-=> Richard Webb wrote to James Bradley <=-

 JB> Back to topic, that bleach is going to take out the smell, and
 JB> likely the  mattress. I'll bet if the bleach smell alone was
 JB> stronger than pure urine,  that might discourage further squatting.
 RW> YEah, wanna dilute it a bit, but it might be the only tool
 RW> ya got.  AS we both agree though, that smell's gotta go.
 RW> Even if you think you got 'er done, their noses are much
 RW> more sensitive than ours, and they'll go to that spot
 RW> again, and again, and ...

 JB> My initial concern was the caustic nature of bleach. Even diluted,
 JB> you're  going to get a nice white spot where the yellow one used to
 JB> be. Lesser of  two evils to be sure! But Matt - I presume - will
 JB> want to sleep on the bed  too.  I'm pretty sure the
 JB> chlorine gas isn't going to be  poisonous, even straight out of the
 JB> bottle, but I'm sure I would need some  adjustment period to fall
 JB> asleep on the thing.

 RW> RIght, but you gotta get rid of that smell, even if that
 RW> means new mattress.  WHatever way you do it, that smell's
 RW> the trigger, and it's gotta go.

 JB> Yuppers, but then there the habitual part has to be addressed.
 JB> That's where  your bleach could come in. Once they stick their noses
 JB> in that, their  thoughts of relief go to fleeing. I wonder if
 JB> cayenne pepper might encourage  that also. I've read it might help
 JB> with Cat Scratch Fever.

 RW> NOt being a cat person I'm not that familiar with their
 RW> behavior patterns, but two things have to happen.  Get rid
 RW> of the smelll which is the trigger, then deny them the area
 RW> when you're not there.  removing the trigger should
 RW> suffice, but just in case, deny them the area when one's
 RW> not home as well.

Not being a cat person either - it still didn't prevent me from adopting 
one from dad's estate. 

 RW> I have to laugh at people that say "... doesn't get up on
 RW> the couch."  YEah right, soon as you're not around fido's
 RW> on the couch snoozing away.  HE hears your car pull up, off
 RW> the couch he comes, because the unpleasant part is you
 RW> catching
 RW> him on the couch.  OTherwise the couch is just as comfy as
 RW> it ever was.  One reason I don't deny my dogs the
 RW> furniture. IT's an exercise in pointless #1, and I have

Well trained/conditioned. If the pet misses the sound of the engine 
pulling up, the familiar jingle of the keys in the lock give them the 
definitive clue to get off the furniture. All is well in Fido-land. 

 RW> dogs.  IF you
 RW> choose to enter my home you know i have a dog at the
 RW> moment. IF that offends the nondog person then he/she doesn't need
 RW> to enter.  My mother complains about the fact I have a dog,
 RW> because she's allergic.  When I saw this little bit in
 RW> funny I posted it to her in email.
 RW> To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following
 RW> message on our front door:

 RW> RULES FOR NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:

 RW> 1. They live here. You don't.

 RW> 2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the
 RW> furniture.(That's why they call it "fur" niture.)

 RW> 3. I like my pets a lot better than most people.

 RW> 4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted
 RW> son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and
 RW> doesn't speak clearly.

L... Ya, when I walk into a room, it's painfully evident that Dad's old 
long haired domestic rules the roost, and often has me jumping through 
hoops to please him. His hair-balls are too often *my* hair-balls, and I'm 
not talking about *just* picking them up off the floor. All my shirts have 
an extra layer of insulation, AKA a shed layer.

 RW> Dogs and cats are easier than kids:

 RW> A) They eat less;

 RW> B) They don't ask for money all the time;

 RW> C) They are easier to train i.e. usually come when called,
 RW> never drive your car and don't hang out with drug-using
 RW> friends;

 RW> D) They don't smoke or drink;

 RW> E) They don't worry about having to buy the latest fashions;

 RW> F) They don't wear my clothes;

 RW> G) They don't need a gazillion dollars for college; and

 RW> C) If they get pregnant, you can sell the children.

Ow!!! Well, that last point might apply to the G-kids, but it would be 
a "special" kinda G-parent. 

I told a new mom that every parent should be required to own a dog first. 
Her defensive nature was to dismiss anything that came out of my mouth, but 
I stand by it. If you can't provide the necessities of life to an animal, 
and learn how to coexist with any modicum of harmony and decorum, a "baby 
license" should not be issued.

 JB> I could buy a new pillow-top for about $200 Canadian, but that
...
   I think somebody gave us one after Katrina.  Before
 RW> that I inherited a king size, preacher and his wife got a
 RW> new water bed setup and we got their old king.  That was
 RW> fun getting up and down a flight of stairs.

Tossed my $75 King into the BR window. (The hall is filled with boxed 
hardwood flooring for at least another year by the looks of things.) Good 
thing I didn't need a box spring of the same size, or I would have needed 
to use a saw to *make* it fit. I've seen a lot of king mattresses rest on 
two smaller box-springs, so that would have been the way to go.

...
 RW> I'd also suggest that Matt get some books on canine behavior from his
 RW> friendly local library.  From some of the questions he's

Oh, I would even encourage him to entertain the grumpy librarian, and 
travel some distance if need be. 

 RW> asked in this echo over the last year or so I'm
 RW> gathering that he's not acquired a lifelong familiarity

It takes time, edumucation, instincts, flexibility, understanding...

My first and only dog was a Spaniel-Terrier (suspected... His dad was a 
fence jumper.) As such, he was greedy with food, and *loved* his 
independence. Since his passing, I learned a new trick to abscond his food 
without him batting an eyelash, but I was marginally successful with 
getting him to come when called. What a *load* of work that was! The 
Barbara Woodhouse method was little use, but it was the only readily 
available resource to me at the time.

It must have been a PBS special that taught me to play a hide and seek 
trick on him when he was too busy chasing cow-patties. That turned his 
attitude after only a few episodes, but I had to remind him often and adapt 
to his stubborn nature. 


 RW> with dogs.  THere are some good ones that predate Caesar,
 RW> not
 RW> that Caesar isn't good, quite the contrary, he's very good,
 RW> but I think some others start from a better place to the
 RW> neophyte to dogs.  They're very much social animals though,
 RW> and what we often think is a controlled behavior is only
 RW> controlled when we're around, because it's our reaction to
 RW> the behavior they're trying to avoid, which doesn't really
 RW> solve the problem.

When you mentioned Ceasar, my notion went towards Rome. 

What little I've seen his TV show, was intriguing! What a great source to 
understand a dog's behavior. A pet owner should not however ignore other 
sources.


... If you think education is difficult, try stupidity out for size.
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