pet peeves

Readers, kiwitwist needs our help! She's dealing with an aggressive dog next door:

Hey Everyone,

I could really use some advice. We recently moved to a house with a big piece of property. When we moved in, we knew there was a dog next door but never really saw it (only heard him bark a few times). There is a wood privacy fence between our yard and our neighbour's (with the dog). I don't usually let me dogs hang out outside for any great length of time . . . usually enough to pee and play, unless I am with them.

Well, I came home from work one day and let the girls out to pee and I heard something slam into the fence growling, barking . . . wanting to eat my dogs. I have never in my life seen such aggression. I have watched him slam head first into the fence, growling and barking. My one dog (who is half his size) ran to the fence and barked back. Long story short, I have done pretty good at keeping my dogs in while "the beast" is outside. But we run into a problem when I get off of work . . . the neighbour gets home at the same time. I find myself racing home to get there before they do.

Before I get the guts to ask her if we can work out a schedule, does anyone else have any ideas?? If my dogs would ignore him and continue to do their business, it wouldn't be 'as' big of an issue . . . but they stop everything and bark back. I have to call them into the house and wait until he goes in. Meanwhile they have been crossing their paws for 9 hours!

Offer your advice in the comments, and ask your own question in Pet Peeves!

Source: Flickr User TheGiantVermin

Readers, wheatleyvi needs our help! Her cats have become territorial and are spraying inside:

I have indoor cats that I let out when possible. However, I have strays outside that I take care of, and my cats get jealous. One in particular has started "squirting" all over my house. Any suggestions on the best product to eliminate the odor of cat urine? I've tried a lot of things but nothing is really working. Love my cats to death but I can't live in a smelly house. Thanks.

Offer your advice in the comments, and ask your own question in Pet Peeves!

After sharing Brian Patrick Flynn's five decorating pet peeves on Tuesday, I got to thinking about decorating pet peeves that aren't so much about taste or aesthetics but based on habit and irrationality. One example of mine is blinds. I hate blinds. I don't hate the look of blinds, per se; some I find quite lovely. But for the life of me, I can't stand to have my blinds down. I think this goes back to growing up on a very wooded and private property, where we didn't need to bother keeping out sunlight or the eyes of prying neighbors. The thing is, these days, I live in a city where I have plenty of snoopy nearby dwellers, and not a tree to speak of to keep the sunshine out; I do need blinds! Oh but I hate them.One of my co-workers here at Sugar was recently telling me how her boyfriend has a borderline-OCD habit of needing to put away his fruits, vegetables, and meats immediately away into Tupperware as soon as he brings home his groceries, even those already prepackaged. He's convinced they'll go bad otherwise, which isn't entirely irrational, but the habit doesn't jibe with his otherwise laid-back, not-so-high-strung personality.

Do you have any irrational pet peeves or home habits like these? Please share them below!

Source

I'm not going to lie . . . I can be a picky girl when it comes to decorating. I have very specific ideas about what looks good, and what falls outside of that category, I tend to qualify as "poor taste." But generally, rather than focusing on those things, I support and showcase the design that I do love and do find in good taste.

Sometimes, though, I wish I had the — excuse my French — balls to tell it how it is. One person I can totally rely on for this is decorator extraordinaire Brian Patrick Flynn, aka Décor Demon. BPF recently bared his soul about his biggest decorating pet peeves in a chat with Blayne Beacham of This Photographer's Life, and I can't help but exclaim "Hallelujah" in response to his openness.

Here's what really ruffles Brian's feathers:

• Sticks in a vase shoved in a corner.
• Themes in kids' rooms.
• "Art" bought at big-box retail stores.
• Swag window treatments.
• Leather rolled-arm club chairs in manspaces.

Brian does admit to supporting one look that may be on its way out: "Now, as much as I wanna be over the empty-frames-grouped-and-hung-on-a-wall-thing, I kinda still like it. In fact, I did it above my media room sofa using spraypaint in violet, plum, and bronze tones." Me, on the other hand, I'm more of a minimalist than BPF. I'd rather have an empty wall and wait until I can afford or find artwork that I love than hang empty frames in a cute arrangement, which to me only draws attention to what's missing. There, I said it!

Head over to This Photographer's Life to hear more of Brian's opinions on everything from ceiling fans to the color beige to wall decals!

Readers, Bany19 needs our help! Her poor kitty broke his leg, but she can't stop him from moving around. Read more about her dilemma:

Let me start out by saying that I adore this online group. Everyone in this group is very friendly and helpful . . . it is comforting to have a place to go to with questions and concerns.

Anyway, I need some advice about my cat. Hedwig is 11 months old, and two weeks ago he broke one of his hind legs. I rushed him to the emergency vet and they took x-rays (he sustained a transverse fracture of the tibia . . . fibula was not broken). The emergency vet splinted his leg and said that he needed to be re-checked once a week. When we went for the second check-up the vet took off the splint to examine his leg and determined that the fracture was still moving around too much and needed to be casted.

Hedwig is doing well now and is acting like himself again. My concern is this: the vet told me to keep the cat in a kennel at all times but my cat HATES to be locked up in a kennel . . . he actually gets pretty violent and throws himself up against the walls, bites the wire door (he cut himself) and seriously stresses himself out. As a compromise to Hedwig, I have been keeping him locked up in my small bathroom during the day while I am not at home. When I am at home I have to let him out because as soon as he hears me come in the door he starts to meow a lot and scratch at the door. He is able to hop up on the couch and the bed (which I know he shouldn't be doing and I prevent it if I can catch him doing it in time) and he walks around some with his broken leg trailing behind him.

For the most part, he lays in my lap or on his little cat bed on the floor and does not move around a whole lot, but I am concerned about how much movement is acceptable and what I can do do help his little leg heal. I am wondering if anyone has any feedback about this. Am I doing him a serious disservice by allowing him to move around the apartment? What can I do to make this healing process go by smoothly? We have 3 more weeks to go!!!

Thank you in advance for your help.

Got any advice for helping a pet heal quickly and safely? Please share it in comments! And if you have a pet dilemma you need the community's help with, tell us all about it in the Pet Peeves group in the PetSugar Community.

Readers, workerbee1000 needs your help! Her pup is losing hair, and she doesn't know why:

I've got a 7-year-old brown female Boerboel which has been a well groomed beautiful dog for most of her life. Recently she's developed some sort of skin issue where she scratches constantly (to the point where she starts bleeding). She's losing a lot of hair as well. I've had her at the vet numerous times where antibiotics and antihistamine tablets as well as a course of cortizone tablets have been prescribed, but nothing helps.

After the 3rd visit to the vet, I figured that these guys actually have as much of a clue as what I do as to what's going on with my poor dog (which is NOTHING). Throughout all these treatments that the vets have prescribed, she continues losing hair and scratches all day. She gets bathed once a week and nothing seems to help. The twist in the story is that I've got another cream-coloured female Boerboel who is 2 years younger, and she doesn't show any signs of the symptoms that the other one's showing.

I booked them in at the doggy parlour the other day and the lady who owns the parlour advised me that the better option is going to be to shave my dog completely and then dip her. This was all done the same day and yet my poor dog keeps scratching.  This made me realise that whatever's making her itch so much is under her skin and not in the hair or on the skin. The lady at the parlour suggested that I try an oil-based substance called "Efizol." Apparently this product has been designed to cure skin problems in dogs and cats. I went to the vet on Friday afternoon and asked them about this product. The ladies at the reception counter assured me that if nothing else has worked, then Efizol definitely will do the trick. (Why didn't they tell me this the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd time I had the dog there???)

Keep reading for the rest of this reader's dilemma, and to offer your suggestions!

Readers, OhMaxine needs our help with her overexcited pup!

My dog is a jumper . . . and weighs 90 lbs! Ouch! Any advice for a husky/shepherd mix that is now 1.5 years old? She is a female and was the largest out of her puppy litter. She is the sweetest girl. She gives kisses all the time, loves people of all ages, and other dogs. She is very passive and surrenders when she has been attacked by another dog. I'm not sure what to do! Help!

See, she loves to play and loves everyone! (she is bigger now than in this picture)

Got any helpful advice? Leave it in comments, and share your own animal quandary in the Pet Peeves group! Your question might end up on PetSugar.