Rescue Journal

i was not in a great mood last night....uncontrolled barking pisses me off.

Carol  ·  Aug. 4, 2011

if dogs are going nutz and barking for whatever reason there is..i am going to be upset and stressed...and so are my very nice neighbors...if i am stressed and unhappy, the dogs are not feeling too great either cuz they are the ones who get in trouble for pissing me off.

we can keep the barking to a minimum here. we do that by stopping or containing the barking BEFORE it starts or as soon as it begins.

we have operating hours when we are here working...9 am-2pm and then we have quiet hours from 2pm-9am when no one but me is here.
as long as the dogs are quiet, they can wander in and out of the house to the yards as they wish...they like to do what i like to do..putter around quietly, play a bit here and there, have a nice cuddle or even a long nap.
unfortunately at least three or four times a week...someone does show up here in the quiet times unexpectedly. then they all lose out cuz i have to round up the barking fiends and shut them all back up in the house. it sucks..their quiet, puttering evening is wrecked...my quiet/puttering evening is wrecked, the neighbors quiet/puttering evening is wrecked because an unexpected visitor drove the dogs nutz.

someone better have a pretty damn good reason for disturbing the peace around here or it totally pisses me off. i minimize the noise and disruption by following a rigid routine....i lock everyone in 30 minutes before people are due to start arriving around here. it keeps the crazy freakoid barking contained within our four walls..it is not a perfect solution but it certainly helps keep the neighborhood outside noise level down.

dogs will bark at pretty much anything..they bark to communicate that they hear something or are excited about something or they want something. so when a dog is barking..i pay attention..i actually listen to them....oh big bambi is barking by the side gate! this means she is done in the bottom field and wants to come back in the house. my job is to meet her needs so i immediately go to the gate and get her and bring her back into the house. i don't think she should have to stand at that gate barking over and over again to communicate her needs and wants...and i don't think our neighbors should have to listen to her barking over and over and over again while she is trying to get us to listen to her and help her open the gate to get back into the house where she wants to be.

i don't let the dogs outside until i am actually ready to take them for their walk. a bunch of frantic and impatient barking dogs running the fences and screaming their heads off and bugging the neighbors is NOT a good way for their walk to start. so i get myself ready and organized, get done whatever it is i have to do first..open the gates in preparation for their frantic explosive run outwards and then i open the flood gates and let them go....and because of this routine..i was the one in control. they all rush out barking their foolish heads off..for maybe one minute or two but then they start sniffing or swimming or pooping or peeing or just running in high speed and it is quieter and more peaceful....a far quieter and more controlled beginning of a brand new day....which i am sure our neighbors really appreciate.

with the amount of dogs we have living here...minimizing and containing the noise factor is our biggest challenge each day. we need to pay attention to who is barking and why and actually do something about it right away.
bambi cannot be left barking over and over at the side gate...jesse cannot be left barking over and over at his fence, phoebe cannot be left barking over and over in the cat run, people cannot come here unannounced in the dogs quiet and free times whenever is convenient for them, 20 frantic dogs can't be let out loose in the yard to bark and run around and wait til someone gets around to taking them for their walk...all of this just creates noisy chaos.

so here are the relatively simple noise containment saints rules...

don't come here outside our operating hours especially unannounced.
if we hear a dog barking, stop what we are doing and go get the noisy dog and make him or her stop by giving him or her what she wants...like back into the house.
don't let the dogs out until we are ready to give them what they are all freaking out about..like their first morning walk.

we are supposedly the higher species here...we are the ones who should be able to think things thru and figure the not so great consequences to all of us (human and animals) of a herd of uncontrolled, bezerking, barking their heads off, foolish dogs. our job is to protect both the animals and saints from those not so great consequences by keeping it as quiet and peaceful around here as we possibly can....and that takes a lot of dedicated work plus a good portion of common sense and personal responsibility to keep everything as quiet and settled as we possibly can.

it is far less stressful for me...for the dogs..for our neighbors...for the staff and volunteers too if we keep a lid on the noise level...and consistent, clear and thoughtful routines really help...as long as everyone works together to keep to the routines which ultimately keeps the peace....and peace is very important to the wellbeing of all of us here.

Comments

Mo

Thanks everyone for suggestions..Emma I will call you . My issue is he only eats dry food , I think he drinks a fair amount, but because I am in & out so much that is hard to gauge.

I had no luck with the lactulose..he is pretty fussy about what goes in his mouth.

I think I can get him to eat a bit of wet food ( Fancy feast though ) but if I can get something in him to help soften things up.. I think it will be worth it.

He is the cat that had the bladder stones ( food related ) so I have to be very careful

Emma

Thats exactly what it is Lax-a-day. It doesn't smell or taste and goes in the wet food but just be careful with the dose. It would depend on size of cat. Also you need to add more water to their diet if you give them this. You can add water to wet food to make it soupy. I would NOT use lactulose again ever. It is a sticky orange flavored syrup and cats hate it. It goes EVERYWHERE. I'm still finding sticy spots on the walls in my home from years ago! Lax-a-day (PEG powder) is the way to go. It is not kept behind the counter at drug store and quite cheap.

Tammy

Lax-a-day also works. Its a tasteless powder you put on their wet food.
I got the info from Carol.

Helga

Hey, Mo. have you used Lactulose? Halfpint has had chronic pooping problems that landed her at the vets' a few times and that is what I was told to use. The good thing is that it is an over-the-counter people product too and you can get a big bottle for around $10. If you get it at the vet it costs that for a tiny pill container. The vet would have to tell you how much. It depends on the cat and the severity of the problem.

Mo

Emma can you re-post what you used for Nudge when he was a mega-colon kitty.. my Ripley is having a tough time with pooping & I would like to help him out.

Thanks Mo

Emma

Ill be out on Sunday and am hoping to arrive around 11 if not before. Hope thats ok. I have Lantus and needles and lasix and some cat tents that beds can go inside or little dog tents if you like.

lynne

yes, last week i did have a talk with mo and k.o. because i had studidely let them out about 9;10. I promised mo that the weekend warriors would not let the dogs out until she came and gave us the heads up. so no worries on that department. i know mo works as fast as she can in order to have them come out and it is appreciated as they go totally beserk in the house. it is very worriesome if the neighbors start to complain, what would happen then. and i do think we are on top of letting esther big bambi and whoever else is barking at the gate back in quickly. i bring big bambi back in if she starts running the fence, barking at the other dogs and so do the other vulunteers. hopefully all that will help keep the noise level down. and it is not fair for people to come by unanounced it is rude as it is not animal control or the spca and they have rules i am sure. this is your home and should be respected as that. well, enough said . on another note i was wondering how many tickets have been sold for the gala.