I'm in love

21 Apr 2005

Really have to share this with you all.
Someone moved in last night and I think I've fallen in love :inlove:
I only met her yesterday so yes, it is all rather quick which is a bit disconcerting, but she's great with the kids and they're kinda attached already too. And I enjoyed cuddling her in bed with me last night. Though she's kinda restless and kept me awake most of the time and I'm shattered today. Maybe it's just a matter of getting use to each other before things settle down. I don't know. I hope so, she's got these big doe brown eyes I just can't say no to but this morning I can hardly keep mine open.
I'm so happy with her.
Well I was until this morning at least.... rolleyes

But waking to the sound of a water-fall in my room does not impress.
The bloody bitch climbed out of bed and pissed on my white Flakati rug! mad

Jeezus, the stench from that puddle singed all my bloody nasal hair away!
Now I'm not so sure this is a good idea after all.
The kids are all excited about her and can't wait to take her out and show her off to their mates, but I can see how things will go further on down the line.....
It's gonna be dog piles all over the back garden which will be my new job to pick up. Touch wood, so far none of THAT's been done on my carpets yet, but there's always tonight, or a little later today when we go out and leave her home alone.
Which brings me on to something else...do I lock her in or lock her out when I go?
Or even still, do I keep her or let her go?
Last night was a trial run with her. Her name's Willow, she's a 1 year old Alsation pup, but she's f*cking huge!
She comes fully inoculated with pet passport and micro-chip. But she's also "house Trained" :undecided:
Then there's also the problem of what do I do with her when it's munch time or I want a weekend break away?
And what about my cat confused

That side of things are not going well at all and I'm realy not sure how much longer the poor hissing fur ball can live on top of the wardrobe for sad

What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?
HELP!!!

21 Apr 2005

Libra babes . .........Stick a broom up it's ass and train her to clean the house while you're away...... bloody mut should have some use and not just sponge off ya for free board and lodgings ..... hehehe

21 Apr 2005

got two 11 month jack russells
cats finally getting on with em
take her in the garden for a wee-wee at bed times ,weve all gotta go
when i first read it i got the wrong idea or have igot a dirty mind

21 Apr 2005

Quote by SXBOY
got two 11 month jack russells
cats finally getting on with em
take her in the garden for a wee-wee at bed times ,weve all gotta go
when i first read it i got the wrong idea or have igot a dirty mind

Ta SXBOY,
ButI took the bitch for a walk, or rather, she took me for a drag at this morning! mad

21 Apr 2005

whats her name ?

21 Apr 2005

awwwwwww libra keep her lol

I train guide dogs and the first few weeks are always full of ups and downs.
She will have accidents to start off with even thou she is house trained, its perfectly normal and a stress thing. Don't smack or chastise it encourages bad behaviour. (wierd but bad attention is better than no attention).
Offer one area of the garden for her to do her business and praise when she uses it. (then you havn't got sh*t were your kids play).
Ignore the cat when it spits and hisses, our you encourage this behaviour, the cat will come round, when it is calm, give it lots of attention.
Don't let the dog on the bed, she is a dog not a human, she needs to know her place (the dog pack thing) also when you have anyone staying the dog won't be happy.
When you leave her lock her in a room with music/tv, plenty to play with, maybe a chew stick, and water otherwise you will probably find things chewed in your house (attention thing).
Find a reliable kennels or friend and introduce once a month/2 months so she sees it as a treat to go away.
Hope that helps, give me a ring or PM if you want some more help.
Kaz xx kiss

21 Apr 2005

Quote by kazswallows
She will have accidents to start off with even thou she is house trained, its perfectly normal and a stress thing. Don't smack or chastise it encourages bad behaviour. (wierd but bad attention is better than no attention).
Offer one area of the garden for her to do her business and praise when she uses it. (then you havn't got sh*t were your kids play).
Ignore the cat when it spits and hisses, our you encourage this behaviour, the cat will come round, when it is calm, give it lots of attention.
Don't let the dog on the bed, she is a dog not a human, she needs to know her place (the dog pack thing) also when you have anyone staying the dog won't be happy.
When you leave her lock her in a room with music/tv, plenty to play with, maybe a chew stick, and water otherwise you will probably find things chewed in your house (attention thing).
Find a reliable kennels or friend and introduce once a month/2 months so she sees it as a treat to go away.
Hope that helps, give me a ring or PM if you want some more help.

Libra, this is all good advice.
It would be worth taking her to training classes as well, & remember the training is for you as well as her. It is important that she knows who is boss, & things like keeping her off your bed is important here. If she gets in to that habit, what happens when you want to share your bed with a human, instead of the dog. :shock:
I love dogs (can't you tell!) & I would particularly like to have a German Shepherd because they are so intelligent.

21 Apr 2005

OOOOPS lol both of our dogs sleep on our bed, but I do agree here Libra love, you are already in love and thinks do get better our 4 year old dog is lovely now but he was hard work to begin with!!!!
I am sure the 4 month old puppy will calm down eventually!!!! I hope!
Anyway enjoy the dog they are great company and never give bad advice lol
biggrin

21 Apr 2005

I agree .. classes most definitely (we regret not taking ours but she's fairly good), and et her out of the bedroom.
Our dog isn't allowed in the family areas ... she has full run of the kitchen and office but we have a baby gate in the doorway to the lounge and so she's only allowed in after the kids bedtimes and when we let her (but she is allowed on the sofa lol). She can see us all the time and we talk to her a lot ~ we spend a lot of time at the pc's though so she curls up on the armchair rolleyes

Our dog is 2 and as bouncy as a Kangaroo but she's so gentle and sweet :inlove:
C x

21 Apr 2005

oh libra, libra, libra.
Its almost impossible to introduce a dog into a 'cats' house. What you got to remember is that from the cats point of view, the house belongs to them. They will tolerate you as long as you fed it and give it attention, but they wont tolerate no dog which is going to take the attention away from them. Mind the dog will usually take a submissive role to the cat and realise it is furthr down the pecking order.
If you can 'teach' the cat that it is higher up in your list of priorities, then you might get away with it.
It is a lot easier however to introduce a cat into a dogs house.

21 Apr 2005

Keep her Libra......Labradors are wonderful dogs they are loyal and obedient,the peeing was just nerves on her part,not too long she will become part of the family and her love for you will be appreciated!

21 Apr 2005

Quote by da69ve
Keep her Libra......Labradors are wonderful dogs they are loyal and obedient,the peeing was just nerves on her part,not too long she will become part of the family and her love for you will be appreciated!

erm Da69ve .... she's got an Alsation :!:
LOL

21 Apr 2005

Quote by orpheous1
oh libra, libra, libra.
Its almost impossible to introduce a dog into a 'cats' house. What you got to remember is that from the cats point of view, the house belongs to them. They will tolerate you as long as you fed it and give it attention, but they wont tolerate no dog which is going to take the attention away from them. Mind the dog will usually take a submissive role to the cat and realise it is furthr down the pecking order.
If you can 'teach' the cat that it is higher up in your list of priorities, then you might get away with it.
It is a lot easier however to introduce a cat into a dogs house.

I disagree with this. We have five cats and two dogs and the dogs both came after the cats and at seperate times too.
The cats will hiss and spit for a week or so, but they will eventually settle down I assure you. It's just a case of ignoring them when they spit and hope the dog does the same, which they usually will lol

Maybe we've just been lucky, but as we seem to take in every waif and stray going, all our pets just have to put up with more coming along every now.
All the animals will eventually settle into a pecking order of some sort naturally and without intervention or scalding them when they hiss etc.
Naturally the cats will be at the top and the dogs at the bottom, with you somewhere in the middle, but at least peace will reign and everyone should be happy again wink

Dog training classes would be good, especially as you have young children. The dog needs to know that even the children are above her in status and this is most important with such a large animal.
When we go out, or if we have visitors, we shut the dogs in the kitchen. They have toys and stuff to play with and at least we know they can't chew at the furniture/carpet/curtains etc.
Having the dog on your bed is not a good idea and as other's have mentioned, it may cause problems in the future. Better to get her used to sleeping in the kitchen at night.
Our dogs are with us in the evenings whether we are in the lounge or the office, but they know when it's bedtime that they are packed off to the kitchen and their basket.
Good luck with her. I'm sure she will be a joy to have, once she has been given a few days to settle in. She has to get used to you as much as you do with her smile

Tracy-Jayne

21 Apr 2005

Hi Libra,
We have two dogs one of which a beautiful big fluffy german shepherd called Max, hes only two but hes the baby of the family and very much adored. They can be hard work but u would be hard pushed to find a more loyal and obedient breed of dog. They know what ure thinking almost, if im down Max comes over for cuddle. Yes he can be a pain the arse, the dog hairs are awful, im permanently sweeping up, when i sit down for a coffee, he comes over with his multitude of toys for a play, but the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Give it some time, its strange for both of you but i hope u keep her and grow to love her as much as i love my dogs. Dogs mature fairly quickly which is a good thing!!!! xx

21 Apr 2005

Quote by Calista
Keep her Libra......Labradors are wonderful dogs they are loyal and obedient,the peeing was just nerves on her part,not too long she will become part of the family and her love for you will be appreciated!

erm Da69ve .... she's got an Alsation :!:
LOL
Thats what i was meant to say...honest....why did i say Labrador?? oh well I'll leave quietly!

21 Apr 2005

Just for a moment I thought you was writing about a person :shock: so you can imagine how shocked I was when she pissed on your carpet. That aside, a house trained dog pissing on the rug is no great shock, not on the first day, I'm sure she will settle down eventualy. And German Shepards are great, stick with it, thats my advice.

21 Apr 2005

Thanks all for your advise.
She's been really good and not messed indoors again, and she's started making friends with the cat....well....they sit on opposite ends of the sofa looking at each other at least.
I'm keeping her till tomorrow night then she goes back home while I enjoy the weekend :P
And I'll make the final decission on Monday.
She is kinda cute, I must say smile

21 Apr 2005

Congratulations on your new best friend, hope she will settle in soon and give you lots of love and happiness!
Is your flokati a real flokati? If so, it will stink forever unless you get it outdoors and give it a good shampoo (use human shampoo), a thorough rinse and leave it to dry on the line.

21 Apr 2005

Libra,
Keep her babe.............. I will come and dog sit, when you want to go to the munches !!!

21 Apr 2005

Quote by BrightonGeezer
Just for a moment I thought you was writing about a person :shock: so you can imagine how shocked I was when she pissed on your carpet.

Why? Is that unusual then?! dunno

Venusxxx

21 Apr 2005

Remember she'll still get bigger and eat more, but as long as she's well trained and knows her place and given love and enough exercise, you won't regret a minute and she will repay all the love you give in spades.
It might be hard to begin with but it's worth it. Hope she doesn't howl at night before sleep until she's used to everything (when you leave her alone to go to bed).

21 Apr 2005

Sorry Libra-babe but 20 posts is too many to read so if this advice is old hat, apologies. I think an Alsatian is too big a dog for a family pet unless there are lots of people around to share the effort, like willing husbands and teenage children for example. Something smaller, and preferably of a more robust health breed, or better still a cross breed, would I think be better. Alsatians can suffer poor health and go off their legs. (I'm no expert but does always seem to Alsations it happens to). They are also beyond the power of little people to control.
Second. I wouldn't have the dog in the bedroom, ours sleep in the kitchen. Lots of reasons but mainly they all turn on the fact that the dog comes to expect it. The day you're giving it your all and the dog thinks you're being attacked will be interesting! Also, even the quietest get up whenever you do and often when you don't, sleep patterns suffer.

21 Apr 2005

mmmmmm 2 chewed sofas........all my kitchen units chewed the staircase nawed
but ya know i still love my dog but im so glad shes gone through her puppy stage
she was mad
my dog sleeps on my bed
but isnt allowed on the sofas ..........
she has her own space for when we tell her to bog off ..if visitors come or were haveing something to eat
hope everything go's well

21 Apr 2005

Shoot the feckin mobile-shit-tube. Save money, heartache, excessive amounts of cleaning, etc, etc.

21 Apr 2005

Quote by RedHot
oh libra, libra, libra.
Its almost impossible to introduce a dog into a 'cats' house. What you got to remember is that from the cats point of view, the house belongs to them. They will tolerate you as long as you fed it and give it attention, but they wont tolerate no dog which is going to take the attention away from them. Mind the dog will usually take a submissive role to the cat and realise it is furthr down the pecking order.
If you can 'teach' the cat that it is higher up in your list of priorities, then you might get away with it.
It is a lot easier however to introduce a cat into a dogs house.

I disagree with this. We have five cats and two dogs and the dogs both came after the cats and at seperate times too.
The cats will hiss and spit for a week or so, but they will eventually settle down I assure you. It's just a case of ignoring them when they spit and hope the dog does the same, which they usually will lol

Maybe we've just been lucky, but as we seem to take in every waif and stray going, all our pets just have to put up with more coming along every now.
All the animals will eventually settle into a pecking order of some sort naturally and without intervention or scalding them when they hiss etc.
Naturally the cats will be at the top and the dogs at the bottom, with you somewhere in the middle, but at least peace will reign and everyone should be happy again wink

Dog training classes would be good, especially as you have young children. The dog needs to know that even the children are above her in status and this is most important with such a large animal.
When we go out, or if we have visitors, we shut the dogs in the kitchen. They have toys and stuff to play with and at least we know they can't chew at the furniture/carpet/curtains etc.
Having the dog on your bed is not a good idea and as other's have mentioned, it may cause problems in the future. Better to get her used to sleeping in the kitchen at night.
Our dogs are with us in the evenings whether we are in the lounge or the office, but they know when it's bedtime that they are packed off to the kitchen and their basket.
Good luck with her. I'm sure she will be a joy to have, once she has been given a few days to settle in. She has to get used to you as much as you do with her smile

Tracy-Jayne
Spot on Tracy, the Cat will soon teach the dog who rules the roost.
As for You Libra, got just one thing to say. Awwwwwwwwwwww!
John
:wink:

21 Apr 2005

Quote by Vix
Shoot the feckin mobile-shit-tube. Save money, heartache, excessive amounts of cleaning, etc, etc.

See, that's the thing, I'm a cat person. They're independent and they kinda own you. Whereas dogs demand so much maintainance and attention that I'm not even sure I have the time (or the money - God she is a big dog) to give her the sort of care she genuinely needs sad

It's those winter walks and the giant size poos that have me sticking my heels in saying, "this is a really bad idea!"
Like I say....Monday we'll decide.

27 Apr 2005

I've just taken the mutt for a walk up to school with me, tied her to the gate, medicated my child and chatted with his teacher. Finally head off for the doctors surgery. Get half-way there and realise :doh: fucking dog's still tied to the school gate rolleyes

And some of you guys think this is a good idea? :lol2:

27 Apr 2005

silly libra

27 Apr 2005

wot made you go for an alasation? nice dogs, but i have always found them slighty dodgy where kids are concerned....also set the ground rules from day 1, or she'll be sleeping on your bed and peeing on your rug forever. :2fingers:

27 Apr 2005

Quote by Libra-Love
I've just taken the mutt for a walk up to school with me, tied her to the gate, medicated my child and chatted with his teacher. Finally head off for the doctors surgery. Get half-way there and realise :doh: fucking dog's still tied to the school gate
And some of you guys think this is a good idea? :lol2:

:roll:
A friend of my family had a German Shepher dog that had been trained as a police dog, but failed ultimately because he wouldn't bark & was far too friendly to the criminals he was supposed to be chewing. The friend took the dog with him when he went shopping. Enters a shop & tells dog to sit, which dog does because of his training. Friend carries on with his shopping, finally returning home. Wife says "where is dog". Oops, back to the shop, where the dog is still sitting, about an hour later. biggrin