That Damn Dog

[4suchatimeasthis]

So....my dog (the 8 mo old Blue Heeler) drug home a pair of boots today. Yes, a PAIR. As in two boots. Someones big heavy work boots. I was looking out the window at the storm clouds rolling in, and noticed a lump on the lawn. I thought it was my husbands boot until I saw it up close and realized it was too small to be his. Brought it in the house, and about an hour later went out to feed the animals. ANOTHER BOOT WAS IN THE SAME SPOT! It hadn't been there before. Apparently one of my unlucky neighbors left a heavy pair of work-boots outside their house, and my dog stole them. When I took away the first boot, he apparently went back to get the other one. And I have no idea which neighbors, the crazy ones who might shoot on sight, or the nice ones. The thing is, he couldn't drag them both, so he must have made two trips. Darn dog. I guess instead of going caroling I will be going house to house with a pair of dog slobbered boots. At least he didn't get to chew them all up, I caught him in time. Good grief!

Damn dog! He has chew toys, he already destroyed my kids soccer ball this week, he has rawhide, pig ears, rope toys....but no, he has to go steal boots.

Anyone want a Heeler?

[robsdak]

i know it's frustrating for you, but he was just thinking 'you' needed some boots... :D you liked the 1st one so much, he brought you the 2nd. LOL just teasing, when i was a kid, i had a Beagle that had an affection for clothes. it was ok until he started bringing home undergarments. that was a little embarrassing having to return them. the neighbor was kinda HOT! (another story, another day)

if i were closer, i would take the dog. i have been in the market for a woods buddy.

[RedJohn]

The real problem is that if he took the boots from the "the crazy ones who might shoot on sight" and goes again for more, then he might be shot one day.

[Evolver]

Ditto to what RJ said. For your dogs sake it might be a good idea to keep him leashed or fenced in. I know it's nice for the dog not to be caged or leashed but if I was the neighbor that had a good pair of work boot stolen off the porch I would be pissed and I would be looking into what stole them. Boots are not normally stolen by people so most likely he's going to looking for an animal. Boots are really the man's best friend and dogs are second. :) IMOP

[msomnipotent]

When I saw the title of the thread, I assumed you were talking about my damn dog. Good luck with yours. I'm about to turn mine into a foot puppet.

[4suchatimeasthis]

Lol, msomnipotent, thanks for the good laugh!!!

Yeah, I agree with RJ and Evolver, I really couldn't blame my neighbors for getting upset, I don't want my dog anywhere but MY land. So, I guess he is going back on the chain for some remedial training, and he can go on the leash with me while I do chores or take him for a walk. He needs to stick like glue to my side, like the Catahoula does.

Good news though, my husband went over to the nice neighbors first, and asked them, and they said that they were a pair of boots that they threw on their burn pile. Yeah, they burn their trash a few times a month, and in between burnings they just build up this big pile. Well, they tossed the boots on the pile. Not what I would do with boots, but okay. So they weren't mad at all, they thought it was funny. But, I took the boots away from the dog anyway because I really don't want him to learn to chew on footwear. Actually, I am trying to teach him not to chew anything other than the chew-type things I give him. I understand he is a puppy, teething, and he needs something to chew on, but there are still limits.

So.....all's well that ends well. For now. We do have a chain link dog kennel that my husbands parents had at their house in the city. They don't have a dog anymore, and are storing the kennel out here. We are free to use it, but it's under a heap of stuff out at the edge of the pasture. Ugh. Another project. Hubby said something about a shock collar thing at Rural King, instead of setting up a fence it's a central bulb thingy that emits a zone all around it for so many feet, and then outside that radius, it gets 'em. We can give that a try.

[realist]

My dog was costing me about $100 per month when I first got him. Shoes, boots, my shooting mat (he almost died on that one). When spring came around you should have seen all the geysers that erupted when I turned back on my sprinklers. He loved chewing on my drip irrigation. Well now he has grown up he has stopped chewing so much. However when ever he is pissed at us he will take one shoe or boot and place it in the middle of the driveway, just to let us know he can destroy it any time unless we behave.............who is training who?????????

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

We have the "Invisible" fence. with the collars. I will tell you it works like a champ. I did have one problem.......moles, OK two, moles and dogs. The moles liked to tunnel and the dogs liked the moles. So I ended up with trenches leading up to the buried wire. The moles broke the wire somewhere so I had to string new wire.........once. That's been over a year now. The first time I buried the wire I used a power edger to dig the trench. Sooo much easier, the second time I just laid the wire on the ground and put out wooden stakes and let nature run its course with the grass. But hey, that thing works wonders. Once you set it up, walk your dog around the perimeter and let him feel the jolt, let him learn his limits. Our pups were so young (3mths maybe) they didn't know any different. You can also set the spread from the wire of how close he can get. It has been well worth the money. It's made by "PetSafe" and our dogs are 75 and 56lbs. so I think it can handle yours. Just a suggestion, hope I can help. Great story, I'm still smilin, dog's smart, won't bring you just one. Wants his master to have a pair, winter's comin!

[4suchatimeasthis]

Yeah, BWRR, hubby found a wireless shock collar system, works from a central point and gives a so-many-hundred-feet radius area that they can be in, and when they go beyond it, it get's em. I guess it can be moved and everything, very interesting. I am comparing them online now, and it's most likely what we will end up doing.


They are smart dogs, the will figure it out.

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Yes, I saw the wireless one's as well but I'm just a "hardwire" guy I guess. I like something I can see, a visual perimeter. That way "I" can set his boundaries not the machine,you know what I mean? You can give him all of the back yard and part of the front yard. You can slice your yard anyway you want, no restrictions, that's the advantage. The wireless one just gives you a circle and that's it, there are also blind spots. So just do your research is all I'm saying and buy what suits "your" needs. Oh and the little flags are not a permanent thing there just there to remind the dog for a short time till they get used to it. Just my experience..........

Oh, the other cool thing is that you can do multiple dogs and bring your friends dog over and throw a collar on theirs.........they'll stay around without having to watch them, just show them the boundaries.

[4suchatimeasthis]

Thanks, BWRR, you are awesome! I really appreciate your insight and experience with this. I did some more research, and it looks like there is a snag with the wireless, it only covers 1/2 an acre. Uh, that's way too small. My lawn alone is probably at least 6x that big. But, after what you said about not burying the wire, I did some more looking around and found a company that makes these yard "staples" specifically for hammering the "invisible" wire to the ground, so you don't have to bury it. Supposedly your lawn will cover it over in 7-10 days, and that's that.

So, I think that is likely what we will do. This way I can lay the wire all along the fence line (so the dogs can be with the livestock), around the yard, basically our property line. With the staples, and some extra wire, I bet we could get it set up in a few days. And, hubby had already been talking about some forced-family-fun consisting of clearing a path around the property line after the new year, taking care of some tree's that fell across into our property and messed up the far fence, etc.

Until then....I have some irritated dogs. Too bad, they will get over it until I can get this resolved.

[Sniper-T]

When you have one of the invisible fences, what happens if you want to take the dog outside the safe zone. Isn't it going to confuse the shit out of him that one time it is ok the next, it isn't

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

When you have one of the invisible fences, what happens if you want to take the dog outside the safe zone. Isn't it going to confuse the shit out of him that one time it is ok the next, it isn't

OH that's the easy part, we change from a collar to a harness. Also we take them out the front door ONLY! all other times they go out the back. They think it's a free for all then! Totally different set up so they know it's different. Anyway, that's how we do it down here.............they learned it just fine and seem to have fun with it.

[4suchatimeasthis]

Sniper, we will run the wire along our property line. Easy solve, the dog's don't leave the property. And, on the rare occasion they need to go to the vet or something, we will swap out collars for their regular ones. But, again, my dogs don't leave the farm, and if we run the wire along our property line (there is already a barb wire & t-post fence all around our property, except the driveway) it should work out perfectly.

[Sniper-T]

My wife take the dog out to the road to run all the time. He'll run a couple few miles with her, so he would need to be off regularly. We also take him for walks throughout the property, and I would not be able to wire up 80 acres of bush

[greg48]

we've got a blue heeler, he's about over his tearing up stuff, bringing stuff home. he never brought home a pair of shoes or shoes i could wear, always one and usually my neighbor ladies shoe. one time he brought home a wheel barrow, it was a kids toy plastic wheel barrow, but it was still pretty impressive. i tell people he's smart, he only bites certain people and will not let my mother-in-law out of her car! good boy!

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Sniper, we will run the wire along our property line. Easy solve, the dog's don't leave the property. And, on the rare occasion they need to go to the vet or something, we will swap out collars for their regular ones. But, again, my dogs don't leave the farm, and if we run the wire along our property line (there is already a barb wire & t-post fence all around our property, except the driveway) it should work out perfectly.

Without killin the cat (curiosity) just how many acres of wire do you plan on stringing? Make sure you check out your limitations, which I'm sure you did. I never did check to see just how big you could go with that thing. I might have about a 1/4 acre strung out right now. I might go dig out the "destructions" and look again and see for myself just how far I can go with ours for our new place.

[Sniper-T]

What I'd like to do, is set up say a 2 acres or so around my house, that he would have free reign in, but have him trained so that there is a light on when the fence is active. If we are going to take him beyond that we would turn the fence/light off, and he would know it is safe to go beyond. thoughts?
,

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

What I'd like to do, is set up say a 2 acres or so around my house, that he would have free reign in, but have him trained so that there is a light on when the fence is active. If we are going to take him beyond that we would turn the fence/light off, and he would know it is safe to go beyond. thoughts?
,

Kinda like the "rat in a maze" thing oops. I meant trained monkey. But yeah, I can dig it. Have you tried training your dog with a light yet? I can see the use of the light at night, and during the day it might be hard. He's going to have to run over and look to see if the light is on, how old is the dog again? Maybe if the light is at the gate then he'll know that there is safe passage there, if the light is off. ............ok this one's a thinker and will take some training and patience with the dog. Guess you'll need an automatic doggie biscuit flicker to go with that too, eh?

By the way, how much snow ya got up there now?

[Sniper-T]

Not sure how old he is, got him as a rescue. Prob 6-8 yo Golden/Yellow lab cross. no kennel or gate or anything, right now he stays tied up to his dog house with about 50' dia playroom. We got him 1-1/2 yrs ago, with absolutely no training whatsoever. He didn't even know his name. He is much better now, as he can learn, but he is very headstrong, and will blatently disobey, if it suits his purpose.

It could also be a coloured light, something that would show up in the day time.

We have a little better than a foot of snow. snowing again right now, and expecting another 4-5 inches today.

It is adding up!!!

:)

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Well this one's going to take alot of love. Sniper, speaking as a dog lover and you as a "cat man", you already know that with a cat all you need is a litter box, food and water and you're pretty much done. Dogs are another matter. Sounds like he is an "outside" dog already. Here comes question and answer time.

1. Does he come inside and spend time with you and yours? If so how much?
2. Do you plan on keeping him outside all the time?
3. How much patience, time and love do you have that you are willing to give to make this happen? Because that's primarily what it's going to take with a mature dog like that.

That's just my opinion brother. Sounds like you get to have a white Christmas! Nothing new I'm sure but I'd like to have a bit a the white stuff myself. Hurts the bones but I do like the snow.

[Sniper-T]

I grew up with dogs, and a brief time that I had a condo in the city is about the only time that I haven't had one. He is definately an outside dog, he is by far too hyper and clumsy to be inside. Besides, I have always been of the belief that dogs belong outside. and considering both my wife and I are outside people too, we spend most of our free time out with/near him. Patience and love are not the issues, time is the tough one. One week I can work regular hours, the next almost twice normal.

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

I grew up with dogs, and a brief time that I had a condo in the city is about the only time that I haven't had one. He is definately an outside dog, he is by far too hyper and clumsy to be inside. Besides, I have always been of the belief that dogs belong outside. and considering both my wife and I are outside people too, we spend most of our free time out with/near him. Patience and love are not the issues, time is the tough one. One week I can work regular hours, the next almost twice normal.

OK just my ignorance to your experience. Well it looks like this could be a bit difficult if that's what you really want to do. Our dogs are in and out and frequent bathers. They love the shower and we have a system. I for one was always an "outside" dog guy myself but the wife wanted it the other way. Sooooo they get it both ways and get more showers. They're just big, clean, shiney, happy, dumb dogs. OK they actually wipe their feet when they come inside......really, ask Izzy. We do spend more time with ours because they spend alot more time inside. Plus when I found them on the side of the road they weren't no bigger than a squirrel. (proper English)

[Sniper-T]

I believe proper english would be "they were not any bigger than a squirrel. lol

My wife snuck him in once last winter, when it was -53 outside, and she was worried about him. for 20 minutes, he wouldn't sit still, and dragged her around the sunroom exploring everything, knocking everything over, stepping on everything, etc. Then he sat calmly with her for about 10 minutes, enjoying some petting, then he went back to the door trying to get back outside. as sson as she opened the door he ran back to his house and went back to sleep.

If we had him from a puppy, and he was kennel trained inside from the start, I may have acquised on the inside/outside thing.

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Yup, that's the way my Rott was. Couldn't keep him inside no matter what the weather was. That dog loved the snow, but you should have seen his face when he fell into lake Michigan, I thought I almost lost him that day. So that about covers all the bases now. When do you want to start?

[Sniper-T]

probably have to start by shopping for collars. and then figuring out what to do with the wire. I can't just lay it on top of the snow, and I cannot bury it.

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

If you already have a fence in place the wire can be attached to it. It doesn't have to be buried.

[Sniper-T]

Only have a partial fence, and it is falling down. and it is 250 yards through the bush from the nearest power, and it is 1/4 mile long and the wire would have to cross the driveway, and 2 snowmobile trails

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Not trying to make it difficult are ya? Hold on let me get my Jacket.................

[Sniper-T]

You've seen the aereal shot of my place. I am in the middle of the bush. 1/2 of the hounds play area is in the bush (where he is tied), and he's amazingly good at not getting tangled up. I could always run the wire from tree to tree to tree, but then it is at the mercy of the elements (other trees falling) and other animals walking into it.

Maybe I should go back to looking at the wireless ones...

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

You've seen the aereal shot of my place. I am in the middle of the bush. 1/2 of the hounds play area is in the bush (where he is tied), and he's amazingly good at not getting tangled up. I could always run the wire from tree to tree to tree, but then it is at the mercy of the elements (other trees falling) and other animals walking into it.

Maybe I should go back to looking at the wireless ones...

UH.....no I haven't but I'll take your word for it. I believe the comment was made earlier in the thread that they make staples to stake the wire down to the ground. Or you could make your own using a heavy gauge wire, the type used for electric fencing (Non corrosive)on most cattle farms. This would prevent animals from tripping over it and most light footed Canadians.

[Sniper-T]

Yeah, that might work in the summertime, but the ground is well beyond driving staples into at this point. I'll keep up with the research, and try to set something up in the spring.

Oh, and here:

http://www.shtfready.com/threads/2862-Sometimes-I-love-where-I-live

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Beautiful place man! Like I said, let me get my jacket I'll be right up! OK but like we all talked about earlier in the thread the wireless one might not do it for you. Just my opinion it is winter time but hey, you and "Muttley" made it this far. Snow does put a damper on things, you just kinda thought about this a little to late is all. You're not the first guy to do that...........

[Sniper-T]

Considering what he had before we got him, he's a mighty happy guy. I would just like to give him a little extra freedom. and have him 'loose' in case anyone stops by. Although he has broken his collar, and chain before to chase an undesirable away

[Grumpy Old Man]

^^^^That's a good boy!