Carbón's Big Adventure (aka Labratour Part IV)

Honestly feeling a bit desperate today and very incapable with these two together. I love little Paul, but he's lorded it over Carbon for so very long at the shelter that I see Carbon going back into his shell around him and worse, trying to compete with/imitate Paul's "Bodeguero-ness'. Who can blame him when Paul gets the lion's share of my attention simply because he never stops thinking up weird s*&^t to try. That's just normal Bodeguero behaviour, nothing extreme, but it takes a lot of surveillance in the first few weeks until they learn the ropes and settle in to home life.

Paul needs his own home to be super active and get all the cuddles to himself and Carbon just needs a gentle quiet approach to build up his health and get him back to 100% normal Labrador puppy. As these goals seem mutually exclusive, I don't know if it's doing these two any favors to be together all the time. For the moment, I can't separate out Carbon for training at all as Paul howls in his crate and the neighbours have complained. If anyone has any ideas, feel free to post here or PM me.

On top of everything, Carbon rolled in dead rabbit mixed with fresh cow poo today at the beach and stinks to high heaven. I had to drag him away as I didn't know what the heck else to do. Then after a 1.5 hour walk, Paul comes into the house and IMMEDIATELY wees all over the floor. I admit I got mad and yelled like a banshee, which as we all know, is about the least effective and most asinine reaction possible. So much for keeping my cool and 100% positive training. Disappointed in myself.

 

You're only human mate

 

I think you need to give yourself a break! You have taken on two totally untrained dogs in order to give them a decent chance at having a family at some point. I defy anyone to say they haven’t ever done something that they later looked back on and regretted. One outburst isn’t going to make a difference to anyone other than you!

 

We all have days when it all goes pear shaped.

Be kind to yourself


.

 

I think we've all (or 99% of us) reacted in a way we're not proud of with our dogs. Every single one of us who has kids has probably said the same thing (before kids) of being the perfect parent and never getting cross...HAHAHA, real life isn't perfect, we have emotions, we have bad days, buttons get pushed and we're trigger stacked into reacting in a bad way. I hope that you manage to get Paul into a different foster situation asap

 

I certainly yell at my husband and then feel very guilty as he isn't well. We all get tired and stressed and would be a saint if we didn't explode occasionally.

 

Emily its a bad day. We all have them. You are doing wonders for both dogs. Do you really feel it is too much for you?
Maybe someone could watch Paul for you while you train Carbon. Be nice to yourself

 

However bad you feel about today (and you're totally wrong to) - Both Paul and Carbon are far better off out in Foster with you ( a very experienced Foster lady) than cooped up in rescue. They are both learning about the world and about other dogs, and about how to live with humans and dogs.

 

Thanks Emily for being so honest. I find it reassuring that other people sometimes yell at their dogs.

 

I feel so bad for you Emily, sometimes they are just too much to handle - and you have two and they are as different as chalk and cheese! I don't know how you do it. You have trained Carbon 100% more in a couple of weeks than we have been able to in nearly 5 months since we brought him home. Just this weekend Maxx and I were in the kitchen, he looked at me and just started weeing! I couldn't believe it. There was no tell - not even a glance at the back door that was 1 metre away. I started shouting at him them gave myself a mental slap and stopped. It was pure frustration and I just couldn't help it.

I suspect that he was too worried to go outside in case we didn't let him back in. We have only just in the last few days taken the baby gates down and now he has the run of the house upstairs because he finally stopped chewing and stealing everything in sight. He is absolutely loving the trust and the ability to follow us around or snooze on one of the mats. So we are making sure we show him that he won't be punished by being kept outside if he needs to go out.

 

Hang in there

 

Thanks to all for the encouragement - just one of those days that I really needed it!

That's actually part of the stress happening behind the scenes. I won't get into the politics/details of it here, but let's just say that Paul is a foster, which means I don't have legal rights over him and what eventually happens to him. I can try to help by getting his photos and videos out there and argue his cause until I'm blue in the face, but right now it's all a big fat question mark and as much as the control-freck in me wants to, I do not control his fate.

I'm very happy to say that that is NOT the case with Carbon because of all of Kate @Beanwood 's help and connections he is a different category of foster. Within the next couple weeks, if all goes to plan, his legal ownership will be transferred over, I'll have Carbon's passport in hand and we'll be set to travel together.

Thanks @edzbird , hopefully the majority of what they're learning is positive and will help them in their new lives. And not just things such as how to get away with eating poo and having a wee in the living room.

Yes, I do feel out of my depth. Certainly not 100% of the time and I'm trying to keep the old chin up, but when I have them out together, they are a handful.

It's a good idea to have someone watch Paul but unfortunately at the moment I don't know anyone. Almost all my contacts here are already working in rescue and full to the brim with their own animals. The only thing I could do for sure is bring him back to the shelter for a couple days, but I just feel that's a last resort as it would be disruptive to Paul...as well as making me feel horrible.

Well, if it helps any (in the sense that misery loves company), I thought that with Paul I'd figured out that he doesn't like to go wee/poo on walks, only in my back garden. Fine, I'll just make sure I leave the back doors open all the time. The garden is super secure and it's Spain, so plenty warm enough. And when we come in from a walk, the first thing I'll do is let Paul into the garden for his wee. Well, this morning, I let him out for a wee in the garden, where he did do a little wee (lots of praise), then he ran right up stairs and had a wee in the bedroom! Then while I was cleaning that up, he had a poo in the living room...with the door to the garden open not 3 meters away from him!!! Argh!

So I don't know. I guess I just go on trying to sort it out and hope today was just one of those mornings you try to forget.

And Carbon still smells like dead rabbit despite all my efforts. I know @Boogie and others say never to wash your Lab, but Mags - another day of stinky Carbon and it may be the dreaded bathtub for my boy!

 

Wonderful, fingers, paws crossed

 

Cowboy Magic! If Labs are in your future, then this should definitely be, too

 

It really is magic!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cowboy-Mag...8&qid=1525683353&sr=8-9&keywords=Cowboy+magic

 

@Boogie and @snowbunny - Still have no way to receive post here in Spain at the moment, so Cowboy Magic may be in my future, but it isn't in my present. Yet stinky Lab is most definitely in my present!

 

Embrace the stink!

Reminds me of when Willow had her first (and only - thank heavens) encounter with fox poo. It was in my pre-Cowboy Magic days. I washed her repeatedly but she still stank!

 

I find a weak betadine solution makes a dog smell nice - removes bacterial and fungal odors/wet dog smell, and the betadine smell is pleasant. My vet said safe to use 10% concentration. Not sure it will remove fox poo smell, but worth a shot if you’re out of ideas. Just soak a rag or cotton wool in the solution and wipe over his fur. Just don’t use too often, particularly for dogs with broken skin and thyroid problems.

Another idea is to replicate the Cowboy Magic. Ingredients: Cyclomethicone, dimethiconol, C 12-15 alkyl benzoate, octyl methoxycinnamete, tocopheryl acetate, panthenol, silk amino acids, methyl-paraben, proplyparaben, and fragrance. Hmm not sure where one buys those?!

 

This may be a bit hard to cook up in my kitchen sink!

My Monday afternoon work colleagues are helping me finish up the last of my freelancing gig...



Yes, Paul is using Carbon's personal bits (or what's left of the them) as a head/neck pillow.

 

Clearly even the fox poo smell wasn’t enough for Paul, so he had to nuzzle up to the smelly bits.