09:04 – I’m still hard at work on the documentation for the life science kit.
It’s easy to understand why so many Border Collies end up in rescue, often at about the age Colin is now. For the last few months, Colin has been breaking house training, always in the hall bathroom. As a puppy, he decided that because his humans used the hall bathroom, he should as well. We finally broke him of that, and for many months he was reliably house-trained. Now he’s back to his old habits. Fortunately, the bathroom floor is ceramic tile, so it’s actually easier to clean up in there than it is to clean up outside. Still, this is unacceptable.
It’s not a matter of us missing signals or expecting him to hold it too long. When we go outside, that’s the last thing on his mind. He wants to sniff. He wants to play. He wants to stare at anything remotely interesting, including people standing two blocks away. He wants to play stick and tug on the leash. He wants to do anything except what he’s out there for. I think he’s holding it intentionally until he gets back inside.
This morning, for example, I took him outside at about 0645. He sniffed around a bit, peed a couple of times, and then headed for the door. He did his usual morning routine, including licking the milk out of Barbara’s cereal bowl. Then I took him outside again and walked him around the yard for several minutes, encouraging him to do something. Nothing. We came back in because he didn’t want to miss Barbara leaving for work. Within a minute of us coming back in, he’d shit in the bathroom. Barbara yelled at him and told him he was a bad dog for doing that in the house. I cleaned up. Then, a few minutes after Barbara left for work, I walked him up and down the street, encouraging him to do something. Nothing. All he wanted to do was sniff and play tug-of-war with the leash. I finally brought him back in. Within literally two minutes, he’d shit on the bathroom floor. I hate to do it, but I think I’m going to have a chat with him about what happens to dogs who shit on the floor. They’re expelled from the pack.
11:11 – Boy, can Brother ever make things come out even. The last time I was printing a bunch of container labels for the science kits, the black toner cartridge ran out on my Brother color laser printer. So I ordered a replacement black cartridge, along with replacements for the cyan, magenta, and yellow cartridges. I installed the black toner and printed one page. Everything worked fine. Then this morning I started to do a real print run. The printer printed one page of labels and then the Data fault light came on. Sure enough, the display was telling me the color cartridges were out of toner and needed to be replaced. Not just one of the color cartridges, you understand. All of them. The display specifically said to replace the cyan, magenta, and yellow cartridges. How did they manage to make all four cartridges run out of toner within a space of two or three pages?
Tell him pack members that don’t learn this stuff are put in a kennel in the back yard, including at night, until they learn.
That’s precisely what I would do. Indeed, have already done that. Every dog I have ever owned spent the first few weeks outdoors. That way they understand the benefit of sleeping inside the house, and have already established the back yard as the lavatory.
My dog has never peed inside, and only crapped in the house once, and that was only because at six months she had taken a wasp or bee sting in the mouth, and it upset her stomach. The only time (that I know of) where she has had diarrhea, too. She was so upset and contrite that we knew she was already self-punishing herself, there was no need for us to inflict more. She’s pushing eight, but has not learned to stop from snapping at stinging insects.
We may just do that.
Our Boxer slept in the laundry her whole life. I never remember her relieving herself inside the house.
I *still* can’t get over the idea of dogs sleeping on their owners’ bed. I might get a dog next year, and I’d consider letting it sleep in a doggie bed/basket on the floor, but no way with me on the bed.
I’m going to suggest that you kick him out of bed, too. Right now, Colin sees himself as an equal in the relationship. Actually, he probably views himself as leader after Barbara and over you. I’m of the very strong belief that you have to treat dogs like dogs if you want them to act like dogs. Good luck solving this. It would be a shame to expel Colin from the pack, but he certainly needs to be shown his actual place within the pack.
You’re probably right. We’ve gone through this with all of our BC’s. They generally behave pretty well from the time we bring them home until they’re a year or so old, and then they begin to try to assert themselves, trying to improve their position in the hierarchy. That phase generally lasts until they’re about two years old, by which time they settle in and start behaving well again. I just think of it as their teenage years.
The real problem is that Colin is built to run literally 50 miles a day. He has energy to burn, and I simply can’t give him enough exercise. He gets maybe a mile or two of walking in during the day, and perhaps a mile or two of running. That’s just not enough for an 18-month-old BC. I’ve tried to convince Barbara that we need a gigantic hamster wheel.
Yeah, that’s what Barbara said. When we met, she was afraid of dogs. My parents’ two BC scared her to death. Then when my dad died and we moved my mom in with us, Barbara was a lot more worried about Kerry living with us than she was about my mom.
She laid down the law about Kerry. He wasn’t allowed to jump up onto the furniture. Then it was okay for him to come up on the sofa, but not the bed. Then it was okay for him to come up on the bed, but not to lick her. Then it was okay for him to lick her hands, but not her face. Then it was okay for him to lick her face.
Then one night she’d gone back to bed early. When I came back, Kerry was sprawled out on my side of the bed, taking up the entire space. Barbara said, entirely seriously, “I hate to make him move. Why don’t you sleep on the floor?”
You could get a pushbike. I was cycling to work once and around the corner came an older chap on a bike, not peddling himself, being pulled by two dogs. A third dog was running free on my side of the cycle path. There wasn’t a collision but I was still annoyed.
Get a bike, and you’ll wear Colin out without having to do any exercise yourself.
I was actually thinking of having him tow my Isuzu Trooper up and down the street. All I’d have to is keep a supply of sticks in the vehicle and periodically toss one out in front to keep him pulling.
A bike wouldn’t solve the main problem. I hate being outdoors for more than a few minutes at a time.
RBT wrote:
‘Then one night she’d gone back to bed early. When I came back, Kerry was sprawled out on my side of the bed, taking up the entire space. Barbara said, entirely seriously, “I hate to make him move. Why don’t you sleep on the floor?”’
Stuff like that always reminds me of a girl in one of my lab classes in around 2000. One day she said, quite casually, that her dog slept in/on her bed. I thought she was trying to sound kinky, like if she’d said she had regular 10-person orgies, but no one else batted an eyelid, so I eventually decided she must be serious. I was completely gobsmacked, the idea of sleeping in contact with a dog was something that stockmen did on the outback when it was freezing cold, but not in a house.
Or maybe a treadmill? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhgm01uxuyQ I haven’t actually watch the video all the way through, just using it to show that there are people exercising their dogs this way. Though a hamster wheel is much funnier.
Agility training is another good energy eater. Dogs (and humans!) burn through their energy faster when their brains are also working. Set up an agility course in the backyard, and teach Colin to run it by himself.
Hmmm, I wonder how much electricity a BC could make using a treadmill as a power generator?
The problem with treadmills:
http://www.lauralemay.com/essays/seven-miles-per-hour.html
No, that’s the problem when idiots use treadmills. Besides Colin wouldn’t be wearing a Walkman while using it. Or, at least shouldn’t.
I’d have to teach him how to turn the treadmill on and off and how to adjust the speed, or he’d be pestering me all day.
I told Barbara that I wished we lived at the top of a hill with a 10-mile-long straight road. If we did, I could throw the ball once after breakfast, once again after lunch, and then once again after dinner.
Wasn’t HP that back in the day put expiration dates on their inkjet cartridges that the printer electronically read. Even if you didn’t use all the ink the printer would prompt you for new cartridges and not let you print until you replaced them. That way they could make ink revenue off of people who hardly ever printed. IIRC, the trick was to turn off bidirectional communication with the printer so that the printer couldn’t report the expiration date back to OS and printer drivers.
Have you thought about crating Colin? We crate our dog, Lady, when we are out of the house or at night. She is a very responsible cocker spaniel and demands her treat when she goes outside to potty.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Midwest-Pets-iCrate-Double-Door-Dog-Crate/14587286
We use the xlarge open crate so that she gets plenty of room and fresh air.
We also have a large foam pillow for her in her crate:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Majestic-Pet-Products-Crate-Pillow-Pet-Bed-with-Poly-Fiber-Fill-Cats-Dogs/12388152
And we have a ruff weather doggie door that Lady and both the cats use. I replaced a full window back door with a 2/3 window door and put the doggie door in it. Works great for all three animals. I can look it up if you are interested.
“We need death panels” by Steven Rattner:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/17/opinion/health-care-reform-beyond-obamacare.html?_r=0
At the time, I thought Sarah Palin was over the top when she was talking about death panels for old people and her son. After three years of this progressive president and his clowns, I no longer think that. My respect for her and her common sense grows daily.
If one is at death’s door, the last thing that one wants is a government rep to show up.
Over on the hardware discussion side, rather long ago now, there was quite a bit of discussion about how to get Brother black toner cartridges to keep working after the system rejected them. It was a matter of covering over a hole with a bit of black tape, if memory serves. And shaking them to redistribute the remaining toner. With all three colors going at once I suspect there might be a similar factor involved with your sudden change. Perhaps there will be a similar fix?
See also here.
I have had both dogs and cats. None of the animals were allowed on the furniture or beds. And all but one of mine lived 100% outdoors in summer. Stepson’s 2 goldens live outdoors year round, but have insulated dog houses for the coldest weather. Neither of them is allowed inside the house, and they do not cross that line, even if one leaves the door open—which happens a lot in the summer.
Cats that do not like water are easy to train. I got a big spray bottle and filled it with water. Cats do not see you if you don’t move. I would sit with the bottle near the sofa and chairs they would try to jump on, and when they were just at the moment of jumping, I drenched them with water. If you can get them at that moment of decision, it only takes once.
Personally, I don’t believe dogs or cats should be allowed inside a house, and most of the farm families I knew as a kid, never let their dogs in the house and especially not the cats (they also killed the dogs if they ever entered the chicken coop). My great uncle was a hunter, and he never let his Labrador inside the house. He, too, had an insulated dog house for winter months. That dog would retrieve a decoy and drop it at your feet as many times as you could throw it. My brother and I would take turns throwing it a hundred times or more, and the dog would beg for more when we were ready to quit after more than an hour.
My Irish setter was 8 when I got her—rescued from an owner that beat her for the most ridiculous things, like the mere fact she would not hold her tail up at all times like a show dog. He actually caused her back problems, and the vet forced the guy to give the dog up after he found out how the dog was treated. If you ever raised your hand above your head, she yelped and ran away as fast as possible. I was much younger when I got that dog, and she was so smart and obedient, that I had dreams of whipping the former owner until he was senseless. Only saw him once, though. That dog lived in the house but never even tried to get up on the furniture. She is the one who would do her business over the drain in the basement, if no one was home to let her out.
I have noted before that people in Germany seem to love to report their neighbors for every transgression. We were investigated by animal authorities for leaving the Goldens outside all the time. Not only did they have their own insulated dog house, but the horse stable (which housed the first volunteer fire station in Strausberg) was also open to them in the winter. When the animal control people saw that, their investigation was over. The woman who reported us (well into her 80’s) believed all animals should be kept inside, and she would actually come by and curse us for escaping punishment by the animal control people, while the grandkids were playing outside. Even the animal control people said she was a nut case, and we were not the only ones she reported.
Thanks!
As it turns out, the starter toner cartridges supplied with my printer don’t have the flag gear he refers to. So I just installed the new cartridges, which do have that gear.
“How did they manage to make all four cartridges run out of toner within a space of two or three pages?”
That would be “make” spelt “F-A-K-E”, would it not?
Our Boxer was never supposed to come further into the house than the laundry, where she slept. Dad and I would let her into the house when mum was out, she’d watch TV with us. But when Serena heard mum arriving home she’d scamper like greased lightning for the laundry. Mum would berate us if she saw or suspected that Serena had been in the house. Mum fed her 95% of the time but hated her. I liked her, my father loved her. He was very very upset when she died.
We had chickens when I was a baby. Somehow they got into the house and into my cot. After that mum insisted that dad get rid of them.
I am sitting here in my study with Lady (our 10 yr old cocker spaniel) and Tiger (our 17 yr old female tabby cat). We are all happy, I’m surfing the net and they are hanging out. Lady is hoping for a sausage brunch here in a moment of which something might “accidentally” drop to the ground.
Dogs and cats in the house sure do ruin the carpets and have occasional “accidents”. But I firmly believe that they are a calming and peaceful influence in the house. Except when Lady sees someone walk in front of the house. I never knew that cocker spaniels were so aggressive and such loud barkers.
Bob, I’m told that shock collars are effective training aids, when other things fail. I don’t necessarily like the idea, but I’ve never had to deal with an out-of-control inside dog (all my dogs have been outside dogs). Think about it – it might only take a week or so.
I went for a walk the other day in a different neighborhood for the change. I noticed a property with little flags planted around the perimeter. Then a large Rottweiler came barking at me and stopped DEAD on the perimeter, stopped barking and sat down. That’s when I noticed the collar wasn’t the typical kind. It certainly worked as a fence and a deterrent to the barking.
That being said: http://www.wimp.com/collartesting/
Actually, this may be our fault. Colin hasn’t had any accidents so far today. He’s done it twice outside. Usually, I give him a quick chance when I go out to get the paper around 6:45. Then, because I’m still in my pajamas, I generally take him out to sniff around the front yard for a few minutes around 7:45. His first indoor accident often comes shortly thereafter.
So, this morning, I got dressed early and around 7:45 I walked him down to the corner, where he did what he was supposed to. Then around 9:30, I took him down to the corner. He didn’t do anything but pee, and started playing leash tug on the way home. So I gave him a stick and let him run around in circles at top speed for several minutes. He probably got a couple miles of running in. Then I walked him down to the other corner, where he promptly shat. I think he needs more time now than he did when he was a puppy. Walking him down to the corner and back isn’t enough. He needs more time, some running, and more time still until he finally shits.
Incidentally, most Border Collies are too smart to be reliably contained by a radio fence. They quickly learn that they can dash right through it with only a minor twinge. After that, it might as well not be there.
Also, the shock fence does not work anymore when the battery in the dog collar fails. A friend of mine found that out when his Rottweiler got hit on his local road.
A close friend has some young neighbors (a bunch of 20-somethings sharing a house) who got a mixed breed dog with some Doberman in him. He is fenced, but barked his head off anytime anyone walked down the sidewalk along the house, or the alley in back that separates my friend from the dog house. Fortunately, the kids recognized the dog was a neighborhood nuisance, and bought a shock collar with remote control. Over a month, they managed to get that dog to be totally silent when strangers approach. The dog inquisitively goes to the fence and just silently watches. It is not a pup, so I was truly amazed at this transformation. Everybody is happier. The dog even seems to be more relaxed. He only barks now when the owners play with him and he gets excited.