Please tell me about dogs

[Mosey]

Hazmat - Thanks, I'll be sure and put in more detail from now on! As for the front runner, at this point I'm leaning heavily toward the rocks and trees. I already have a rock garden in the back yard, so maybe I'll even let the kids bring a couple of them in the house! I also already have 100 northern white cedar trees coming (ordered last fall) and will be planting them this spring.

[WVBill]

Danny:

It wasn't just your initial post on this thread. It was the entire saga of the cats in nearly 100 posts on both CBN and TBN that leads me to believe you will just not be happy with any animal. I don't know, maybe it was something you wrote.

Like:

TBN: Re: Gravel driveway dust - 01/06/03 09:21 AM

The %$*&^%@!!$#* worthless pests are digging in the gravel and crapping in it!
<font color="red"> I'm beginning to think my .22 is the best solution to this problem, but if I can avoid that I'm willing to try![</font color>

TBN: Re: Gravel driveway dust - 01/06/03 11:56 AM

<font color="red"> I hate the cats and wish I'd never gotten them, but I don't want to do anything that would upset the kids.</font color>

TBN: Re: Gravel driveway dust - 01/06/03 01:01 PM

<font color="red"> The cats refuse to cooperate with anything I try to do. </font color>
I think the reason the cats are using the gravel (#53 limestone) under the carport is because it's dry. The sand at the edge of the woods has been wet from the rain and snow.

TBN: Re: Gravel driveway dust - 01/07/03 06:56 AM

The stuff they sell at pets stores is over $15 for a spray can and it would take at least 5 cans to cover the area.

TBN: Re: Gravel driveway dust - 01/07/03 12:21 PM

<font color="red"> I sure am looking forward to being rid of them for a day! </font color>

TBN: Re: Gravel driveway dust - 01/13/03 08:48 AM

...now that they're older they seem to only want to go where they can dig and cover it up.

CBN: Cats, I'm trying to make this work out, but ... -09/18/02 01:16 PM

<font color="red"> If I would have known cats are this stupid I would never have gotten them! </font color>

CBN: Cats, I'm trying to make this work out, but ... -09/18/02 01:16 PM

One suggestion I got was that they don't want to walk that far. ... <font color="red"> total defiance is not going to cut it around here. </font color>
I'm not going to keep spending money on cat food if they don't start co-operating!

CBN: Re: Cats, I'm trying to make this work out, but ...- 09/18/02 01:53 PM

<font color="red"> We'd have to clean it out every day, which is not an option, we have better things to do than clean up after a cat all the time. </font color>

CBN: Re: Cats, I'm trying to make this work out, but ... -09/24/02 02:59 PM

Keeping them locked in their house at night has been the key to this success. That way I know where they are at night and know they aren't pooping in the flower bed.

CBN: Re: Cats, I'm trying to make this work out, but ... - 10/01/02 09:38 AM

Tiger pooped in his house. I know it was him this time, because I have the partition in there and it was on his side. He pushed his padding and blanket all to one corner and then went on the floor. He wasn't in there as long as he was the previous 2 nights, so I don't know why he picked this morning to do it. <font color="red"> He'll be left in there to smell it for a few hours again like last time. </font color>

CBN: Re: Cats, I'm trying to make this work out, but ... - 10/01/02 11:58 AM
...getting the kids cats for pets was a mistake. They don't make good pets for kids (or for adults as far as I'm concerned). They are not very playful, don't come when called, etc. All they want to do is lay around and sleep all day. They are independent, belligerent, not very smart, and seem to have very short memories. They also haven't caught a mouse yet. I've taken them back to where there is a wood pile and some stuff I have stored that are covered with tarps. I've seen mice there many times, but they never catch one. These are certainly the last cats I will ever have around!

CBN: Re: Cats, I'm trying to make this work out, but ... - 10/02/02 09:52 AM

<font color="red"> Any animal with any intelligence would have learned its lesson. </font color> But, this morning Tiger pooped in his house again!

CBN: Re: Cats, I'm trying to make this work out, but ... - 10/03/02 08:52 AM

<font color="red"> Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll both wander off and never come back. </font color>

CBN: Re: Cats, I'm trying to make this work out, but ... - 11/27/02 09:23 AM

If I would have known what they were like, I would never have gotten them. But, <font color="red"> now the kids are attached to them and I'm stuck with them until they get killed or wander off. </font color>

CBN: Re: Well, I started feeling guilty - 01/23/03 10:27 AM

It's not the kids fault that <font color="red"> the cats refuse to cooperate. </font color>

CBN: Re: Well, I started feeling guilty - 01/23/03 11:09 AM

<font color="red"> Any animal with a little bit of intelligence would figure it out by now! </font color> Yes, cats are untrainable and it's because they are just plain stupid!

CBN: Re: Well, I started feeling guilty - 01/23/03 12:56 PM

They go to the closest place, <font color="red"> in spite of getting yelled at, kicked, ice cubes thrown at them, and picked up and tossed whenever I catch them there! </font color>

CBN: Re: Well, I started feeling guilty - 02/01/03 09:04 AM

I found cat poop on the gravel covered with snow next to the carport and some more under a bush next to it. It's time to start preparing the kids for when they find out the "cats wandered off I guess, that happens sometimes". I hate to lie to the kids, but <font color="red"> enough is enough </font color> !

[Mosey]

WVBill - I certainly won't deny that the cats saga has been very frustrating! In the heat of the moment I did say a .22 would be the best solution. But, I didn't use that method did I? There are a lot of people that would have. No one else I know of has every had their cats poop in their gravel driveway. It's impossible to clean up without wasting some gravel each time. You're criticizing me because I'm not willing to spend over $50 a week on something to spray on the gravel to keep the cats from pooping in it? Out of desperation I tried various methods of "training" such as locking them in their house, which worked for over a week and then suddenly stopped working. I went to great lengths to provide them with clean dry sand (trailer parked over it) within 20 feet of their house at the edge of the woods, but they still refused to cooperate and preferred to trot 100 feet to the gravel by the carport and poop there. I'm still convinced that cats are untrainable and it's because they are vindictive, ornery, and stupid! I'm not convinced that I'm not an "animal person" in general, I'm only convinced that I'm not a "cat person". If the cats would have at least been good playmates for the kids, then I would have been much more willing to be the one that they trained to take care of them, but they do basically nothing but lay around all day, which I now know is because they're nocturnal and have been up all night.

PS: You said earlier that dogs "can get the concept of where NOT to go, but not the concept of where TO go." To me, that's a major difference! That's something that I can work with. If the cats could have at least done that, then it would have worked out. I've seen the cats go out to the woods, but not in the sand, and I'm fine with that. I've also seen them go in the mulch under some trees that are over 100 feet from the house, and I'm fine with that too.

[kokopelli]

cats tend not be good playmates....it takes a very special cat to deal with kids.

as for cleaning up in the gravel with out wasting any its really simple....get plastic bags verses paper at the grocery store and then use them....stick your hand in like a glove and pick it up...drop any gravel you might get...pull your hand through while holding the poop and then tie the bag in a not and throw away... thats what i do every day with my dog....just one more thing you have to think about if you want a dog by the way

[kokopelli]

oh and i kept my rabbits for years without them ever not wanting to be played with...just have to take them out of the hutch all of the time so they are used to it

plus if they dislike it ....it wont be until the kids are "ready" for a dog. say in about 7 years or so.

[Mosey]

kokopelli - Thanks for the suggestion. But, if I drop any gravel that has even a little poop left on it, then the odor is still there and that will attract the cats back to the same spot. I don't plan to have the gravel around by the end of the year anyway, since I'm planning (hoping anyway) to have it concrete by then. It's the pooping right under the windows in the flower bed that is the major problem. VWBill claims a dog can be trained NOT to go in certain areas, so do you agree? If so, how is this training done? Please be honest and don't let your desire to keep me from even getting a dog bias your answer!

[Mosey]

"oh and i kept my rabbits for years without them ever not wanting to be played with...just have to take them out of the hutch all of the time so they are used to it"

OK, I'll keep that in mind, thanks!

[kokopelli]

okay here is the gods honest truth...if you have the time you can get a dog to relive himself only where you train him too....you can make a nice sand pit for hime to go in and give him a nice let say 10 X 10 area to dig in! and he will only use those places.

but it takes a lot of work...this means when you are house trainig and taking the dog out every 2 hours all night long you have to bring him to that spot to pee while on a leash....

i am not sure if this will work with a dog that is only an outside dog since they have the whole area to use....but i can probably be done if you put in the work....

nont of my dogs go right by the house unless there is alot of snow on the ground and they cant get a sniff and that not their fault.

dogs are great companion animals...but they are alot of time and energy....just be prepared to do it all yourself. your kids are just too young for the responsabitly but not too young for the benifits.

if this is the route you want to go....i would go to the local sheltor to volunteer your time with the little ones. then see if you are up to it. but there are things that you have to be prepared for...like accitends....gifts in the form of dead animals (if they are outdoor dogs), smells...some breeds just hand an odor, and hair...almost all dogs shed...the ones that dont would def. have to be house dogs in your climate. oh dont forget walking....any of the sporting breeds need not like need to be walked at least 6 miles aday (total) for a healthy life. that takes time...just letting them run around in the yard doesnt cut it...they dont exersice like the need to alone....you can do to the dog park on the weekends to supplement....

right now i walk three miles in the morning....3-5 when i get home and another half or so after dinner before it gets too dark.

just keep this in mind, but yes you can get a dog to poop where you want him to.

[Boondox]

Danny -- I have three cats. They greet me each day when I come home from work. They curl up around my shoulders and sleep while I watch TV at night. They catch mice and bring them to me to show what good hunters they are. When I lay down in bed at night they each jump up to "bump heads" with me before going off to their own sleeping places. It sounds like the only thing I have that you don't is...

Patience.

Pete

[Mosey]

Boondox - You have a valid point about patience.

I think of patience as something similar to vacation time - you build some up and then you use some, build up some more and use some more, etc. The hassles of work, and then dealing with vehicle repairs, household repairs, and of course two 6 1/2 year kids uses up pretty much all of my patience, leaving none for the cats! I think another thing that helps with patience is how much free time a person has. Right now I have very little.

Have you ever heard of the 3 elements of life? Time, energy, and money. For most of us, we never have all three at the same time. When we're young, we have lots of time and energy, but no money. Then, we get to where we still have energy and get some money, but we don't have much time (that's me now, except I don't have a LOT of money). Then, we get old and have lots of time and money, but no energy! There are a few exceptions to this, such as people who win the lottery or get lucky with stocks and retire early (one of my neighbors fits this description), but for most of us it holds true.