Hi Debby,

 

I’m having difficulty with my male dogs.  Since we talked to Linda Thomas, Sadie has not once picked on Zeke again, and that is a relief. But Zeke and Wyatt are at it, now.  Zeke just seems to start a nasty fight with Wyatt for no apparent reason, at least none we can see.  Wyatt will be minding his own business and Zeke will start growling and jump him. If we try to intervene, we risk getting bit, but still, we try and break them up.  Zeke has a nasty scab on his head from their last fight.

And, now, both boys are “marking” on the corners of the bed.  I’ve washed the bedspread twice this week! 

 

And we had to just take up the oriental rug (my beautiful green one) because Sadie has peed on it so many times.  We have used a gallon of that enzymatic cleaner on it, and I called around to find out how much to have it professionally cleaned ($125-300), so we’ll probably just have to rent a machine and do it ourselves.  She also peed all over the guest room rug, which I could and did wash.  And Wyatt had marked on the corner of the guest room bedspread, which can’t be washed, but I “enzymed” it. So, they are banned from the guest room.  I’m just not sure what to do with these guys!  I had worked so hard to house train them, and thought we had it done.  Sadie has not, to  my knowledge, at least, peed in the house again. I’m not sure what started this last episode with her, because she was doing so well.  And they have a dog door available to them all the time, so that’s not an excuse. 

 

 But there is a dominance thing going on between Wyatt and Zeke, and I wish they would get it worked out.  I gave both a stern talking to, for what that’s worth, reminding them that they must always “squirt and pee outside”.  As far as I know, this is the first time Zeke has marked in the house since he was very young. (I check for wet penises to determine who the guilty party is, as soon as I discover it and I look often, now.  I have not witnessed any of these marking events, and I’m not always sure who “done it”.)  I do know that Wyatt covers Sadie’s urine with his own, and I did catch Wyatt in the act once, last year.  I thought Zeke and I had an understanding, as he had been so very good for so long.  He’s been pretty much 100% since he was about 9 months old, until now.

 

Any help or advice you can give will be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks,

—
Katy

With the intention of getting feedback from you guys, with permission I share the following exchange from the apsobreeders list. Dr. Cathy Marley’s response to Vickie’s original post is followed by more from Vickie:

In discussing the status of the Skye Terrier — which is classified as a rare and vulnerable breed in its native land (only 37 or so were registered in 2007 in the UK), the following comment was made …

 
It’s always sad to see a breed nearing extinction. But as much as some show breeders would hate to accept it, without having strong popularity as a pet most breeds would follow a similar route to oblivion. Once a breed gets restricted into a ’show only’ dog, their years are numbered. Keeping a breed in the public eye and in pet-family homes is important.