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Old May 4th, 2004, 10:34 AM
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Luna Tic Luna Tic is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 9
She is in a crate. We have her teddy in there with her and we cover the crate with a sheet while we're away. We leave a fan on in the room for noise as that's what's on when we're sleeping at night.

We have left her for longer periods of time. Unfortunately, we both work full time and leave for the morning and one of us comes home for lunch takes her out, runs with her, feeds her, take her out again and put her back in the crate for the afternoon.

When we come home at lunch or in the evening the crate is in shambles. The sheet is pulled into the crate, her water bottle has been knocked off the crate. Her crate is a bit big for her now so we've put a sturdy piece of cardboard in it to make it a better fit. She's chewed through a large portion of that (every day...we're going through a lot of cardboard) and she's most often urinated and sometimes poop-pooped in her crate.

The leaving and coming back bit is our training on weekends when we have more time. She is in our bedroom during the day and we stand in the hallway outside the apartment to listen for a while. But, if we try to leave for more then 15 minutes, we just go. I don't think she knows we're there. It's too far away to smell us (about 50 ft and through 2 closed doors).

As far as her being quiet after a while, we've had mixed reports. The people below us and the building manager have said that's exactly what happens, it's just the first little while when we leave. However, the people above us tell a different story. They say the barking is "all day long". I'm unsure about that as neither of them are even home during the day (!?!?). And, oftentimes when we come home she is quiet and/or sleeping and doesn't even know we're there until we're right in the room. Now, while I understand that it is bothersome to neighbours, etc. I'm MOST concerned about wee Luna. I just don't want her to be so stressed out/distressed. It's like she just doesn't get that we're coming home.

Now, to answer some other questions: she's a beagle/border collie cross. So, we know that she has the beagle baying side and that both dogs require a lot of excersise. We're trying hard to leave a tired puppy, but it doesn't seem to matter. Then as soon as we get home, she'll go out for a pee/poop and then come in and absolutely crash...totally exhausted. But, when we leave again, all the barking/whining starts again.

Her name: Luna Tic. We named her Luna as there's a killer whale out here in BC that has been orphaned and separated from it's pod. The community have named him Luna. While our pup is a beagle and mostly tan/white (not black/white like most orcas) she has the markings like a killer whale. The white patches on the back of her head and on her belly. Then, after we named her and saw her personality we both realized how appropriate "Tic" would be for a middle name.

Thanks for confirming my thoughts about the drugs. I just needed to hear it from someone who is "in the know" and cares/loves pets as much as we love our Luna. I'm not interested in having a quiet dog for quiet's sake. What I really want is a happy content dog who loves life and understands some alone time is necessary from time to time...but we'll always come home to her.

Sorry....long post.
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