Dog Problems (The Vanity Label, 2006) By the end of 2004, exhausted from their intense touring schedule, Means settled down in Arizona and married his longtime girlfriend, Anita. Ruess, however, was dealing with a series of relationship problems and drinking to excess. Their return to the recording studio the following year provided an outlet for his frustrations and, ultimately, his stormy former relationship served as a basis for many of the song on The Format's second album, Dog Problems. (The couple got dogs at one point during their on-again-off-again relationship, and when it was ultimately over, Ruess had three dogs to look after.) After Elektra folded, The Format released a second EP, Snails with sister label Atlantic Records in April 2005. As they began to work on their second full-length album, they drew on the influences of 1970s pop music, including Harry Nilsson, ELO and The Beach Boys, and decided to collaborate with Redd Kross founder Steven Shane McDonald whom they brought on as record producer. But Atlantic Records executives were not impressed by the 1970s-pop-influenced demos and released The Format from its contract. Upon completing the album, Dog Problems, Ruess and Means, with help from their management company, decided to release it themselves through their newly established imprint label: The Vanity Label. Two months prior to the album's release, an MP3 version was leaked to the internet. In response, The Format decided to make the album immediately