(no subject)

[ksmith]

1236 words in about 3 1/2 hours, which is pretty good given that I managed about 4 hours sleep last night, if that. I've had better Mondays. Gaby's usual 4am gotta go outside turned into a 130am GGO thanks to a weekend-long bout of dodgy tum. Yes, she went outside. However, she also made use once more of the small entry rug. Always an enjoyable clean-up in the middle of the night.

Today, most of her lunch and dinner consisted of white rice with a little diced chicken. Something in the air--make that, nothing in the air--tells me that the hospital food helped. Cooking the rice led to Mickey flashbacks, though. I cooked a lot of rice during that last week.

To make the day even better, it rained. To make the day even Better, King and Gaby had their first altercation. It was all my fault. I set down King's dish first, as always because he's the boss, then set down Gaby's. Realized I forgot to add a Pepto-Bismol tablet, and picked the dish back up. That was my mistake--Gaby was so hungry that she went for KIng's dish. I warned her off, but she kept going for it. That was when King stepped in--within seconds, Gaby was on her back squealing, King's teeth at her throat. I pulled him off, and she scooted into a corner, visibly shaken. What followed was an education in dog dynamics. After Gaby calmed down and ate, she tried to draw King's attention. King ignored her--I was the one he was worried about--he knew I was upset, and he kept trying to get me to play with him. Meanwhile, Gaby would walk in front of him, and he would look past her like she wasn't even there.

I sat on floor to try to bring the two of them together. King still ignored Gaby, but he licked my mouth (forgive me, Mommy!), then lay on the floor with his head in my lap. After a few minutes of this, I let them outside--the rain had stopped and I had to get back to work. King continued to ignore Gaby until finally, he deigned to look her in the eye. She licked his mouth. He sniffed her face. She pawed him. He sniffed her undercarriage, and she stood stock-still while he did so. After that, peace seemed to return to the valley.

I was upset by the incident, but to tell the truth, I'm surprised King didn't let her have it before this. Beyond the odd warning growl, he's pretty much kept quiet and accepted everything she dished out, and she dished out a lot--eating his food, chewing on his face, never leaving him alone. We'll see how long this lesson in comportment lasts.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Some dogs can be litter box trained. I wonder if you put a litter box there if she would use it?

Adrianne

[jennifer-dunne.livejournal.com]

I've seen doggie litter boxes in the store ... unlike cat boxes, they have a surface layer that's like astroturf, but porous, with a gel beneath like what's in baby diapers to catch any liquids. Both layers can be removed (and the astroturf layer cleaned with a hose).

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I've seen those. If it would train her to go on grass, it would be worth it. If it's just a new rug, maybe I'll stick with what I have. I've also laid out piddle pads that are supposed to emit an odor that attracts puppies, but it doesn't seem to attract her.

[jennifer-dunne.livejournal.com]

I have no personal experience with it, being a cat person. From the cats, I know that location is very important (one cat would use the place the litter box used to be, rather than the place it had been moved to) as well as color/texture (when unable to get to the litter box in the back of the house, one cat preferred to use the front door mat, which is the same shade of gray, and in a house that was almost all hard-wood floors, would find the one carpeted room, or a throw rug in any other room).