Postings by Rylee's Family

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Rylee I\'m Rylee!     Barked: Sun Jul 17, '11 3:21pm PST  hahah that photo is hilarious! Especially funny since Rylee looks like she might have some heeler in her. And no, it's not that bad!!! We got some "Bitter Yuck!" stuff and tried that, but it didn't seem to deter her much. We do have a crate for her, and she is trained with it, we just used to only use it for short periods of time when we didn't feel like puppy proofing for going out for only an hour or two. But, I think we might have to start crating her during the day now. The crate is actually kind of too big for her, so she has a lot of room, so I think she'll be okay. We rent our house right now, so we really can't have her destroying too much of anything, let alone the fact that drywall cannot be good for her digestive system! I'm just wondering if she's developing some slight separation anxiety. Thanks for the input, pups! my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Rylee I\'m Rylee!     Barked: Tue Jul 12, '11 12:37pm PST  Ugh this is so annoying. Rylee's dad and I both work during the day during the week. Sometimes I'm home early and I have one weekday off, but usually Rylee is alone during the week for about 7-8 hours, 4 days a week. She has the kitchen all to herself, the rest of the house is either behind closed doors or baby gated. She has water, toys, and her bed, including a good Nylabone and her Kong Extreme with peanut butter inside. In the mornings, she sometimes gets a 3-4K hike in the woods, off-leash, so she should be good and tired before we leave for work. Besides her morning hikes, in the evenings she ALWAYS gets either a 5K off leash hike, or swimming in the lake and hiking, or a good, long walk up and down hill. She is well-exercised and a very balanced dog mentally, trust me! Rylee is almost a year old, so she's past the teething stage. She tears her toys up like crazy so she is a chewer, but usually she's fine as far as not chewing anything up that's not hers. But every once in awhile, like today, I'll come home and find that she chewed on a corner or two of the walls in the kitchen. Today is especially frustrating because she did get an off-leash hike before work. She does not have a history of separation anxiety, other than the usual puppy barking for a few minutes when you leave, but then she settles down. Anyone have any ideas? Is there something I can put on the wall corners to make them taste bad? And she is spayed, so she's not frustrated hormonally or anything. Thanks in advance! my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Puppy Place > 4-week-old foster puppy, what to expect?

Rylee I\'m Rylee!     Barked: Wed May 18, '11 10:09am PST  Hi pups! I may or may not be bringing home a foster puppy this week from the shelter that I work at. I'm off work today so I don't know the full reason why we got such a young thing, but I might be bringing it home to foster if there's no one else so I need some tips! I was reading that at 4 weeks, puppies should still be on mom's milk (which we don't have, so, formula) but can be introduced to moistened puppy kibble. They also should be starting to squat and go potty on their own without needing mom's stimulation, true? Socialization is pretty important right about now, especially with "pack mates", so that's where Rylee will come in to help with that if the pup does come home with me. She's a pup herself, but she's been very well socialized and is great with all types of other dogs, and of course she's fully vetted and vaccinated. I can get all the supplies I need from work - crate, extra towels/blankets, newspaper, puppy pads, etc. The puppy will also be dewormed at the shelter and I can spring for a vet check with my own money. If anyone here has fostered or raised baby puppies before, please post your best advice! I'll be back with more updates as soon as I have more information on this little guy and whether or not he'll be in my care. Thank you! my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Choosing the Right Dog > I want a puppy I want a puppy.

Rylee I\'m Rylee!     Barked: Sat May 7, '11 2:38pm PST  I work at an animal shelter, and that is the BEST remedy for "puppy fever". bol. Puppies there are always whining and barking for attention (obviously, poor things), they're super messy, and seem to NEVER calm down! People always ask me how I don't take all of them home with me, and I'm like, I work with them 9 hours a day everyday, I like coming home to my one, clean, well-behaved, quiet 10-month-old pup. Good luck in your search when you find the time is right! RESCUE RESCUE RESCUE! my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > Helping a fearful shelter dog with liking the leash

Rylee I\'m Rylee!     Barked: Wed May 4, '11 7:07pm PST  Nice, Holly! Do you have a particular treat you like to use? We don't have very much good stuff at the shelter (Milkbones, etc. blah), but I think we might have some dried liver I could try... Clicker training would be good to start with her no matter what, it'll probably help build her confidence! my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Rylee I\'m Rylee!     Barked: Wed May 4, '11 4:57pm PST  Our humane society in town is quite nice! It's fairly new, about 15 years old I think. We have a main dog kennel room that houses 24 dogs, then more dog kennels in the back - one room for isolation (sick, etc.) and one more room just for overcrowding. Each dog gets their own private kennel that has an indoor and an outdoor component. It's nice when the weather is nice, because then I can keep their door open and they can go in and out as they please while we are open. For interactions, we have a big outdoor play pen where they dogs can run and meet their potential new families. We also have two interaction rooms indoors for both cats and dogs. For the cats, we have the main kennel room that houses 50 cats, then we have more kennel space in back - again, one ISO room for the sickies and one room for extras/strays. Extras include a small library, two adoption/paperwork rooms, an exam room, laundry room, food storage rooms, small retail store, office area, conference room (available to rent by the public), and break room and locker rooms for the staff. We have several volunteer programs, the biggest one being our dog walker program. Several dog walkers come 6 days a week and walk every single one of our dogs. It's a big treat for them to get out every day, and it helps immensely with their socialization skills. Our's is the only shelter in the county, and we serve our county as well as the one above us. We have a separate animal control facility that takes in stray dogs, holds them for the alloted time, then brings them to us if they are healthy and adoptable. We unfortunately do not staff a vet, and we only euthanize for severe aggression or illness, so we try and only take in what we can successfully adopt out to a new family. Overall, I'm happy with my shelter. I wish we had more awareness events and fundraising and a stricter adoption policy, but such is life, especially when you work for a non-profit and have to deal with board members making all the rules! my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > Helping a fearful shelter dog with liking the leash

Rylee I\'m Rylee!     Barked: Wed May 4, '11 4:33pm PST  Hi! I work in animal care at my local humane society. What are some of your best tips for helping a dog get used to the leash? One dog in particular I'm thinking of currently in our shelter has a hard time letting me get a leash on her. She has never been aggressive, but she does have a slow time trusting people, as she was not properly socialized at all in her short life. She's a 9-month-old German Shepherd/Lab mix (looks like a black shepherd, she's beautiful!). She basically shys away from the leash every time I try and get it over her head, and I end up in a stand off with her trying to get her leashed up. She thinks it's a fun game. I don't think she's hand shy, or has a problem with things going over her head, because she loves to be petted everywhere on her head. What we end up doing is getting two of us, one to call her over and love on her and then one to get the leash on her while she's distracted. But still, this takes a little while and I'd like to get her more used to getting the leash on right away, so I can take her out of her kennel to interact with possible adopters. I try backing up to her, crouching on the ground (she likes this, she'll always come up to me and see what I'm doing), getting her favorite toy, coming at her sideways, but she's too smart and knows the leash is coming and backs away. As a side note, once the leash is on her she's fine and walks great, none of that wriggling or trying to back out of it or strangling herself, etc. Any suggestions?? my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Choosing the Right Dog > The College Dog

Rylee I\'m Rylee!     Barked: Wed Feb 9, '11 4:09pm PST  Ohhhh man. This is a subject close to home. I got a dog when I was in my 4th year in college. I was living with my then-boyfriend of three years, and we thought we were ready to adopt a dog when we moved in together. I thought we planned out everything - initial start-up cost, adoption fee (which included her spay), vet care, emergencies, etc. I started looking on Dogster for behavior advice, started reading training books, figured out what breeds would work well with our lifestyle. I knew I'd be taking the most care of her since he worked a ton of hours. I was in school full-time and had a part-time job. We ended up adopting a 4-month-old collie/shepherd mix. She was a doll, but holy crap was she A LOT of dog. She had horrible separation anxiety. We crate-trained her, but she messed in her crate every single time. So, I'd come home to a smelly, poop-stained dog every time I came home from class or work. Once she was bathed, she was a ball of energy, so lots of walks and basic obedience training. Not a lot tired her out, so after all of that there was more playtime indoors to be had before I could even think about studying. Plus, it was always hard to concentrate when there's an adorable ball of fur giving you th sad, bored puppy treatment. I was tired, boyfriend was tired, and she caused a lot of fights and sleepless nights. Neither one of was was about to rehome her, so it took a lot of time and energy and money and adjusting to having a dog. Eventually, we broke up, and then there was the dreaded "who gets the dog?" conversation. I did, because I took care of her, but I was also moving across the state for a new job after I graduated. I could not find anywhere to rent that I could afford that would take a dog her size (50 lbs.). So, I was screwed, and crying hysterically to my parents that I would have to take her to the local shelter because I could no longer keep her. THANKFULLY, my gracious parents decided to taker her in and keep her. I had every intention of getting her back once I got settled and found a new place to live in the city where I moved, but they became so attached to her that they kept her. She's still a part of my family, and probably happier with them anyway because they have more room and more people at home - better for her anxiety issues. Now, several years later, I'm more stable in my life, and have adopted Rylee. Her and Abby love to play and are great sisters when I visit my parents' house. Their house really is the best place for her, and they are better people because of her, too. Abby is a wonderful dog, and I couldn't imagine what my life would be like had she never entered it, despite everything that happened. Owning a dog is a major, MAJOR life-changing event. Just like when you have a baby, you never know what it's like until it happens. In my opinion, having learned from my experiences, college kids are not stable enough to own dogs. You never know where your life is going to take you in the next 5-10 years. You don't know where you'll be living, if you'll have a job and where and how good, who you'll be living with and where, and what you're going to want to do. College is a time to be experimental and do whatever you want on a whim, and owning a dog does not permit you to do that. You have to plan everything around walks, feeding times, training sessions, socialization, and vet appointments. Not to mention the financial responsibility. Please think long, long, and hard before you make the decision to adopt a dog. Wait a month or two really thinking about it, and see how you feel. Of course, some people can handle it, but I just wanted to tell my experience, because I think it's a way more common story than a college student actually succeeding in owning a dog and having it be the best experience ever. Best of luck. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Puppy Place > February is Spay/Neuter Month!

Rylee I\'m Rylee!     Barked: Sun Feb 6, '11 3:27pm PST  As our shelter says, "Neuter and Spay, it's the Responsible Way!" my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Rylee I\'m Rylee!     Barked: Sun Feb 6, '11 3:24pm PST  I don't have cable at my house, but I heard there are some cute ones on this year! My co-worker told me about the Basset Hounds (her weakness). Hopefully I can catch snippets of it online at Animal Planet! my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

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