When I am not home and there is a thunderstorm, Sofie tends to eat through the laundry room door. I have rebuilt the door 3X now. You would think I would just remember to leave it ajar when I go out so this doesn’t keep happening. But, No! I close the door because the cat litter is in there and I don’t want the dogs playing in it. That is why the laundry room door HAD a cat door; which is where I think this eating that particular door all started for Sofie. She first ate the cat door.
Anyway, I have gotten very expert at hollow core door repair, so I made you this video to share my fixing magic, including adding back a cat door. Hope it helps any of you that have to repair a similar chewed situation.
Turn on closed captions in video to read instructions.
I am not sure Mini knew that she was the focus of attention when she chose to hide behind the front door this morning. Sometimes I wonder if the cats know that their tails are sticking out under things when they hide. At first, when I saw the group hovering, I freaked. On occasion, Black Rat Snakes have found their way into the foyer and I thought that was what they were all looking at. On closer observation, it was too fluffy and moved slowly (which the snakes don’t do when they are in the house).
Mini must have felt all these eyes on her tail because she started to pull it back behind the door with the rest of her.
No animals, or tails, were hurt in the moment. Thank goodness.
Charles loves a good chew. Every night I gather up all the dog toys and put them in the toy basket and every day he takes them out one by one. He is very partial to anything that Louise prefers. I think it is important for all dogs to have time each day for a good toy chew. Charles’ daily gathering of soft toys to chew on isn’t a problem but marrow bones, antlers, nylon bones, high-value treats, and of course, dinner, needs to be carefully orchestrated or things get snappy and dangerous very fast. Keeping the peace when you have multiple animals and multiple resources guarders* is a challenge.
*”Resource guarding refers to a dog displaying behavior (growling, snapping, etc.) intended to convince other dogs or humans to stay away from a particular treasure or “resource.” The resource can be food, treats, toys, a place (a bed or favorite chair), or occasionally a person. Basically, a resource is anything that is considered by the dog to be of high value.” –YourDogsFriend
Separation is the key with 7 animals. The cats and dogs have always been separated at the zoo when it comes to where they eat but now it is more important than ever. Sofie charges cats near her toys or food, but it never got dangerous until Charles came. The cats usually just laughed at Sofie and jumped up on the counter where they eat. Since Charles and Sofie get into scary dogs fights over resources the cat charging has escalated. This is a concern and something I am dealing with.
Louise has no problem around food or other resources (she’s so easygoing in the house). And, in almost 7 years together, Louise and Sofie never fought over food, toys, or bones (though Sofie has been known to stare/whine at Louise until she gives up just to shut Sofie up). I can pick up the food bowl while they are eating or take any toy or bone from them without any trouble. I trained them this way since they were puppies. But Charles is new here (and almost 9 years old) and he came with some bad habits so now dog separation is a must.
Both Sofie and Charles have resource guarding issues. Sofie has attacked him several times around dinner or treat time, even before I started preparing anything. I think she starts it, but he won’t back down either and fur flies.
My answer – keep as much distance between them when food or treats are involved.
Charles only gets his meals and his snacks in his exercise pen. He is not allowed out until the other animals finish eating or having their treats. Charles has charged the cats from the other side of the room, especially if a human is eating and he is in proximity. I now have strict rules about feeding him outside of his pen because he is just too unpredictable.
As I said, separation is the key around here. As long as there is space, gates, and doors, everyone can have a good chew.
As the days go by with Mommy stuck in bed because of her foot surgery, I amass a larger and larger stash of cat toys next to her. I love all my little toys. Mom says that I like ‘catnip’ tea, because I suck on every cat toy in the house. Sucking on things makes me feel much better and I figure since it makes me feel better, I will bring them to Mom to make her better.
The Zoo is kind of funny when it comes to toys. Charles steals the biggest toys in the dogbox to play with (sometimes they are bigger than him). Louise likes Charles little tiny tennis balls to chew on (which freaks Mommy out so she watches very carefully to make sure nothing is swallowed). I prefer small soft toys – the smaller the better. Mom says “to each their own,” whatever that means.
The 3 dogs and the cat-dog all want my lunch. It is kind of hard to ignore all the salivating stares when you are trying to have a bite to eat. They always have been beggers, but now that I have limited mobility, they all seem to push me around a lot more. They aren’t getting the exercise that they are used to, and just like me, all they want to do is eat right now it seems.
Oh, those begging eyes, Louise! I know that you want to go for a walk, but it still going to be a while. Good thing that I know how to resist those pitiful stares, well sort of.
(P.S. Do you notice Mini asleep in Charles bed in his exercise pen? She uses it much more than he does. Hahaha)
Mom has been lying down on the job for 38 days now because of her foot surgery. She thinks that it will be 18 more days before she can sit at her desk again (she hopes, she hopes). That would be 8 weeks of having her foot in the air. We hope she is right, but we kind of like this lying down thing. We get to be in the middle of everything.
She is the luckiest Mom because she has three doggies protecting her legs from any bad things, like cats coming up on the bed to bother her.
Louise thinks she is a small dog and tries to cuddle up as tight has she can to Mommy’s good leg. It gets a little crowded.
Mom is lucky that Sofie mostly stays on the floor because, with 2 computers, 2 dogs on the bed, a leg cast, a giant leg pillow, and all her files and crossword puzzles, there is hardly room for her on this little bed.
Every year Harold and Maude, or their children or grandchildren, have come back to nest in the front yard. Ducks do that. The experts at Ducks Unlimited say that ducks “imprint information about their home breeding and wintering areas and use navigational cues to return to them. Adult female ducks often return to former breeding sites.”
We have been blessed for the last 16 year’s as we have watched Harolds and Maudes waddle around the grounds, swim in the pool, and ultimately waddle their ducklings down to the river.
Luckily the ducks are in the front yard. The dogs would love to chase them, and do roust them if they fly into the back or worse in the pool, but the front is leash only territory so the duckies are ‘kind of’ safe. They must feel at home since they keep coming back.
Mom has a boo boo on her foot (a plate and 5 screws). She is not allowed to put any weight on it for 2 weeks and then she has to wear this cast boot for another 6 weeks (if she heals well). We think it is fun that she has to stay in bed all day. We have been fighting over who helps her the most. Louise and Sofie are away at Sonya’s Dog Farm until Mom can put her foot on the floor again. Mom is sad because she misses her big dogs, but we don’t. The house is now owned by us little critters only! We cats like that there is no Sofie chasing us down the hall. But, Charles doesn’t get any walks, just out in the yard, and is starting to look a bit portly. And, Nine seems afraid of the boot and hides under the bed.
Mom says we are a big help and make her smile. I think she is ready to be done with this cast thing already.
Reported by the big helpers – Noel and Mini Cooper
We love the pink snow when it falls. It looks like the white stuff put it isn’t cold. We don’t know if Charles ever saw pink snow before because he tried to eat it. Pink snow makes us happy. Do you have pink snow? This is our friend Amy’s yard (she’s a yellow lab). She has lots of trees that line her drive. We only have one cherry tree and it is little and get’s white flowers, not pink. Pink snow is slippery and Mommy worries that we are going to slip. Mommy always worries.
The temperature went from cold to hot in a moment. I didn’t bring water and all the dogs’ did was pant and eat grass on our long walk today. Maybe I have 3 sheep instead of 3 dogs. I wonder if the grass tasted cool and moist, quenching their thirst until we got home to the water.
In case you were wondering, eating grass is fine for dogs. In my review of veterinarian and journal articles, no one really knows (or agrees on) why they do it, but they all say that it is not harmful. Basically, it has no nutritional value (sort of like iceberg lettuce). There is speculation that dogs eat grass when their tummies are upset, which I know is true. Mine have always eaten grass when they want to barf (especially Sofie). But, I also think they like the taste. Squash had a particular onion grass that he preferred each spring on my neighbor’s corner, and I find that Louise enjoys the same grass when it comes up.
The cats like grass too. We actually grow it indoors in hopes they will leave the houseplants alone. It doesn’t keep them from eating everything else, but they have fun with it. I know that the houseplants make the cats barf, but interestingly enough, I don’t find the grass does. Go figure?
My only concern with grass eating is when people starting putting all those chemicals on their lawns (which I hate). I make sure to keep the dogs off those surfaces so that they don’t get chem-paws, and so they don’t ingest the pesticides and other things that are just plain deadly.
DogDaz Zoo 