ArcaMax

Dear Cathy,

In October 2017, my husband and I adopted a female Bichon Frise named Miami Sky from a rescue in Virginia Beach. Miami was five years old when we adopted her, and she is a great dog. One of her favorite things to do is walk through our neighborhood. She likes to look around, smell the roses, and so forth while walking. There is a problem, however, involving a few dogs, both small breed terrier types. Miami reacts to them with continuous barking and lunging; so much so that I have to pick her up and carry her home. She also will wail and sometimes tremble. The other dogs pay her no mind and keep walking with their owner. This can happen even if she spots the dog from a distance.

One particular dog named Max, a Yorkie, is her main nemesis. She will walk in the direction of his house, stand, and look at the house, and sometimes circle back for a second or third look in the hopes he will come out, I suppose. I do my best to move her along, but for a little dog, she is strong. I have had to time her daily walks to avoid Max.

Is there an answer to this issue, or will I have to continue scheduling our walks in the hope of not running into Max? Any insights or advice would be most appreciated. — Marianne, Virginia Beach, Virginia

Dear Marianne,

Many dog owners reschedule their dog’s walk to accommodate aggressive encounters with other dogs. But I agree that a long-term solution is much better and enables you to look forward and enjoy the walks as well. Is there a way to address this issue? Yes, but it can take many months and requires a lot of patience and consistent training daily on your part to achieve.

First, get a pheromone caller for her to wear during the training period. Then begin training her to ignore other dogs by tossing treats on the floor in front of her. Start by training her in the house or outside in the driveway when no triggers are present. Use the smelliest, tastiest treats you can find, so she is obsessed with eating them.

After you have her focused on searching the ground for treats, take her for a walk with treats in hand. Watch for potential triggers and toss treats to the ground before she notices them or begins barking. If she stays focused on the treats, walk past these other dogs, praising and treating her for her silence and focused attention to you. If she ignores the treats and begins barking at the other dogs, say “heel,” and abruptly turn 180 degrees and walk in the other direction as quickly as you can. She will have to stop barking to keep up with you. Wait a few seconds and then toss her a few treats for following you. Once she learns to turn with you without any tugging, give her treats immediately for the behavior. I advise incorporating a reward word, like “Bingo,” to acknowledge when she gets it right. The goal is to get Miami to focus on you, so you have to be a little unpredictable in the direction you are walking and have the tastiest treats on hand to distract her.

Let me know in a few months how the training goes.

Dear Cathy,

I have a solution for “Jon” in Pompano Beach, Florida, whose 12-year-old cat Chelsea is urinating down the front of her litter box. I recently took in a shelter cat who urinates down the front of the litter pan. I got an extra-long litter pan and lined it with newspaper and/or potty pads. I put a shorter litter pan inside the larger one and pushed it to the back of the larger litter pan, leaving a gap between each pan. Now, when she uses the litter box, the urine runs down the front of the shorter box and into the lined larger litter pan. I pull the liner up over the lip of the bottom tray just in case. I have not had a problem since. I hope this suggestion works for others. — A. Delaney, Rocky Hill, Connecticut

Dear A. Delaney,

I love it. What an easy solution to a frequent problem for cat owners. If anyone wants to see exactly what A. Delaney did to keep her cat’s urine from hitting the floor, check out the picture I posted on Twitter @CathyMRosenthal.

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(Cathy M. Rosenthal is a longtime animal advocate, author, columnist and pet expert who has more than 25 years in the animal welfare field. Send your pet questions, stories and tips to cathy@petpundit.com. Please include your name, city, and state. You can follow her @cathymrosenthal.)

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