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04-16-2006, 06:02 PM | #1 |
Donating Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 247
| 2 Questions- How tight harness and eating poop? Okay, the two aren't related but rather than post two threads I thought I'd just combine them. #1 Kirby wears a harness and doesn't seem to mind it too much, sometimes he tries to chew on it (yes, while he's wearing it), right in the front where the neck and arm straps come together, sometimes he can get his chin (bottom jaw) under it and the poor guy has gotten stuck like that a couple times so I tightened up the harness but now it seems to tight to me, he doesn't seem to mind it, but it would bother me if I was wearing it, so I loosened it up a bit and again he got his chin stuck under the front of it. I'm just wondering how tight other dogs harnesses are. Should I be able to get a couple of fingers under it? #2 I live in a condo and apparantly some of my neighbors with dogs aren't as concerned with picking up their dogs poop as I am and when we go out for walks and potty Kirby tries to eat the other dogs poop when he finds it and this concerns me, aside from the gross factor, I was wondering if they can get sick or get worms or something like that. Thanks! |
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04-16-2006, 06:43 PM | #2 |
YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: El Paso, Texas
Posts: 3,065
| Why not remove the harness and just put it on for walks then you can keep it looser. I think the rule of thumb is you should be able to put two fingers in it. Yes, dog feces may contain worms, coccidia, giardia, parvo - you get the idea - i wouldn't let mine even get close enough to smell it. |
04-16-2006, 06:49 PM | #3 |
Donating Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 247
| I thought about that, just putting the harness on for walks, but his tags are on his harness and god forbid he should dart out the door or something, I just don't feel comfortable having him un-tagged, even around the house. #2 I try not to let him get close to it either, but sometimes he finds it before I know what happened. he'll be walking along and just stop and put his nose in it and I yank him (gently but firmly) away from it, but I thnk he did get a bite of some today. Whatshould I do? Anything? |
04-16-2006, 06:57 PM | #4 |
Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Central Texas
Posts: 2,624
| You just have to be vigilant - but there is no way to prevent EVERYTHING from happening. We travel quite a bit and there is nothing grosser than the grass around gas stations/rest stops. Yet, my baby HAS to go potty. I try to watch ALL THE TIME but it is nearly impossible and they can see things down in the grass that we can't see and they are lightening quick when they want something. As long as Kirby (love the name, by the way) has his shots, and takes heart gard - then he is about as protected as he can get. And of course, he has you watching out for him too - don't beat yourself up - we can only do as much as humanly possible to keep them safe - but we just can't keep them in a bubble. Good luck with your guy - he sure is a cutie!!!
__________________ Rex & Rowdy's Mom |
04-16-2006, 06:58 PM | #5 |
YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: El Paso, Texas
Posts: 3,065
| Yes, it is a good idea to have the dog tagged at all time - even though mine never seem to have on tags because they get tangled in their hair, but mine are microchipped. What about getting a material type harness vest. They look like a shirt or are made into dresses for girls and have a metal piece for a leash that you could put tags on. Many of the members here make these. i'm sure someone can send you a picture. About your recent contact with feces - there's nothing you can do and i don't think i would worry too much about it - just do your best to avoid it and keep your dog vaccinated and wormed. You may speak to the management and see if a reminder can be sent out for dogs owner to please clean up. |
04-16-2006, 07:00 PM | #6 |
YT Addict Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: London
Posts: 284
| I think if he's happy with the harness when walking, then that's fine. Ideally you want to get two fingers underneath there (round his ribcage) to make sure he's comfortable and not too restricted. Could you make another hole with a pin in the harness - kind of somewhere in between? In terms of the poo eating, this very issue came up at the puppy socialisation class I went to and the behaviouralist there cited a case of a dog who was doing it excessively and making itself so ill that they had to re-train it. She said it was because it had to have 'a duty' or 'a responsibility' when it was out in the park. So instead, they used lots of retrieving and carrying games to divert him. I think he was a real hard case though but it was an interesting insight into why they do it I've googled some pages for you. All this sort of stuff is very interesting. You never stop learning with a Yorkie! According to some of the sites I've run though, one of the things you should check with your vet is if your dog has any internal parasites that are causing unusual parasites. You could also add courgette to his diet because for reasons unknown to researchers, it puts them off theirs and other dogs' faeces. I don't know what you call courgette in America but I think it might be zucchini (long, green plant) This site is just general information on coprophagia http://www.isabellevets.co.uk/health...ophagiadog.htm Another one http://www.understandinganimals.com/article/3 Another that says the issue should be addressed in a number of ways http://canines.com/library/solutions/coprophagia.shtml This is a very informative site http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIP...PoopEating.php This site recommends teaching him the 'leave it' command http://www.celiahaddon.co.uk/pet%20p.../dogs/poo.html So, looks like you have some work on your hands but it's a really resolvabe issue so don't worry too much! Annie |
04-16-2006, 07:01 PM | #7 |
Donating YT 12K Club Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Council Bluffs Iowa
Posts: 12,552
| As for the poop eating, I think I would teach him the command "Leave it". Then when he starts to go near something he shouldn't be near, you can tell him to "leave it". As for keeping him tagged, have you thought about micro chipping him. Just some suggestions |
04-16-2006, 07:31 PM | #8 | |
Donating Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 247
| Quote:
Thanks for all the info, wow! But I'm not sure I understand what you mean by make another hole in the harness? Also, zucchini? Really, I didn't know that, that is really interesting, I also didn't know you Brits called it courgette, I've never even heard it called that and I'm usually pretty good with English terminology. Thanks for all the info, I'll research those links in depth. JeanieK- Yes, I have thought about getting him microchipped, in fact its on the list of things to do. My other dog, a Springer Spaniel, was microchipped and she did get out once and was found without her collar and the microchip was how I got her back. So I'm a strong advocate of microchips. Thanks for the thoughts. | |
04-16-2006, 07:40 PM | #9 |
Donating Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 247
| Annie- I just realized what you meant by make another hole, do you mean for a buckle, like a belt buckle? His harness doesn't have that kind of buckle. It just has a slide type of strap, I can make it any legnth. So, yes I can play with the adjustment and maybe find a spot where it works better. |
04-16-2006, 07:49 PM | #10 |
Donating Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 247
| RowdysMom- Yes, you're right, he just finds it before I have a chance to stop him. And yes, he has is shots and takes heartgard ,I'm just being a little overly protective I guess since he's knew, and he's my BABY! I'm sure I'll not worry so much as time goes by. Thanks for the thoughts. |
04-16-2006, 07:53 PM | #11 |
YT 6000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 6,238
| I don't know how big Kirby is, our Yoda used to do the same thing with the cat harnesses we used for him (the simple ones we got from Petco). We were given a step-in harness (here's a picture of one: http://www.moderntails.com/store/cus...at=277&page=1), which helped greatly , as it's too far down there so that he couldn't get his mouth down there to chew on it. If Kirby is 6 to 8 months, he may still be teething now, so anything he can get his little teethies on, he'll chew up! If Kirby is home when you are not there, you may want to consider removing the harness, as he may get his chin stuck when you are not there, which would be pretty sad... As far as the poop is concerned, try to keep a very close out on him while out on walks and try not letting him near the poop with either a stern "No!" or as others have mentioned "Leave it!" when he gets near. You can try bribing him with a small treat right after the command which may help him learn it better. But yeah, poop is gross, but it seems EVERY Yorkie initially likes smelling and eating it, so you're not alone there. It took Yoda a bit to stay away from poop, but I think after a year or a year and half (he's now almost four), he was pretty good and able to stay away from poop on his own. Another thing you could do with poop is spray some Bitter Apple spray on it, that has worked for some, as that changes the smell of poop to something most Yorkies may not like. Oh yeah, there's nothing wrong at all with being overprotective, I've been an overprotective Dad since we got Yoda! Never wrong to be as safe as possible! |
04-16-2006, 07:53 PM | #12 | |
YT Addict Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: London
Posts: 284
| Quote:
Yeah. Sorry, I might have it confused with Badger's collar. He wears a (buckled) collar and occasionally a (clip on) harness. I've had to put holes in the collar strap at times as he's gotten bigger because even the last loop on it was too big for him. Sorry if that was confusing Yup. Courgette. These things right? http://www.lava.be/documents/jpegs/f.../courgette.jpg. I'd probably add them to his food as slightly cooked and finely chopped up. See what happens. They also make great soup! Boil a load of them in some stock until they go really soft, mash it all up, simmer for a bit and then add cream and pepper to season. Easy as! Really delicious with some nice, warm crusty bread | |
04-16-2006, 08:08 PM | #13 |
Lovin' 2 Girls Donating Member | Harness - I recommend a vest by Connie. Click Here, to visit her site; and scroll down for the vests. I just got two harness dresses for Abbie, and they are so adorable! Cute, and functional. She wore one all day inside the house today, and didn't seem bothered by it at all.
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04-16-2006, 08:25 PM | #14 | |
Donating Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 247
| Quote:
I love zucchini, if the poop eating becomes a problem, I'll definitely try it for him too. Hmm... I'm hungry for zucchini now for some reason | |
04-16-2006, 08:39 PM | #15 |
Donating Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 247
| Fasteddie- Thanks for the info. Kirby is pretty big, 12.5 lbs, he's a Yorkie/Scottie mix, (a 'Yottie' as we coined him in another thread). But I also kinda like 'Scorkie'. Anyway, yes, I am worried about him getting his chin stuck when I'm not here. I'm almost always here though (I work out of the home) but when I do leave I do take it off and put him in his crate, then put it back on when he comes out. I like the step in harness a lot, I think I'll look for one of those for him. That's an expensive one though... Jeeze Louise $55 bucks for a harness? I'm assuming there are less expensive ones too. And I just pick up the other dogs poop too if I have an extra baggie with me, but there is obviously a lazy dog owner in the complex and I think I'm going to do what Lacy's Mom suggested and ask the managment to send reminders out that everyone is REQUIRED to clean up after their animals. Thanks again! And Yoda is a cutie! Last edited by Kirby's Dad; 04-16-2006 at 08:43 PM. |
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