The Forum Chit-Chat Thread

@cherryblossom so very sorry to have missed it if you posted loosing your wee Sheltie, I’ve not been active in boards too much lately since the facelift! Yes to more furries like @Graces7 , I can’t settle in home mode until I’ve a pet.

@Graces7 who hoo to getting back to driving, I finally did a few weeks ago & although I don’t go anywhere important as such, being able to get up to Wicklow at the weekend & to one of bigger city parks has done wonders for me, Esmae & Mr C. The change in their relationship had been amazing too, they are much better friends now that they get some great walks in w/o the nuisance of other dogs & mounds of people around. Enjoy the new motor!

I am annoyed. I think because I'm wrong, but I just don't like being confronted about it. We have a boxer/lab/german shepherd cross. She is 18 months and we live in an apartment. She is a barker, and very defensive in apartment complex. She barks and runs at people in the development because she doesn't really understand that her home is just the apartment bit, and not the whole complex. At night time, she is especially bad. She is not friendly to people she doesn't know. Not unfriendly, just doesn't really have much of an interest in it.

Tonight we were going for a toilet and when we were coming back, there was a man walking against us. She tries to run at him. If she was off the lead, she would bark at him and run back. But being on the lead, she pulls and looks like she would attack if free. I have her on a reasonably tight lead. I give the guy a eye roll, and he responds with 'control your dog bro'. I say what, he repeats himself. I say is she not under control. He goes yeah, but i'm just saying it's not cool for her to bark at people. I go ok, she didn't bark at you. Then she barked at him. He repeats himself again. And then says 'i could call the management company' and walks away.

I'm annoyed by the fact that he's right she shouldn't bark at people, and 'it's not cool', but it's just an active largeish young dog in apartment living and while we try to avoid people as much as we can in the complex, night time is her trigger and she goes into protective mode. What is he going to phone the management company about? A dog barked at me?

Thanks for your reply. A lot of your assumptions are incorrect. She doesn't bark in the apartment. She gets one big walk off the lead and then sleeps the rest of the day. Has never bitten or threatened to bite anyone.

I definitely think it's my problem as I said in my post. I'm annoyed because I'm in the wrong and he is right, as I said in my post. If it seems like I'm trying to defend my dog's behaviour because I think it's acceptable, I'm not. I'm just saying that I have a dog who unfortunately barks and lunges at people when she is on the lead. She has never bitten person or dog, but has been attacked and bitten twice by other dogs who were off the lead.

It's just very frustrating because we have gone to training classes with her, and done our best to keep her calm around people, and she is a very good dog when she is off the lead - perfect recall, perfect sit and stay. It's just when we are on the lead and in the apartment block she really gets nervous and appears scary to neighbours. I think we need to move somewhere else, but that is easier said than done. It's just difficult because there can be people outside the lift every time it opens, and even when there isn't, people can appear from around any corner in the development, and especially at night, she gets a fright. It's so frustrating. And with the added emphasis on trying to keep her calm since the man confronted us, I feel like she gets the sense that things are even more tense which drives her anxiety even more.

:(

Ah sorry - I took you up wrong Yillan. It’s terrible when you have set backs like this and it’s out of your control 😔 My Lucy was terrified of kids - she’d bolt or try to hide. The amount of times we had to get up and leave when we were having coffee etc after calmly explaining to parents that she was terrified… yet they’d let kids approach again and again. I ended up with a harness that said in training and that helped a lot. In your case maybe a harness/lead/vest that says nervous dog? Or could you maybe leave a note up from her/or Xmas cards even explaining that she’s afraid of people and apologising if she frightens anyone? I have a buggy for Bailey for longer walks and it was the first thing I thought of - I’d wheel her out with the buggy covered.

@muddypaws @VonVix

Thanks everyone for the comments. It really made such a difference to have gotten a bit of a sympathetic ear. I think the christmas card to my neighbours on the bulletin board is such a nice and clever idea. She is so photogenic as well, which would obviously be in her favour. The vest/leash sleeve is a good idea too. She is 18 months old. She has always been a nervous dog from when we got her as a puppy - it is sort of embarrassing that we can't even claim that she was a mistreated rescue. We made her like this.

We have made some progress this week and we had three potential barky interactions on the most recent outing today that she avoided. One she didn't avoid - a man on a gangway across from ours and two floors down came around a corner and she took exception. From 20 metres away.

When I see a person now coming towards us in the complex, I divert towards the nearest person-free area and give her lots of treats for not barking at the person, even though she really stares very hard at them. The unfortunate thing is that there isn't always a person-free area nearby, or the person comes around a corner quickly before I get a chance to divert course. But we're working on it, and I think she's getting better.

We have neighbours who we get on with who might be willing to help us train in scenarios. I'll have a chat with them in the new year

Lovely weather for plenty of walks in the Phoenix Park with a lovely Springer X. Only thing is I have blisters on my feet and the two heels are skinned of me. I wouldn't mind but I was wearing Skechers. The pain....

Same....the duskie is not impressed at the moment.

Amazing weather the last week, especially as it’s only march. Managed to clear our site in Dun Laoghaire, old workshop & office, planted out about 30sqm of native wildflowers as it’ll be a while before we find out if An Board Plenala will rule in our favour against the council and made a wee area safe for the doggies, built a fenced area with a tiny bris soleil for Esmae as she’s not fond of the direct sun or heat. We had some fabulous walks in Phoenix Park too, found a few boggy lakes that Esmae loves to get in with her ball. It’s a pity we’ll be changing back to normal temps this week.

Our Pom Esmae does that too, great thing is that her coat cleans so effortlessly. Also the pure joy on her little face is worth it 😁

I was genuinely worried about the dog. Pleased to report she got washed and clipped and looks absolutely gorgeous. A completely different dog!

No what ya mean @apache last time our Yorkie slipped his harness, he spent nearly 2 hours living his best life running the length & breadth of the area of Phoenix Park we were at, he’d eventually knackered himself out but wouldn’t come close enough to catch, that is until my OH showed up & he proceeded to go straight to him and lie down. TBH, Mr C had absolutely no recall, he’s on one of those escape proof harnesses now. I walk him and our Pom together so she was delighted when he flew off 😆 me, I was in taters freakin out that he’d get mauled or tear off after deer or get hit by an OPW truck. I felt awful as it’s totally my responsibility to keep him in control but not that day!

I've been meaning to get a tattoo of my departed cat's paw print since she passed on. I was torn between getting a generic cat tattoo or the paw print. Decision related inertia set in and I haven't got around to it yet.

Hi all

I see the weather is heading for high 20's the weekend , is it a good idea too give your dog a cold sponge down in hot weather ?