Go Back   Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca > Discussion Groups - mainly cats and dogs > Introduce yourself here - Say hello

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old November 18th, 2006, 06:53 PM
petitor petitor is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Posts: 1
Question needs advice

Hello, All-I am an 85 year-old retired lawyer who has been asked to feed 2 dogs. One named Laddie. He is 12 years old and weighs 38 pounds. The other is Sweet Pea. She is 2 years old and weigh 85 pounds. Sweet Pea is clearly overweight.They are confined to a small back yard and get very little exercise. I am unable to walk them and no one else bothers. Otherwise I am in good health. They have been getting fed at different times and their bowel habits leave much to be desired. I live in a small apartment in the back yard and will be responsible for taking care of their feces. In short, I need all the advice I can get. I hope you can help.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old November 18th, 2006, 07:04 PM
Prin Prin is offline
Senior member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 28,492
If you want to cut down on the feces, switching food to a more digestible, holistic food might help. Altering feeding habits for the 12 year old might be hard though... Older dogs can go on hunger strikes when the routine is broken.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old November 18th, 2006, 08:00 PM
Frenchy's Avatar
Frenchy Frenchy is offline
-
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Quebec
Posts: 30,227
Wouldn't it be better to surrender these 2 dogs to a rescue ? The way I understand your post these dogs have no owners?
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old November 18th, 2006, 08:18 PM
wdawson's Avatar
wdawson wdawson is offline
Papa D
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: dog loving hamilton,ont
Posts: 4,319
frenchy

i'm with you........
__________________
Wayne
Dad To :
George 18 year beagle, Rest in peace little buddy....love
Beathoven 7 year old mutt
Maggie 5 year jack russell
Felix 15 year tabby
Ozzie 12 year tabby
Tigger 10 year long hair cat
marley just a pup
sasha grand pup___________________________________________________________
Lettin the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin it back in.

Most of the stuff people worry about ain't gonna happen anyway.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old November 20th, 2006, 09:22 AM
Ptrcmcc6 Ptrcmcc6 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 35
How long are you feeding these dogs for? If it's for a short period of time, I would try getting them on the same schedule when it comes to eating. This way, I would think they both would go to the bathroom at the same time. Is it your yard they have access to while your feeding them or is this where they live and have no owners? If they have no owners and you are just feeling obligated to feed them because nobody else is........I would also suggest you call animal rescue. That is no life for a dog to live.......locked up behind a fence with someone coming by now and then to feed them.

On the other hand.......and a more happy note........if you are feeding them while the owners are away for a short period of time, I would just suggest feeding them at the same time. Did the people that asked you to feed them give you any dog food or tell you how they usually are fed? If not, you can divide their daily amount of food into 2 helpings (i usually feed my Copper in the morning and evening) or feed them once either in the morning or the evening. If you feed them at the same time, I would think they would probably go to the bathroom at the same time when you put them in the yard. Therefore, you would only have to go out maybe once a day to clean up after them. If it's only for a short period of time you are feeding them and you are unable to walk them, even a little trip in the yard is better than not going out at all. My dog loves going out in the yard and watching the squirrels and birds. Sometimes I don't get the chance to walk him but I don't feel quilty about it because he is outside in the yard for most of the day and he does his business there.

Other than feeding them and walking them, (or in your case, putting them in the yard) I would say they need some loving and playtime. Maybe when you first put them outside, you can go out with them with a ball or something. You can play catch with them for about 10 minutes before you go in. Then they can stay out for a while longer and do their business. I would say my dog gets his exercise in our yard just by trying to get the squirrels or birds that sit on the fence. I have bird feeders out there also so the birds are a plenty!! In fact, he caught a blue jay once but that's a different story. If they are outside dogs and have to stay out at bedtime........make sure they have shelter to go into and a nice warm blanket. If you allow them in your house at bedtime........give them a nice warm blanket and a place to sleep. I wouldn't suggest your bed, furniture, or anything like that. Put the blanket on the floor somewhere for them to sleep on.

All in all, feeding them, cleaning up after them, cuddling them, and playing with them is all you need to do to make them happy while their owners are away.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Forum Terms of Use

  • All Bulletin Board Posts are for personal/non-commercial use only.
  • Self-promotion and/or promotion in general is prohibited.
  • Debate is healthy but profane and deliberately rude posts will be deleted.
  • Posters not following the rules will be banned at the Admins' discretion.
  • Read the Full Forum Rules

Forum Details

  • Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
    Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
    vBulletin Optimisation by vB Optimise (Reduced on this page: MySQL 0%).
  • All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:01 PM.