next time I'll have something out there for Esther or maybe I'll have her go first. If the husband can sit with her and give her treats for being calm that would be ideal. So I tossed treats into the tunnel (tube, whichever) and ran to the other side to treat their exit, then led them with another treat to the jump. We had to circle around a few times to get a jump and I learned to body block on the side. Body block wasn't always successful so we just tried from the side they ran around to instead. It was chaotic, but I think if we do this each night before dinner time we'll a) have calmer dogs (Gertie is liquid Valium so really a calmer Esther) and they'll have the course down pat by the weekend so we can add the weaving poles. It definitely needs to be during the cooler hours - Esther overheated before she got tired. She's having herself a little extinction burst right now squeaking Every Single toy.

The only answer I have is to tire his brain out. Huskies are wickedly intelligent and they're built for long distances. Momo was part Husky and that boy was Always up for anything. He had a really good nose so I would hide treats in the yard, or even throw his meals into the yard (only after the yard guys had been there within 3 days, otherwise the yard was too high). Making him "hunt" his food quelled some of that hyperactivity. I do know Huskies are a massively vocal breed and they're quite attached to their humans. Are these interactive toys self-play only, or are they toys you play with him? Sometimes having a person to play With can make the difference. We have this guy: https://www.chewy.com/outward-hound-hide-squirrel-squeaky/dp/113786 that I use with Esther, and used to use with Gertie. I play it with them so they learn the object of the game is to get the squirrels out, not to destroy the squirrels. I also used this one: https://www.chewy.com/nina-ottosson-by-outward-hound-smart/dp/175429 which is similar to the cup game Adrienne has in the brain games section. This is another good one https://www.chewy.com/nina-ottosson-by-outward-hound/dp/175423 that was a hit with the pups. Again, we're there to guide their play so they don't tear up the toys. I could see their brains switch when they learned the object of the game was the prize, not the obstacles (e.g, the squirrels or the bones). An agility course can also be a great way to tire out both body and brain. I just received an outdoor starter course for Esther and am waiting for it to stop raining so we can use it. They have an indoor version as well and those are here: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B017TBQ4Z2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The indoor version should be in the comparison chart further down. Initially Esther was Not trusting that tube because inside it was slipping and sliding. I ended up feeding her dinner in there and she got over her fear after about 5 minutes. Terriers are Also hyper and they're prey driven so perhaps a flirt pole would work. Mo never really caught on, but Gertie, who is ¼ AmStaff Loves it. Esther does, too. Momo was too old, I think, for silly games by the time I learned about the flirt pole. Or even the game where you amp them up then calm them down. That takes a Lot of brain work to go from high to low to high to low and it's a favorite of mine because it takes little effort on my part but a Big effort on theirs. I know Adrienne will have more input, but I thought I'd try to get you started with some ideas. I know what it's like to refresh the forum waiting for those words of wisdom! 😉

I wish my old neighbors had be so conscientious! When I lived in my beloved (now so very changed for the worst) Austin my neighbors would toss their two little yappers onto the balcony at 5 am. They would bark until 7 am. Mind you this is a 3' x 4' "balcony" so not very large at all. I "may" have gotten to the end of my rope once and gone outside to yell, "take your dogs in," only it may not have been so polite. 🤬 After weeks of not getting those last precious hours of sleep enough was enough! So on behalf of your neighbors, thank you! Back to the topic, though - Esther is a little rascal who keeps pilfering items. Mo never did this as a puppy, which is interesting. Gertie used to and finally grew out of it (usually my laundry or house shoes) and now Esther has taken up the mantle. She's so good with "uh uh" and dropping and I'm appreciative of that. Yesterday I had to trade her the chicken liver for the brush. She's so skittish about new things, like she was locked in a room all day and was exposed to nothing before coming to our house. So when I went to brush her she was like, "nope!" I set the brush down for her to investigate and that little toot snatched it and ran around the yard with it. Gah! I'm out there in my gardening shoes, my night shirt, and it's raining. Clearly I give no cares about what my neighbors think of my appearance because I went out there and was bargaining for the brush in exchange for chicken livers, lol. She was giving me "that eye" like she was about to take off again so I threw the liver, but she didn't see it! Gah again! Shook the container once more and threw a piece of bark to the same place as the liver. Bingo! Retrieved my brush and dog and went inside. The End.

They truly are forgiving beings. A slip up here and there will be shrugged off as we learn to communicate with our furry companions. I predict with your inquisitive nature and kind heart Loki is going to be one very much loved, and lucky, pup. I agree on the face licking - yuck! Dogs put far too many questionable items in their mouths for my comfort! I've taught all mine not to lick. Even if it didn't bother me (it does) I wouldn't want them licking other people (like my mother) who would be adverse to such a greeting. Same goes for crotch sniffing - off limits! The husband's dogs . . . they were a lost cause because he and his daughter accept the licking so it was a constant battle of confusion for the little dogs. They both eventually learned not to lick my daughter (she gets a rash) or myself. Everyone else was / is fair game, lol. Abbi sneaks a lick in on me once in a while, but unless she needs help we stay out of each other's way.

Awwww. I ran into that often with Momo. He was truly aggressive when it came to food so I felt Just as you did, completely at a loss. I learned to train him the alpha way so I'd use my legs to bully him into dropping it by walking into him so he'd have to get up - not kicking, just kind of slowly scooting him away with my legs. That turned Nasty one day and started me down a totally different path with him. He never did bite me, but we got close a couple times. The last 3 years with him were a complete turnaround and our lives were so very much happier together. Those first 8, though . . . yikes. Some @?#$ threw a rib bone over our 6' fence the other day, or maybe some jerk carrion bird dropped it after plucking it from someone's trash. Either way, a Very sharp rib bone made it into our yard and Gertie found it (we have 1.3 acres so it's difficult to monitor every inch). I've been trading up with her since I got her and this time saw me without anything to trade; however, since we've been practicing this for so long I was able to take the bone from her mouth (it was like a stileto it was so sharp) and then get her to walk back to the house with me so I could give her something proper to snack on. We definitely need to reinforce "drop" around here so mental note on that one. I'll be curious to read what Adrienne has to say on this because Gertie has always allowed me to remove things, but Esther likes to do the chase game and while she's learning to trade we're not there just yet. I have been practicing putting treats in their mouths while pretending to inspect what's in there. It was like prying open the jaws of an alligator at first, lol, but we're getting there. For yard treats I am going with the bully stick suggestion. I can fold them into my shirt and then tuck that part of my shirt into my waistband so I can be hands free and the girls can't smell them as easily. Esther has a championship worthy nose and will just follow me around thinking she's getting something out of it otherwise. Definitely going to start nose work with her.

Yep, just a frame in time. She was repositioning the ball and then they started jaw play shortly after, initiated by Esther. Gertie has been inviting play quite a bit more now and I've had to tell her to knock it off. They're starting to come along and Esther is learning how to check herself instead of giving in to those puppy impulses. They're funny in the yard. Esther will get tired of trying to catch Gertie so she'll plop down in the yard as though she's hunkering in tall grass. I think she's half cat - even wiggles her butt like a cat will when ready to pounce. Gertie will realize she's not being chased any more and then there's a stare off and suddenly Gerts will do that rocking run you mentioned (it's neat knowing what to call these behaviors!) up to Esther. Right before she gets to Esther she'll put on the turbo speed and do a drive by and the chase is back on. So far since the day we brought her home there have only been two yelps in the yard during this play and both times it's been Gertrude being too rough. It was when the play first started and I chalked it up to overexcitability on Gertie's part. I often tell them to knock it off because they're being too rowdy for my comfort. Like a scruff bite that turns into a scruff drag - that feels too aggressive for me. I prefer dogs' point system - that's how I imagine their play. A bite, body bump, or paw landed on the other dog equals a point and then they move on to get another point. When they do a sustained bite I call foul. No more collars in the yard, either. They both take advantage of that and drag the other one so the collars come off to even the playing field. Poor Esther has all that extra puppy skin so Gertie still has a slight advantage. I can make Esther look like a Shar Pei by mushing up all that skin around her face, lol. She's gaining about 1 lb per week so she'll start fitting her coat eventually. I'm estimating she'll be 50 lbs when done, Maybe 55 because her paws are pretty big. Or maybe she won't and she'll just have big feet. 😆 She's approximately 7 months now and 37 lbs. Gertie has about 5 pounds before they're equal in size so she has about a month to teach the youngun how to dog before she's outsized. With all this exercise their muscles are getting nicely defined and I give them a short massage each night - it's a lot of work to play like they do and I'm sure they're sore.

Gertie's face on the last picture . . . 😆😆😆 An accidental training moment. I found this old toy yesterday and Esther's been having a "ball" with it (ha!). I guess some memories came back for Gerts as to how much she used to love the toy. When Esther turned around to nip an itch Gertie took the ball. The first pic is Esther's realization her toy had been snagged. Then Gertie had and itch and, well, one good turn deserves another! This toy is low value enough for them to wrestle on top of (which was breaking my rule of no more rough housing in the house - a step towards keeping arguments at bay). They were "sharing" it by "stealing" it from one another for about 10 minutes. Impossible to get work done with these two clowns around! All three toys in the pictures are low value to Gertie. Esther hasn't shown any resource guarding signs, yet, but I'm keeping a close eye on it. The two beds with their bolsters butted against one another and covered with a twin sheet is working brilliantly to establish a boundary when they want it. Black maybe isn't the best choice for Esther's side. I just got two waterproof twin mattress covers I'm going to try in case Esther decides to drink the entire pool again.

Personal space, totally no longer a thing. I swear this puppy is utterly oblivious and Gertrude's immense patience is egging it on. I put Esther in the kennel a couple hours each day for a nap so everyone can catch a break and regroup. She's definitely brought a liveliness to the household, lol.

Ew, people Are gross! That's nearly as bad as used diapers. 🤮 It Could be that he's expecting kibble for his leave, even outside, so he's put that cue on ignore thinking you're going to give him kibble in return for the mask. Sometimes I Think I've got the Best of the best treats and the girls prove me wrong. Yesterday I was giving them Power Bites, turducken flavor, which they truly do enjoy; however, when I brought out the freeze dried liver and lung treats they Flipped. You could see the nirvana flowing across their faces as they were chewing with their noses up in the air as though attempting to smell it while they snacked. Leave, drop, and recall are three things that are difficult to train because there are over a million things far more interesting than us out in the world. We may find a Covid mask mundane, but to a dog it has a cornucopia of scents that are fascinating (I still say "ew"). Not only has it picked up the scent of the person, their sweat, and breath, but I'd imagine it's gathered a great number of aromas that person drew through the mask as they were on their way to litter. To a dog that's like having a juicy novel to read. I Think what's going to be said (I like to test what I've learned around here 😊) is that you're looking to establish a conditioned response to "leave" and "drop" to where Loki is thinking Any time he hears those words it really means, "chicken," or "liver" or maybe even "steak!" Whatever it is that he thinks is better than that precious item he just found. Something I've been doing with Esther that works like a charm is to crouch down and act like I'm scratching / digging at the ground. So far I can count only one time it didn't work - she found cat vomit, ugh - dogs are nasty but I love them! A combination fake scratch and high value treat may do the trick.

Usually when there's an issue with their not eating it's accompanied by other symptoms like lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, refusing to drink water, not being able to toilet, panting, distended or tight belly, pain or discomfort, not sleeping, etc . . .. If it's Just not eating his regular food then you can relax a bit. :) The treat test is one of the best ones I can think of. If he's willing to eat something other than his food then that's a good sign that he's not valuing the food high enough at the moment. Kind of like when we're full we'll refuse more food, but just as we can make room for dessert, dogs can make room for treats.

Noted! Diarrhea is bad enough on it's own, it doesn't need to take flight! And yes, feel free to laugh! I was zonked out by 10 pm after the Flexeril - that stuff knocks me on my keister and I hate to take it because of that, but this was a dire circumstance. Lucky for her she's so doggone cute and loving. I forgot to mention the half bath between 1 and 2. She ran into the yard and slid along the dirt so I had to spray her down again. Dogs . . .. The pool water is the only thing Momo would drink. I had a 360 degree fountain I changed daily, I tried a huge bowl, I tried ice cubes, I put bowls all around, but nope. He liked that pool water. It Used to be salt water, but we switched to chlorine (much easier upkeep). I'd say it's not too much more chlorinated than our water was when we lived in Cedar Park, Texas. That "drinkable" water fried my hair it had so much chlorine. This will Definitely be a one-time ordeal until that bladder is more capable of holding it. We got to the door 3 times only for her to squat as I was opening the door. It was insanity! We're back to normal today thankfully.

Holy cow I spent the majority of the afternoon mopping up messes. Remind me that Esther doesn't get swimming lessons until she has bladder control and her drinking problem in check, lol. For all the other puppy parents out there, I kid you not, Fifteen messes. Fifteen! 15! That's not counting the 6 she managed to do outside and the 2 next to the pool. How she drank that much water is beyond me. We'll not be doing that again! She had one bath, we though she was done and we went to the store. We came back and boy am I glad her kennel is outfitted with 1" of caulking tape! She managed to step in it, sit in it, draw on the wall with it . . .. 😭🚿💦 I'm taking a Flexeril and 4 ibuprofen because after cleaning all those messes, the second bath, and then the walk my arthritis is Angry. She's trying to kill me, I swear it, lol. Thank goodness she's good with baths. Fortunately I have been able to decide she's not a water addict, she's just very thirsty. At some point she did start refusing water - likely because her eyes were floating! I was loathe to give her water after our walk, haha, but it's hot out here today! Wish us luck on a dry evening!

I completely get it. When you get a high quality food, especially, it's not cheap and I don't like the idea of unnecessarily using resources for waste. If you can do freezer bags and have room in the freezer then the food can be kept for at least 6 months.

I updated my banner, too. All our fluffers are there now. ❤ Esther really looks up to Gertie and Loves snuggling with her. Gerts, in Gertie fashion, goes along with it. Gertie used Esther as a pillow last night so things are going well with them now that I've taken toys out of the equation. :)

Bonjour Ivana! And that's about all the French I know. :D You are not alone. Most of us have dealt with the "stealing" from our new companions. This one is dear to my heart because it was my first post (cry for help) here when we adopted Gertrude Marie. Thieving Pooch https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/topic/296-counter-surfing/?tab=comments#comment-1453 https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/topic/271-my-dog-is-a-thief/?tab=comments#comment-1340 https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/topic/242-raiding-the-waste-basket/?tab=comments#comment-1178 The other three are from people with similar issues so you can see it's something nearly all dogs go through. A flirt pole comes to mind for your pup, or the "treasure hunt" game. I read a bit about the Epagneul Breton and it seems they're great at agility and hunting. With agility I'm thinking he has energy and with hunting I'm thinking he would enjoy using his nose. The flirt pole would help get that energy out and is an excellent tool to train "leave" and "drop," which are two things a "thieving pooch" definitely needs a lesson in. Treasure Hunt Game

Good plan - try reducing the amount first. If that doesn't work then the next solution can be tried. Warm water with the kibble, for example. It's still his food, but the aroma is being drawn out to entice his hunger so you're not bribing him with anything other than what he's already eating. Kind of like putting salt and pepper on a potato. A good test of hunger is if he's still taking treats then he's Probably simply not that hungry. Dry food can stay in the Kong throughout the day and still be safe. Rancidity is the first sign of spoilage with dry food and you'll be able to smell when it's gone off, like old oil. Adrienne has said that dogs have really good stomachs and she's right. Think of all the dirt they eat on a daily basis. The dust from the floors, the dirt from our shoes (if you wear shoes in the house), the dry skin and hair (this is starting to sound gross, lol), etc . . .. I run our robo vacuum daily and my socks Still collect dirt and debris as I walk around. This isn't even considering what they taste when they're outside. And then there are the things they chew on that they oughtn't. Follow that with their tongue grooming. Day-old kibble won't hold a candle to all that gross stuff. :D They're excellent companions partially because their health is so hardy. Having said that, sometimes they will find something benign that disagrees with them (like some foods do with us) and they'll refuse food waiting for their tummies to settle. I do pick up the food after I've had my coffee (for morning feedings). Whatever isn't finished gets served again that evening. If it's still not eaten in the evening I'll hold it for the morning. After that it gets tossed. It can be put in the refrigerator to prolong its life if it's not finished in one sitting. If they still haven't eaten by the 2nd evening I've already given them a once-over to ensure there's nothing obviously wrong and then I start to fret. With Momo any refusal of food was an instant Vet visit because he Never turned down the opportunity to eat, he was always ravenous with hunger. Gertie and Esther would be a next morning Vet visit if they refused their 2nd breakfast. Abbi would sometimes go 2 days without eating because she's finicky. By the 3rd day she would go to the Vet. As you get to know Loki you'll have a good feel for when concern should arise.