Comfort food?

Dear Fisher,

I am facing a fact. I have an obsession for stuffing my mouth with toys, socks, and sometimes underwear I find around the house. We have a cat here, too, and she gets really mad when I take her toys and pull them apart. My humans aren’t too happy with all the half pair of socks, either. Lately they are trying to teach me to leave their stuff alone and I have to start behaving. I just forget and go back to my old ways. Can you explain this and give us some advice so we are not all upset all the time?
Nick

Dear Nick,

You are describing what I call quirky dog behavior. While it may cause a lot of angst around your house, it is not at all uncommon. You, the dog, are quite trainable, and you will do well by your people to keep working at it. Humans are not always as easily trainable as their dogs, but they play a key role in the outcome of the whole exercise. A perfect combination is a dog who does not lose site of his need to please, and a human who will remain calm and consistent in their training procedures.

Understanding why you need to fill your mouth with stuff is an important start.
For instance, you may become bored when you are left alone. The war begins when the enemy is underwear and socks, and you must pursue the enemy in order to save the household from hidden danger. Or, if you are less creative, you simply want to get as much of your human’s scent as possible embedded in your psyche as possible, and what could be better than a stinky sock?

According to the Humane Society of the United States, “toys are not a luxury, but a necessity. Toys often help prevent bad behaviors from developing.” Your humans can alleviate their distress by establishing some habits of their own, such as:

1. Pick up the dirty laundry and put it out of your reach
2. Schedule some serious playtime with you before they leave the house
3. I recommend looking at the Humane Society for tip sheets for solving poor dog behavior. My favorite is: Provide toys that offer variety—at least one toy to carry, one to “kill,” one to roll, and one to “baby.”

You may even inspire the cat to come up with a similar plan for her toys – or not. In any case, I wish you all well.

Your friend,
Fisher

If I look cute can I come inside?

Dear Fisher,

I used to play in the back yard but then I thought it would be fun to jump over the fence when my people were at work. I did a few other things in the house and my people decided I needed to stay in the yard. So then they bought me a dog house. They tie me to the dog house so I won’t get out of the yard. They think it is great because it is big and roomy and they put my favorite blanket in there. I hate it! I won’t even get inside it when it’s raining. What can I do?

Your friend,
Claus

Dear Claus,

Many is the day I wish I had my own house. I think you are lucky. You obviously do not. Let us examine some of the reasons for your distress. The biggest issue I see is that you, the dog, are a pack animal. You likely feel you are isolated out in the yard attached to your new dog house and you are just plain lonely. Or – and no other dogs need to know – you might just be a little scared out there when you hear all the neighborhood noises and you cannot see over the fence to learn what is going on. Could you be a little claustrophobic? Would it help if your house had a window?

To get through this, just remember why this has happened in the first place. Face the facts. You messed up (no pun intended)! As I read your letter, the word “training” kept popping into my head. It could be that training you to enjoy the dog house will carry over into your enjoyment of the people house. A few tips to get started are:

1. Your people could put treats or a favorite toy inside the dog house.
2. Alternate putting food and water bowls inside, then outside of your house.
3. Your people must also train themselves to not peek out the windows to see how you are doing.
4. Check into the top rated dog training programs on line Pup Dog Training.

As to the issue of your sitting out in the rain instead of going into your dog house: Humans know how much dogs love to swim. They may soon realize that the rain is not bothersome to you and they will figure out it is just a ploy to look pitiful. Oops! Did I spill the beans?

Your friend,
Fisher

My favorite email of the week

If I Didn’t Have a Dog or a Cat…

I could walk around the yard barefoot in safety.

My house could be carpeted instead of tiled and laminated.

All flat surfaces, clothing, furniture, and cars would be
free of hair.

When the doorbell rings, it wouldn’t sound like a kennel.

When the doorbell rings, I could get to the door without
wading through fuzzy bodies who beat me there.

I could sit on the couch and my bed the way I wanted,
without taking into consideration how much space
several fur bodies would need to get comfortable.

I would have money and no guilt to go on a real vacation.

I would not be on a first-name basis with 6 veterinarians,
as I put their yet unborn grand kids through college.

The most used words in my vocabulary would not be: out,
sit, down, come, no, stay, and leave him/her/it ALONE.

My house would not be cordoned off into zones with
baby gates or barriers.
I would not talk ‘baby talk’. ‘Eat your din din’.
‘Yummy yummy for the tummy’..

My house would not look like a day care center, toys
everywhere.

My pockets would not contain things like poop bags,
treats and an extra leash.

I would no longer have to spell the words B-A-L-L,
F-R-I-S-B-E- E, W-A-L-K, T-R-E-A-T, B-I-K-E, G-O, R-I-D-E

I would not have as many leaves (or pine needles) INSIDE my house as outside.

I would not look strangely at people who think having ONE
dog/cat ties them down too much.

I’d look forward to spring and the rainy season instead
of dreading ‘mud’ season.

I would not have to answer the question ‘Why do you have
so many animals?’ from people who will never have the joy
in their lives of knowing they are loved unconditionally by
someone as close to an angel as they will ever get.

How EMPTY my life would be!!!

What would you do without cats and dogs in your life?