I forgot to mention in my last post that in addition to buying them a higher-quality dog food, I have also been making a serious effort to exercise them more frequently and for longer periods of time. I figure exercise coupled with a protein-rich diet, and we may have a chance.
I think we're making some great progress. To date, there has been only one, little 'piddle' in the kitchen, and it's been over two weeks. As far as the coprophagia goes, there is some progress, but not as much as I'd hoped. I believe this is due to the fact that it has become almost habitual at this point. An acquired taste, maybe? Needless to say, I've had to become extremely vigil in my 'poop patrol' duties, picking them up with the scooper practically as they hit the ground. Of course, this is now one of Bailey's favorite games: who can get to the poo first. At times I've even had to run at her with the scooper shovel, brandishing it like a Spartan warrior does his spear.
I'd say overall, the experiment has been successful and canine moral is high. So I guess we'll just keep on keeping on.
Showing posts with label hounds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hounds. Show all posts
Monday, October 8, 2007
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Alpha dog vs. Beta dog?
Contender #1: Bailey
age: 4
breed: Foxhound
traits: stubborn, a snuggler, obsessed with tennis balls
Contender #2: Skeeter
age: 2 and 1/2
breed: Chow/hound mix
traits: skiddish, a yapper, loves to chew, gives actual hugs
About a month ago, my dogs had a pretty serious fight. Bailey was playing with a tennis ball (which we don't even allow anymore) and growled at Skeeter who sauntered by with absolutely NO interest in the ball. Skeeter, who is normally very even-tempered and used to being harassed by Bailey for being in the vicinity of anything she doesn't want to share, had clearly had enough of the harassment and snapped.
When they started wrestling, it seemed as though the more my fiance tried to split them up, the more intense the fight became. When we finally got them separated, Skeeter's eye was badly scratched and bleeding. But Bailey got the worst of it (and rightly so, I might add). She had two sizeable puncture wounds and ended up needing staples and antibiotics. The vet bills totaled almost $300 (between the two of them), and in hindsight, we wondered whether we should have let them finish duking it out without our interference, as clearly no official winner, or alpha dog, was established.
age: 4
breed: Foxhound
traits: stubborn, a snuggler, obsessed with tennis balls
Contender #2: Skeeter
age: 2 and 1/2
breed: Chow/hound mix
traits: skiddish, a yapper, loves to chew, gives actual hugs
About a month ago, my dogs had a pretty serious fight. Bailey was playing with a tennis ball (which we don't even allow anymore) and growled at Skeeter who sauntered by with absolutely NO interest in the ball. Skeeter, who is normally very even-tempered and used to being harassed by Bailey for being in the vicinity of anything she doesn't want to share, had clearly had enough of the harassment and snapped.When they started wrestling, it seemed as though the more my fiance tried to split them up, the more intense the fight became. When we finally got them separated, Skeeter's eye was badly scratched and bleeding. But Bailey got the worst of it (and rightly so, I might add). She had two sizeable puncture wounds and ended up needing staples and antibiotics. The vet bills totaled almost $300 (between the two of them), and in hindsight, we wondered whether we should have let them finish duking it out without our interference, as clearly no official winner, or alpha dog, was established.
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