Q: We have two black labs, a 5-year-old in excellent health and a 12-year-old with bad back legs. He is able to walk, go outside on his own, handle the snow, etc., but has difficulty getting up on a particular couch he likes to sleep on. All day long he sleeps elsewhere, but many times during the night he will bark and bark until we come down and help him onto the couch. Then he leaves the couch and sleeps on the floor until he wants to get up on the couch again.
We have removed the cushion from the couch, and it is a navigable step for him, yet he refuses to do it without waking one of us to come down and help his butt up. How can we break him of this habit? We do feel obligated to respond to his barks because he might need to go out during the night and the barks are the same for both situations. We haven't slept through the night in months.
A: Animals take advantage of any situation they can that makes their lives easier, and this is a perfect example. The problem here is that your dog is a senior with bad legs so his calls for help at night are valid and cannot be ignored. If he could navigate his way on and off the couch without your help, he most certainly would, and you cannot let him stress his joints too much at this point. Since he is comfortable sleeping in other parts of the house during the day, then the idea here is to no longer let sleeping on the couch at night be an option.
A drastic way to accomplish this would be to turn the couch on its side every night for a couple of weeks. A less dramatic way to do this is to get him a big new dog bed that is placed near the couch at night. Cover the couch with a plastic car cover that you can keep folded up near it in the living room. The car cover will make the couch an uninviting place to sleep at night so the dog will then focus on the nearby new bed.
Q: My two nephews are now 10 and 8, and I want to get them some kind of pet so that they will learn a bit of responsibility. The landlord will not allow dogs or cats but said they could get any pet that stays in a cage. We were thinking of a bird or rodent and wondered what you suggest. Their parents both work so it would have to be something with low maintenance.
A: This question has no right or wrong answer. I do have two Morrone rules here that weigh in on and affect your choice.
1. A child should never be expected to learn responsibility from caring for a pet. Pet-keeping is supposed to be fun. Responsibility is learning to do unpleasant tasks for no obvious immediate reward. Pet-keeping can teach a child better time-management skills, but it really should be to encourage a child's fascination in firsthand learning of the natural world. A child should never think that caring for a pet is unpleasant.
2. The best pet for a child is whatever pet the child's parents have time to care for. In a busy household sometimes it is just not practical for children to be 100 percent in charge of a pet's needs. When I was a kid things were different and my mother did not have to work outside the home, so she had more time to stop me when I was making a mess of the house as I cared for my pets and show me the correct way to do it each day. But these days when parents are rushing around in the morning to get everyone out of the house in time, such a thing is not possible.
All this being said, I can give you some options.
_ Hamsters and gerbils are easiest to care for. Being desert animals, they urinate very little and the cage stays dryer and cleaner. A twice weekly cleaning will suffice. They are very content just to be alive, and if nobody has the time to take them out and play with them for a day, that is fine with them. However, they do not make any noise and some children thus find them hard to relate to.
_ Guinea pigs are extremely responsive to children. They recognize each child as an individual and are as sentient as dogs and cats. The fact that they can vocalize with their squeals keeps up a child's interest and concern for the animal. However, they do need a lot of care. The cage must be cleaned daily and they need fresh vegetables and fruits daily.
_ When you think of a bird for a child, the first thought is parakeets, also known as budgies. However, they are small and fast. While they will learn to lose their fear of a child and sit on the child's finger, they really do not like to be touched and petted. A better choice are conures, a group of small parrots about 8 inches long. The most popular are sun conures and green cheek conures. They love to socialize with children and will actively seek them out and beg children to touch and pet them. However, they do need daily care _ cage cleaning and washing of food and water dishes. They cost between $300 and $500 each, but this expense is offset by their long life span. I know many that are well into their twenties.
_ If a child is allergic to fur or feathers, then the bearded dragon is a great pet. They are one of the few reptiles that are sentient and recognize and react to humans as individuals and actually enjoy being held and petted by children. They do not need daily cage cleaning, but the feeding of live crickets and vegetables is a bit complicated and most children need to be helped in this by an adult. The purchase price of a dragon is high and the equipment to keep its cage warm and well lit is expensive, but this is also offset by their long lives. I know many that are more than 10 years old. As with all reptiles there is a remote chance of their passing salmonella to children, so young pet-keepers need to be prompted to wash their hands with soap or Purell after handling them.
