Moving - where to keep dogs at new house?

Wow, perhaps you guys are fortunate enough to not have hormonal problems that can cause people to be over-weight. I know that there are a couple of people on this board though that do, including me.

I eat the same as my skinny friends- probably better. I exercise more and have seen a dietician in the past too. It's not that freaking simple.

My generic predisposition for obseity SPAYED dachshund.

This is about a dog not humans, dogs don't become obese because of the same reasons humans do, dogs are not humans, dogs (IMO) are obese because of lack of exercise and nutrition and regulation.

Actually dogs can suffer from thyroid problems which cause obesity just like people do too.

Statements like these though, are imo ignorant:

I don't find that ignorant. Sorry you feel that way, if you do not like my comments then don't like them but DO NOT call me ignorant. Thanks

Dogs suffer from thyroid WHICH IS TREATED BY MEDS so the dog should not be obese. Ignorance is saying these dogs have a reason to remain obese because they have a problem. My dog has a thyroid and is NOT obese

medical conditions are almost always NEVER clear cut. One med or multiple meds don't always work. I know people who take 5 meds for the same problem and then after a while those meds may not work anymore.

And lola, if u remember I said over eating IS a cause, but not the only one!

I would suggest getting an (or 2) exercise pens

such as this:


and get a BIG litterbox and put newspaper inside for your dogs to go to the bathroom.

still come home and walk them and play with them for a bit to tire them out

Of course provide some kongs, balls, etc.. "busy toys"

I would suggest 2 exercise pens depending on how well these dogs get along. some dogs, can't stand being stuck together lol especially when one dog is older and the other is young

I always forget about the x-pens! This is a great idea too if they are older and have never been crated.

If they are marking for marking's sake, and not needing to eliminate, a litterpan won't help. It's fine for having to go to the bathroom (if they'll use it..not all dogs get the puppy pad thing if they aren't trained to it), if they aren't taught to hold it, but if they want to mark, they're just going to mark anyway. It would be contained though, rather on furniture, etc.

I will note that if you're going to take marking dogs to your parents' home, it would be considerate to at least devote some time to training them.

Back to dogs . My males were never neutered except one who was at 13 for cancer ( he lived to be 17 ) ....I Never had problems with marking ! Those who mark is due to potty training .( or a traumatic move ) This is a huge chance for your dogs !!! If your dogs are used to being together , I'd rather see them together in a huge kennel /// maybe with a poo area . I feel guilty if I have to kennel Ollie for 4 hours !

I would get a ex pen. or lock them maybe in a bathro if possible? I dont personaly like the idea of any dog being locked up for 10 hours in a crate. which Im sure they would survive and be fine. But IMO I dont like it.


As for neutering. there is also lots of reasons why its healthy not to. neutering also increases other cancers.

Not that I condone irresponsible owners to have a intact male. but altering them now will do little if anything with marking. as its all int he trainin, which you lacked to do 8 years ago. my intact male has never and wont ever mark in my house. or any one else house, pet store, training facility ect. outside, its a free for all for him, I dont mind. I kinda like it, becuase if I need him to hurry up and pee. I can just walk him to some trees and he will go lol

Very easy to say. but is it easily done? No. I know a lady who has major thyroid issues. She is VERY obeese. She eats so healthy. excersise's every day ect. yet cant seem to slim down the 150lbs she needs to loose.
Mind over matter? are you kidding me. thats rude.

I'm sorry it is ignorance to say it's simply mind over matter and if you eat right you'll be skinny.

All I'm saying is there may be a reason a dog or person is obese/overweight that you don't know about. Yes, there is medication for thyroid problems but it's sometimes hard to be diagnosed correctly when you have these problems. It's easy to say *if you don't have these problems*. However, there are people being misdiagnosed all over the place, going from doctor to doctor and being told they need to stop being 'fat and lazy' when there's actually a medical reason they can't lose weight.

Not my problem if you don't like my way of thinking, that was rude as well IMO, your comment...

One the whole obesity issue. each person is different, to say its all about mind over matter is simply an offensive generalization. especially when things like thyroid problems, metabolism etc.. are involved

I've met overweight people who eat less and exercise more than I do.. I've also met people thinner than me who eat like piggies and don't exercise more than walking to their car lol its not as simple as people make it out to be. so many factors go into weight


now back to the topic at hand. Im not sure how old you are or if this is possible, but doggy day care programs are popping up everywhere, and for the younger dog, this may be a fun way for him to spend once a week or something

I did not say those words...I said it in terms of people can control their obesity, dogs cannot, its up to the human to control the dogs obesity, geez get over it and move on.

directly causes, no probably not. but definitely contributes. and increases the risk of hypothyroidism, which is also a big contributor to obesity in dogs.

for a lot of dogs it can be just as simple as appropriate exercise and appropriate portion sizes, but there are also extremely obese dogs with normal thyroid profiles who are eating ridiculously small portions and not losing weight, so it's not always that simple.

at any rate, the OP has said that she is not interesting in neutering her dogs, and whether i agree with that or not, it's her decision. in her shoes, i'd use a large crate or xpen and try to find some way of letting the dogs out mid-morning, especially if i was going to be gone until 2. is it ideal? no, probably not. but i also don't think it's particularly unreasonable.

puppy steve is crated 10 hours a day with a break in the middle and he's ok, and he's a one year old border collie, not an 8 year old pom.

And she is saying its easy for humans to get diagonesed. Im sure its just as hard, if not harder to diagnose a dog. They cant say whats going on. So how are you supposed to slim a dog down if there is a medical issue making the dog fat?

You can excersise all you want, feed a piece of food a day. thats not healthy either.

The vet tech in me wants to point out that everyone has a thyroid (those who have had theirs removed excluded)..there are thyroid conditions that can cause weight loss or gain.

Exactly. That's all I'm trying to say.

Anyways, X-pen would be how I'd do it if your two won't escape. A couple of mine can escape those.

no im worried lol I got an ex-pen for the puppy... hopefully hes not that big of a jumper lol