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Does Citronella Stop Dogs From Digging?

Citronella may help stop dogs digging, but it can also be dangerous to your pet. Some pet owners find that their dogs don’t like the smell of citronella oil, so spraying it in areas where the dog digs can act as a deterrent. The problem is that pets should avoid contact with both citronella plants and oil as it can cause skin irritation and other toxicity issues. While it would take a significant amount to cause serious harm, you may want to find a safer method to discourage digging.

Knowing Why Dogs Dig Can Help You Stop It 

Dogs aren’t digging to test your patience or to spitefully destroy your hard work in the flower beds (although it might feel like that sometimes!) The real reasons dogs dig include:

  • Boredom
  • Attempting to Cool Off
  • Hunting
  • Trying to Escape 

For the first three reasons on the list, you may have better luck addressing the cause of the digging rather than the digging itself. Here are a few tips:

Boredom 

Make sure your dog gets lots of playtime and plenty of interaction with his human family members. You can also try loading him up with fun, interactive toys. (Note: Make sure to check toys regularly and to discard them once they are damaged.)

Attempting to Cool Off 

If you find your dog relaxing in the holes he digs, he’s likely trying to beat the heat. Any pet that spends a lot of time outside must have proper shelter where he can get out of the sun. On very hot days, consider letting your pet inside where he won’t be subject to heat-related illness.

Hunting  

If you see signs of burrowing animals in your yard, such as moles or gophers, hire a humane exterminator who will locate and remove the animals without harming them.

What if your dog is digging to escape? In that case you need to secure the yard to keep your dog safe. Options include blocking the area around the fence with chicken wire, adding an extension to your fence, or burying the fence one to two feet.

While citronella may not be the best option to stop dogs digging, there are plenty of ways to curb the behavior and ensure your dog—and your yard—are both safe. 

How Long Does It Take For A Cat To Get Used To A Dog?

While some cats and dogs take to each other right way, it will usually take a few weeks to a few months for a cat to get used to a dog. Of course, the personalities of both pets have a large impact on how long it will take. Remember, you’re not necessarily looking for the pets to become BFFs. If your cat is happy to ignore your dog while being in the same room, that could be considered a success.

Tips For Springing A Dog On Your Cat 

If your cat hasn’t had a dog around in a while—or at all—there are some things to keep in mind when bringing a dog into the house:

  • Make sure you cat has a safe space. One way to accomplish this is to put a small pet door on a room that your cat can fit through but the dog cannot.
  • Make sure the dog does not have access to your cat’s litter box. Not only do some dogs eat from the litter box, but if they startle the cat when he’s is using the box, he may become afraid to use it.
  • Also, don’t allow the dog to have access to the cat’s food bowl. Cats do not usually appreciate sharing. Place the bowl up on a high surface and give the cat easy access via a cat tree or strategically placed furniture. 

Proper Introductions 

You can’t just bring a dog into the house and leave him alone with the cat. Instead, slow introductions are recommended.

  1. Make sure that both pets are ready to be introduced. This entails your dog being well-trained with the “sit” and “stay” commands and your kitty being fully litter box trained and not nervous in his new environment. Additionally, you should set up an isolation room for your kitty where your dog is not allowed to enter.
  2. Feed your dog and your cat on opposite sides of the door. They will begin to associate each other’s smell with something exciting – eating! If your dog begins pawing or barking at the door, give a firm “No!” command and move the bowls farther away from the door. You can slowly move the bowls closer to the door each day until both pets are eating calmly. From there, you can expose them to each others’ scents more strongly by rubbing them with a towel and then placing the towel next to the opposite pet’s food bowl.
  3. Create train your cat by having him spend short periods of time in his crate each day. You can lure him in with a treat trail. This is an important step to complete before moving on to step.
  4. Put your cat in his crate and your dog on his leash. Bring your dog into the room the cat crate is in and have him practice commands with you for about 5 minutes. If he ignores your commands because he is too interested in the kitty, give him a firm “No!”, walk him outside of the room, practice some commands, and then try entering the room again. Slowly increase the amount of time spent in the room together.
  5. Next, put your pup on his leash and have him do a down-stay in the far side of the room while you have a helper open the cat’s crate. If your cat won’t come out of the crate, leave the room with your dog until your cat comes out of the crate and then attempt to re-enter with your dog. It is crucial to keep your dog in a down-stay so he doesn’t intimidate your cat. Gradually increase the amount of time spent in the room together.
  6. When your cat and leashed dog can be relaxed in the same room, drop your dog’s leash. 

If the introductions aren’t going well, if the dog seems aggressive, or if the cat seems particularly nervous, seek the advice of a professional trainer. The sooner you do this, the better so as to prevent bad behavior from becoming a habit.

Happily, most cats and dogs will learn to get along just fine and many do become friends and playmates. 

Does Cinnamon Keep Dogs From Digging?

Some lists include cinnamon as a home remedy that will keep dogs from digging—but it won’t work for most dogs. While cinnamon is a smell many dogs do not like, the aversion may not be strong enough to prevent them from digging. Note: If you’d like to try using cinnamon as a deterrent, do not use the essential oil version as it can be poisonous to dogs.

Tips to Prevent Digging

While cinnamon probably won’t bring great results, there are many other things you can try to keep dogs from digging. Dogs dig because it’s fun, to try to escape, to keep cool, or because they are hunting. If you can figure out why your dog is digging, you’ll have a leg up in searching for a solution. Here are a few things to try:

  • Don’t leave your dog alone outside for long periods.
  • Make sure your pet gets plenty of exercise.
  • Provide plenty of toys to keep your dog entertained.
  • Ensure your dog has proper shelter from the sun.
  • If you notice signs of burrowing pests in your yard, such as gophers, call a humane exterminator to have them safely removed.
  • If your dog is digging near your fence, it’s likely he is trying to escape. Secure the area around the fence by adding chicken wire or halfway burying rocks around the perimeter until you find a way to curb the digging.

Still Want to Try Cinnamon? 

If you search online, you will find information from pet owners who recommend cinnamon as a dog deterrent. Even if it would deter your dog, it might be difficult to sprinkle enough cinnamon in your yard to be effective. Also, while some of the online advice includes promoting the use of essential oils, it’s worth saying again that doing so is hazardous to your dog.  

What Does It Mean to Surrender a Pug

When you surrender your Pug, it means that you’re turning over your legal rights for your dog to a shelter or a rescue. When you give up your legal rights, it means that you don’t have any say in who adopts him. It’s important to understand what surrendering entails and what you’ll need to do if this is one of the options you’re considering when giving up your Pug.

Can You Bring Your Dog to the Facility?

You can’t simply head to the animal shelter or rescue with your dog and expect them to take him the same day. Instead, you need to call first and set up an appointment. It’s a good idea to learn more about the shelter or rescue you’re considering before you surrender your Pug, too. Learn about the policies they have in place and how the facility operates.

You’ll find that rescues have no-kill policies, which probably interests you since you want to be sure your dog is safe. Of course, because of this, it means that rescues are usually filled and may not have room for your Pug. Shelters do not often have no-kill policies. They can keep dogs for a certain period, which can differ from one location to the next.

When you surrender your Pug, you no longer have legal rights to him. This means that you don’t have any control over who adopts him or even if he gets adopted. It’s out of your hands. The shelters, like rescues, do their best to ensure that they find people to adopt the dogs in their care, but it isn’t always possible.

Once you learn more about the facility, you can then contact them to set up an appointment. They’ll want to know more about your Pug including his age, health, and other pertinent information. The staff might also want to know why you have to give him up. This not only gives them a better sense of your dog, but it also lets them know if they have any resources that might help you. For example, they may have information about local trainers for behavioral issues, or a low-cost vet in your area.

Other Options for Finding a New Home for Your Pug 

Just because you have to give up your dog doesn’t mean that you need to surrender him to a rescue or a shelter. There are other options you can consider, too. One of the first things to consider is to give your Pug to someone you know. Maybe a relative or one of your friends has talked about getting a dog and would like to bring home your dog.

If you don’t know anyone who wants to adopt, you’ll find that the Internet can be a good way to find potential adopters. Always use a trusted site like Rehome from Adopt-a-Pet.com. This helps to ensure that you have a good batch of potential adopters from which to choose. You can set up a profile for your dog and then review the applications that come in for adoption. This gives you control over who becomes your Pug’s new owner.

Does Bentley’s Pet Stuff Take Cats?

Bentley’s Pet Stuff does not take cats, but they do a lot to help homeless pets. In addition to sponsoring mobile adoption events, they also provide matching donations to various animal rescue groups. Owners wishing to surrender their cats, however, cannot do so at Bentley’s Pet Stuff.

Is Rehoming Really The Right Decision?

Many pet owners are heartbroken about having to give their cat away, but they feel they have no choice due to litter box or behavior issues. Others have cat allergies or are moving and having trouble finding a landlord who will take pets. 

Those issues can often be overcome with the right help. Talk to your local shelter to see if they have lists of pet-friendly housing. Ask a vet or animal behaviorist for advice about behavior issues. The bottom line is that if you want to keep your pet, there is a more often than not a way to do it.

Surrendering Your Cat

If you decide that you have no choice but to rehome your pet, you’ll have a few choices—and some are better than others.

A common first stop for those wishing to surrender a pet is the local animal shelter. While many shelters are moving towards or have achieved no-kill status, others still have a high euthanasia rate. Be sure to know where your local shelter stands before surrendering your pet.

Another option is to find a reputable, no-kill, private rescue. These groups are often willing to do whatever it takes to find the right home for the cats in their care. There may be a significant wait because they can only have so many pets in their care at a time, but it’s a great option if you’re willing to wait for a spot. 

DIY Rehoming

If you want to be sure your cat goes to a loving home, do it yourself. Yes, it might take some time, but it will be well worth it knowing your cat is safe and loved. Not sure where to begin? Rehome is a website that is a great resource for any pet owner trying to rehome their cat.

Create a pet profile that can be seen by potential adopters, get expert advice about screening for the right home, accept applications, and so much more! 

How Can I Stop My Dogs From Fighting?

You can stop your dogs from fighting by eliminating the stressors that lead to the aggressions, by better managing the dogs’ environment, or by getting professional help from a qualified animal behaviorist. Whether or not you know what starts squabbles between your dogs, it’s important to find a way to stop them. Even if no serious injuries have occurred (yet), fighting between dogs can leave one or both dogs feeling stressed and afraid. The good news is the behavior can usually be brought under control—but in the meantime, avoid injury to your pets by closely monitoring them and keeping them physically separated while you work on a safe re-introduction protocol with the help of a professional dog trainer.

Steps to Preventing Fights Between Your Dogs 

Sometimes, two dogs just don’t like each other, but sometimes there is a more concrete reason for dogs fighting such as:

  • Maintaining a hierarchy
  • Redirected aggression
  • Friendly play escalates
  • Protecting food or other possessions 

If you can pinpoint the cause, you can remove the stimulus. For example, some dogs are food aggressive. In this case, you can simply feed the dogs in separate rooms.

While you’ll find all kinds of advice about how to stop fighting, the best course of action is to involve a professional right from the start. This will give you the best chance of success, and you won’t have to wade through the information online to separate the good from the bad.

An animal trainer or behaviorist with a proven track record of success in fixing dog aggression will give you solid advice and work with you to develop a plan that will help you protect your dogs and enjoy peace of mind. 

How Do I Stop My Dog From Eating Poop?

You can stop a dog from eating poop by finding the reason your pup is doing this – it could be a medical or environmental issue. The good news is that this behavior can be curbed in most dogs. Whether through treating the feces in a way that makes it unappealing or identifying and correcting the medical problem or environmental trigger, it is possible to find a solution to this disgusting habit.

Why Dogs Eat Poop 

To humans, the idea of eating feces is disgusting, but dogs are much less picky about what goes in their mouths. Your purebred pooch or adorable mutt’s ancestors were scavengers that were willing to eat just about anything to survive—including feces. Some dogs eat only their own poop while others eat the poop of others dogs. The former, while gross, isn’t dangerous. The latter, however, can pose a health risk to your dog if parasites or bacteria are present in the feces.

Reasons dogs eat feces include: 

Medical Issues

  • Parasites
  • Insufficient Diets
  • Diabetes
  • Cushing’s
  • Certain Drugs 

Environmental Issues

  • Isolation
  • Anxiety
  • Confinement 

Whatever the cause, you just want to the behavior to stop. Some of things you can try include:

  • Visit a vet to rule out medical issues.
  • Supplement your dog’s diet with appropriate vitamins.
  • Work on training, especially commands like “leave it!”
  • Clean up after your dog immediately.
  • Apply products that make the feces taste bad to dogs. (Options are available that can be added to the food or directly to the feces.) 

Note that in puppies this behavior is quite common and will usually correct itself as the dog grows. If it continues into adulthood, you’ll need to intervene.

If your dog eats poop, don’t panic and think it’s time to rehome your pet. This is an issue that, when properly addressed, can be corrected. 

How Do I Rehome My Rottweiler?

If you need to rehome your rottweiler, you’ll find several methods you can use to find your dog a great new home. Below, you’ll learn ways that you can rehome your rottweiler, so you can be sure she finds a perfect new place to call home. Rehoming will take a bit of work on your part, but you’ll be happy with the results. It helps to ensure that she has a safe and happy life, and that’s what every pet owner wants.

Finding Someone You Know to Adopt

Naturally, one of the first thoughts that’s likely to spring to mind is letting someone you already know adopt her. It’s a good option since you already know whether they’ll be a good fit for your dog or not. You’ll know whether they can afford to take care of her properly and whether they’ll provide her with the exercise she needs.

Using Online Pet Adoption Sites

There are great adoption sites like Rehome by Adopt-a-Pet.com that will help you find a wonderful new home for your rottweiler. This site lets you create a detailed profile for your dog, which will include all of the important information about her, and publishes her bio directly onto Adopt-a-Pet.com for millions of potential adopters to see. The profile helps pet searchers find your dog and determine if she’s right for their family. You’ll also enjoy that the site is free for owners to use, and you can review the adoption applications to choose your dog’s new home.

Types of Sites to Avoid

While there are some good sites for pet adoption, there are some sites you should avoid. The want ad sites like Craigslist, for example, might be easy to use, but you have no way of discerning who sees those posts and who trying to get your dog. Sometimes, people don’t have any intention of adopting a dog until they see one on these sites. They aren’t prepared to own a dog. You want someone who is actively looking to adopt a dog like yours.

Why Rehoming Fees are Needed

Rehoming fees are used to help keep your dog safe. You’ll always want to charge a rehoming fee or go through a site like Rehome that charges the adopters. The fees for sites like Rehome will go back into helping get more animals adopted. Fees also mean that it’s less likely someone with bad intentions will try to get your dog. There are terrible people out there who look for free dogs to sell to labs and to use as training animals for fighting dogs. The rehoming fees help to cut down on this risk.

Are Shelters and Rescues the Same as Rehoming?

While it’s possible to surrender your dog to a rescue or a shelter, it’s not truly the same as rehoming. When you surrender your dog, you give up your legal rights to her, and you’ll have no say over who adopts her, or if she gets adopted at all. While these facilities do their best to take care of the dogs and find new homes for them, it’s not always possible.

Most owners will at least want to try rehoming first, as they’ll have more control over where their rottweiler goes.

How Do I Surrender My Labrador Retriever?

 A common question from pet owners who have decided they cannot keep their pet is, “how do I surrender my Labrador Retriever?” The exact process of surrendering your dog to a local shelter will vary by location, but generally it will involve meeting with an intake officer, paying a fee, and giving up all rights to your pet. From there, shelters will try to find homes for the dogs in their care, but this isn’t always possible.

What Happens to my Labrador Retriever if I Surrender Him to a Shelter?

When you find a shelter that will accept your Labrador retriever, they may ask you to pay a surrender fee. The fee is typically between $50 to $150. An intake coordinator will ask about your dog’s history and your reasons for surrendering him. In some cases, they will offer assistance to help you work through the issues that led to your decision to give up your dog. If you decide to move forward, they’ll take custody of your dog and have you sign him over to the organization.

Unfortunately, once you surrender your dog, you no longer have a say in his fate. Your Labrador retriever’s outcome depends on several factors such as age, health, temperament, space in the shelter, and the shelter policies. Most shelters want to find homes for all their dogs—and they work hard towards that end—but the sad reality is that it’s just not always possible.

The more people who surrender their pets to the shelters, the more overtaxed they become, and even the very best shelters can only do so much with the space and resources they have.

Is There Another Option?

If the idea of surrendering your pet to a shelter doesn’t sit well with you, there is another way: rehoming your dog yourself. This gives you control over where your dog ends up rather than surrendering that ability to a shelter. It also means you’ll be able handpick the adopters and find the very best fit for your pet.

If you love this idea but aren’t sure where to start, take a look at Rehome by Adopt-a-Pet.com. You’ll get advice that walks you through the process of rehoming your pet, find tools to help you find the perfect adopters, and more.

You’ll even find tips on overcoming the most common issues that cause people to give up their pets. If you find you still have to give him up, surrender your pet into the arms of a loving new family instead of an uncertain future. You’ll feel better knowing you did the very best for your dog.  

Can I Drop My Jack Russell Terrier Off at an Animal Shelter?

In most cases, you can’t just drop off your Jack Russell Terrier at an animal shelter. They don’t want people showing up at their doors with their dogs or dropping them off outside. Additionally, different shelters will have different rules. They have a certain set of procedures and policies they need to follow when it comes to surrendering pets. Therefore, you’ll want to get in touch with the shelter to understand the steps you need to take.

Contact the Shelter

You can contact the shelter online or over the phone. They’ll want to know more about your dog and why you need to give her up. The reason they’ll often ask about why you need to give your dog up is that they might have some other options for you. Many times, they’ll have a list of resources that could help with many of the common issues people have with their dogs.

For example, they may have a list of trainers or guidance if you have a dog with behavioral issues. They may have some low-cost spay and neuter options that they could suggest. Their goal is always to do what’s best for the dog, and that might mean finding a way he can stay with you.

Of course, not everyone will be capable of keeping their dog due to a wide range of circumstances beyond their control. In those cases, the shelter will let you know more about the process, along with the price of surrender fees. These fees are usually between $50 and $150, but it can vary based on location, age of the dog, etc.

Once your dog is at the shelter, the personnel will try their best to make sure she gets adopted. However, this doesn’t always happen. The shelters often have a lot of dogs, and this means that not all will be adopted. Many shelters can only hold the dogs for a certain period before euthanizing. Ask the shelter about their policies.

What About Rescues?

Another option you may be considering is a dog rescue. There may be rescues available in your area, and they could be a good option. However, you’ll find that because rescues are no-kill facilities, they’re popular with owners who need to give up their dog. This means that it’s often difficult to find rescues with any room available. While they could be an option, you can’t count on them.

Consider Rehoming Your Jack Russell Terrier

Another option to consider is rehoming your dog. When you rehome your dog, you take an active role in finding someone perfect to adopt your dog. This might be a friend or a family member you already know that wants a dog, or it could be someone you find online through a site like Rehome.

Rehome allows you to create a profile for your dog, which can then be viewed by potential adopters. You’ll want to make sure that the profile is filled out fully and properly, of course, and you’ll need to review the applications carefully. This ensures that you can find the perfect new home for your Jack Russell Terrier.