Melinda's Soapbox
Kennels or Dog Runs
If you’re going to make a kennel for your dog to hang out in while you’re away—which I highly recommend—there are good ideas and there are bad. Bark, from large chunks to small, tends to hold the urine odors and is a nightmare to pick the poop out of! Large river rocks are also a nightmare to clean up when your dog poops on them. Concrete also holds the odors and is hard to clean thoroughly.
My most preferred ground cover is pea gravel. Bark may look nice at first, but it sucks in a dog run. Pea gravel, NOT crushed rock, is easy to remove the waste from, washes up nicely in a rainstorm, is pleasant for the dogs to walk on, and it looks nice.
Be sure to give them somewhere to go to get away from rain showers or strong weather. One of my favorite ideas is to make a dog run next to the garage, install a doggie door that goes inside to an enclosed area (use X-pens or wood) where the dog can hang out but be warm and have water available that is not exposed to the elements.
Garbage
I don’t care what your vet or what the books say: DOGS ARE OMNIVORES and they will eat everything--even things that will kill them!
KEEP YOUR DOGS OUT OF THE GARBAGE. Either put it under the counter, even install baby locks if necessary, or train them to ignore it. I know quite a few people who have lost their dogs because dogs will eat everything. Let me say that again, EATING GARBAGE CAN KILL YOUR DOG or cost you thousands at the vet!
Another option is to crate or kennel your dog when you’re away. My dog, Lucy, spent the first year or two of her life in a crate because I could not trust her when I was gone. Nine years later, she still loves her crate and she knows that anything on the floor is fair game for her to eat or destroy. She forces me to keep a tidy house.
I also have a friend who has a Husky mix that is trained to leave the garbage alone: to the point that she can leave steak scraps or pizza crusts in the uncovered can next to the food/water bowls and her dog will not even think about ransacking the garbage. This is rare but she managed to train her dog well.
Death by Ingestion
Things that dogs have ingested that I have first hand knowledge of causing death:
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A package of crackers still in the plastic…the dog suffocated
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Hair scrunchy/pony tail holder which twisted up the intestines
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Prescription drugs
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String from a dog toy—cut/ bound intestines
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Rawhide knot lodged in guts/bloat
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Antifreeze
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Chocolate
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Coins—pennies contain zinc which is toxic
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Fabric—sliced up the intestines
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Sharp bones which punctured the intestinal wall
Crates
Crates will save your dog’s life in the car or the bed of a pickup when you get in an accident. On a recent road trip my car got egged and I was blind for a few seconds and very lucky that I kept the car on the road. Less than 10 miles later I came around a corner and there were elk running across the road. They’re called accidents because you can’t control them. You can control things like seatbelts and sturdy metal crates for your dogs.
I strongly believe that all dogs should be crate trained. Crates are not punishment if used correctly. Dogs are den animals and with just a little bit of positive training, like feeding them in the crate with the door open, they will love their crate. It is the safe place to be, it is the place to be when they’re not sure what to do or when Mom or Dad needs some time away from the dog. It is going to save their life in a car accident.
I have crates set up in my living room all the time and my dogs often choose to relax there all by themselves. A couple times each week we “work” the command by getting cookies when they get in and then more cookies when they wait for a release to come out. Another alternative is a dog bed that you train them to go hang out in, but where they can still see what’s going on.
Since I compete in agility with my dogs it is mandatory that they be crated or in an exercise pen for hours at a time. This is a trained behavior which results in good manners in the house.
I had a dog stay with me who was afraid of crates according to his people. When they picked him up 2 weeks later, he not only tolerated, but entered and slept in the crate just fine. This is because I used POSITIVE TRAINING to convince him that the crate was a good place to be and we gradually worked up to overnights in the crate.
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