Best posts made by EllenW

Hi! Here are a couple of pictures of Cinnamon (Cinny for short). We got her a little over a year ago as a rescue, and think she is a Basenji - Corgi mix.
She's super cute, affectionate and has decided my daughter is her person, rather than me. She is a very picky eater, and doesn't play with toys much either. She loves to investigate the back yard, and at night she sometimes she will go to the corner of the yard and sit in the tall grass, very still. She really seems to enjoy it, like she's in "hunting" mode. I think she's part corgi (she looks like it to me) and she bumps against my legs with her nose to get me to move, so I am going to try getting a "herding ball" for her to see if she'll play with it. She's not really keen on any toys so far.

Hi there! I have a couple of ideas that might help. For the garbage, if you can get a taller can like the type in cafeterias with a rounded lid and a flap door in the top part, that solves that. Boots can go in a box by the door; maybe a wooden box or something with a lid, or tall enough that she can't see them. Shoes in general can go in a plastic box under the bed or in the closet.
If you get a pressure gate, they're adjustable to fit the doorway and low enough for people to step over. Sometimes dogs are content to look outside and not necessarily go out. Maybe Rogue though everyone was going to go, so followed them out.
It's been my experience that a harness while in the house doesn't work. My dog chewed right through her first harness in a matter of 30 minutes. When I came back in, she was sitting right next to it, like "thanks for the weird chew toy but don't put it on me". So that's something I'm still dealing with too. I want to have something on her at all times with a reflector and tags. My neighbors opened my back gate once and didn't close it. I'm putting a spring on it so it closes itself. Cinny was out in the front yard when I noticed, but she came back when I called her even though she usually doesn't. She needs training and I haven't been successful with that yet. I might try bacon. Try whatever Rogue's favorite is. I'm going to get a book so I'm consistent. Otherwise I get distracted when I'm trying to teach her and we just end up playing.
So, those are my thoughts. Tall kitchen garbage can with a lid/flap; shoes and boots inside boxes, a gate that people can step over but will let Rogue know that's the barrier. Maybe screen doors with springs so they close themselves. It's like with little kids - if they can't see it or reach it they can't get into it. They really have no concept of the danger outside. And most of all, she really, really wants to please you. You are her person and she loves you too.

This should have been posted on April first for April fool's day!:smiling_face_with_open_mouth_smiling_eyes:

@cotilla My dog is a mix too - we think she is Corgi/Basenji, and she is small. I'm not sure how much she weighs but I would guess about 10 - 12 pounds. There's only one way to know for sure about the breed, and that's DNA testing. I'm not going to do that but a lot of people do. Your little guy looks so sweet - it's wonderful that you rescued him!

I googled it and here are some:
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/pets/g26569527/best-dog-sunscreens/

One is a spray, but the others look like they'd be a cream. You might want to put a little on their ears too!

That's such a great idea! You could put a plushie toy over it with the stuffing taken out! Something to try for Cinny for sure. She hasn't responded to any toys so far.

Cinny does this to me too, and if I approach her when she has decided she isn't going to come back inside (in the fenced back yard) she will even sort of "melt" down to the ground while looking away, and if I try to pick her up she shrieks and nips at me. I'm always very gentle with her, and I know she isn't afraid of me, she just doesn't want to come in till she's ready. The one thing I've seen that will sometimes lure her back willingly is a small piece of bacon. I use little pieces of bacon as treats to train her since she doesn't like regular dog treats. She used to be very afraid of being picked up so if I'm going to, I tell her first and go slowly.

When I was in my teens I used to babysit for people when their kids came home from school but the parents didn't get home till around 6:00. I wonder if teens still do that? Maybe you could get someone to come to your home after school and stay till you get home. Just a thought! Good luck.

It doesn't seem likely Jane, since he wasn't allergic to her before. In spring everything is pollenating and I would guess it's something like that. I think just being at home as we've been during the pandemic could change the seasonal allergic responses to both owners and dogs. We got Cinny just before the pandemic, and we've had to stay home, so I just play with her in the back garden and she can run in big circles, and I play "chase" with her out there. If you're walking her in your neighborhood, maybe take her to a different area to walk, if you think she's getting exposed to pollen and it coming into the house. I hope that helps!
I've worried about Cinny getting reverse sneezing sometimes lately, but the vet said it's ok to give half a benadryl to her. So as long as I can hide it in something to get her to take it, I do that.
For the husband, try Allegra if you have it over there. It works really well for me when it's allergy season.

@chrisf
Cinny won't even wear a harness unless she's supervised. She either wiggles out of it or chews through it. I sewed the first one back together twice, then just got another one. I have one now for her that fits more like a jacket, but haven't tried it yet.

I have the opposite problem with Cinnamon. She's extremely picky about what she'll eat. I've tried every kind of food, from expensive to cheap-o, or making it myself. She will eat it the first couple of times and then is not interested, even if I leave it there all day. The only food she consistently likes is bacon, so I freeze it after cooking it and mix a little in with regular food for her.
I've thought maybe it's similar to how people either eat too much or lose interest in food because of stress or anxiety. But I'm hoping these are behaviors they can be trained out of. You might want to try a good trainer. That's what I'm going to try.

I've heard of pet doorbells or mats, and I just looked them up to make sure I was remembering that right. A few places have them - amazon and home depot for example. I would read reviews first, but usually if you try something like that and it doesn't work out you can return it within 30 days.

Cinnamon seems to become bored or depressed while my daughter is working. She has to close the door to her home office sometimes and when she comes out, Cinny bounds around and jumps and is really happy to see her, sits in her lap, cleans her hands. and is happy to sit with me too then, and play with me. So it's not that she prefers Kate; she just comes to life when we're all in the same room. I'm puzzled by that.
I've considered her past, since we got her at the SPCA and they picked her up in an outdoor mall. She had recently had puppies but they couldn't find the puppies and just brought her in. It's been over a year now, but that must have been traumatic to her, and we'll never know her whole story. They said she was very young to have puppies.
I wanted to ask if anyone has ideas or thoughts about this. Is it a Basenji behavior to want us to be in the same room, or is it just Cinny's own behavior for reasons unknown?

@heather-g-y
It's possible! We got her in Fresno! We don't know who had her before, but the shelter said they thought she had just lived outside most of her one + year. She definitely wasn't used to people, and was very shy at first. She let me pick her up but hid her face against me, so I don't think she'd been held much, if at all.

It was hard to find anything Cinny liked to eat for over a year. Finally I found a refrigerated food at Petco, called Vital. She eats it twice a day now and has never walked away from it. If it's available where you live, you might want to try it. I hope it works for your little one.

@eeeefarm Thank you very much! I have seen that happen; when the office door is open, she goes in, checks around and comes back out.
We got her right before the "stay-at-home" order was in place here in California, so we didn't have a chance to go to a trainer. I fully intend to do that as soon as we can. There's a lady here who people call the "dog whisperer" so I figure she must be good! I hope she can help me understand and respond accordingly. Cinny is such a darling, and being a Basenji - Corgi mix, it's an unusual mix of traits.

He's adorable! Congratulations on your new family member! Soooo cute!!!

There are shops on Etsy that will make things to order. I don't know a specific one but if if you look on there, you'll probably find options.

@eeeefarm
I was thinking the same exact thing! Even groomers sometimes use a little, lightweight muzzle. It's just for a few minutes and doesn't hurt.