Anyone looking for two more doxies?
I refuse to get into all of the details, but my mother and I have been talking for a while about giving Gizmo and Franka away.
It all started with house breaking Franka while we were living in our old house. She just never… got it. Since then, we’ve had to crate them everyday while we’re at school/work, and every night when we’re sleeping. I feel like my dogs are in the crate more than half of the day.
We have a backyard, but it’s not like our backyard in our old house. We could let G & F out in our old backyard because we were on the first floor, and had huge gates surrounding our property, and they sunbathed a lot. In our new house, mom, dad, the dogs and i are on the second floor. Instead of just opening up the door, we have to lift them down the stairs, and take them around to our dog run. Our dog run is meant for my brothers much larger dogs. It’s not even like we can leave G & F out there.
F has seperation problems. If my Mom goes into the garage and she’s outside, she freaks out. Nothing works. I can’t hold her, spray her with water, hit her nose lightly with newspaper, nothing. It’s highly annoying that she has never, and will never listen to me. She is under my mother’s name, but its my dog, the same way that G is under my name, and is my dog.
Back to our dogrun, G and F like to run. Fine. They like to run up the stairs to my brother’s door. Not fine. Stairs = bad, because they are running top speed.
My brother also works night shifts and sleeps during the day, while we’re all at work or school. Myself, I am out of the house M-W 9am-4:45pm, TH 11-1:30pm, not bad. But, I always have to rush home to take care of the dogs, because what if Mom has to stay late, or is away?
While outside in our dogrun, G and F like to bark at eachother, cars passing, and anyone who walks by. They love to bark at people whenever we take them out, and this has really aggrivated me for a very long time. G was a good dog before we got F. F has always been the baby, she’s always acted like it, and I believe always will. If I get mad at her and even look at her, she starts crying.
There is so much more about F that’s been getting to me. Like how I try to make her get used to people by having them give her treats, but it hasn’t worked. How if we’re with other dogs, she’s scared. Mom and I try, we really do, but we’ve had enough.
I told Mom that I do not want to give away G, because he is my little boy, but she says that they both have to go, not one. I am torn.
I love G and F, and don’t want to give them away, but since our move to our new house, things just aren’t working out with F. *sigh*
I don’t know what to do. ANY and ALL suggestions would be great.
Thank you all for being so supportive of everything through the years. It means a lot to me and my family.
Stephanie, G & F
April 10, 2007 @ 2:36 am
I bet you are absolutely heartbroken even to have to think of parting with them. I’d take them like a shot, but living on the other side of the pond means that it just isn’t possible. I am sure that there are loads of other HDBers who can advise you what to do now.
Good luck and I am sure that you will make the correct decision, whatever it will be.
Harry and the gang
April 10, 2007 @ 6:46 am
Awww Stephanie I feel so horrible for you. I worry all the time about how we would manage if I get a new job where we don’t have such a great lawn and situation for doggies.
I can’t necessarily take them in but I will sure as shootin’ do what I can to help you place them locally and togehter so that you could see them from time to time. If you would like my help that is.
I think they should be adopted together if at all possible.
PS - to other bloggers, I have met Gizmo and Franka at the Dachshund rendezvous and they are really beautiful dogs.
Hang in there and we’ll work on a good solution for your situation.
Laura Annabel and Brownie
April 10, 2007 @ 8:05 am
WOW, I wish there were something I could help you with, but we already have 3 weiners. I hope everything works out well for you, and your pups!!
I am sure someone here will be able to help out. Good Luck, LISA
April 10, 2007 @ 8:14 am
Please consider one of the Dachshund rescue groups if you find you have to give them up. I got my dogs - both were 4 years old - from two different groups and am also approved to adopt by a third organization. They do an incredible job of screening people. They do home visits, call all your references, etc. Then they do their best to match you up with the best pet(s) for your circumstances. They will also make sure they are adopted together. Good luck!
April 10, 2007 @ 8:27 am
I can’t take them either, sweetie, but I would suggest you and everyone else try to relax. F & G can feel the stress and that is why they are “acting out” about training, barking, etc. I hope there is some way that you can enjoy your babies without building your life around them. Maybe if you can find a dog training facility around there or someone who has a pet day care center, you could work around this. Maybe you can sit down and talk with your Mom and brother about all of this and how you feel and how they feel. It’s important for everyone to be on the same page. Anger, fear, frustration all pass from hoomans to our pets. I learned that by changing my attitude on how I correct or train ArrBee. With luck and prayers, you can keep your babies. I hope this is so. If not, then I agree with carolr, check out the rescue groups. Good luck and may things work out best for all of you!
Sandi
April 10, 2007 @ 9:20 am
I agree with Sandi. It seems you have a bit of a chaotic situation at home and retraining yourself to relax more around them will help. Since you don’t have to go to school until 9AM, can you get up early and take Gizmo and Franka for a walk? This will help them calm down a bit and they will get good and tired before they have to go in their crate when you leave. Then take them for another long walk when you get home. Unfortunately, a dog run will not accomplish this, they need to be walked. The more they are walked and tired will help with their other issues. It will take some dicipline on your part to do it every day, but once you make it part of your routine, it will be easy. Don’t give up on your babies because the issues they are having are not their fault, they just need to have more exercise, dicipline and affection as Cesar Milan would say.
April 10, 2007 @ 9:44 am
I really feel for you. I had to ultimately find Tutter a new home due to the fact that I HAD TO go back to work. I could not knowingly keep that puppy crated all day. It was a very hard decision that I had to come to. If it comes down to it and you have to find them homes, I know everyone here will do what they can to help. They were great with helping me.
Is there anyway you can make them a seperate part a the pen there’s?? Can you divide part of it just so they don’t have to compete with them.
AS far as the house training goes, I would go back to the basics. If she will not go, crate her for 10-15 minutes and go back out again, if she wants to go somewhere out of sight, crate her. Treat her as if she is a 6 week old puppy again. And if there is a doggy daycare, or training facility, i would consider that if it is an option. I hope it helps. Annabelle went through the wnat to revert with the house breaking and I started from the beginning! It made a HUGE difference because she did not llike being treated like a puppy all over a gain! Good luck sweetie!
April 10, 2007 @ 11:01 am
Can you take them for a really long walk in the morning? And then, if you feel they are in the crate too long during the day, can you hire a high schooler or middle schooler to take the dogs for another walk? Then there won’t be the pressure to rush back after work. I don’t know if you reward them when they do their business outside, but have anyone who walks them, reward them with a treat every (and I mean every) time they do their duty outside. And, until they are house-broken, it’s not a bad idea to crate them. If the dogs get sufficient exercise with their walks, it is not inhumane to keep them crated until they are house-broken. If you have and can afford doggie daycare, that might be a good idea for one day/week. It sounds as if you are really stressed out and need a break.
As for separation anxiety, there are a variety of approaches. Ultimately you could try medication from your vet to keep your doggie calm. Hope this helps! Good luck!
April 10, 2007 @ 12:40 pm
I will gladly take them and fing them homes for you if you would like. Good luck on being able to keep them.
April 10, 2007 @ 3:23 pm
I really feel that if Gizmo and Franka have to be rehomed that they should go as a pair. Splitting them up after as they are dealing with the confusion of a new home might be too much stress on them. Just my opinion.
April 11, 2007 @ 2:13 am
I recently read from the Humane Society of the United States that the tactics you are using to break Franka of her separation anxiety are the wrong way and will not work.
Please read their excellent one-page training page for proper crate training and dealing with separation anxiety to give F and G the proper chance:
http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_sheets/crate_training.html
You sound like you have run out of patience for Franka. I once ran out of patience for a brittany spaniel when I was a young college age woman. I found that dog a good home with an older couple that had loads more patients than I did at the time, and it was a better life for the dog as I was not mature enough then to give her the patience and love she deserved.
I got mad too like you that the dog would not listen to me, and it was all my fault really because I did not have the patience and experience to get the right response from her.
If you are being honest that you do not have the patience to give Franka the proper love she deserves then please by all means do not subject Franka to further anger from you and poste haste place her and G into a home that can give them a crate-free life full of lots of love.
If you do not have any power in your new living situations to get any cooperation from your other family members, then you are making the right decision to place them both in better living situations for them. Living hours in a crate day and night is not a good life. It is a life that will further compound neurotic behavior from them and further make you angry, a catch-22 situation where there is no good out of it.
Both dachshunds I have now came from two separate homes where the owners crated the dogs for abnormal hours and could not housebreak them. In the right situation with the right family (in my case I am home all the time), those two dogs turned into wonderful sweet completely housebroken happy marvelous pets.
The same can happen to F and G with the right family in the right space and place. Sounds to me like they need an older couple or person that can be there for them all of the time to patiently train them through to better well-loved pets.