Not very pleased with my dog situation and it is making me grumpy. Rosie is becoming increasingly more of a pain in the ass- every single walk is like being drawn and quartered as Lily and I go one way and Rosie tries to jerk me in the other direction with intermittent games of jump rope as jackass weaves around me and through my legs and around me. I seriously wish someone I trusted would say “Yes, I would just love an asshole Jack Russell Terrier.” Some days, when Rosie is driving me crazy, I think about just opening the door and letting her run off, wondering if I would feel bad if I never saw her again.
And then there is Lily, who is the most wonderful, friendly, lovable dog in the world, who would do anything for me, but who just isn’t the sharpest bulb. She had to do #2 all day today, but every time I took her out, she got distracted by the rain every time she started to do her bathroom ritual (walking back and forth in a line to find the perfect place)- “Woah- What is this wet stuff! Why is it hitting me in the head? And it’s cold! Why are we out here? Let’s go back in.” And then fifteen minutes later, she’d be behind me, letting me know she needs to go out. After about four attempts we finally had a break in the rain and managed to deal with that crisis.
Feh.
cathyx
You need one of these. It works like a charm.
http://www.buygentleleader.com/View.aspx?page=dogs/products/behavior/gentleleader/description
Maude
But Lily is a sweetums. And a real beauty.
I couldn’t handle having Rosie.
MikeJ
Lily answer:
http://www.ozdoggy.com.au/webapps/i/21434/39154/40488
Anniecat45
I thought you’d decided some time ago to find Rosie a new home?
J. Michael Neal
I have a job interview tomorrow! Like, for a job I actually want. It’s as an internal auditor with an insurance company. Back when I thought I wanted to go into a PhD program, my research interest was related to internal auditing, though it has applications elsewhere. That was before I learned that academic accounting is a refuge for third rate thinkers who couldn’t get into first class econ programs.
freelancer
Why is the second biggest story on Memeorandum the fact that the wingnutosphere has released “Shocking” video of what was revealed to be bullshit a week ago?
And now they’re all linking to it, going “Ah HA! Gotcha! You ebil babeh killers!”
They look like morons. Not just to us, to everybody.
Anne Laurie
You’d feel guilty, albeit grateful.
Rosie needs Prozac, at least until you can find a better home for her.
Lily needs you to hold an umbrella over her head when it’s raining, because she is a delicate little flower. (It’s the toy dog in her, they’re notorious candy-arses.)Now you know why people buy tiny booties and raincoats for their dogs… it’s better to be embarassed than to freeze your own extremities while Miss Dainty keeps forgetting what she’s got you both out in the rain for!
David Fud
As a member of a two-JRT household, I recommend more chuckit time. You wear them out, or they wear you out. Lots of running is key. If you don’t like the chuckit, get a laser and she’ll chase it endlessly.
Exhaustion is a thing of beauty in a JRT.
John Emerson
They’re really called Jack Russell Terrorists. “Terrier” is just a nickname.
BGinCHI
You should just get a big white cat.
steviez314
Describe to us again how they arrange themselves for sleeping on top and next to you.
It will make you feel better.
WereBear
@J. Michael Neal: Sending you good thoughts. Visualize, man! SEE yourself in it!!!
On personal note:
Guess who was the Daily Kitten today?
I’m like a teenager, texting OMG! to all my friends.
Jane2
You’ve done better by Rosie than 99 percent of humankind would have done. Perhaps it’s time to contact a Jack Russell rescue group and let them find someone with the patience of Job that many JRTs require.
MizB
I use a Halti on my 2 babies for walking. Made a big difference. Not perfect but I have far more control now than when we walked without it. Have you looked for a no-kill shelter or a JRT rescue group to take her? Or maybe agility training?
matoko_chan
get an invisible fence.
shock collars work on cats too.
JWL
On a scale of 1 thru 10, how “grumpy” will you be on Sunday when the storm of 2011 leads to a blacked-out Super Bowl?
TrishB
I’ve spent all day trying to coax a blind dog to cross a deck and go down stairs. Of course this is made more interesting when a quarter inch of ice is added to all surfaces. At this point I’d be just fine if I had to clean up a puddle on the floor, as it would beat standing outside with her.
stuckinred
@JWL: The storm that it’s stupid to talk about because it’s really no big deal?
Maude
@J. Michael Neal:
I will be thinking of you. Come back here after and tell us it went and what vibes you got from the interviewer.
You will be okay, you don’t give up and that counts for a lot.
@Anne Laurie:
Will Prozac make it possible to live with Rosie? And is it for John or Rosie?
Knew someone with a JRT that used to go through the screen door on a regular basis.
fasteddie
I have 2 big dogs – 75 and 95 pounds and walking them was a nightmare until I got the double leash ( I actually got a third connector for when we are dog sitting )
http://www.superleash.com/couplers_add_a_dog_style.php
Seriously – with 2 leashes, my wrist was chafed but this leash is awesome. please consider it.
J. Michael Neal
@steviez314: I don’t get the impression that Rosie ever sleeps.
Chyron HR
You should just get a big brown cat, and then sit your white sofa on top of it.
jl
I think Cole needs another animal.
The story of William the House Rabbit was very touching.
Maybe Cole should add a rabbit.
Probably should be a big one, so Cole doesn’t have to worry about the others doing something too it, eating it, whatever
Apparently rabbits can get big
World’s Largest Rabbit: 12.7 kg (28.22 lb)!
http://news.softpedia.com/news/World-039-s-Largest-Rabbit-12-7-kg-28-22-lb-79020.shtml
Maybe you can find a 20 or 25 pounder that is available.
Here is my plan for how the rabbit would solve the Rosie problems during walks:
1. Get a huge rabbit and take it with you walks with Rosie and Lily.
2. ????
3. Success.
There you go.
I think I am ready for my career as a U.S. teevee pundit. I got the info and I got the insight.
Edit: anyone got a huge rabbit they want to give to Cole? It is such a great idea, so I would just send it.
Mike in NC
@BGinCHI:
We have two big white cats and these monsters are hungry 24/7. It’s gotten to the point they’ll wake us up to be fed at 3 or 4 AM. Never seen anything like it.
Mako
Having been stuck with several unexpected canines (long story, but you know, hippies…), I have been looking at recipes. Dog has a long history as human food. Just have to get past your cultural revulsion.
TuiMel
@cathyx:
Thanks for beating me to it.
Jeffro
If you don’t like Richard Cohen (and really, who does?), Alex Pareene’s snark is a think of beauty today:
http://www.salon.com/news/washington_post/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/02/01/richard_cohen_democracy
jl
“Edit: anyone got a huge rabbit they want to give to Cole? It is such a great idea, so I would just send it.”
That was a joke! Nobody send a huge rabbit to Cole. I forgot he has my email address. Cole will find me and release The Tunch!
WereBear
Seriously, taking Rosie in was the good deed. Getting her to her next home… priceless.
I have an article about cats but is pertinent here:
Resume for rehoming
Dude! Get serious with your closest JRT rescue!
jeffreyw
On the other hand, I am very pleased with my dog situation.
Calouste
@stuckinred:
Not as big a deal as Cyclone Yasi is going to be. Guts of winds up to 185 mph at the moment. More disaster for the poor folks in Queensland after the floods, although I think it is going to be in a different part of the state.
Bret
John:
Here’s something to make you feel better. Madden 11 says the Stillers will win the Superbowl.
Story here
TuiMel
@Jane2:
I had also thought of recommending this, as well. In fact, I think it may be better than the “gentle leader” option, as I think Rosie has other “quirks” that do not endear her to John.
stuckinred
@Calouste: I just saw that, damn!
Cliff
@jeffreyw:
Good Doggie!!
Yum.
Bean
Okay, I have to break out of lurkdom to ask a cat question here –
One of my cats just got back from a stay at the vet, and my other cat, who was best buds with him before, will now not go near him without hissing and growling and generally being grouchy. I’ve read this is probably due to smell – they need to smell the same to each other, apparently – any suggestions on how to hasten this process?
Seems like the most common things being suggested are to rub one with a towel, then the other, then back and forth until they smell the same. Tried this one last night, didn’t seem to work too well. Another one I’ve been reading to to rub a little bit of vanilla extract on both of them and it will overwhelm anything else. I’l try this one when I get home from work.
Any other ideas?
J. Michael Neal
@Maude: I can already tell you the vibes I’m going to get off of the interviewers: “I have no fucking idea how that went.” One of the places my Asperger’s shows up is by making it impossible to read people interviewing me. Whatever it is that prospective employers want to see from interviewees is foreign to me, so I have no idea if that’s what I’m projecting.
However, I’m very comfortable with how I interview. I can’t tell if what I’m projecting is what would lead them to hire me, but I am confident that it’s what I want to project. It may or may not be what they want, but it’s who I am. All the way down to my refusal to wear white shirts. If you interview me, I’m showing up in a gray suit, a brightly colored shirt and a tie to match. Fortunately, I seem to have a decent ability to pick ties that go with shirts, which is kind of unusual for Aspies.
In this case, I’m going to be interviewing with the people in IA. I did a phone interview with HR last week, and obviously made that cut. I forgot to mention then that I have a long term interest in internal audit. Hopefully, I can get into that tomorrow. I will try not to get too deep into what it is, and bore them*, but it is an opening.
*Since I’m not at an interview right now, and don’t have to worry too much if I bore you guys, I’m fascinated by the problem of situations where people think they know more than they really do. This can be a particular problem in corporate risk management. There’s been a large push that you have to quantify the material risks the company faces and how much a given event could cost it and how likely that event is. So, you end up with with precise figures. That’s great when you’re estimating the probability and cost of a warehouse fire, for which there’s actuarial data. It’s not so great when you’re talking about the risk that Congress is going to pass legislation regulating your industry; neither the probability of a bill’s passage nor what it’s final contents will be is knowable. All you’re doing is guessing, and those guesses can be very misleading once they’re written down precisely.
PurpleGirl
@WereBear: Oh, that’s neat. Cute kitteh. Of course, you’re telling everyone–proud kitteh parent that you are.
Cat Lady
This is why I am a cat lady.
BGinCHI
@Mike in NC: I think you’ve got a couple of tapeworms with cats wrapped around them.
Bmaccnm
I wrote in a few weeks ago about Lizzie, the stray I rescued that was too much for me. I tried various solutions- hiring teenagers to walk her once or twice a day; crate training her; keeping her in the warm and spacious cellar while I work 12 and 14 hour days. I came to one of the most painful decisions I’ve ever made, and I relinquished her to the Pixie Project. They’re a very Portland agency that funds itself by running a doggie day-care and boarding the ones they’ve taken in. They found Lizzie a home with a mom and a dad and a couple of younger kids. I cried for hours, but WereBear is right- your good deed was to rescue her. There’s another home out there that is perfect for her, or at least, more perfect for her than yours. Think a big back yard and ten year old twin boys…
General Stuck
Charlie is starting to freak me out a little. I guess he has my routine down to where he knows what I’m going to do before I do. It is sweet and a pleasure to have such a wonderfully calm, obedient, and devoted pooch, but unlike any dog I’ve ever had.
The only negative is he has to be leashed out of doors, the hunting instinct is just too strong. but that is okay and easily manageable. I might get a snow fence or something this summer to give him a small enclosure outside.
Magatha
@Jane2: I think you are right, Jane2. I googled a JRT rescue site, Russell Rescue , and here’s a little bit about what they do:
The site also mentions this:
John, you and Rosie both need to be happy.
BGinCHI
@Jeffro: Can Richard (Dick) Cohen get more stupider.
Well, yes.
stuckinred
@BGinCHI: Are you watching or what?
BGinCHI
@stuckinred: Watching him get stupider?
Or am I missing some sporting event? Ayudame.
abo gato
I would take Rosie, but I’m in Texas and you are not, so the logistics are bad….especially with the weather in both places now. Already have two JRTs and an acre for them to run in, complete with plenty of birds, squirrels, raccoons and skunks for them to chase. And a pet door so they can come and go on their own. I would think she would fit in pretty well with the two crazies that are already here….or four crazies if you add in the humans.
Ailuridae
So I am on the fourth floor in the top unit of one of these ugly walk-ups that sprouted up all over the city since the mid-90s. The lot to the east of me is empty and to my west is a true one story building. And my building was put up pretty poorly. During the great blizzard of 2011 this has called the building to sway non-stop and I am starting to feel nauseasted. But, hey, its only going to last two more days.
BGinCHI
@BGinCHI: OH, shit! Thanks stuck. Purdue against WI.
Perfect.
Hey Cheeseheads, what’s the weather doing up there? I know everyone’s sick of hearing it, but it is blowing a motherfucking gale here. Sideways snow and no visibility.
It’s driving me to drink.
BGinCHI
@Ailuridae: Dude. Get to your local. Beer is an excellent anodyne for nausea.
Trust me, I’m a Doctor (of literature).
Ailuridae
Err caused not called
Jules
Is there a way to set up a trip from wherever John is to get Rosie to TX?
Depending on where abo gato is I could drive from Little Rock to the TX state line.
Anyone else?
and yeah, I get the not wanting to give up on a rescued stray. I’ve got a cat that is just not working out, but I hate to give him up. He is a sweet heart but my other cats are a bunch of bitches who hate him and fight with him.
schrodinger's cat
I am feeling blue too. I think its this damned snowy weather. I am trying to get work done while listening to some music and all its done is made me homesick.
Anne Laurie
@Maude:
For Rosie:
I am not a professional, but we know that Rosie “lost” at least one home — when Cole rescued her, she was obviously used to being a house pet, not a feral/stray. Cole’s used to JRTs, but he still finds her really really wired & needy. It’s a testable hypothesis that Rosie’s so anxious about losing her previous home (making a place for herself in the Cole household) that she’s physically incapable of learning how to settle herself down enough to be a “pet” and not a nuisance. The idea behind doggy prozac (“Reconcile”) would be to give her some relief from the anxiety that’s driving everybody nutz, so she can get out of the feedback loop of “Everybody’s mad at me, so I have to be a giant nuisance, which makes everybody MAD at me, so I have to be an even bigger nuisance”. Not a magic bullet or a cure-all — any more than it is for humans — but it can make the difference between ‘functional’ and ‘institutionalized’.
BGinCHI
@schrodinger’s cat: Put on some Buzzcocks.
Svensker
@J. Michael Neal:
Good luck! All toes and fingers crossed for you. Let us know how it goes.
Arundel
McMegan tweets that mean dirty hippies are trying to kill the Koch brothers’ First Amendment rights, as Susan of Texas notes:
http://agonyin8fits.blogspot.com/2011/01/constitution-was-written-to-protect.html
Conor Fahrvenungen, house-sitting at Sully’s, also has a tsk tsk about those fifth column protests against the Kochs and their cabal just because they disagree. He really just frets and natters about it like some Victorian governess.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2011/02/why-this-street-protest-ctd.html
PeakVT
@Calouste: Now THAT’s a
knifestorm!Jane2
@abo gato: What a wonderful place that sounds like for JRTs!! I’ll bet Balloon Juicers could make it happen…she could travel in legs, like rescue organizations do.
Or we could chip in for transport. Rosie sounds like a great dog who needs a great home. And John’s a stellar pet owner who’s done his part.
wobblybits
Did I miss somewhere where John actually said he wants to get rid of Rosie?
stuckinred
@wobblybits:
“Some days, when Rosie is driving me crazy, I think about just opening the door and letting her run off, wondering if I would feel bad if I never saw her again.”
Mnemosyne
@Bean:
How long has it been? It will probably take a couple of days for the vet smell to wear off, especially if they sent the other cat home with medication.
It may just be a matter of time — eventually the returning cat will groom himself enough to smell like himself again. My late cat Boris was very scent-oriented and I’m convinced that every time I took Natasha to the vet, Boris thought I’d brought a new cat home and had to re-adapt all over again. He was not very bright, but he was my sweet boy.
Gustopher
@jl: I would fear for a rabbit in that environment.
How about a capybara? The world’s largest rodent is your furry friend, and he loves popsicles!
suzanne
@J. Michael Neal: Congrats! Let us know how it goes. Have a martini afterward.
John, I feels ya on the pain-in-the-ass pet thing. Luna chewed up ANOTHER one of my daughter’s stuffed animals today (fourth one in about six weeks), so I got to deal with tears AGAIN. And the kitten is… well, kittens suck.
Anyone want a kitten?
Mnemosyne
@wobblybits:
He also had a post a couple of months ago where he was seriously considering rehoming her.
Maude
@J. Michael Neal:
The thinking that they know more than they do, doesn’t that lead to believing something and then having everything follow along? A disregard for the facts?
Being who you are is a great way to interview. I know somone very well who has Asp. He can find anything on the internet.
Even without Asp, it would be hard to know wht the interviewer is thinking.
TaMara (BHF)
@J. Michael Neal: yeah for you, I’ll keep a good thought!
schrodinger's cat
@Bean: The same thing happened when my girl kitteh came home after being spayed, the boy kitteh didn’t recognize her, because she was smelling funny. It took about 2 to 3 days for things to come back to normal.
wobblybits
@stuckinred: That is just frustration, that is not, “I’m looking for a new home for Rosie”.
Just makes me sad that people are talking about kicking her to the curb. Nevermind me, I’m just hormonal and missing my pup.
stuckinred
@suzanne: I was sitting in the living room blogging with all you knuckle heads last night. I hear a crash but my bride is always dropping stuff when she’s doing her art so I thought it was her. About ten minutes later I kept hearing crunching but, since we have old marrow bones scattered around, I figured that they pups were just cleaning their teeth. Finally I got up and Lil Bit, the angelic cocker, had dumped over the trash and was munching on chicken bones. I whacked her on the ass as hard as I could and she didn’t even yelp! She just ran across the room and looked at me like, “hey asshole, don’t be hittin me”!
wobblybits
@Mnemosyne: Then he said he was keeping her.
stuckinred
@wobblybits: He brings it up enough to make it a possibility.
wobblybits
@stuckinred: Like I said, nevermind me, I’m just hormonal and missing my dog.
Anne Laurie
@Ailuridae:
If you can take it, OTC Bonine (meclazine hydrocloride), for ‘travel sickness’ is your friend. If you can’t, the Sea-Bands wristlets actually work for a lot of people. I used to work on the 60th floor, in a department that got a lot of visitors, so I kept an extra pair in my desk for those all-too-frequent Sway Days. Both Bonine and Sea-Bands are available at most chain drugstores so you don’t have to try find a doctor.
demkat620
Well, I am watching Stepbrothers on TBS to see how bad they have to cut it up. The dog is on his backsnoring. JRT’s asleep are a wonderful thing. And I am waiting for the superstorm to strike us all dead with its inch of freezing rain tonight.
Kids are headed to bed and I have new book.
Life is good at this moment.
Anne Laurie
@abo gato:
Assuming you’re serious, I’m sure a ‘rescue convey’ could be arranged between WV and TX, quite possibly by experienced JRT rescuers.
The Spousal Unit flew from Boston to Houston so that our first rescue papillon could come back with him as “carry on luggage” rather than cargo, but that was the week before 9/11 Changed Everything.
suzanne
@stuckinred: God, that sucks. I had a cocker when I was a teenager who knocked over the trash all the time, too.
I have been having one of those WHYTHEFUCKDOIOWNPETS? days; apparently I’m not alone.
Bmaccnm
@Anne Laurie:The idea behind doggy prozac (“Reconcile”) would be to give her some relief from the anxiety that’s driving everybody nutz, so she can get out of the feedback loop of “Everybody’s mad at me, so I have to be a giant nuisance, which makes everybody MAD at me, so I have to be an even bigger nuisance”. Not a magic bullet or a cure-all—any more than it is for humans—but it can make the difference between ‘functional’ and ‘institutionalized’.
I concur. I had a different (that’s supposed to be in italics) stray who had been feral for a long time when I took her in. I had teenagers in the home when I did this, and they love the doggies, too. Lainie was hyper, nervous, and had terrible separation anxiety. She acted out that anxiety by chewing on her own limbs. I don’t find “Chew my arm off” so funny anymore, because she really tried to do it. Doggie Prozac made all the difference in Lainie’s life- it allowed her to break through whatever PTSD neurotransmitter loop she had going on to become a loving and lovable pet. She lived with us for 6 years, and I still miss her.
stuckinred
@suzanne: She’s a mess!
Bmaccnm
Oh, yeah. I got my Prozac compounded by a local pharmacist, who was thrilled to do actual pharmacy, instead of just pill-counting. It comes in beef, chicken and shrimp flavors.
Magatha
@wobblybits: Rehoming a dog is not the same as getting rid of her or kicking her to the curb. He rescued her from probable Ceasing To Exist. Not every dog is right for every family, and vice versa. This is not something you soldier through no matter what. You step back and ask, what’s the mission? You want a functional household and happy, content animal companions. So you do what you need to do.
Maybe in regard to Rosie, it will be rehoming. Or medication. Or hiring a dog walker to take her out for a good exhausting daily run. But rehoming has to be in the list of options. There is nothing bad or wrong about having fostered an animal, and then giving her up to a more suitable situation.
Damn. Please know I am not yelling at you, wobblybits. I am very sympathetic, especially knowing you miss your pup. Look, I just finished house and dog-sitting for nearly a month, and those little dogs are fine and happy to be back with mom. And I miss them so much it hurts.
Keith G
Shit Cole, many of us must have wasted time typing that getting the aid of a professional trainer or behavioriist would be a good idea.
$109 at your Petsmart which is refundable if you decide it is a bust.
Don’t blame the dog.
wobblybits
@Magatha: Everything you are saying is very true but to my hormonal and sad heart, it still feels like kicked to the curb. This too shall pass.
TaMara (BHF)
@Gustopher: OMG, now I want a capybara.
Woodrowfan
@fasteddie:
Oh yes, double and triple dittos. We have two dogs and often babysit another and it’s a lifesaver. Our “let’s run over there!” dog learned to walk in tandem with our older, calmer dog.
schrodinger's cat
@WereBear: You must be so proud! How is Tristan kitteh?
freelancer
@Anne Laurie:
@Ailuridae:
Avoid the Sea Bands, the people it works for are under the influence of a Placebo. Unless a cotton band with a plastic insert has any inherent medicinal value that Western Medicine, that is, Science-Based Medicine is unaware of.
catpal
@Bean: my cat did that everytime the other one came home from the vet. Since I was holding cat#1 and petting her a lot when she came home from the vet, I noticed the growling cat warmed up faster.
A more experienced cat owner told me it was putting my scent back on cat #1 seemed to be work faster for growling cat #2 to be nice again. Blankets that they like works too.
stuckinred
@freelancer: I thought ginger worked?
Another Commenter at Balloon Juice (fka Bella Q)
@WereBear: More Tristan, more of the time. ZOMG – he’s so adorable.
Mary G
@Jane2: I’d chip in for the trip to Texas.
@J. Michael Neal: I worked for an insurance company for 20 years and every internal auditor was at best socially awkward. It makes sense that they want them to be somewhat distant from the people they are keeping tabs on, so just be J. Michael Neal.
freelancer
@stuckinred:
I saw they have a line of ginger gum, and I can’t speak to it’s claims or efficacy, but the actual Bands, when they were “clinically tested” were very shoddy tests.
No control test, no double-blinding, no test against a placebo (aka “Here hold this magic rock and your motion-sickness will disappear!”), just linear surveying.
“We noticed you were sick earlier. We gave you the Sea Band and we were wondering if it worked? Are you vomiting this very moment?”
“Uhhh, no.”
“DATA! We haz kyerred da sik!”
stuckinred
@freelancer: I eat a bonine the night before I go deep sea fishing and have not gotten sick when nearly everyone else on the boat (except the crew) has. Of course I plug in the ipod, rock out and watch the horizon too!
Libby's Person
Behavior-based dog training is my (fairly obsessive) hobby. I’ve worked with several challenging dogs, and I strongly support both the head harness and prozac (“Reconcile”) suggestions. They aren’t an ultimate solution, but they are very effective at buying time for attitude adjustment and basic training. JRTs are not the easiest breed to train, but clicker training works for anything that has a brainstem, so it can even work on Rosie.
John may not want to find a new home for Rosie, but sending her to romp with buddies in TX wouldn’t at all be “kicking her to the curb.” I worked with shelter dogs, helping with behavior problems and working to find them homes, and I know several people who foster dogs. It’s a fantastic feeling to help a dog heal, physically and psychologically, and then hand them off to a perfect “forever” home.
frosty
@J. Michael Neal: I’ve never owned a white shirt. Powder blue is as close as I get. I credit this attitude to Jefferson Airplane sneering in a song from Bathing At Baxter’s:
“White shirt and tie, white shirt and tie, white shirt and tie…”
stuckinred
@frosty: Rejoyce
Pinacacci
I tried to tell ya JRTs are horrible if you’re a laid-back kind of guy…
wobblybits
@Libby’s Person: As I said, ignore what I said. Sheesh.
AlphaLiberal
My dog is incontinent now, but with the solids, so the glass if kind of half full.
Wait…
Di
I fear that if Lily could vote, she would likely vote GOP given your description above…
As to Rosie, have you tried walking her separately? A pain certainly, but might be worth the extra exercise for you.
Good luck!
Stella Barbone
Yep, I agree with several of the above. She’s a fat dog and she likes food. She’ll be easy to train with just positive reinforcement (e.g. “clicker training”). Traditional neck jerk training works for some dogs too, but it just might make her spazzier. Try the Gentle Leader and some doggie Prozac to buy some time and go to a training class. In half a dozen weekends things will be a lot better in the Cole pack.
Anne Laurie
@freelancer: Sorry if I offended your religious faith in Scientism, but as long as it keeps someone from throwing up, I don’t care about the reason why Sea-bands work. They cost like $6 OTC, they don’t have ‘side effects’, and using them to relieve swaying-building nausea isn’t going to keep anyone from “seeking proper medical assistance” for a serious medical condition. I swear, there’s a point at which the obsessive belief in rigorous scientific studies! becomes its own form of placebo…
Tattoosydney
@Anne Laurie:
This.
MikeJ
@freelancer: Did you know placebos often work even when people know they’re getting a placebo?
suzanne
May I just assert that my ex-husband is a total pain in the ass? The dumbass claimed our daughter to get the Earned Income Tax Credit, even though he doesn’t have her the majority of the time. So, since I claimed her, too, we each received letters from the IRS saying that we have to prove to them which of us is in the right, and they want the money back until this issue is resolved. So I’m sending them my custody papers, hoping that those prove that I’m in the right, and that my ex-husband owes them money, not I.
GOD. Fuckwitz.
Jebediah
@Anne Laurie:
I have used doggie prozac a few times, for separation anxiety that was causing destructive behavior, and it worked very well. Have you ever seen a dog eat a couch? Me neither, but I have seen the aftermath in my living room.
I understand the drive to not give up on a rescue. I have had one not work out in a big way; I haven’t shared that story here because it is much too raw still. Makes me get teary and feel guilty. Rosie loves you, Cole. I don’t say that to try to influence your decision, but to say that what Anne Laurie is saying makes sense to me – her anxiety may be making her more of an asshole than she would otherwise be. I’d say give Prozac a chance.
As for your anxiety, I would recommend a heaping bowl of sativa with hash sprinkled on top, but I gather you’re more of a drinks guy than a smoke guy.
Good luck with whatever you decide. As someone said upthread, you have already done so much for her. There should be no shame or guilt in realizing that you and she might not be a good match.
freelancer
@Anne Laurie:
AL, I’m sorry, I know it can be annoying, and I don’t want to to step on toes here. To be fair, if you’re out like $9, and it has a benefit to people that buy it, it’s not that big of a deal. I guess what I consider to be a big deal, my beef, is with the companies, the purveyors of snake oil that market their nonsense products as if they have the full faith and credit of Science and the US Government via the FDA, when the FDA grants a product a “clearance” due to a legal loophole, and they promote it as having the FDA Seal of Approval. “It Works! Just ask the Government!” See also, these, which were sitting right next to the Advil last time I was in the grocery store.
Cheers
Mnemosyne
@freelancer:
So? They’re not claiming to cure cancer. They’re saying they’ll prevent you from throwing up. The placebo effect can be very powerful, so it’s not like people are lying when they say it works for them.
Gus
@frosty: “wedding ring, wedding ring.”
Gina
I had to find a different home for one of our dogs a few months ago. Tank is a gorgeous young Rottie, and he bonded well with our young female mix. He started out okay with our older male (who had previously had a very best buddy who was also a male, but said buddy died over a year ago). Then, things got bad. Horrible fights. We went to a private trainer we’d worked with before with GREAT success with the other 2-male-Rottie situation. That training session went well except for the part where Tank lunged around doofily and my husband’s knee was injured (torn meniscus, cue the surgeons).
Now, we needed to follow the same plan as before, walking the two boys together, keeping the young ones crated in the house with the older guy, Mo, loose. Never have them out together off leash, keep them separated in the house, make sure the kids aren’t around them alone, etc. Given my husband’s knee issue, we couldn’t do the long walk part – even short ones had to be delayed for months. So, we settled into a routine of having one set of dogs out when another was locked away. Which made all dogs feel like crap. And wore the hell out of all of us, especially when someone would forget to lock a gate and we had to scramble to prevent WWIII-V.
We contacted the rescue group we adopted from, and they put the word out he was looking for a home. They let me have the biggest say in choosing a new family, and I’m thrilled to report that we found Tank the perfect new home. A young woman who had a 9 month old female Rottie, good steady profession, fiancee who’s a doctor, plenty of space and time and most important, devotion, to give. He gets to be top guy dog over there, Mo gets to be top guy dog over here, and our Lily finally gets to be out playing in the living room again.
Rehoming is a wonderful thing, and often it is the kindest for both the humans and the pets involved. I think John has been pretty clear that he’s not a JRT kinda guy, it would make sense to reach out to the specialists in JRT rescue to get her story out and find her a win-win situation.
The Pale Scot
Huh JC, your dealing with a Terrier, until Rosie is 7-8 yrs old everyday will be a test of wills, I’m on my third Scottie (this one’s a wheaten, hence the tag), who’s finally hit dbl digits last year. First five was a contest to see who could be more obstinate. If Rosie is trying to set the walkies rules, keep the leash short, in a couple of years she’ll get the point. I’m sure you’d be judicious with enforcing the rules.
Jane2
@wobblybits: Not kicking her to the curb at all. John sounds like this is a situation that is not improving, and as the owner of two pets plus a rescue, I know there are challenges. John rescued her and that is a great thing. If someone can give her a forever home that makes her a pet among equals, that’s even better. And John sounds like there are ongoing challenges of the sort that may require a new home. And someone from the Juicers seems to be a possibility…is that so bad?
wobblybits
@Jane2: Did you not read where I explained why I said what I said? Please, bitte, por favor go back and read all my subsequent comments.
Jane2
@wobblybits: yes, i saw your comments after I replied. When one of my pets dies, I will be devastated, and will no doubt feel like you do.
wobblybits
@Jane2: Actually my dog didn’t die. I’m just hormonal and I miss my dog (who is in another state). I had brought it up yesterday in another thread that I just miss her. So reading the re-homing responses, as kind and true as they are, read like kicking Rosie to the curb.
Anne Laurie
@suzanne:
Maybe you should send him the kitten! :}
bigorange
Have you tried advertising? Some of these places might be able to guide you.
http://www.petfinder.com/classifieds/searchclassified.cgi?type=P
http://www.creativewebdesignsinc.com/russellrescue/categories.asp
http://www.therealjackrussell.com/rescue/index.php
Let local vets know you need a home for her.
Having taken in several rescues(mostly cats) over the years I find it is a good idea to find a new home for one that doesn’t fit in with the others. Good luck. Keep a positive attitude that there is someone out there that would be a perfect match for her.
Jane2
Ah, I missed that thread. Pets are truly our loved ones.
Anne Laurie
@freelancer: Yeah, I can understand why it bothers you. People have different grey areas for stuff like this. I’d never advocate heavy-metal chelation as a “cure” for autism, say. But there’s a lot of folk-medicine stuff for temporary miseries — not to mention chronic conditions like bad backs — where Rigorously Tested Medical Science can’t (yet) offer much relief, so if the ‘woo’ works, it beats suffering.
Uncle Clarence Thomas
.
.
Day Whatever
On the umpteenth day of my relentless vow to honor President Obama’s heartfelt and inspiring call to action – “to live up to the example that young Christina Green expected in how our democracy should function” – I have decided to just give up. I was like Christina once, and I talked a lot about changing the world and fomenting peace and justice, but I admit is was all a bunch of spectacularly delivered bullshit. I got over it, and if she had lived longer she would have gotten over it too and bowed down to her corporate masters as deeply and as sincerely as I have. Theoretically it could have been different, but that takes way too much character and way too much effort. No one can fault me for taking the coward’s way out, and if they do they’re fucking retards that need to take a drug test. My career is better than yours, you lose, the law is what I say it is, and I rest my case.
.
.
Jacquelyn
@Jules: Details on your male feline please. I “run” a Gelded Feline Reformatory (read: 4 male cats in my home) and there is always room for one more.
DPirate
Choke collar and springloaded retractable 10+ meter wire lead. This looks pretty good: http://www.flexiusa.com
Dog gets too close-retract lead, dog strays-cease payout, dog leads-payout cord. Dog idiotically wraps itself around a tree-mercilessly belittle dog while awaiting it’s epiphany.
I never met a dog that was trained correctly that required a leash. Then again, I’ve only met a handful of dogs that were trained correctly. Much like human beings…
Steeplejack
Snowpocalypse Part Deux is a washout here in D.C. We’re just getting rain, and not even freezing rain. And it’s supposed to go up to 54° tomorrow. Balmy!
I am mentioning this only because I accidentally watched the late local news last night, and they were all “ZOMG! greatest snowstorm of the century this week.” Yet again.
That is all.
suzanne
@Anne Laurie:
You say that like I hadn’t already thought of that or tried it. Heh. I gave him the last stray kitten I rescued. And I offered him this one, too. Damn cats keep being all cute and helpless in my presence. Crafty fuckers.
p mac
Rosie needs some obedience training, either by you directly or in a class. She’s trying to prove that she is top dog; she needs to learn that she ain’t.
Scold her firmly when she misbehaves, and encourage her when she doesn’t. Every. Single. Time.
She’ll find her real place, PDQ.
Yutsano
@suzanne: Oh cwap. Whatever you do, stay in touch. I have seen way too many cases of multiple dependent claims where one ex is just trying to screw the other. And send school records, doctor’s records, anything that shows that you are the primary caretaker and she is dependent upon your actual income. The more ducks you can show them the better. You do NOT want this to go as far as Exam before shit gets too bad.
bob h
My male Rottweiler has added a fondness for chasing snowplows and kids sledding to his zest for pursuing skateboarders. I swear each morning that I have taken him for his last walk.
jwm
You need to sit down and have a dog whisperer marathon. If you watch just one, its easy to miss what Caesar is doing and it looks almost like he is performing magic. If you watch a couple hours in a row, however, you start understanding what and why he is doing things. I guarantee you’d have new ideas on how to control your dogs on the walk as well as other problems
Phoebe
Clicker training yes, Cesar Milan no, harness for the tugging yes, doggie prozac maybe — I have no idea what that is.
Rusty
Man i hate to hear your jack Russell terrier is driving you crazy, i had two just lost the male he got old and blind turned into nothing but bones it was sad, the female is younger i guess im lucky i own 2 acres a big part of my back yard is fenced in, i think there great dogs, Ive taking my travel trailer out camping we stay at the KOA that is the only time i have too use a leash she just want’s too smell the ground jack Russell’s are hunters, shes like a bloodhound on a leash, sorry buddy if you had a fenced in yard that would solve your problem, im sure you know that already, im a single father my son is 19 now and always gone, i don’t know what i would do without my little girl she still graving from the older male dieing of old age, she still looks for him when he was blind he would get stuck in a corner she would help him, i love mine hope you get your problem resolved, take care,