The Chillout Zone (Off-Topic Thread)

Zapperzy

When the zooplus order arrives it's like christmas here. Don't know which of us (human or animal) is more excited, bit sad really that the highlight of my week so far is the pet stuff arriving. The cat got her valerian root beanbag and spent the evening rolling around on it (must upload the video of her just after she got it on youtube to post here), the dog got his tripe sticks and a little wooden puzzle board. I get to watch 2 very happy animals. Everyone happy! Not sure if they'l be as happy to see the next box arrive, worming tablets.

The Sweeper

Aaaaargle, after all the cats-in-cats-out threads on here in the last few weeks, I had a jailbreak this evening.

I have a large yard - it's 23.5m wide, and 40m long, with my house taking up part of that expanse, so at the shortest point my yard is 26m long. The yard is like kitty Alcatraz. There are colorbond panel fences all around the yard, six feet tall and they're complete panels so no gaps in them and no grip on them. There's a roller fence topping system to stop the cats going up and over. At the bottoms of the fences, there are 6m lengths of treated pine screwed to star pickets hammered into the ground blocking every available gap underneath. Where there is a gap that's too uneven for the planks and pickets, there are bricks and chicken wire. The dog's run is a fenced off area behind the garage, and even that fence is netted and rollered to stop the cats gaining access to the fences.

In 2.5 years, I've had four jailbreaks. The first, Frank found a gap under the fence that I'd missed and had to block up. The next two, neighbours' dogs dug the fence line from their side.

No escapes for ages, all fence lines had been blocked up, dogs discouraged from digging, gaps blocked up. Having a garden like that means I can come home from work, open the window and the cats can go out to the yard and spend a few hours chasing insects and each other and scratching their claws on the posts of the compost pen and catching mice. (I leave areas of my yard quite overgrown, with neatly mown lawn in between, and they have a hoot.)

The last vacant block on this street was sold in February and the builders did the site cut three weeks ago. The block is 53m long in total, fenced on three sides like mine and there's hurricane fencing across the entire front of it now. The guy doing the site cut took his digger to the gorse at the rear of the block to uncover the access to the stormwater easement. In doing so, he's managed to dig a gap under my fenceline at the very back corner of the yard. I blocked it up on Sunday.

So I go to call the cats in this evening - five cats return, no Eric. Hmmm. Secure the five indoors and out into the yard I go with torch in hand - still no Eric. My cats come when called and this is very unusual. I have my suspicions, and check the fence line where the first hole was, but it's still blocked up.

I head back through the house and out the front and stand in front of the vacant block next door, and shine my wee torch into the darkness. I also call Eric. Bing: double lamplights reflected from the torch. Eric!

So I call him, and bing!, a second set of double lamplights. Hmmm, Eric has found a friend - or is the friend Eric?? So I call again, and one set of lamplights comes bobbing up the vacant block towards me, trot trot trot. All the way up to the gate, which I tempt him under before gently but firmly scruffing him, supporting his back end and holding him to my chest with my torch in my mouth and heading back home (the scruffing is to make sure he doesn't take fright and climb up out of my arms and take off in some other direction).

So tomorrow morning will be spent checking the fenceline yet again for more gaps, as will every day after this until the building is finished.

But can I just say: I have 50 metre recall with my cat, in the dark, when he's a couple of metres from another cat. I don't even have that with my dog.

Whispered

The Sweeper wrote: »

But can I just say: I have 50 metre recall with my cat, in the dark, when he's a couple of metres from another cat. I don't even have that with my dog.

Ah but you don't make your cat do tricks

The Sweeper

Whispered wrote: »

Ah but you don't make your cat do tricks

Eric sits on command for a treat, and will also come up on his hind legs to take it out of my hand on command. Does that count?

ISDW

I used to give my cats treats at bedtime and one of them would know to go and sit in a certain place to get his treat. Every night, no matter what time I was going to bed, he would recognise the bedtime routine and go and sit in his spot. He was definitely trainable.:)

zuroph

dexter wasnt too upset about his first day home alone. very excited when I got back, and played for a bit, then headed off outside for toilet. I must be the luckiest owner in the world, he seems to have potty trained himself! jesus he's a poop factory though, just cleared the yard of last night, and todays presents. little brat followed me and just as I finished grabbed the bag and tore it open, leaving me to start again :mad:

should i be trying to walk him already, or just play him in the back garden? 10 weeks old, hasnt had booster shot yet.

ISDW

zuroph wrote: »

dexter wasnt too upset about his first day home alone. very excited when I got back, and played for a bit, then headed off outside for toilet. I must be the luckiest owner in the world, he seems to have potty trained himself! jesus he's a poop factory though, just cleared the yard of last night, and todays presents. little brat followed me and just as I finished grabbed the bag and tore it open, leaving me to start again :mad:

should i be trying to walk him already, or just play him in the back garden? 10 weeks old, hasnt had booster shot yet.

No, don't take him out until he's had his final vaccination, then some vets say to wait a few days after it, others a week, others 2 weeks, go with whatever your vet advises. When is his booster due?

zuroph

this week, making appointment tomorrow.

Zapperzy

Along with my teleporting, brain eating strain of earwigs we've now got mutant spiders. The cat start playing with something in the corner so I went to investigate it, she started chasing it across the kitchen floor, it was moving bloody fast, dog saw the cat having fun so decided to investigate what she was playing with, he then started up the chase with the spider. He never chases spiders, that just goes to show you how big this thing was. :eek: Finally caught it under a glass, it was a mini tarantula, big thick hairy legs and big hairy egg sac on the back, about 2" leg span while moving. :eek: I'l be having nightmares for years! Looking around me as I type expecting to see some beady eyes looking back at me. :eek:

Thought the earwigs had all packed up and left, hadn't seen any in a while until just now. Went downstairs to make porridge, took bowl out of press, turn around for a second to get a spoon, turn back around and there he is sitting beside my bowl. Finally caught him under a glass and he's still sitting down there under a glass, no way am I going outside at this time of night to kick him out. Left some sugar in with him in case he gets hungry!

zuroph

Chanced my arm and slept back upstairs last night, instead of on couch like for last two nights. Dexter was quiet out, although I heard him whine a little this morning at some hour. quiet out when I came down to check on him this morning. because he wasnt in his penned area in kitchen. Little brat had managed to pull fence open and find some low lying treats. hiding in the corner stuffing his face, cheeky.
Think I'll leave him outside for the few hours today while I'm at work, he's getting used to playing in the garden, and its completely secure. No sign of rain either. Vet booked for 3.30 this afternoon.

andreac

You have to remember the pup is only 10 weeks old so cant hold his toilet in for too long, so he will whine and cry to be let out if you dont go down in time. I would be getting up during the night or else very early to let the pup out to the toilet. He might settle then for another little while when you go back to bed.

I would highly suggest crate training for your pup, it really is great and will reduce the time it takes to toilet train your dog too.

Has your pup got shelter like a kennel in the garden?

zuroph

andreac wrote: »

You have to remember the pup is only 10 weeks old so cant hold his toilet in for too long, so he will whine and cry to be let out if you dont go down in time. I would be getting up during the night or else very early to let the pup out to the toilet. He might settle then for another little while when you go back to bed.

I would highly suggest crate training for your pup, it really is great and will reduce the time it takes to toilet train your dog too.

Has your pup got shelter like a kennel in the garden?

havent got a shelter in garden yet, only got him this sunday. gonna try lash something together this evening until I can afford something more permanent in a week or two.
He seems to know his indoor area isnt for peeing, so looks to get out when possible. has only had 2 or 3 accidents, and hasnt pooped indoors at all, always waits til he gets out, and has picked an area of garden, which is great. I've been letting him out very late at night, then early in morning, so he's getting there.
the only problem is he gets very whiney and excited when he sees me, regardless of time of day or night, so yelps for a good bit after I leave him back in his area.

Shanao

zuroph wrote: »

Chanced my arm and slept back upstairs last night, instead of on couch like for last two nights. Dexter was quiet out, although I heard him whine a little this morning at some hour. quiet out when I came down to check on him this morning. because he wasnt in his penned area in kitchen. Little brat had managed to pull fence open and find some low lying treats. hiding in the corner stuffing his face, cheeky.
Think I'll leave him outside for the few hours today while I'm at work, he's getting used to playing in the garden, and its completely secure. No sign of rain either. Vet booked for 3.30 this afternoon.

I assume you mean its secure that he cant get out. Is it secure enough that someone else cant get in? Definitely would not be letting my dog outside alone the way this country is gone; there are dogs stolen right out of back gardens every single day. And especially puppies.

zuroph

Shanao wrote: »

I assume you mean its secure that he cant get out. Is it secure enough that someone else cant get in? Definitely would not be letting my dog outside alone the way this country is gone; there are dogs stolen right out of back gardens every single day. And especially puppies.

He's behind a padlocked gate, and a fence blocking him from going up the side of house to anywhere near the gate, and with the wheelie bins in front of gate and the fence being much taller than him and totally solid, he's out of sight completely, He'd be ok.

andreac

If you dont have shelter then please do not leave this pup in the garden while you arent around.
Its very unfair to leave a dog outside with no shelter, even more so a ten week old pup. The weather is so unpredictable in this country and i would hate to think of a little baby puppy outside in the lashing rain with no shelter:(

zuroph

yeah, if I thought there was any rain coming I wouldnt leave him out without a shelter of some sort.

tk123

I wouldn't leave a 10 week old puppy out unsupvised tbh. They're into everything at that age, everything goes into their mouth eg snails/slugs. No matter how clean/safe you think the garden is they'll find the one thing they could potentially choke/block their guts up with. Also the fact that the pup doesn't have all it's injections yet would be enough for me to keep it in for the time being.

zuroph

yeah. he's coming back in once I'm heading to work. its only for a few short hours anyway. then to the vets with him, and to the pet shop to parade himself about.

ISDW

zuroph wrote: »

yeah. he's coming back in once I'm heading to work. its only for a few short hours anyway. then to the vets with him, and to the pet shop to parade himself about.

Please don't take him to the pet shop today, wait until after he's had his booster and its had time to take effect.

andreac

Have to agree with ISDW, please dont take your pup to the pet shop yet.

You are putting him at risk at catching diseases which can be fatal in pups like Parvo etc.
Its not worth it, not for the sake of another week or 2. I dont think you realise how serious these diseases can be if caught and a pup at ten weeks not fully vaccinated is at huge risk of catching these.

mymo

Zapperzy wrote: »

Along with my teleporting, brain eating strain of earwigs we've now got mutant spiders.

La lala lala la, covering my eyes and not reading the rest after last time, I don't mind spiders but my daughter would have a heart attack:D
I'm still looking for earwigs by the way:o, bloody things are evrywhere:mad:

ISDW

mymo wrote: »

La lala lala la, covering my eyes and not reading the rest after last time, I don't mind spiders but my daughter would have a heart attack:D
I'm still looking for earwigs by the way:o, bloody things are evrywhere:mad:

I saw one today, instantly thought of this forum:D

Has anyone ever actually had one in their ear?

zuroph

Dexter back from the vets, and despite the thunder and lightening, and the vets thermometer and injections, he was quiet and calm and friendly and not even a peep out of him. good as gold
Didnt go to the pet shop either, in case ye're worrying

Zapperzy

mymo wrote: »

La lala lala la, covering my eyes and not reading the rest after last time, I don't mind spiders but my daughter would have a heart attack:D
I'm still looking for earwigs by the way:o, bloody things are evrywhere:mad:

At least there not in your sugar bowl or dishwasher! :eek: Would you like me to post a picture of the spider!

ISDW wrote: »

I saw one today, instantly thought of this forum:D

Has anyone ever actually had one in their ear?

Thankfully no. I think I would glue my ears shut if that happened or make up little ear flaps to wear! :eek:

andreac

ISDW wrote: »

I saw one today, instantly thought of this forum:D

Has anyone ever actually had one in their ear?

I had one up behind my ear if that counts:eek: Was horrible, ill never forget it, disgusting things they are!!!

Whispered

I've had a very mixed bag of a week, yesterday morning I had a very long post written about what a horrible week I was having. Then when I went to post my stoooopid work computer lost it. Adding to my terrible week. :rolleyes:

As I may have mentioned (:pac:) I'm currently working nights and finding it ever more difficult to sleep during the day. Kids constantly knocking for various reasons, even when I explained to them that they were waking me up. So having had an average of 3 hours sleep between monday and thursday, I was shattered, weepy, irrational, irritable, constantly hungry and a real insufferable moan bag. (DD feck off )

Yesterday evening we brought the boys for a walk, coming out of an enclosed field, I bent to put Harleys lead on while Phoe still struggled to get to me (he's much slower on his little legs) this little jrt who is allowed to roam the estate came out of nowhere barking and snarling, Harley broke free and ran at the smaller dog. I let a shout, Harley turned and came back towards me and the little brat dog, whose name is apparently Stephen, bit his hind leg, Harley turned on him. And they both ran. By this stage my husband had caught up with me, so he ran around the corner to catch Harley. I could hear the usual snarling and gnashing that goes on, but then a yelp and a child shouting.

My first sickening thought was that a kid had somehow gotten to them before my husband and had been bitten. But it turns out that it was a child giving out to Stephen for biting Harley.

The child explained that stephen does it all the time and is always out. So I rang the number on his collar, and got no answer. I sent a text but got no reply. If I see him again I think I will call the warden. He's spends his days being chased around the estate by the kids, dodging cars and starting fights with other dogs. It's very unfair on him.

(I'm aware that the fight was partly our fault for not having the boys leashed coming out of the field but there is usually not a problem, we get to the gate and clip them on there, they ignore other dogs, people etc I think just this time as the other dog came out all guns blazing Harley took offence. Lesson learned, leads on now before we begin to leave.)


Week has improve though, I slept for 14 hours last night, and have been training the boys for much of the morning. I've been trying to teach Harley a complex behaviour for a course I'm doing. I've gone through hoop jumping, but then realised that may not work due to a technicality. For different reasons different tricks were just not working. So I decided to try something else. He'll now wipe his paws when I say "Clean those mucky paws". The movement is not quite there yet, it's still a digging motion, but he's doing it. A few more days and we'll have it.

I've been trying clicker training with Phoe and he's loving it. His recall is military now, as is his sit. It's like an instant drop. Within 5 mins he was lying down and was very excited to learn "touch". He just loves learning. His eyes brighten and you can see the little wheels moving in his head while he figures it out. If things are going slowly there is no frustration, just careful consideration and trying things over and over, then happy little dances when he figures things out. Such a fab little guy.

Ohhh sorry for the long post.

zuroph how is dex getting on? What breed is he? I hope you don't mind me saying but 10 weeks is too young to be outside unsupervised. They can't regulate their temperature properly yet and have no sense. I couldn't believe the silly things some pups got up to out our back. One fell face first into a hole and couldn't get back out. The hole was the depth of maybe half a hand, and not at all steep, he just couldn't figure out how he was facing the wrong way and lay on his belly crying for help. Another managed to her her head stuck under the shed door, where we didn't even think there was a gap. So much fun to watch but not an ounce of sense between the 3 of them.:o

zuroph

Whispered wrote: »

zuroph how is dex getting on? What breed is he? I hope you don't mind me saying but 10 weeks is too young to be outside unsupervised. They can't regulate their temperature properly yet and have no sense. I couldn't believe the silly things some pups got up to out our back. One fell face first into a hole and couldn't get back out. The hole was the depth of maybe half a hand, and not at all steep, he just couldn't figure out how he was facing the wrong way and lay on his belly crying for help. Another managed to her her head stuck under the shed door, where we didn't even think there was a gap. So much fun to watch but not an ounce of sense between the 3 of them.:o

He's doing great, starting to play better. Seems quite clever, and loves being in the shade more than sunshine. He's only out the back when I'm home and in the kitchen, so is quite well supervised. He's a German Shepherd (daddy) and American pitbull/rotty (mammy). weighing 8.9kg already, vet thinks he's in good shape. Can't wait until I can start to socialize him more.
Has sit, bed and leave it down already.

Whispered

Oh I'm sorry I must have misread. Teaches me to read posts properly

Sounds like he's going to be a stunner. Nothing like having a puppy in the family. Seeing as how you have an RB if you'd like to join the group (in my sig) feel free. It's not very busy but it's a great place to get tips on secluded walking areas, for those all important off lead runs, and to complain about those nasty little smallies (I joke, I joke! :pac:)

Depending on your area there might be another RB owner who you'd like to meet up for a walk and dog socialisation with too.

(EDIT: Invitation to RB group open to every RB owner)

zuroph

Whispered wrote: »

Oh I'm sorry I must have misread. Teaches me to read posts properly

Sounds like he's going to be a stunner. Nothing like having a puppy in the family. Seeing as how you have an RB if you'd like to join the group (in my sig) feel free. It's not very busy but it's a great place to get tips on secluded walking areas, for those all important off lead runs, and to complain about those nasty little smallies (I joke, I joke! :pac:)

Depending on your area there might be another RB owner who you'd like to meet up for a walk and dog socialisation with too.

yip, and he's managed to clean sweep three of the RBs!! Mate has a Lab/samoyed cross, gonna be interesting to see if we can make them best friends

**Vai**

zuroph wrote: »

He's a German Shepherd (daddy) and American pitbull/rotty (mammy

That sounds like an absolutely brilliant mix. Pics asap Zuroph!