BCSP Report – Week 40

September 29 – October 5, 2014 (written by Marilyn Neville)

This male pooch appears to be a Boston Terrier mix with an extra long body. Sweet as Halloween candy and looks like a goblin too! He is the subject of this week’s report. Call Marilyn at 573-722-3035 to claim or if you are interested in adoption. He will be up to adopt next week. We are calling him Adios Amigo.

This male pooch appears to be a Boston Terrier mix with an extra long body. Sweet as Halloween candy and looks like a goblin too! He is the subject of this week’s report. Call Marilyn at 573-722-3035 to claim or if you are interested in adoption. He will be up to adopt next week. We are calling him Adios Amigo.

Separation anxiety is a common behavior most often seen in house dogs. Dogs whose family has kids who spend a good deal of time with their pets may also suffer once the kids go off to school in the fall.

The dogs grow to become needy of the people who need them. So needy of their human’s presence that they can’t function without them.

They may become destructive if left in the house alone: torn pillows, sofa, scratched doors, window or door frames eaten, a wall scratched through and tore apart, etc. I have worked with dogs who did all the above. They may drewl, cry, even defecate and urinate on the floor.

Outdoor dogs may start to roam if kids are no longer outside playing with them.

We get a good share of strays who are suffering from separation anxiety. Our newest little dog, this week’s Pet of the Week, has separation anxiety issues.

He is about 12 pounds of needy. Sweet as sugar, cute as a pooch dressed for Halloween, but not in a purchased costume. His coat and coloration seems to fit the holiday and fall season. In fact, when laying in the yard, his is camouflaged and hard to spot, like a fawn in spring.

He was found south of Marble Hill, close to the entrance of the Whippoorwill camp ground road off of Highway 51.

I wonder how a needy guy like him would be a lost pet, not a dumped pet. Needy dogs as friendly as he usually stick to the first humans they spot, in the way this guy made himself at home where he was found last Friday. They lived on a long private road. Others lived close to the highway close to the county road leading to the camping area.

This guy seems totally housebroke. He loathed the crate, but has already learned, in just 48 hours, to go to it to bed or to eat. He fit right into our pack on day two as well.

In just 18 hours the barking in the crate stopped simply by using a quality squirt bottle and getting the target while saying the word quiet. Now if he barks, it is only a couple barks, then I say quiet. He stops and remains quiet.

Why do I think he has separation anxiety? He has to be right at your feet.

This morning he started to scratch the entry door. This is the second time that I have opened the door quickly with a broom in hand. I say NO rather sharply and show a sweeping broom at the same moment (without contact) and the little guy backed off and has not done it again. It was a frightening result for scratching the door. The water bottle can work as well.

AS I write this story, he is enjoying basking in the sun and playing with the pack. HE is content and learning to be self satisfying. Well, truth told, he may have found a dog he likes to hang out with, a buddy.

Not all dogs are this easy to train-out of separation anxiety. Some take days to more than a couple of weeks to really change, but usually when they come here, they do upgrade to a well adjusted pet in short order. They become a pet who gets affection and personal time when we have the time. It is not “by demand” from the pets perspective, but a reward for being well adjusted and on our schedule.

Sound harsh, sound cold hearted? Imagine the suffering that pet goes through when they feel they can’t live without you. Those who have lost a parent they adore, a child, a spouse, they know the heartache from the separation of that person’s touch and voice.

I hope to learn more methods to train a dog to stop scratching our doors and when I do, I will inform you of them. I wish I had more time to stop such behaviors with a less dominant method, but frankly, we don’t need our home destroyed while helping so many dogs. We need results quickly or my husband and I would go nuts.

I have ordered a dog training package from a guy who claims to speak dog (not Cesar Milan) hoping to learn more solutions for undesirable dog behaviors.

Sunday’s 60 Minute program had a segment on the dog’s brain. It was a fascinating piece that all dog lovers with high speed internet will want to review. Just do a search for “ dog 60 Minutes October 5 2014 “ and check the video. We have also posted a link on our Face Book page.

A dog’s brain is much like ours in how it shows love. When you come home after work their section of the brain that displays joy brightens. Proof of this was shown in an MRI study when the sweat of their owner was placed in front of their nose.

I wonder what the brain displays with separation anxiety, a squirt bottle or a broom at the door?

Fortunately the dogs all love me, which shows they forgive, can cope, and change comes usually pretty quick too.

Accepted strays and relinquished dogs:

… No one claimed the Rat Terrier Heeler or Beagle mix female, last week’s Pet of the Week.

… No one claimed the red male Boxer type mix from Co Rd 400, about age 6 months.

… Owner died- red Nova Scotia Duck Trolling Retriever  type male, age 18-24 months.

… Two black Aussie/ Lab type mix 6 week old females: Lowndes, dumped near a private pond.

… Two stray 6- mo old male and female siblings, female is red/cream, spotted like a Catahoula mix, red male’s ears stick out to the side, pointed like a Heeler mix.

… Husky or mix of female, black and tan, submissive.

Adoptions, return to owner or placed in other rescues (FB- Face Book):

… Rat Terrier mix accepted last week was taken to the Humane Society in Cape. He would not accept the other dogs well enough to fit here.

… LuLu the Beagle gal from Leopold then dumped again in Marble Hill last year, was adopted and flown to a retired Tulsa Oklahoma Rocket Scientist (shuttle) whose wife was a journalist. Thank you Tim Winters for flying her. Thanks Verona Wilder for fostering LuLu.

… The Skipper, a 9-month old Catahoula mix, black with fancy white, adopted by a anesthesiologist from St. Louis.

… Marshmallow, Great Pyrenees and Hound mix baby, adopted by a manager groomer from Petsmart in St. Louis.

… Two strays near Leopold returned to owner.

Cat calls:

… FREE, ten cats: age 1 year, all spayed or neutered house cats, litter trained. Well cared for, call 573-495-2033

… FREE, three long hair tabby kittens: one dark tabby semi long, a white with tabby, and a black tabby with white, age 6 months, spayed. Call 573-495-2033

Dogs with Heartworm (HW), Erlichia, special needs, or that were euthanized:

… None

Calls requesting assistance for dogs we did not admit:

… FOUND in Marble Hill 10/6/14, near Hutchings funeral home: black and tan Min Pin type mix male, 10 pounds.

… FOUND City of Poplar Bluff: Elderly white curly coat male in city of Poplar Bluff, going blind. Finder is looking for a home to care for him.  He may have a urinary infection. Needs vetting: coat severely matted and filthy was trimmed.

… FOUND on B Highway 10/1/14: Yorkie mix black and brown, shaved head.

… FOUND near Gypsy middle of September: black Lab mix male pup.

… FOUND week of 9/15/14 Glenn Allen Methodist Church: Two stray dogs, one large black and tan long coat, the other small white with black patches wearing a red collar and has a leg injury.  Do you know whose dogs they are or are they strays? FB

… FOUND 2 plus miles off of 51 area of YY and A, near Marquand: mostly black with tan and some white, flap ears, large male, very friendly and so good natured. He could be a Lab mix, a Catahoula mix: he has a thicker muzzle, not pointy.  FB

Miscellaneous and contact info:

We had 47 dogs at our home 10/6/14.

Do you have cute outfits for your pet for Halloween?  Please share on our FB page.

Need help to find your pet? Do you have a stray camping out in the yard? Don’t wait, call us at 573-722-3035 or email photos at ace@clas. net.

Please, when you shop at Buchheit Farm Store in Jackson, donate some money for the Pounds for Paws promotion this month. You can also donate at the vet office, Coop in MH, and on Pay Pal on our website and FB. THANKS for your support!

Please be advised that the Bollinger County Stray Project is not the county or City of Marble Hill dog catcher. When you have a stray we try to help and can usually offer solutions.  Patience is required of the caller towards our ability to find and implement a solution. I wish we had a magic wand but we don’t and can’t always help the callers in a manner they may demand of us.  Remember, we are volunteers and help as time and space allows.  

Donations needed to help with cost of sealing outdoor kennels to Missouri Department of Agriculture standards. Depending on how much the brick soaks up the surface application, our costs are estimated from $2,500 to $3,500 to complete.

Stray Project monetary donations accepted at the Marble Hill Coop. We purchase de-wormer and other supplies at the Coop and donations are greatly appreciated.

Offer a stray water on day one and food day two or three. Call if missing a dog or if you have a stray. We don’t always have room but we may have a solution to help you and the stray.

Dumping dogs is a form of abuse and against the law. Please report animal abuse or neglect.

Please do the following when your pets are expecting or caring for a litter: offer any pregnant dog small-breed-puppy-food the final 1-2 weeks before delivery and while the pups are nursing. Give those mothers all the food they want: bowls full all day and lots of fresh water available all day.   Cats need kitten food.  Free feed the higher calorie food during the nursing stage to help mom make milk and maintain her own body mass.  Babies need to be de-wormed as young as 1-2 weeks, then every 7-10 days until age 10-weeks or older if in a confined environment with re-infestation concerns.

We LOVE Buchheits!  Donate a buck or more at the Jackson store for dog food and supplies when you shop.  Or, you can donate here directly to “Pounds for Paws”.   Also, Second Time Around in Marble Hill is takingdonations for the Stray Project. Monetary donations are accepted at the Bollinger County Veterinary Service, Marble Hill Coop, Buchheits, and the MHTown and Country.

Thank you to the County Residents who have continued to support the Bollinger County Stray Project. 

Check out our available pets at Petfinder.  Call 573-722-3035 about our adoptable pets.

If you suspect an animal is being neglected or abused, call the Humane Society of Missouri Animal Cruelty Hotline, 314-647-4400 or 800-383-9835 or you can make a confidential report on line at Humane Society of Missouri.

To understand when an animal is being abused or neglected in the state of Missouri read the following link:http://asci.uvm.edu/equine/law/cruelty/mo_cruel.htm