xmas tree

[Timber]

<FONT COLOR="Red">We put up our xmas tree today. We have gates to keep Timber from going into the living room, but somehow he manages to jump over them sometimes[ he would probably love agility]. How does everyone keep there doxies from getting ijto the tree? Timber's on a leash, now. Do I have to keep Timber on a leash whenever in the "tree room"? Thanks everyone!</FONT c>

<FONT COLOR="Green">Tiff and Timber</FONT c><IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm30.gif" border=0>

[Augie Dog]

I was just going to post about this!

Aug is a good listener but, he is a brat when it comes to things he should not have. Within a minute of getting the tree up we sat him in front of the tree and pointed to it. STRONG no no's we spoken from mommy and daddy. It seemed that he understood that this tree was different, it was not his. That did not last long. As soon as we turned our back to place the first of many ribbons lights, he snuck up and bit off a 2 inch piece of branch. Now this is a fake tree, the branches are plastic in wire. Those sharp doxie teeth snip right through it.

We sat in a dellema. We can not keep Aug in the kitchen for the next month. But then how are we going to keep him away from the tree and all of the things on it. What about the lights, he'll get killed!

Then I remembered. We use invisable fence to give Aug the freedom of running around "his" yard. The transmitter uses an underground wire to send a signal. If Aug gets too close to the property line, he gets a warning tone. If he crosses, he gets a zap. (it ain't that bad) The same company makes a disk about the size of a frizbee that is a portable transmitter. The range of it can be set up to 10 feet. We went to a hardware store (LOWES) and got it. We set it up and took off his collar. Once the range was adjusted and we got three of the white warning flags in front of the tree we sat Aug down again. He wanted the tree bad. We moved the collar into range and the warning tones went off and we shook the flags. The light came on, the tree was off limits. He has tested it once to get to see how close he can get. If he could just stretch far enough he thought. Quietly he snuck up to the tree from behind a recliner and attempted a fast dash to grab an ornamate. We did not say anything, he had to learn the hard way. Just as he went for the tree, he got a zap. Now he has no inerest in the tree or the presents under it.

The collar and transmitter are not cheap, $100 but then again some of the things on the tree are irreplaceable not to mention Aug bitting on an electric cord and getting killed. If you already have the underground fence the transmitter is about $50.

Like I said, this solution is not cheap, but no doubt it works.

<FONT COLOR="#00FFFF" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Augie Dog on December 10, 2000 at 09:49 PM</font>

[Uschi]

Last year we hadn't gotten Ripley yet, so we didn't have to worry about a Dachsie getting into the Christmas tree -- we DID have a 4 month old German Shepherd/Rottweiler puppy, tho! I don't even think we thought twice about putting up a "big" tree... between the pup, the other big dog and the rabbit (who loves electrical cords) we knew it would be a losing battle from the start.

We didn't go without a tree, though. Instead, we minimalized and purchased one of those 4 ft tall fiber optic trees and put it on our fireplace mantle (no, we don't have to worry about it catching fire.) Alas, it's not a fresh tree, but it gives us the security none of the pets (or our daughter!) will get into the tree. As a bit of a bonus, we don't have to vaccuum up all the pine needles, we still have plenty of living room space, and come Christmas morning we can pile all the presents around the floor around the tree. This worked great for us last year, and this year we're planning the same.

I don't know how big Timber is, but if something like that isn't an option, have you looked into getting a taller gate? We found a taller, wire (instead of plastic mesh), pressure mount baby gate at Target for around $25 -- it keeps our dogs in/out nicely. I do also remember hearing of a family that purchased a baby playyard to put their pupper in, but in the end they ended up putting the TREE inside the playyard. Must've looked rather funny, but I suppose it worked. <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm12.gif" border=0> Depending on the size of your tree, perhaps a raised platform might work to get it out of Timber's way?

I like the idea of a radio transmitter, too, but that would just be way too expensive with all the animals we have...

Hope everything works out and you all have a great and safe Christmas. (=

[wireweiners]

I like a real tree but usually opt for a small one (around 5') and put it on a table. That keeps the boys from thinking I've brought them indoor plumbing, protects the ornaments and presents from doggy teeth. I also put the handblown glass ornaments on the top of the tree and put the plastic and wooden ones at the bottom. After I've corrected them a couple of times for sniffing, they usually lose interest. I wouldn't recommend trimming the tree with anything edible such as cookies, popcorn or candy canes. They can only resist so much.

[Penny's Aunt]

I discovered some unlikely gate material just recently, for a dog that isn't too determined: fomecore. This is a very lightweight material that you can often get from art supply stores & copy places like Kinko's.

It has to be tall enough to thwart the Wart, & at least 12" wider than your widest doorway. Place it in the doorway at an angle, with one end inside the room & the other outside the room, then you don't need anything to hold it up.

This works fine for our dogs, because they respect a barrier, even a light one. For those of you with more determined canines, you may have to hold it in place with something, which will make it a little more difficult to use. Otherwise, it is easy for even children to handle.