It never rains but it pours!

You all know.....
my sisters dogs were taken (but found), Spok passed, Tyson can't jump up at the moment, he just paces in frustration infront of whatever he wants to get up on or to,  my trees are now gone, I have a trashed yard full of wood everywhere, broken plants & no shade for summer! My back is nacked from shoveling mulch from the tree felling. Do you know how hot a couple of ton of mulch gets over a week? I couldnt move it without gloves! & to top it off.. my car batt went flat! (Ohhhh, sorry guys, I'm whining....I only posted the 1st two. It been quite busy here lately.)

Now my sis in law who is going away at the end of next week rang me. (The one that lets her rescued pair, not long in their new home, untried, untrained, off lead... disaster!  They ea found home on seperate occasions .....left one dog down a rabbit warren to go to work   )

She was taking her two poodles to a farm to be cared for while she is away for a week. We always took her last dog (a snoodle) "Cory" when she went away but she has not bought these two here for a visit since we got Chilli for her fear... they chase & hunt down cats. They are not any animal friendly. God help chooks!

The farm copped a wind storm. The fences are down. They won't  be fixed for weeks & she leaves next week. They can't care for her dogs." She rang to ask..."Can I take them for the week?" Normally yes! No problem at all! They have always been fine with my two, (paris is snarky but mine just look at her as if to say....WHAT? Settle babe! but...they are not dog or especially cat friendly! & our house dynamics have changed. My two don't skip a beat if a cats in the house but her's ....

Without being rude as they really are lovely dogs. They have never been trained to be gentle with any living thing. To be fair, they are rescue dogs.... but she is not good at training & I wouldnt leave mine with her for 5 mins... & I am not joking!!!

She is bringing them sunday afternoon to "meet & greet" Chilli.

I have a plan, but any experiences or suggestions would be very welcome.

Maybe I should have posted in chat but I would like thoughts on behaviour. Introducing non socialised dogs with a social family.

I do know if they go off at Chilli, my dogs will defend her.
Hers will be on lead, mine will have collars to grab if needed.

I am being nice trying this meeting to help her, its my sis in law, but I am not pleased. I pride myself on.... home is a warm, happy, safe place. There is never any aggression in this house!

Seems I am typing too much info....

Sorry for the encyclopedia.

I really don't know what to suggest Tracy.

All I can say is that in your place I'd say very kindly "I'm really sorry but I've just got too much on my plate at the moment. Please try to find another friend (preferably one who can give your dogs the undivided attention they obviously need) or put them in a kennels." tbh if she can afford a holiday she can afford kennels.

I hope the winge helped!

She should understand that you need to think of your furbabies!

I'm not very good with behaviour, tbh. I know the basics, but I'd probably be lost in this situation. In theory, I'd hazard a guess at maybe a gradual (leashed) introduction to your other animals, to see how they react, and then take it from there?

Don't do it Tracy.
If they hunt and chase (that'll end in a kill) cats you're taking an unnecessary chance and gambling with Chilli's life. It takes a second for an accident to happen and a life to be lost.

As for the rest

I have to do this so she will never ask again for me to look after them.
Hers will be on my leads! Not her skinny little excuse for a lead. Both Paris & Elvis wear harnesses & as they are toy poodles... she is a big lady , no fear of them pulling away from her. I will remove Jess & Tyson to avoid any protective behaviour, introduce Chilli from a distance, so they can see but not get to her. I will also have Con with her dogs. I will only need the stightest move from her dogs & I will explain to her, (no matter how they behave tbh, They won't be staying here, I already know my decision.... I am just trying to politely avoid a family fight). I cannot take them... I can't trust them overnight when I sleep & I am not prepared to lock them up in the shed every night or everytime I leave the house.

I am being polite for my Ohs sake though he is not happy either about her asking. I am just smoothing the waters so no ones feelings get insulted. Otherwise I just say.... not a freaking hope in hell are your untrained & unsociaised dogs coming near my kitten! Try taking responsibility for once...take them to school for once in your life!

But I can't be that rude!

I don't think you can do any more than that, Tracy! I think you're being very diplomatic - far more than I would be!

I think you're doing the right thing. If it turns out that they don't like Chilli, you have to think of her safety.

Even if it goes ok, (which I highly doubt.) I WILL find a reason that I cannot take them. They are lovely dogs that are mostly fine with my dogs, though Paris does snarl & snap.... but I would not ever risk my baby Chilli with them.

I find it terribly sad that neither the prior owners nor she have ever trained acceptance of other animals.

It will be harsh for Chilli but it will also be a strictly controlled lesson that not all dogs are like Jess & Tyson.(she sits waiting at the glass sliding door, screaming when they go out to the toilet at night. BRING MY DOGS BACK! MEOW, MEOW! DON'T LEAVE ME! MEOW MEOW....DOGGIES? MEOOOOOOW!!! Where are you?)

If my sis in law does not like my rules & strictness with her babies... they will be asked to leave!

Paris & Elvis can first play with mine to reduce energy & excitement.  Then meet Chilli without my dogs present. If that goes well, Jess will then be introduced to the mix, then Tyson some time after. Chilli is Tyson's cat but, Tyson always follows Jessups lead.

Good luck with it!

I have spoken to her & told her I will not take them for the week for my already stated reasons. She understands with no one being upset.

They will still be here to visit tomorrow arvo but... there will be one only (if it doesn't go to my liking) or numerous vists "on lead"  (if i do like their responce) gradually, building to off lead visits, before I will even consider babysitting. She understands & thought I was going to say no, (must have been in my voice when she asked) so she went looking at kennels yesterday. Found three good ones so I suspect... she finally gets it (family as they are, no one is allowed to even threaten mine by so much as a thought) & they will go to the kennel for quite sometime in the future as she is often on holis till I decide I am happy to have them. (If ever...depending on how tomorrow goes.)

A weight has been raised off my shoulders. It will not be gone till after the visit & all is well but for now... I feel slightly relieved & yet still apprehensive.

Chilli has no idea what tomorrow will bring but......My Chilli cat is curled up on my lap, purring as I write, doing the ragdoll flop. Arms & legs everywhere, her neck must be broken? Her head seems to have done a 180 degree turn....

That's good news, that nobody's feelings have been hurt over it!

So far, so good. We will see tomorrow.... to be continued.

We had the meet & greet.

They all arrived. Chilli went to the security door with her dogs. Paris & Elvis started barking, chilli stepped back, my 2 went off. "Don't bark at the kitty!"
I put chilli in the study for safety. They came in, played with mine..eventually...lets bring chilli out.
Her dogs had harnesses,we both sat on the couch together. I held miss snooty pants paris, she held elvis. Con bought chilli in. My dogs were loose.

All was fine. Poodles were on alert... pssst....theres a cat in the room. Watching, watching....Paris lurched forward, all paws trying to run  (she couldnt go anywhere, I had her firmly by the harness. Alittle like a cartoon dog on a slippery floor.) As chilli ran to our bedroom, Tyson rushed infront of paris & without a sound, stood still infront of her! What a good boy! No aggression, just a firm stance. "You'll have to get past me if you want her!" Jess decided she had seen enough. She bolted over, stood with her legs about as wide as I have ever seen them & "woof, woof, woof" dead in everyone's face!  she spoke & meant business. The poodles backed right up on the couch, Tyson sat, Jess just stood there. I did not stop her. She defended her kitty.

The poodles were held while I went to secure chilli. She was frightened, but safe the entire time. She learnt her dogs are family & will defend her. She was purring as I put her on her favorite chair in the study.

Two goals were achieved today.

Chilli learnt not all doggies are like her's.
My sis in law will not ask me to take her dogs when she goes away again.

Not an ideal afternoon but, all up... a good result & lesson for chilli & my sis in law.

You have two amazing dogs Tracy, and an amazing cat.

The poodles will go to a kennel (and they're not strangers to kennels are they) , and your fur babies and you can continue your lives untrammelled by delinquent poodles. And sis-in-law is not offended!

All in all a good result, I think.

It really is Lynda. Though I wish her puppies could get along with cats so they could stay here rather than a kennel, I will not risk Chilli's welfare to help her out under these circumstances.

& yes, my puppies are gentler than most, everyday I realise mine are so excepting, social, gentle... & I am so pleased I have put so much time into them both. I can take them anywhere not ever worrying if we meet a dog, cat, tortoise, parrot....

Well there are not many dogs and cats that get along with each other!

Even if there was no Chilli, my gut feeling is that these two delinquent dogs are too much to ask you to take on, with everything else that you have to deal with, tbh.

Which reminds me - how is your back?

We have always had dogs, cats, budgies, a tortoise, chooks, rabbits, even a blue tongue & a cocky, galahs, my lorry ( rainbow lorrikeet) "jaffa" used to sit on my rotties back for a ride as he was too bloody lazy to fly to the next room! ... they all got along without a problem. In my opinion its all about a calm house, training acceptance, socialization from day dot.

I would take her dogs if I didnt have Chilli. I actually think a week or two with mine would help them but... fact is, I do have Chilli now so...if she can't retrain her puppies....I will not put Chilli at risk. You are right, they would be a handfull without chilli. But I understand where they have come from & would take them for even just a short taste of social ability.

My back, its great unless I bend backwards too far or lift anything heavy. Funny you ask as I am about to help Con chop (well I'm not chopping) & stack more of the tree today!

Before......


After......


Next the fence comes down. Because I let him cut my tree down that was spindly & pushing into his yard, buckling the fenceline (the big trees were on his land so it was going to look empty anyway) he will pay the full cost of the fence. YEAH! I do need a new fence. Loosing my skinny tree is a small price to pay for a new FREE fence.

So shortly, doggies will be house bound & I'll be off to buy an apple & nectarine tree.
I also have to get a sail cloth or something as  you can see my chooks won't have any shade with summer comming. The little shed is my wood shed in the chook pen. But is too hot in summer for chooks so, I have to arrange something else.

We got the front wood pile chopped & stacked, but if you look closely (or zoom in) there is another wood pile in the chook pen we still have to do. Then I have to restore my vegie patch which is now completely ruined by the 1st pile of wood.

Does it ever end?

No rest for the wicked!

You got that right!

Oh Crikey! I missed something along the way Tracy (don't know how) but why did these lovely trees have to come down?

Do you get to keep all the logs - does eucalyptus smell lovely when it's burning?

I don't think you "missed" anything Lynda. I think I did mention the trees coming down sometime ago but I have certainly not "posted" about it as such.
It's been a very busy period here lately, I didnt want to post everything as I didnt want to "clog up the site" & I enjoy reading other peoples posts ea day.

The man who owns next door, "Brad" has subdivided his land & is building a 2nd dwelling in the back of the property.

We have very big blocks here.  That little path in the right bottom of the 2nd pic leads to a 4 car garage. Then I have room for another 4 cars in my carport. A roller door secures the front access to the yard. Then the front yard. Where we park.

(Maybe we should do a.... show us your house post?)  

Anyway....By law he must have clear access (car access) to the rear house so the trees had to go. They would have been in the way of a driveway. He wants a new fence  (& we do need one) as he will be living there, renting out the front house so...He asked... "if you let me cut down your tree too as it's pushing over the fence line & i want to put the new fence up straight down the property line, I'll give you all the wood for free. Make you a table & stools from the huge trunk, & I'll pay the entire cost of the fence the whole length of the property."

He put it in writing. Saving me over $3000 for a new fence... I got about $1000 in free wood. My tree has lost very large limbs in storms so I would have had to pay to get it cut down anyway in the future. & I would have had to pay for a fence in the future also so, I bit the bullet, "Done deal Brad. Go for it!"

Eucalyptus doesn't really smell for home fires. It needs a yr to dry out before burning, it has too much oil in it to use inside. It would crackle & spit. Fresh gum is no good to burn inside. But I have a combustion fire so I could burn green wood without a problem but it produces far more heat when dried.

However, if you burn it on a camp fire, it has the equivalent same strong smell as fresh pine trees burning, only the smell of eucalyptus instead. I do love the smell of it.

tracyp wrote:
However, if you burn it on a camp fire, it has the equivalent same strong smell as fresh pine trees burning, only the smell of eucalyptus instead. I do love the smell of it.

That sounds really lovely!

Thank you for the explanation Tracy!

All in all you got a good deal, but in your place I would mourn the loss of what were a) lovely trees and b) the screening of what I (forgive me) thought looked like industrial buildings. You get a nice new fence and can grow some pretty screening trees on your side.

I wondered if eucalyptus wood smelt like the oil when burning! My sister and bro-in-law keep chopping down pine trees on their site but they mature the logs for a couple of years before burning them, for the same reason (the oil), so they don't smell "piney" when they're burnt. Apple trees are supposed to smell nice when they're burnt, but not many people chop their apple trees down and I don't think I've smelt an apple wood fire.

Eucalyptus trees grow here too (not naturally, of course!). Most people grow them for their round leaves when young, but if they forget to prune them for a year - whoosh! they're up to 50 feet!

My dad had a eucalyptus tree in his garden many years ago - he lovingly tended it year after year. Unfortunately, when he died my mum didn't have a clue & it just sort of sprung up and out!