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Marcy Penner bio picture

i love taking pictures

i wish my house were finished (but i take pride that we're doing it ourselves)

i love playing with bits of paper

i am the queen of useless facts

i love rollercoasters

i love pop culture

i love to decorate

i love office supplies

i love the country life

i miss my granny

i am blessed

our new outside dog. please drive carefully.

Monday, March 8, 2010

This guy’s been causing us a lot of grief lately (but we love him).

One day last week… we got home, and as usual, went to let Sam out of his kennel.  He wasn’t there, but the kennel was closed.  After a quick mental check to recall if we actually even put him there in the first place, we scoured the house.  There was a little little to no destruction anywhere.  We went up stairs and laughed.  The poor dog had worked so hard to get out of his kennel… just to get himself stuck in another…. he had closed the bathroom door behind him and was trapped inside.  :)

Keep in mind… he’s only 8 months old… a puppy.

All the towels were pulled off of the hooks on the door, the shampoo was squirted all over the window sill, the little container of pony tail holders was behind the toilet, the contents of the garbage can were everywhere, and the water was on.

And that my friends is how Sam became an outside dog.

He was usually outside all day anyway, so that transition wasn’t too hard.  We started by keeping him in his kennel in the garage at night… and then worked up to being outside 24/7.  I liked that Libby wasn’t alone outside anymore. 

Problem.

Sam chases cars.

Big problem.

Our two other dogs before Libby were run over because they chased cars. 

So, we kept him in the kennel (in the garage) when there wasn’t anyone home.  No chasing.

I can home a couple days ago, opened the garage and the kennel was empty again.

Jail break.  (This time user error.  The side unlatched at the top when we moved the kennel to slide it in between some furniture to keep the door closed).

So. 

This unfortunately means we can’t leave him at home while we’re on holidays and have to pay to have him at a kennel.  And then when we get back we’ll have to work on training him.   

(This morning I held him back till Derek was down the driveway (1/4 miles away) and then let him go.  He still went after them and almost caught up with them at the highway (1 mile away).  ;)   Yah).

Any suggestions?  Anyone else had a dog who chased vehicles? 

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by Marcy

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Leah - We have a puppy too, basset hound/beagle he's about 5 months old. And likes to bug and I mean bug our cats. We have invested in a shock collar. It's a good way to let him know the word "no", without having to hurt him physically. We live in the country too, and I went to the end of our driveway the other day, and while I went down he was given a few buzzes. He got the message...bad driveway. Of course in won't happen overnight, and it probably seems cruel, but compared to getting hit by a vehicle. It might be an option for you. We bought one on ebay, came out a place in Alberta. Just a suggestion. The puppy stage came be a crazy time, we're on puppy number 6!! lol

Eva - Our dog doesn't chase cars {much} but he does like to go visiting the neighbours {and well... no-one around here is very dog friendly - we've heard that 20 dogs have been shot this winter}... so needless to say, we keep him home. I don't like it, but he has to be on a chain {attached to his house} when no one is outside... that is the only way we can keep him safe. Good luck.. he is so cute!

eva - Ohh...no advice. Doesn't really make make me look forward to getting J a dog though..LOL.

Carol - Try looking into what Ceasar Millan says on the Dog Whisperer. You could try googling it or buy the book. Some of his techniques have really worked with our dogs.

Marcy - I've been trying to channel my inner Victoria Stilwell. ;)

laurie - Is Sam a very social dog? Our old dog Whiskey was..( and I do mean old .. he was 18 when we had to have him put down... very sad day here..) anyway.. he loved to go visiting and we lived near the highway btwn Morden and Winkler at the time.. every time we caught him wandering off we put him on a chain in behind the house and ignored him for a day or two.. with water and food of course.. it didn't take too many times til he got the picture.. totally broke him of the habit...it was hard ignoring him but we just couldn't bear the thought of losing him to the highway traffic. We had seen too many dogs die on that road. Sam is too cute.. and by the way. Let us know next time.. we often puppy sit for people...We have a fenced in yard and two dogs so it usually ends up being a fun play date for our visitor.

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