[theyarenotelkhounds]

I have two large / medium sized dogs. One is a rescue I’ve owned about five years and one I’ve had since he was a puppy (six years). Both recently have changes in their behavior. I recently had to get a house mate who rents a room inorder to make ends meet. This person was recommended by my ex-wife as a good person; he is also her older cousin. Since he has moved in my dogs behavior has changed. One dog is now terrified by loud noises (fireworks in the community) as well as other things that never bothered him before. The rescue dog is also acting weird in ways she never did before. She does new things like jump up on my lap (@55 lbs) and does not want to get down, not eat when the house mate is around, etc. If he is the source of my dogs’ behavior changes, I need to prove it in order to evict him. I have extremely poor health and no longer working so I can not afford an elaborate video system.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you in advance.

 

[Kwenami]

Okay a few things-is it possible that the dogs just weren't exposed to fireworks before? Maybe it's not new behavior, you just didn't notice before or it's being emphasized.

Second thing-webcams are dirt cheap (20$ at most for a pretty decent one) and you cna set them up to record just straight onto a computer that you already own. I would look into this if you are truly concerned.

Third-it may be that the new roommate is the cause of the changes, but the roommate is not actually doing anything. The dogs aren't used to another person being around all the time or when you're gone, and it could be unnerving. Maybe try playing with your roommate and introducing them again, with treats and toys etc. It may be a simple solution

 

[theyarenotelkhounds]

Thank you for the information; I'll look into the video cameras. I looked at one place and they were over $400 (costo). I'll look into it further.

 

[theyarenotelkhounds]

A little more information - Timeline:
I have been living alone with my dogs for over a year. The house mate started renting the room about three months ago. The dogs love and company (as well as visiting all the neighbors) and the new house mate was no exception; they liked him for the first month. The dog's changes started about two months ago. Even my relatives noted the changes in the dogs, stating that they never did these things before. I am home bound with my dogs, since I can no longer drive, but I do go out to the doctors, pharmacy, visit family, etc. I now take my dogs when visiting family just in case there is something going on. All of the changes in the dogs seem fear related.
I will post more later.

 

[Kwenami]

With webcams, you also want to be careful that you don't violate any privacy laws. Not sure about how they are in your area but that may be an issue.

I hope they're okay and that it isn't an issue of the roommate. It could also be a neighbor or something else that's been new 2 months ago-I would just be careful about jumping to conclusions.

 

[southerngirl]

For the privacy laws, I'd make sure to keep it to ''common areas'' i.e. the living room and/or kitchen. I'm not sure, but I think it's okay as long as you only record in space you both share; Setting it up in their bedroom or bathroom would probably be illegal, anywhere. And I would still check in your specific area what the laws are regarding videoing someone without their consent.

 

[Kwenami]

I was more worried about the consent issues-bathrooms and bedrooms were so obviously a "DO NOT DO" that I forgot to mention it ><

You mihgt be able to get them to consent/stop bullying the dogs just by asking if you can put up a camera because they were acting strange and you want to check on them while you're away. That's not technically incorrect and they may take it better.

 

[mollybear]

I don't know what your relationship is like with your roommate, but it may be worth simply bringing your concerns about their new behavior to his attention. Do you know of anything your dogs do that bother him, that he might have punished them for when you weren't around? How does he act toward your dogs when you're there?
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[amaryllis]

My husband's webcam cost $8 and it's wireless. The videos it records aren't great quality, but you could surely catch abuse with it.

 

[Kwenami]

They sell then at the dollar store even but i bought a nice one for 20$ that's pretty clear/has a good video rate, hence why I quoted that. Also I live in Canada so things tend to cost a bit more. But again, double check what's legal-there may be a better way of getting this sorted.

 

[Rain]

One thing you can do is keep them in your bedroom when you aren't there, that way you limit their contact with him. Give clear instructions that he's to leave them in there, not let them out, and if he has any concerns about their behavior when you are gone to let you know. You can set up a video camera in your bedroom to film them for awhile to make sure their behavior is good and the roommate isn't doing anything to them in their.