NE Pets forum #18

I'm fairly sure he knows where he is over quite a wide area. I use to deliver a pennysaver and I'd take him with me. That means he's been on all the road within about ten miles of here. We had regular places where we would get out and stretch our legs. He knew when we were getting close to them.

I have started to worry about pets in the front seat because of the air bags in cars these days. I usually let my cats, inside their carrier, ride in the front seat after I strap in the carrier with the seat belt. Anyone have experience with an air bag deploying and how far the bag actually travels? Could it crush the carrier?

Doug, what a handsome boy you have! And he looks laid back as well.....My Irish wolfie always knew where she was....she would stand in the cargo space when we neared a hiking area...if we didn't stop, she would sink back down with a huge sigh! Memory, my air bags go by weight....neither of my dogs was heavy enough to make the air bag sign turn to on, but together they could....I made sure Robs stayed in the back, which he usually did....Suey doesn't weigh enough....however I tell her a zillion times to get in the back....when she does, she barks nastily at me.....

AYankeeCat I suspect that a cat carrier is to short to take the full impact of the bag.

Thanks ROBINDOG. He is very laid back. I don't really too much about the airbag with him. The particular van that the picture shows is too old for an airbag and I figure that in an accident he's heavy enough that he's better off hitting an airbag instead of the dash.

I've considered getting some kind of seatbelt for him. Has anyone ever used one? I worry about him getting hurt if we are ever in an accident.

I had a seatbelt for my cat in California. I used a small dog harness that is made to slip through the seatbelt. She could actually slip out of it - but she mostly just resigned herself to it. I am going to go and check what the weight requirement is for triggering an airbag.

I think mine is 60 pounds, Memory.....Suey weighs 48.....she is hard to restrain as she chews through everything...including the solder on her crate!

We always carried our cockers in wire dog crates.

Well I'm safe with my cats in their carriers - the biggest cat only weighs 14 pounds. I feel so much better now!

we use seat belts and harnesses for the dogs in the backseat.. they are really nice

Very nice!

http://www.thedogfiles.com/2012/01/08/stunning-dog-photography-44-dog-files-community-8/

How would you introduce dogs to a cat if it were to come live with you? We are thinking about taking my MILs cat but not really sure how the dogs would be or even how the cat would react. Maybe not even a good idea (?)

Lots of alcohol...

Make them FB friends first.

Alcohol for me or the dogs!

great link Victor!.. not sure Ronnie.. wouldn't work in this house.. the old owner of my house had a cat outside.. and left him here when she moved.. the girls were not fond of it at all

Both, Ronnie.

Jen, actually I don't know if the collar I have for Jerry is a 'TENS' collar or not. It's made by Petsafe. It probably is. I have seen a trainer abuse a dog with one of those collars, but this trainer was very abusive all around anyhow. People like that are sickening.

Rosemary, I thought a poodle's coat was insulating, even though it doesn't have an undercoat. Poodles are actually water dogs. I think Portuguese Water Dogs have a similar coat. Maybe they don't shed, either.

I would love to have a Xolo. I think they are very cool.

I got Jerry on Petfinder.com too.

Nice shots of your dog, Doug!

Karen

If the cat has never been around dogs and the dogs have never been around cats I think there will be a degree of challenge until they all learn the rules of cat and dog interaction. If the dogs tend to snap at things then it will be harder.Mostly that a sitting cat is to be left alone. This is learned by most dogs after a few times experiencing the cats claws. The cat needs to learn that a running cat is fair game and therefore needs to learn to stay put.

My two male cats will just flatten themselves onto the steps when the dog flies out the door.

The cat will have two issues. New place and dogs. I'm going to assume the cat is a female to make writing easier. I think I would try to introduce her to the new house before she has to deal with the dogs too. She is going to need somewhere she can get above the dogs and someplace to be able to hide. I always told my dog to "be nice" or "easy" or if he was getting to carried away "no." I didn't scold him over the cats because I didn't want him to associate the cats with getting into trouble. One of the advantages I had was that we had one cat that ignored the dog when I got him. The next cat we got was about ten and had spent most of his life around a dog, new what to do around a dog and is laid back enough to be friends with the dog. The third cat came into a home that had pretty much settled into a multi pet household and learned from them.

Nice dog photos! We had our wolfie, then adopted 2 kittens....we put the kitties in a large crate in the kitchen, then let Nora in...we told her to be nice.....she sniffed them, they were sort of scared...120 pounds of her....then we put her outside & let the kitties roam...we did this for several days....Nora, & the part Maine Coon male were best buddies...Pip would sleep on top of her....Nora never liked the female much, but never touched her.....

Thanks guys. I was thinking on the crate line for first intros. The cat definitely has not been around dogs. My guys were pretty good with the chickens, once they got used to them. They do bark up a storm if they see the cat in the back but will do that with dogs too. Plenty of places in the house for the cat to go if need be to get away from them.

I just feel bad for the cat, my in-laws are getting up there and just don't bother with it anymore. Their other cat died a few months ago and they don't seem to care as much for this one. She is sweet and I think she really does miss the other cat. They don't understand that and just think she is being a pest when all she wants is attention. Guess I better think hard about it I don't want to stress her even more. I'll try the carrier out first and just see how the dogs respond.

About purebred poodles, I don't know if they go into freezing water.
The poodle mixes with poodly curls that we know that didn't inherit the lab undercoat--don't.

Wall-e is EXCELLENT in the car, our old Keeshond not so much, she used to pace and drool

On cats entering where dogs live, i think it depends a lot on the particular cat as well as the dog. Cat will certainly find a hiding place and come out when she feels it is safe. If crates don't work out to separate them, perhaps just limited what part of the house is open to each at first might help so the cat can acclimate before dealing with the "monster."

Only "Giants" at my house Rosemary! LOL

Re: cat coming into dogs house Do you know about Jackson Galaxy - the "Cat Daddy"? He has a show on Animal Planet - My Cat from Hell and is IMHO a genius with cats. He tweets and is on facebook and I'm sure that he has already posted an answer somewhere.

The most important issue is if your dogs are prey driven. I don't know that Great Danes are as they were developed to pull carts and not for hunting. (As we all know - I am not a dog expert and my cats say that I don't know anything about cats either -so there.) Another issue is food - if the cat gets near the bowl at feeding time - that could be a big issue. Jackson would have you give the cat access to high, safe places where it could watch the dogs without any fear of interaction. He would probably work with clicker training everyone to get along. So thank you for caring about the neglected kitty and I hope it works out for everyone.

Had to share a "Timmy in the well" moment from my house last night. (Remember the TV series Lassie and how she managed to communicate with her humans?) My girl cat braved the boys to sit on my lap last night - which she does infrequently. I told her I would stay up an extra half hour to pet her, and I did. Then I needed to go to bed and took her to her bed in the dining room next to the radiator. She wouldn't get in! I fluffed the bed and turned off the humidifier I had plugged in earlier that day. She still wouldn't get in bed! I checked for leaking water from the humidifier or the cat fountain - both OK. (She always comes and get me when she finds water where it shouldn't be.) I gave up and went to bed. A few minutes later a weight plopped on my bed and claws started kneading my duvet. I had totally forgotten that one of the strays I feed had gotten in the house earlier that evening! She was telling me he was there! I got up and put Meeyow back outside where he belongs and gave Holly a treat and went back to bed.

Clever kitty !!!

Good job Holly!

Have to take Harper to the vet today, she is having trouble breathing and is coughing up a lot of mucous. She was coughing a little yesterday but it just seemed like she had something stuck, figured she ate a bit of dirt or grass from the yard.
She had me up most of the night coughing and when I came down this morning there were small spots of mucous all over. It seems to be getting worse as the day goes on and she was having trouble catching her breath. I can't even begin to think of what it could be.

Hope Harper is ok, Ronnie

That is funny Memory!

Oh, gosh, Ronnie, sounds like pneumonia! Let us know....Memory, your kitty is a smart girl....

Sorry to hear that Ronnie, prayers being said for harper. I agree with Robin...Hope everything turns out OK!

Harper is home and no pneumonia or congestive heart failure, they were my fears.

The vet seems to think it is a scratched esophagus from something she ate, her lungs were clear although she was running a slight fever but said that could also be from stress. He gave her a shot of antibiotics and sent me home with some and some cough pills. She has been pretty good tonight, ate some, but not all, of her dinner. She is definitly not herself. He is going to give it a few days and if she isn't better or gets worse we will do an x ray. He could here mucus in her throat but not her lungs. And her heart was good.

He said the mucus is actually a good thing as it will keep the throat from getting too sore. Doesn't want it to get into the lung though so the antibiotic will help with that.

Just like kids, they are seem so helpless when they are sick ):

So glad to hear it's not so bad. Hope your long-legged love gets better soon.

Oh, Ronnie, I sure hope Harper will be okay. Sounds like possibly she will. I thought of that canine influenza that has started going around. Praying for her.

Memory, that was a good story about Holly.

On Saturday, when it was so warm out, I took a long walk with Dad, Gretchen and Patches and Jerry. Well, Patches decided to roll in something stinky and really nasty. Smelled like some sort of poop. Ugh! She had it all over her neck and collar and bandana, and Jerry was trying to lick it. He was probably saying, "Oh, Patches, what's that great perfume you have on?" Anyhow, when I got home Patches went straight into the bathtub. She had been needing a bath anyhow.

Karen

Ewww stinky stuff is the worst!!
Deer poop is smelly and hard to get off!

ICK

good to hear Ronnie

glad to hear it Ronnie.. best to your poor baby

Same here, Ronnie.

Hope Harper is better today.....yes, dogs love to get down & dirty....Suey was trying to scrape a squished mouse off the dirt road the other day.....good thing I had her on the leash.....

I worry about dogs not restrained in a car because if you wreck, you have 60 loose pounds flying around inside the car. That'll do some damage.
My poor dog, we were away so DH put the cover over the doggie door. Well, I couldn't get it off, DH was gone all day, so each time I let her out I'd open the garage door for her. Once the neighbor's dog was out, so mine was excited to go out she ran full speed into the covered doggie door. Poor thing.