[jojogal001]

The example I am going to share happened to Zekefur about a year or so ago, and thought it might be helpful if we could share our experiences to help everyone be aware off hazards in the home.

I had gone to the restroom, and the dogs always come with me. Zeke walked out, I assumed, to go get his KONG. I didn’t know it was under my bed, and he’d gone under to get it. (Zeke had been going under my bed quite a lot since I got him. Usually it was when I was asleep as he’d go under to sleep when he was young. Sometimes he’d chase a ball under it and sometimes he just wanted to check it out).

I immediately started looking for him and finally heard a very faint whimper. When I realized he couldn’t come out, even with my disability, I laid down on the floor and looked to see why. The fabric across the bottom of the box springs had fallen down some. (I’m assuming it was from him going under as it was in the same spot).

His back leg was twisted in the fabric, and it was tight. I couldn’t get him loose, but luckily my housekeeper got there at that time and she came back to help. She had to cut the fabric around his leg to free him, but he was safe, and thankfully, without injury.

That scared us both! He hasn’t been back under there since. I realized he could have broken his leg, or I could have, trying to get him loose.

It can take just a few seconds for your dog to be in trouble. Who would have thought this could happen?

I know there are so many ways things like this can put out pets in peril. Can you share your experience(s) so we can all be more aware?

 

[Skylar]

So glad you were able to free Zekefur so he wasn’t injured.

Jumping on and off furniture especially for a toy or miniature poodle is dangerous and made worse if you have a slippery floor such as wood or tile. I have bath mats in front of all furniture that my dog jumps on. My bed is high so I have a bath in front of a bench to make it safer.

My tpoo dislocated her patella after jumping down. It was the only time this happened it. She was never allowed to jump up and off furniture again. She either had to be lifted on or off or use the dog beds we put all over the house on the floor. Back then I don’t think they made pet stairs but I would buy pet stairs to use for a toy to independently get on furniture.

Another danger I was ignorant about when we had our tpoo was her access to and eating cat kibble. She was fed dog food but she would sneak cat kibble too. Poor dog, she developed pancreatitis because cat food is too high in fat and protein. I had to cook home cooked food for her to keep her healthy and no access to cat food. Don’t let your dog eat cat food or foods that are unsafe such as xylitol, grapes, chocolate etc.

Some people have had serious accidents with dogs getting their collars stuck and choking the dog. They will recommend never leaving a collar on a dog in the house.

 

[jojogal001]

Skylar, great points. And I am one of those who believe collars should not be left on dogs indoors unless supervised. The only time my dogs have collars on is if they’re going out with me.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

How scary!! Reminds me of the time Peggy's ear got caught in a thorny rose bush just feet from our front door: Every struggle brought her deeper into the bush. There was absolutely no way she could have gotten out alone without serious injury. I'm so lucky to have been there, and also that she froze and trusted me to help her even though it obviously hurt.

Indoors, we've had a collar incident. It was when she was still very small, and her thin nylon collar was level with a small wooden knob on our entertainment unit. It was a real fluke. She lined up PERFECTLY with the knob and her collar got hooked. The scariest part was when she tried to free herself, it twisted tight. Even in the mere seconds it took for me to reach her, it tightened enough to have quickly killed her if I wasn't there.

 

[Dogs4Life]

Jojo, I do not keep collars on my dogs when they are left alone, either.

Jasper has jumped off and on furniture since he was a puppy. But about a year ago he jumped off of the furniture when no one was around and he ended up tearing a ligament. He was lucky that he didn't have to have surgery, but he went through a very long abd unhappy recovery period. I wish I had taught him to use stairs to get on and off the furniture when he was younger, because now he just refuses to even try. He can no longer get up on furniture by himself, so that's a good thing.

Miracle taught me to be very careful about using certain kinds of dog gates and enclosures with dogs that have separation anxiety. When I first got her, she was already a 6 year old dog. Very skinny girl, but she had very powerful back legs! I had a week to get her used to her new living environment, and I also had her practice being alone for chunks of time. I was told that she didn't present with separation anxiety, but she bonded quickly with me. I tried to confine her to a bedroom in my living space using a very tall dog gate, but she climbed it about 30 minutes after I had left for work...watched her do it effortlessly on the dog video! I had used the gate with her for at least 2 days beforehand (after trying a cage and the wire playpen) to try to get her used to it , and she seemed less anxious with run of the bedroom, so this was very unexpected. I was very thankful that I had not left her in the wire playpen because had she tried to climb that, it might have have collapsed on her. I found out with her that giving her run of the living space actually decreased her separation anxiety. Anyway, now that she's not in a space with shared walls, we also work on crate training.

 

[jojogal001]

These things can happen so quickly! I’ve always been afraid of leaving collars on my dogs indoors, and Peggy experiences what could happen. I know that had to be scary too! But think about what could have happened if no one had seen her for several minutes. Ugh... can’t even stand the thought of it.

I once left a dog it a 6’ tall pen, only to come home from work and find him loose. He had been able to push the entire pen to the hallway, knock it over on its side and then use it as a tunnel. Thank goodness it didn’t just collapse on him: it had gotten wedged in the hallway.

 

[jojogal001]

I had a close call earlier, and it's something I never would have even considered. I was in the kitchen making dinner and had my silverware on the counter. I reached for something and touched the fork, which made it go tumbling down. Zeke was right under it and came close to having the prongs hit his eye. Went right down barely to the side of his face.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Eek! That's a scary one, for sure.

Peggy has a mat at the entrance to the kitchen, which I've trained her to go to on command. But she does tend to drift closer when something interesting is going on in there.

A few weeks ago, a spatter of hot oil hit her and made her JUMP. I know how painful and startling that can be, so I thought she'd steer clear. But nope. Will have to keep working to curb her "drifting" habit.

 

[susan Davis]

I had an 80 # boxer/lab mix. I stayed home with a migraine. The dog, somehow got his tag/s caught in a metal register. This floor register had been reilnforced with metal cross ties. He jerked the whole register out of the floor, paniced that he couldn't get rid of it. Thankfully I told him 'down' and I was able to undo his collar. Wow, thank goodness I was home.

 

[Charmed]

My poodles have all, at one time or another, walked into closed patio doors. It is not like the doors are that clean or anything, the ninnies just get so excited about going outside that they forget I have to open the door. This is even with me making them sit and wait at doors. After a head-on, they are much better about waiting.