# Pets and trains ?



## SRW (Jan 13, 2010)

I do not currently own any animals because I've never wanted to own any until I had a fenced in back yard so my pet did not have to be house bound all day. I just personally don't think that's cool except maybe for cats or very small dogs. 
I'm looking to buy a home with the standard 1/4 - 1/2 acre yard, suburban type home. I've always been partial to medium size breeds, dogs like the Boxer, American Bulldog, medium size Doberman, Brittany Spaniels. Dogs that are a combination pet/watchdog. I have always gotten a kick out of Jack Russel terriers, very smart, funny little dogs but terriers in my experience are 'diggers' thus, a deal breaker as I don't think I would want one digging up my garden or trains.

Would anyone care to share any cautionary tales with me regarding their experiences with pets and garden trains please? Should I have a separate area for my pets or do people find it's usually not an issue?


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## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Owned several Pembroke Corgis all my life until recently (got a rescue Shih-Tzu, neat dog, but never again). 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pembroke_Welsh_Corgi 

(EDIT) the tri color in the above link looks like my last bitch, who died alone at my (now former) vet's office...

They are a small dog with a big dog mentality, not yippie, hearders so they do like to run a bit, good companions, and good watchdogs....including one that took down a burgler back in the 1970s! 

Never gave the trains (outdoor or indoor Lionel on the floor) a second look, and other than "bombs", not much to watch out for in the yard.


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## SRW (Jan 13, 2010)

Thanks, 
a good buddy of mine who owns the bicycle shop I used to patronize in Maryland had a Corgi and I would often see the dog there. Other than always teasing them about saving up to be a full set of legs for the poor creature, I always liked their dog very much. Good natured animal.

"Took down a burglar". Trying to envision that. But then again, dogs can amaze you. Even the smallest of dogs can be quite ferocious when their territory is invaded.


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## bmwr71 (Jan 30, 2010)

I have a cat that I can't run trains around. He will lay next to the track and wait and as soon as the locomotive reaches him, he swats it and knocks it off the track. I put it back on for another round, he patiently waits until it arrives and repeats his little game. I reset, he waits and swats.


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## SRW (Jan 13, 2010)

Posted By bmwr71 on 15 Jul 2011 11:39 PM 
I have a cat that I can't run trains around. He will lay next to the track and wait and as soon as the locomotive reaches him, he swats it and knocks it off the track. I put it back on for another round, he patiently waits until it arrives and repeats his little game. I reset, he waits and swats.

Hmmm, Maybe a cattle prod or a Tazer might alter that. But on the other hand, cat's behavior can be notoriously hard to reprogram.


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## ThinkerT (Jan 2, 2008)

I have a couple of cats the daughter left behind when she moved out most of a year ago. They find the train room (I have an indoor layout) to be absolutely fascinating - until the trains start running. Cat 1 sees them as a sort of irrelevant annoyance, and will jump from one part of the layout to another to stay out of the trains way. Cat 2 see's them as 'toys'. At one point, my layout has a distance eating R2 loop with a 30 degree crossover that triples the distance between two stations. Cat 2 would park himself on the track at the exit point from this loop, watch the train run around through the loop - and then almost run right into him. Took him six or eight loops (and three or four carefull inspections of the crossover) before he figured out what was going on. Then he took to perching inside the skeletal frame for the 'mountain' that will eventually hide the crossover and taking the occasional experimental swipe at the train as it passed by. 

The other thing that baffled both cats for the longest time was the long 'ridge' I have running down the center of the table, with part of the main loop to either side along with connecting tunnels. Time and time again they would spot the train approaching along one side of the ridge, and decide the best way to get out of the trains way was to jump over to the other side - where they would park themselves right in the middle of the track and almost get run over when the train came through the tunnel. A few times they simply ducked through the tunnel ahead of the train. When they finally figured that one out, they took to perching atop the ridge near one of the tunnel exits, and would 'lay in wait' for the train to pass by underneath. 

My layout boasts two switching puzzles, which I work with little Mack Switchers. Cat 2 finds the continual back and forth of the switching action to be absolutely fascinating; a couple times I've come into the train room and found him carefully inspecting and occasionally swatting the little Mack trying to get it to move.


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## mbendebba (Jan 22, 2011)

Posted By bmwr71 on 15 Jul 2011 11:39 PM 
I have a cat that I can't run trains around. He will lay next to the track and wait and as soon as the locomotive reaches him, he swats it and knocks it off the track. I put it back on for another round, he patiently waits until it arrives and repeats his little game. I reset, he waits and swats.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

We have always had dogs and or cats. About the only problems we have had (aside from buildings infrequently knocked over that have to be re-glued) have mainly been from something chasing or being chased by something else.

We usually see the results rather than the actions so it is hard to know for sure which is the culprit.

Then too none of my layouts is on the ground. They are accessible to animals but not subject to any sort of digging activity.

The main problem I have had was with my wife putting out bird feed on the deck above. Birds are sloppy eaters and raccoons like to eat bird feed and cats like to eat birds.

The bird feed would fall on the layout on the deck below the deck she had the feeders on and the fallen bird feed was bait to any critter that likes bird feed or the taste of critters that like bird feed.

Be careful not to leave any bait (whether it is bird feed or anything else) that will attract critters.

Some folks have reported problems with wildlife from squirrels to raccoons to deer. I go out of my way to attract them.

I consider the deer and raccoons as much my pets as I do our cat. A couple of days ago I found a mother raccoon with her three babies eating the cat food. I was only 5 feet away and they just looked at me. No growling or anything. I told my wife I need to start buying more cat food and she said that will cost me more than the corn I have been buying for the deer. I told her the raccoons were small and they would not eat that much cat food (that was a lie - they eat A LOT of cat food but most of the time they share the corn with the deer).

Jerry


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## work4fil (Jan 4, 2008)

We have always had dogs. Big dogs, who were indifferent, gave way through attrition to smaller "kick" dogs. We inherited my wife's grandmother's Shih Tzu, who basically could pass for a cat. Then we were given an extremely social cock-a-poo. 

I set up a test loop in my driveway to run my Annie and a short string of passenger cars. The Shih Tzu just about had a conniption fit. She would chase the train around the loop, barking. If I stopped and reversed direction, she was terrorized. The other dog was behind the invisible fence and could not join in the fun, but she definitely put up a racket as a sign of support for chasing the train. 

They don't have the same enthusiasm for my R/C Abrams tank. 

Fil


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## Pterosaur (May 6, 2008)

I will be facing similar issues as I build my new lauout. 

My dog (Yellow Lab/Shar-Pei mix) loves to dig...Not good. I hope the compacted granite main surface on the new outdoor layout will prevent that. Biggest problem is on hot days she likes to sit in the Koi pond...which will be in the middle of the new layout! 

I turned my back while running an Rhb Crocodile/Glacier consist on my indoor layout and was not there to see the cat lay down on the tracks...But I sure heard about it! When I came back to see what the damage was I found a derailed train and a large clump of Persian cat hair stuck on one of the cantenary masts.


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## SLemcke (Jun 3, 2008)

During one of my expansions I decided to run along my back fenceline. Trains looked really good chugging along in and out of sight behind some bushes and rocks along about 100 feet of the fence line. On the other side of the fence is a well used walking trail. I learned quickly that my Husky had lots of friends walking back there. They would run back and forth along that fence line having a good ole time until time to move on. Sixty pounds of happy romping and track ties don't match. I learned that Aristo ties do not hold up as well as LGB ties under those conditions. Not breaking just poping off the track. Ended up moving the track to a new location. I obviouly didn't obtain right of way before building and paid the consequences. 
Steve


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

My cat is the main reason I got into G $cale. 
After watching the first monsoon wash over the On3 ladder I had assembled, I realised that code 70 track and On3 flanges would be a constant battle. 
No way Rocky, my bi-polar cat would tolerate them indoors.... when frightened he gets aggressive.. oh Boy! 

John


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## Ralph Berg (Jun 2, 2009)

My GRR is at ground level, in the front yard. Currently have two dogs. One large, one medium, that stay outdoors. They are pretty good about staying out of the GRR, but it took some time for them to learn. 
When I did see one of them in the GRR, they would get a loud and stern "NO". And then I would ignore them for several days. This seems to work quite well. 

Another idea might be to try the "invisible fencing" around the GRR to keep the dogs out. 
Ralph


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## SRW (Jan 13, 2010)

A few months back my friend decided to replace the ancient family dog that died when she noticed how much her young daughter was missing the animal. They found a marvelous pound puppy and since she learned a lot of hard and expensive lessons about indulgence and lackadaisical dog training from the last dog and decided this time to chose a less neurotic dog and train early and consistently. She is going to a trainer who uses a shock collar. So far the smart little dog has learned quickly, is following all commands and she claims to not have to even shock the dog just show it the button/controller which the dog early on associated with the shock. That might be a way to teach a dog to get down out of the garden train area but I'm just not sold on the humane issues of the shock collar and would have to exhaust and give up on positive reinforcement methods and loud stern vocal commands before trying the shock collar. I would also have to try it on myself before i would ever use it on a dog.


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Shortly after we got our Keeshund puppy in the mid-80s he sat down on the track and soon was hit by a train. He let out a "yip" and never came near the track or train again. We sure miss that dog.

Chuck


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Our pooch never was trouble when I had the outdoor ground level layout. Now that I'm inside he just enjoys sitting next to me while I fiddle with it. Wife wants a Frenchie we'll see.


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## Dean Whipple (Jan 2, 2008)

I have a fenced acre, currently have 3 dogs, a large German Shepard, a Yorkie, and a Cockapoo, over the years I've had a couple of Rottweilers, a Springer Spaniel, Pit-Bull. My RR is in a relatively small portion of the acre and I've used a *'PetSafe' wire fence* around the whole acre and the RR works great, keeps them out of the RR and from digging out of the yard.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

When I first moved in my house 12 years ago this was OPEN RANGE. I had someone's cattle wandering through my yard leaving huge cow patties. They only damaged the layout once when startled and they charged through the bridges.

They state did not renew cattle leases. Now they are all gone. 

Now all I have are local gentry. The Quail like to walk along the bridges on the rails . I home less cat sometimes stays in the tunnels. The Havalienia, Deer, Coyotes ( four legs not two) Road Runners, rattle snakes, birds of all color, Lizards of all sizes, and about 5 trarantulas( coffee cup size) wander around the layout at will and do no damge. 

It is fun to watch them 


JJ


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

Our Gidget is a West Highland Terrier. She is smart as can be. I can leave her out front by her self and she never runs off. In fact if I leave her out along for very long, she scratches at the door to get in. As for house training Gidget, we crate trained her. It was the easist ever. Took less than two weeks and now Gidget sleeps with us and on the weekends if we want to sleep till noon, Gidget sleeps in with us. 

Gidget will watch the trains and never give them a thought unless it a small loco like a critter or speeder. She will chase them till I say stop. 

Gidget also watches TV. Of course her favorite show is the dog shows.


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

No problem with dogs on my railroad. Our former resident--a very lazy Chow/Golden mix completely ignored them preferring the cool of the space below the bay window. Our current Shiba Inu isn't quite so ignorant of the railroad, in fact he views the right of way as his own personal dog run for chasing squirrels along the back fence. Fortunately at under 20 pounds, he doesn't do any damage. (And keeps the twigs clear for me.) He'll occasionally plop down near the track, but gets annoyed when the train approaches, grumbles, gets up, and wants to go back inside. 

Later, 

K


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## SRW (Jan 13, 2010)

This has been quite enlightening so far and I have thoroughly enjoyed all the shared years of experience regarding my inquiry, re: trains and pets. It makes me feel good that, as advertised on the description of the "Beginner's Forum", that there is truly "no dumb question" and it also intrigues me to find that garden railroad folks, who one might think would be "fussy" people in general about their train areas and yards in general, appear to be animal lovers as well. Not too surprising in some ways I guess, a person who enjoys fussin' about their gardens and playing with trains and enjoying life in their backyards also seems to find enjoyment watching children and neighbors take delight in their garden train endeavors as well. This type of personality would also seem to enjoy the company of domestic pets and not only take delight in their interaction with our garden trains but in some cases [as previously noted], even rearrange our entire garden train program so as to not inconvenience their furry family members or even the occasional wild animal visitors. 
We seem to be showing that we are a rather compassionate lot and maybe not so persnikety and fussy as some may assume. Kind of a kinder, gentler side to our occasional rivet counting anal retentiveness. [Laugh!!]

S


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## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By SRW on 15 Jul 2011 10:57 PM 
Thanks, 
a good buddy of mine who owns the bicycle shop I used to patronize in Maryland had a Corgi and I would often see the dog there. Other than always teasing them about saving up to be a full set of legs for the poor creature, I always liked their dog very much. Good natured animal.

"Took down a burglar". Trying to envision that. But then again, dogs can amaze you. Even the smallest of dogs can be quite ferocious when their territory is invaded. 



Yes. A friend had a Pitbull named "puppy" who guarded his car repair shop next to ours. She would not hurt a fly, but no way on earth would have I ever thought of trying to get on his property after hours!

All of ours but one (an abused rescue dog) were good natured. The abused dog was very skittish, but one cannot blame her as that was an outcome of her early life. My last one was rasied not to be gun shy even by the breeder. My two kids still ask if we can get another one every time we see one on the TV.


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## jcopanos (May 29, 2010)

I have three black lab/healer mixes and an inside cat. The RR is outside and the dogs basically ignor it like the do the cat inside. "what cat, I don't see no cat" and the same outside with the RR. BUT, the male dog thinks the dwarf alberta spruces are fire hydrants. I have a heck of a time with that. I've had to fence the entire layout just to save the trees.


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## tmejia (Jan 2, 2008)

I have a German Shepard who ignores the the trains on our garden railroad. Even with trains chugging, whistles blowing and bubbles flying, she doesn't give the trains a second glance.

Tommy








Rio Gracie


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Corgi. Oh my, that must be what "Neener" was. Funny little dog a friend owned.


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## tmmhead (Feb 22, 2008)

I have two Klee Kai (minature Huskies) that really do not pay attention or bother the trains. The bigger problem is that they love to chase each other throughout the entire yard including the railway. When they were small they would chase each other around the mountiain and even through the 4 foot tunnel. So before I started the normal cleanup for the train session this year I had to get them to stop running through the railway, enter the invisiable fence. We were orginally looking to just to use it for containment in the front yard but then realized that it was needed to keep them out of the railway and other plant beds. This has worked great and now I don't need to worry about them blazing through the railway and adding more work to wanting to run trains. Well worth the small investment to save my time for running trains rather than repairs. 

Tim


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## jjwtrainman (Mar 11, 2011)

I am lucky to have very active, but smart dogs. I actually trained them not to go in the railroad. My cats are a little different though. I completely agree with SRW in that cats are nearly impossible to change. Unless motivated by food or other interesting distraction, any cat that likes a train will do what he/she wants to do with it. I blow the whistle anytime my cat gets ideas about catching the train. It scares him away from the loco, cat isn't harmed, trains aren't harmed, and I get a good laugh out of it!


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## Bob in Kalamazoo (Apr 2, 2009)

I gave up being fussy about the railroad. I have a dog who is no problem. She will walk through the railroad and walk the tracks, but always gets out of the way of the trains. Little kids are a different story. But I've learned to accept them and let them play. One of them is my two year old grandson. He has fun and isn't intentionally distructive. He can be directed to not harming things but occasionally something suffers and I've learned to live with it. After all, they are just toys. I've managed to break a few things myself and I had a four year old and a 64 year old over here once and the four year old did better than the 64 year old. 
Bob


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