Erika Shupe *grim rictus* Large Families on Purpose Part 4

[Koala]

23 hours ago, princessmahina said:

Karen looks like she's really close to Bob. I wonder if that bothers Erika. I can see her wanting to have all the girls' "hearts" and let Bob keep the boys.

Speaking of which, this really irritates me:

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So I let that plan go and began the shopping on Saturdays with just one daughter plan.  Our sons love to shop with me, too, but Bob and I have chosen to let them have the Daddy shopping trips to Home Depot or the auto repair shop, and I'll do the food and clothing shopping with the girls. *smile* 

Why?  If her sons love to shop with her, why not add them into the grocery rotation? The world wouldn't melt if one of the girls got to go to Home Depot with Dad and one of the boys ventured into a grocery store.

[defraudingjezebel]

34 minutes ago, Koala said:

Why?  If her sons love to shop with her, why not add them into the grocery rotation? The world wouldn't melt if one of the girls got to go to Home Depot with Dad and one of the boys ventured into a grocery store.

I get the sense that Erika is heavily invested in traditional gender roles. Boys have dinosaur/Jurassic Park themed parties while girls have princess parties. Karen wants to study cosmetology. It could be that the kids chose these things out of their own volition, but I'm sure some of that is shaped by Erika's expectations of them. 

Erika also seems very concerned about how to raise her sons to be confident leaders, per this post: http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/03/raising-real-men-surviving-teaching-and.html

Maybe she's afraid that if she takes the boys clothes shopping that they may actually enjoy it. *gasp!* How horrifying! 

[notfundy]

So strange that Erika thinks God gets involved in things like turning the garage into a closet. If there is indeed a God I believe he/she has MUCH greater concerns (such as pizza [emoji487] delivery timing!!!).

[happy atheist]

 *Rye Smile* is our newest post count title!

[mango_fandango]

Some people on GOMI have found out that Happy is only offered water twice a day, after breakfast and after dinner, so that he isn't peeing constantly/doesn't have to be taken outside. Wut?? Our dog has water access 24/7. Erika's at home all. the. time so taking him out shouldn't be an issue either, it takes like 1-2 mins max for a dog to do its business. He was also wearing a "Belly Band", aka a dog diaper. Sounds a lil' crazy to me.

[Koala]

What?  That's beyond ridiculous.  Where are they getting that?  Surely not.... 
 

[defraudingjezebel]

20 minutes ago, mango_fandango said:

Some people on GOMI have found out that Happy is only offered water twice a day, after breakfast and after dinner, so that he isn't peeing constantly/doesn't have to be taken outside. Wut?? Our dog has water access 24/7. Erika's at home all. the. time so taking him out shouldn't be an issue either, it takes like 1-2 mins max for a dog to do its business. He was also wearing a "Belly Band", aka a dog diaper. Sounds a lil' crazy to me.

I wonder where they saw this info- maybe its buried in the comments of one of her FB posts? I'm just curious. I definitely don't doubt it, though. She wants to control when and if her kids go to the bathroom- naturally that need for control would extend to the dog, too. I can't imagine that the dog is getting proper veterinary care. It probably sees the chiropractor/naturopath/nutritionist too. 

[ViolaSebastian]

If that's true, it's straight up animal abuse.  Animals need access to clean drinking water 24/7.  

[Antimony]

2 minutes ago, defraudingjezebel said:

I wonder where they saw this info- maybe its buried in the comments of one of her FB posts? I'm just curious. I definitely don't doubt it, though. She wants to control when and if her kids go to the bathroom- naturally that need for control would extend to the dog, too. I can't imagine that the dog is getting proper veterinary care. It probably sees the chiropractor/naturopath/nutritionist too. 

Her personal Facebook where she is selling dog gates.

[ViolaSebastian]

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Erika Shupe YES!!! grin emoticon *Happy, happy dance!* Only took him to 13 months old. wink emoticon <Name redacted> had great advice for us to monitor Happy's water more proactively (like she does for hers), so we helped him get used to being served water only after breakfast and again after dinner. This helped him not only not want to go out and pee constantly all day long, but also be able to not pee in the house during the day! *CHEER!* Also key, was putting him in a Belly Band all day so that he could "live" in the whole house without the ability to pee anywhere, learning to recognize that it's all his living space and not be inclined to potty anywhere. We kept it on him for about 3 weeks and now he's Band-free all day! grin emoticon Except we do put it on him still for a while when he's home alone and not kenneled, and we do use the Belly Band still when he's at my parent's house (for the same reasons) until he recognizes that their house is also "his living space" and won't potty there. AWESOME. I assume you've seen Belly Bands??

Erika...you suck.  And you're an animal abuser.  

[Koala]

Yep. 

Reader:

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Does this mean he is trained?!?!?!! And allowed to roam the house?

Erika:

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YES!!! grin emoticon *Happy, happy dance!* Only took him to 13 months old. wink emoticon Emily Moore had great advice for us to monitor Happy's water more proactively (like she does for hers), so we helped him get used to being served water only after breakfast and again after dinner. This helped him not only not want to go out and pee constantly all day long, but also be able to not pee in the house during the day! *CHEER!* Also key, was putting him in a Belly Band all day so that he could "live" in the whole house without the ability to pee anywhere, learning to recognize that it's all his living space and not be inclined to potty anywhere. 

I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that she is depriving that dog of water so she doesn't have to take him out to the bathroom.  Unfuckingbelievable.

[warriorblade8857]

2 hours ago, Anonymousguest said:

How does that kid even get out of bed to use the potty in the night?

They don't. It's locked.

*sarcasm*

[mango_fandango]

I'm just surprised they've kept him for a year. The others barely lasted two months apiece. I wonder what they do with him when they go to church. 

[Antimony]

I've had a shih tzu. They pee often, yea, but she has a fenced in backyard, right? What's the big deal?

Ours was dumped on us. 6 college students, we somehow found time to take her out and take turns despite classes and without a fenced in yard. Erika is screwed up. 

[ViolaSebastian]

Why on earth couldn't she schedule one of the kids to take Happy out every half hour?  A much more reasonable solution than denying the poor thing water.

[Jingerbread]

We have a dog who is mentally delayed pretty badly.  At night, water is taken up because she won't let us know she needs to go out.  During the day, she doesn't alert us either.  We have to carefully watch her for when she starts sniffing the floor, and take her out immediately.  We can't actively watch her at night since we're asleep, and if water's left down where she can reach it, she'll go pee inside at night.  When it comes to her, the choice is to let her pee inside and then deal with frequent professional steam-cleaning that can get through the carpet pad (80-pound dogs pee through pads), or frequent carpet replacement (upper floor condo, and the manager won't allow all hard floors because noise travels easier through hard floor while carpets muffle sound), or no water at night.  And she'll pee in a crate, and then lay in it, and laying in pee for hours can hurt dogs.  In our case, it's not laziness.  Catching her during the day takes a lot of effort, and this is how it's been for all seven years we've had her.   She's an exhausting dog to have, and we don't get to go on vacations often since she's a hard dog to deal with during the day when she has to be watched closely at all times.  We love her enough to do it.

BUT!  I can't fathom only giving her water twice a day.  She has it from 6am until 9pm, with her last walk around 10pm.  I don't think she could stay alive if she got some water just twice a day.  We human being need to drink more than that, and can go overnight without drinking.  But then we wake up thirsty.  How can a dog survive with drinking just twice a day?

There's nothing indicating that Lucky has mental incapacitations.  Erika's so lazy that she won't train her dog.  I'd love it if our dog was trainable instead of being a dog you can tell at a glance is missing most of the deck.  I'd love if we could train her to let us know when she needs to go out, like the dog before her that I had who sat by the dog and gave a little bark.  It would be great to leave down water 24/7, and to let her out of my sight with the security that I'm not going to go find a huge pee spot on the carpet.  Erika's got an enviable thing going on.  She has a small, normal dog, and she only gives him a couple sips a day.

She's obsessed with controlling the bathroom habits of everyone around her.  What the fuck is wrong with her?

3 minutes ago, ViolaSebastian said:

Why on earth couldn't she schedule one of the kids to take Happy out every half hour?  A much more reasonable solution than denying the poor thing water.

Even the kids aren't allowed outside that often.  The dog probably sees the outdoors more than they do.

[DarkAnts]

Why can't she train Happy to ring a bell on the door when he needs to go out? I have a few friends with dogs trained to do this. It's a simple way to communicate.

[defraudingjezebel]

20 minutes ago, Antimony said:

I've had a shih tzu. They pee often, yea, but she has a fenced in backyard, right? What's the big deal?

Ours was dumped on us. 6 college students, we somehow found time to take her out and take turns despite classes and without a fenced in yard. Erika is screwed up. 

Oh, well Erika says her backyard is muddy most of the year, making it "unusable." She won't even let the kids go out and play lest they track in some dirt. I don't know where she lets the dog pee, but I'm sure if she dares to let him in the yard that she labors over cleaning his paws when he comes back inside. 

[apandaaries]

53 minutes ago, Jingerbread said:

She's obsessed with controlling the bathroom habits of everyone around her.  What the fuck is wrong with her?

Even the kids aren't allowed outside that often.  The dog probably sees the outdoors more than they do.

Erika is just achieving ever more sadistic levels.  Who on earth needs to monitor and control the bowels and bladders of everyone around them?  Those poor kids, and that poor dog! She can recognize that kids need water frequently, but she just offers the dog water twice daily?  Poor kidneys, poor puppy...

[Rubaiyat]

2 hours ago, defraudingjezebel said:

Oh, well Erika says her backyard is muddy most of the year, making it "unusable." She won't even let the kids go out and play lest they track in some dirt. I don't know where she lets the dog pee, but I'm sure if she dares to let him in the yard that she labors over cleaning his paws when he comes back inside. 

You know what?  I'm positive you're right and Oh. My. Goodness.  I have two dogs, one of which is basically a furry rhinoceros/dinosaur hybrid with paws like a polar bear.  Our backyard is straight mud-slush soup for months out of the year (like right now,) so we have to meticulously wipe 8 paws every single time they come back inside.  And they're dogs so, you know, they need to go outside every 14.3 seconds to make sure that dog next door doesn't dare try to exist in the same dimension as them.  Because next-door dog is obviously a punk that can't be trusted, and must be carefully and diligently monitored.  

My point is that, somehow, with only 6 of us here on paw-wiping duty, AND 4 more paws, with eleventy times more surface area, somehow we manage.  And I have wall-to-wall very light colored carpet.  I also have a big, dark-colored rug just inside the back door lest anyone *side-eye* attempt to escape the paw-wiping and make a break for it.  I'm shocked that God didn't give Erika that idea!  We even homeskool!  

But then, I also let my kids play outside pretty much regardless of the weather, so I probably can't be trusted either.  I don't even lock my bathrooms!!  Also, there are these great new things called "rainboots" that the kids are using these days; works a treat when it's muddy out!  *smile*

Erika!  Give your dog water!  I promise it will be okay!!

[Hisey]

Erika is flat-out bad at toilet training people and animals. Her sons aren't toilet trained at 4.5 years. Her dog takes 13 months to learn. This is weird.

I am not particularly talented with dogs, yet I've housetrained all our dogs in 1-2 months, usually shorter. What is she doing that it takes 13 months? And if she needs to restrict the dog's water intake, and use a belly band, it sounds like he's not really trained at all.

I wonder if she tried the same technique she used (unsuccessfully) on her kids--locking Happy in the bathroom with salty treats, touching his belly band every five minutes and rewarding him when it is dry. 

[Guest]

I knew that poor dogs life had to be hell.  This is animal abuse.  I bet she cuts off the liquids after lunch for the kids too.  There's no way the girls could get to the bathroom at night with the trundle bed pulled out.  She's sick.  They hardly ever leave the house, why couldn't she have the kids rotate taking him for a walk every hour or two.  She shouldn't have pets or kids, I'm so disgusted I can't even...

[iweartanktops]

4 hours ago, defraudingjezebel said:

I get the sense that Erika is heavily invested in traditional gender roles. Boys have dinosaur/Jurassic Park themed parties while girls have princess parties. Karen wants to study cosmetology. It could be that the kids chose these things out of their own volition, but I'm sure some of that is shaped by Erika's expectations of them. 

Erika also seems very concerned about how to raise her sons to be confident leaders, per this post: http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/03/raising-real-men-surviving-teaching-and.html

Maybe she's afraid that if she takes the boys clothes shopping that they may actually enjoy it. *gasp!* How horrifying! 

So, she's hoping her 9 year old son who isn't allowed to bathe himself, will become a Confident Leader™? 

4 hours ago, happy atheist said:

 *Rye Smile* is our newest post count title!

No sourdough? That's my personal favorite, in case you were wondering.  

3 hours ago, DarkAnts said:

Why can't she train Happy to ring a bell on the door when he needs to go out? I have a few friends with dogs trained to do this. It's a simple way to communicate.

Great idea! Erika really sucks! This is disturbing! 

[livinginthelight]

An article about the importance of an abundant supply of water, for the health of dogs:

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/canine-nutrition/water-most-neglected-canine-nutrient/

I'm wondering if a call to the local humane society is in order? I believe they are obligated to follow up on each call. They probably would only give a lecture but it would be very beneficial, IMO, for the children to be educated on proper pet care.

[Vex]

22 minutes ago, livinginthelight said:

An article about the importance of an abundant supply of water, for the health of dogs:

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/canine-nutrition/water-most-neglected-canine-nutrient/

I'm wondering if a call to the local humane society is in order? I believe they are obligated to follow up on each call. They probably would only give a lecture but it would be very beneficial, IMO, for the children to be educated on proper pet care.

I believe most states have a law that dogs must be adequately fed and sheltered and have access to water 24 hours a day. If they're obligated to follow through and check it out and Erica explained they only gave the dog access to water twice a day they'd probably explain why that is unhealthy and tell her to make sure the dog has access to water and that would be it.

Admittedly my knowledge mostly stems from watching Animal Cops, but I've seen them tell people off for not allowing animals free access to drinking water and then check up on them before. I don't think that there would be any action realistically unless it were the middle of summer and dehydration was a major concern. This wouldn't be seen as abuse, just ignorance.