pescifish

You might want to be on the watch for this, since it is one of the more common issues with multiple dogs. A quick search for +"food aggression" +"multiple dogs" gave some pretty good resources. This one was about a couple of terriers, but I believe it applies to all dog breeds:

brighid

We have a similar issue with Xena and Ares. Ares WILL eat himself to death, Xena won't (unless it's used tissue paper, or dirty socks and underwear.)

We feed them at the same time, but separate them to opposite sides of the kitchen. Ares is made to sit and wait by his bowl and Xena by hers. They eat at the same time, but Ares eats like a slob and leaves plenty of chunks and remnants for Xena to lick clean afterward. If we were to leave food out it would be gone in a matter of moments. He is definately a scavenger, but I suppose that is his nature and partly due to the horrible neglect he suffered before coming to us.

Pescifish gave some really good advice. I hope things start to settle down and also really glad to know that diana (and the animals) weren't hurt in that accident. That was very fortunate!

Brighid

Shake

Whew! Glad to hear diana's OK!

Now, I'm not a pet owner, but I've got a 2.5 yr. old son, and I'm getting close to doing one thing that I'm about to suggest to you: move the DVD player higher (if possible).

Also, when you mention discoloration on the screen, I assume you mean the TV. Is this only when playing DVDs? If so, then there may definitely be something else wrong with the player. I'm afraid I don't know too much about DVD players. But I do work in electronics so here's another suggestion. Unplug the DVD player and move it to an animal-safe location. Carefully remove the outer cover to make sure there's no more ... er, liquid inside. If there is, carefully dry it up with a paper towel preferrably (stay away from towels and the like as static could damage internal circuitry). Just mat up whatever you can. Then I'd use a small fan to blow air over it to dry up the rest. DO NOT use a blow dryer on any setting other than cool! If you don't feel comfortable doing anything like this, I'd say take it to someplace like Best Buy, where they do have some people who know what they're doing, to troubleshoot any problems.

If I were there, I'd take a look at it for you. Sounds like it's not serious, though I don't understand what would be causing the discoloration. Is it just the one DVD (although that wouldn't make much sense either) or any DVD?

Talulah

Yes, the discoloration is on the tv screen. The DVD is brand new. I took it out of the package to watch it. I haven't taken the unit apart yet but that is next on my agenda. Some one that works with tv equipment told me there is a spray you can spray in to the unit that will fix the problem of left over residue from the um...substance.

Dark Jedi

DANGER...WARNING...WARNING Will Robinson...WARNING
<flails arms madly about>

You are likely thinking of canned "air" for cleaning electronics.

This is OK, really, however with DVD and CD players, it is a big risk. The hydrocarbon they use for these will react with the plastic used in the laser focus lenses. They will warp and fog, rendering the unit useless.

If you have a techie friend, have them do this:

Get some distilled water. Preferrably technical grade.

Unplug the unit, remove any memory batteries, and allow a day or so for discharge.

Ground it, and ground it well.
Ground yourself.

Open unit, and use the water to clean out the unit.

Stay away from the part that the CD/DVD is played from, where the tray winds up when playing.
(You are not discolored due to the lens being dirty, it does not work that way. most likely the output amp or analog color preamp are having problems. If the lens was even slightly dirty, it would skip and pixellate)

Allow to dry completely before plugging back in. Distilled water will clean off the doggie urine while leaving no residue itself. So long as it is not plugged in and is properly grounded and discharged, no electronic damage will occour.

I used this exact method to clean out and re-use a metric buttload of equipment that was swept up in the Pendleton mudslides in California, about 1993. This was very sensitive calibration equipment, too. I saved you US taxpayers over 3 million dollars, as they were all set to write it all off as destroyed.

Got my boss a medal.

-James, the ex electronics tech and Metrologist.

Not Prince Hamlet

I hate to say it, but with the prices of players dropping these days, you're probably just better off getting a new player than keeping one that smells of urine. A decent DVD player can be had for less than $100 these days.

Jeff

diana

Ah. Good question.

Maxx has been needing a friend. As Tal mentioned, we both work a lot. It just so happens that a friend of mine is starting a new job where she'll be gone more than she's home, and needed someone to take her pets indefinitely. She's been taking care of my cat for a couple of years, as well. So I drove up to get them (I had the accident on the way to pick them up, btw; I don't know if they've have survived it).

We now have two dogs: Maxx and Jack Killian. And three cats: Toby, Shadow and Pita.

Oh, and Maxx learned respect for the cats almost instantly. He sniffed too close to Toby and got a noseful of claws. He now gives them a wide, respectful berth.

d