posted by Sun T. on Oct 7
He got it into his head to take off around the neighborhood for a jaunt. Neither my husband or I ran after him. He came back even faster than last time he left…20 minutes. He wasn’t even dirty this time. He DID go to the wrong door, so the neighbor came outside to the dog sitting on his porch. I prayed that he wouldn’t get into any fights or kill any cats. He got hold of the neighbors cat the other day *thanks to my wonderful son letting the dog out to get the cat* but the cat was only scared. Coby just held him down, and dropped him when I told him to…what more can you ask for?
posted by Sun T. on Jul 17
I feel really badly about not being able to take in Coby’s sister Lucy. She was said to look exactly like him but with a long tail. I was told that she had a huge chip on her shoulder and tore up houses as well as attacking other animals. Unfortunately, she couldn’t be adopted out with her aggression issues and had to be sent to doggy heaven. I wish I had gotten a chance to work with her and see if she could have been saved. The only way I would have been able to do that is if we had a house with a yard. I would have done what I could for her. It saddens me so much that she couldn’t be saved. Rest in peace, Lucy.
posted by Sun T. on Jul 9
I have been going through a lot of major changes, but now that our vacation season is over I am back in full effect.
Coby has been doing great. He stopped his nervous habit of going #2 in the house when we leave. He is now much calmer when he is left home alone. He has been staying at the kennel in small spurts when we go away.
This weekend we were in the Poconos, so he went to the kennel. Next weekend we will be in Pittsburgh, same deal. The kennel owner told me that they have noticed a marked difference in his attitude toward other dogs. He is less interested and keeps his cool as they pass.
As far as cats, well, he isn’t yanking me across the world to get to them now. He is able to calm down much faster after seeing one. I am able to talk him through the encounter so that he can concentrate on what I am saying moreso than what he is fixated on.
All in all, he has become a well adjusted addition to our family since January.
posted by Sun T. on Mar 26
I have decided to use the halti or gentle leader on Coby since the incident with him and the pitbull. I don’t want him going off into a tizzy when we encounter other animals. That and the training collar seem to be keeping him in check thus far. I have been using the halti for a few days now. I am glad that the ARWNY group reminded me that I had it so I could use it. Next step is to get another leash that matches the one that I have for the halti. I would rather use 2 short leashes than one short and one flexi…at least until he gets that he can’t just randomly run up on other people’s animals.
We left him in the crate after time for his bathroom break last night and he didn’t go in it. He didn’t try to escape either. I think we are making progress all around.
picture compliments of http://petproductsontheweb.com
posted by Sun T. on Mar 18
Something told me to keep Coby on a short leash this morning. I am glad that I listened to that small, still voice.
We were taking our normal morning jaunt around the back part of the neighborhood, when suddenly we were met by the barks of two small dogs. One was on a walking leader stuck in the ground, the other was loose.
Well, Coby was ready for action as soon as he saw them. The pug *leader of the gang* was ready for action as well, as he trotted confidently up to Coby. His back up *the terrier-ist* was barking her head off in support for Pug. Pug was only about a foot and a half from where I stood controlling Coby. You could almost hear the commentary:
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posted by Sun T. on Feb 8
Two cats! What are the odds of us seeing two nearly identical Tabby cats outside today? The afternoon walk turned into a training session. He couldn’t even go to the bathroom because he was so worried about getting at the cats. Once I had him calmed mostly down from seeing one, out popped the other one.
I would just be happy if I could get him to be better when other dogs are around. The cats is just not high on my priority list. We have more dogs than cats that live in these apartments. He is still prancing around whining about the cats. I gave him a brush down to help calm him some.
My order should come within a week. I got him a reusable dental Kong and a retractable leash that goes up to 110lbs for strength. I just got the email of confirmation today. Looking forward to having a bit more control over Coby’s actions.
posted by Sun T. on Feb 2
The Orange Tabby was back again. Maybe the other day was just a good day and Coby just didn’t care. Last night he cared… he was fighting to be able to chase that Tabby into the distant forest. He wasn’t too feisty about it after the cat was out of his nostrils. We finished our walk just fine. The faster he calms down, the better he is getting. He does have an infatuation with looking out of the window, though. When he sees people or other dogs outside he starts whining because he wants to go see (or eat) them. The whole animal aggression issue isn’t going to keep being a problem I don’t think…eventually he won’t care so much about the other animals. Today he barked at a cardinal and a squirrel who were in the same tree.
Technorati Tags: animal aggression
posted by Sun T. on Jan 28
He is spending more time in the crate with the door closed. So far, so good. We left him alone for an hour without much sound from us and he was fine. * we were still in the house, though*
This morning on our walk a cat was RIGHT IN OUR PATH. He smelled it, he saw it, and he didn’t react at all! The cat was sitting there, waiting. It was the same cat that had tortured him before. I decided to play it safe and cross the street where the cat was. Apparently, the cat didn’t forget him, either. The cat watched us till we got to the other end of the block. I guess then he knew he was safe HAHA. There is hope that his aggression toward cats has at least subsided…now we have to work on his presence around dogs.
Technorati Tags: crate, cat, aggression toward cats, dogs
