# Pet stories, let's start again



## Claire (Aug 13, 2011)

First of all, by mutual agreement, I stopped the line about my problems with my shelter dog.  In fact, we kept her and using both advice from people here and from people who answered a local column I write, we trained her.  I won't say she's perfect, but she is a great pet and lovely and loving companion. I know that all pet training is really human training.  If you don't work at it, it will not work.  I don't think I could have kept Rosebud if I'd lived near my family when I had 6 nieces & nephews under 10 years old and 3 friends over 75, some in wheelchairs.  

But, to move on to an amusing note, both my column and my emails to friends I mentioned that I'd been working on frying a pound of bacon, hoping to use it for a week's worth of bacon.  BLTs to start. 

Went into the kitchen, and bacon .... gone.  Now I know Rosebud can jump 4' easily, so who's the idiot here.  We called in a pizza and laughed (after severely reprimanding her and tossing her out the door for a few minutes!)

Then I remembered a weird one.  WF, our first dog, was only 7 or so months old and I fixed and Indian dinner.  There was snow, which she wasn't familiar with (we'd just moved from Hawaii to Virginia), and I thought I'd be safe by putting the wok with a quart of oil in a snowbank.  Oh, lord.  That little doggie ate a quart of cooking oil.  Trust me, the results were not pretty.

Whenever, like this morning, my husband gets upset about these things, I remind him of WF and the wok full of oil.  Who'd have thunk that an 8 lb dog could drink a quart plus of oil?


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 13, 2011)

LOL!!  My little nephew, Patron, took three days to figure out how to get out of the laundry basket we bought for him in the office.  Back to the drawing board, we want something collapsible so we can put it under the desk when he's not "In the Office."

We've already got him housetrained and he just loves meeting new people.


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## Claire (Aug 13, 2011)

I have a friend who is a "pet addict" (my word).  At the time I stopped counting, she had two male dogs who are huge.  I think one at 80 lbs, and the other is a mastif who, at last count was over 100.  Her husband decided he wanted to have a smaller dog (he's a long haul trucker) to have with him in the truck.  Well, she went looking and found him a little puppy to keep him company.  The thing is that he would only take a male.Well, the humane society told her it was a male.  She just believed it.   I don't know.  This woman has bredd dogs.  I know how even vets can confuse a small kitten. She told me she was going to have to take this puppy back.  Now those of you who've gotten to know me know that I think it is cruel to take animals back and forth.  I'd rather see a puppy or kitten put down that treated as an experiment.  Well, I'm happy to report she was just so lovely they couldn't do it.  Maybe there is a veteranery word for the fact that she has a projecting  pudentum (yes, her peepee loolks like a penis)  So I hope it's a happily ever after/


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## Dawgluver (Aug 13, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> LOL!!  My little nephew, Patron, took three days to figure out how to get out of the laundry basket we bought for him in the office.  Back to the drawing board, we want something collapsible so we can put it under the desk when he's not "In the Office."
> 
> We've already got him housetrained and he just loves meeting new people.



Sherpa bag crate?  They are very comfortable (according to some of my dog loving friends and their pups).  Dr. Smith and Foster's catalog has them, as do local pet stores.  Patron could probably fit in a purse.  Pay no attention to the woman with the large empty purse at your workplace, PF.

More pics of Patron, please!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 13, 2011)

Dawgluver said:


> Sherpa bag crate?  They are very comfortable (according to some of my dog loving friends and their pups).  Dr. Smith and Foster's catalog has them, as do local pet stores.  Patron could probably fit in a purse.  Pay no attention to the woman with the large empty purse at your workplace, PF.
> 
> More pics of Patron, please!



Boss is having problems with her cellphone, it's a new one so all the pics we've taken are stuck on the phone.  I'll take my camera in next week and see if we can get some.  Shrek got to meet him.

We would like something big enough to run around in but not make the mad dash for the door, too.  Too many wheelchairs past our door.  There are three of us in the office.  

Duh!!!  Take the bed out of the basket and turn the basket upside down over the bed...


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## Dawgluver (Aug 14, 2011)

Great idea!


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## Claire (Aug 21, 2011)

Two things Rosebud has taken a desire for are ice cubes and my shoelaces.  Mind you, never my husband's, only mine.  Ice cubes, I'm glad for.  This gal can chew the heck out of anything we give her.  With the exception of my shoelaces, thank heaven, it has never been something really destructive or dangerous (I once came home to a puppy who'd chewed through an electric cord, luckily not plugged in)(a lesson for people who think crate training is cruel).  But she was driving me crazy with chewing through my shoelaces.  Ice cubes, though, are fun.  They entertain her endlessly.  First she'll splash when you put it in her water bowl, then play with it, then when it's soft enough, chomp away.  

One problem, if you want to call it that, is that she is a very aggressive chewer.  At her whopping adult weight of 20 lbs, I have to buy her rawhide, dentabones, nylabones, etc, meant for dogs over twice her size.  A fluffy toy?  gone in hours.  Ditto the dentabones, nylabones, and rawhide with instructions for a 30 lb dog.  But at least she isn't biting, chewing, or snapping at us any more.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 21, 2011)

I need to remember to buy some nylabones...for the puppy.

So far, Patron is only pulling shoelaces, not chewing through them.


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## Claire (Aug 21, 2011)

Heaven forbid I snooze off in the afternoon, I'd awake to no shoelaces.  Well, at least none that I could tie!  I bought a new set (after she chewed through two) and I think for some reason she doesn't like them.  Or maybe she got over a fixation.  Or maybe that's wishful thinking and the next time I'm not paying attention, I won't be able to tie my shoes again!


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## LPBeier (Aug 21, 2011)

Okay, here's a good one.

I share my house with the only dog on this planet that gets ubber excited about going to the vet's.  Every 6 weeks we take our little dog, Joey, to the groomers which is attached to our vets office.  Violet usually comes along, gets her nails clipped and then we take her to the dog park for a good run.  

Well, she hurt her paw two weeks ago and so I made it a combined visit for her recheck.  She has been acting fine at home, but decides to shake her head in front of the vet and another $90 later I find out she has an infection in both years and am holding onto some medicine. 

But that isn't the fun part.  Violet and the manager have this very close relationship.  Violet jumped up and put her front paws on the counter.  A new receptionist said "oh, she must miss Joey".  Before I could say a thing, the other receptionist said no, she is looking for her "Joanna".  Sure enough, as I was finishing up Violet flipped me around and made a strange bark at the door.  I thought it was another dog, but no, it was her favourite person in the whole world.  They had a loving and I brought her home - we forgot the nails and the dog park but she seemed content! 

Do you think maybe she is getting all this stuff wrong with her on purpose?


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## Bolas De Fraile (Aug 21, 2011)

One of my neighbors keeps chicken that do get out, I was out walking Max yesterday  and as usual he runs into the wilderness nature reserve.He came back and walk very slowly for about a 100 yards up to me with his jaws half open and gently placed an unbroken chickens egg at my feet.


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## sparrowgrass (Aug 21, 2011)

I have chickens, and 3 dogs.  They all wait for me to come out of the chicken house, because they get a nice fresh egg a couple times a week.  One learned quickly how to crack them open--he just takes the egg and runs away to eat it.  The other two are slow learners--I have to crack the egg for them or they just sit there looking at it.  Maybe your dog was looking for some help, Bolas!


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## pacanis (Aug 21, 2011)

I toss the eggs into my three's bowls hard enough to crack them.  Two eat the shell, one doesn't. Goofy dogs.


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## Claire (Aug 22, 2011)

Oh, LPBier, one thing I could have told you is that head shaking or scratching is often ear infections and if you catch them early yourself, you can do it yourself.  There are products you can buy from your vet for cleaning ears.  Warm slightly (in a bowl of warm water, NOT nukulated, don't want to get them too hot), drop in ears, massage, then a towel or even a paper towel over the tip of your finger.  My dogs, after their first dislike of having the drops in their ears, loved the cloth/kleenex covered finger in their ears and would get into it.

Do not get me wrong, there is nothing better than proper veterinary attention.  But some causes of infections can be stopped if you do this when you bathe your dog.


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## LPBeier (Aug 22, 2011)

Thanks, Claire,
We are actually no strangers to ear infections.  Both our dogs have different allergies that cause chronic infections in their ears.  It was just that DH only saw the once and the next time Violet shook her head was in the vet's office.  I had already used the cleaner we use regularly on the little one, Joey on Violet, but I guess we were so busy worrying about her foot over the last two weeks we didn't catch the signs. 

Violet does love the ear rub and doesn't even mind the drops but Joey, our "scardy dog" isn't thrilled and usually hides if he things it is time.  I haven't tried just warm water but we do have a cleanser that seems to work really well.  Now she is on prescription drops and since Joey's ears are showing signs as well, we are using them on both dogs.


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## pacanis (Aug 22, 2011)

This is absolutely the best ear infection product I have come across. Pretty cheap, too. The retail for this stuff is around 12 bucks/bottle. This stuff beats what the vets push, around here anyway. Canada may be different.


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## Claire (Aug 22, 2011)

The egg stories remind me of my first dog (as an adult, that is, my husband's first dog ever).  We'd been looking for a place to rent and this woman had something that just fit the bill perfectly (it was just while we were building our home).  But she said, "no dogs".  Well, it took us only a few minutes to ascertain that we really liked each other and she really loved small dogs and, in fact, had a couple of Chihuahua mutts.  We'd be living nose to nose for awhile (the place was a small, mother-in-law type cottage just across the yard from her with shared lawn and open air laundry facilities)..  Well, our doggie was mostly Jack Russell but a little ... you guessed it ... Chihuahua.  After being reluctantly turned down, we went to my folks' place to pick up White Fang (hubby decided a small dog needs a big name) and went back.  Turned out she'd just had a dog die, and took one look at WF and melted and rented to us.

The egg thing is this.  She was from Virginia, and every year would get these huge sacks of raw peanuts.  She kept the bag in the laundry breezeway between our place and hers, and the dogs would go in and shell and eat peanuts.  Now, I do NOT mean masticate the entire thing and spit out the shell.  I mean they could very delicately shell and eat the peanut.  The place often looked like one of those bars where you can throw the peanut shell on the floor.  The shells never looked wet or sloppy.  Using their little claws like they were fingers, they'd open the shells and extract the nut.

Years later we tried to give her whole peanuts, and she never could do it again.  Probably because ours were salted, roasted and those were raw.  Or maybe, without her partners in "crime", she didn't have the heart for it.


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## Timothy (Aug 22, 2011)

Claire said:


> I thought I'd be safe by putting the wok with a quart of oil in a snowbank. Oh, lord. That little doggie ate a quart of cooking oil. Trust me, the results were not pretty.
> 
> Whenever, like this morning, my husband gets upset about these things, I remind him of WF and the wok full of oil. Who'd have thunk that an 8 lb dog could drink a quart plus of oil?


 
OMG! It must have just gone down easily....Ha! 

Then it came out......easily...

I hope the dog was outside for a couple days!


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## Claire (Aug 22, 2011)

Unfortunately, she was a little Hawaiian dog (mostly JR, part Chihuahua) and leaving her outside in the snow for her first winter ever, all 8 lbs of her (and maybe 6 mos old), would probably have been a death sentence.  I was peeved, but not that angry.  Just washed a lot of towels and sheets!

Same dog as the below story, at least peanuts constipate rather than cause diahrea!


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## DaveSoMD (Aug 22, 2011)

This morning we found Peanut (the big dog of the family) with a large flat piece of crinkled aluminum foil. It wasn't chewed, just crinkled, but also fairly flat  Strange, couldn't figure out where it came from, there was none in the trash cans. No one knows where it might have come from.  Okay, so a doggie mystery... nothing new in this house.  

Little later,  I open the fridge and see that the package of 2 left-over pork chops  wrapped in foil is not in the fridge. Hmmm....

"Hey Tracy, did you take out the pork chops to take for your dinner tonight?" 

"Yeah, they are in my lunch bag right here on the chai.......PEANUT!!!!" 

Mystery solved...he took the wrapped chops out of the open lunch bag, brought them down stairs, unwrapped them, and ate them.  The foil was not chewed, just crinkled from being wrapped around the chops and I guess it got flat from him licking it clean.


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## Dawgluver (Aug 22, 2011)

DaveSoMD said:
			
		

> This morning we found Peanut (the big dog of the family) with a large flat piece of crinkled aluminum foil. It wasn't chewed, just crinkled, but also fairly flat  Strange, couldn't figure out where it came from, there was none in the trash cans. No one knows where it might have come from.  Okay, so a doggie mystery... nothing new in this house.
> 
> Little later,  I open the fridge and see that the package of 2 left-over pork chops  wrapped in foil is not in the fridge. Hmmm....
> 
> ...



Bad Peanut!  Very smart and resourceful but bad Peanut!  LOL!


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## DaveSoMD (Aug 22, 2011)

Dawgluver said:


> Bad Peanut!  Very smart and resourceful but bad Peanut!  LOL!



His "sister" Ali (my avatar) is even more resourceful.....her newest trick is my fault.  When I am gardening I feed the dogs some of the veg from the garden/my basket.  They all love cucumber, carrots, and green and yellow beans.  

Well, I was standing at the far side of the yard one day and saw her walk over to one of the planting beds, put her head in then pull it back.  Strange..is she seeing something in there. I'm watching... I move closer and  I'm still watching, trying to figure out what she is doing, then I realize she is putting her head in the bed where the beans are and she is CHEWING.  

She was picking the beans off the plants one by one and eating them.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 22, 2011)

DaveSoMD said:


> This morning we found Peanut (the big dog of the family) with a large flat piece of crinkled aluminum foil. It wasn't chewed, just crinkled, but also fairly flat  Strange, couldn't figure out where it came from, there was none in the trash cans. No one knows where it might have come from.  Okay, so a doggie mystery... nothing new in this house.
> 
> Little later,  I open the fridge and see that the package of 2 left-over pork chops  wrapped in foil is not in the fridge. Hmmm....
> 
> ...


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 22, 2011)

DaveSoMD said:


> His "sister" Ali (my avatar) is even more resourceful.....her newest trick is my fault.  When I am gardening I feed the dogs some of the veg from the garden/my basket.  They all love cucumber, carrots, and green and yellow beans.
> 
> Well, I was standing at the far side of the yard one day and saw her walk over to one of the planting beds, put her head in then pull it back.  Strange..is she seeing something in there. I'm watching... I move closer and  I'm still watching, trying to figure out what she is doing, then I realize she is putting her head in the bed where the beans are and she is CHEWING.
> 
> She was picking the beans off the plants one by one and eating them.



Officially dying of laughter...


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## Dawgluver (Aug 22, 2011)

Dogs are so smart.  At least some of them are.

About 2 or 3 dogs ago, we had two cockers, one black, one blond.  Not the sharpest knives in the drawer, both second or third hand rescues.  I had a bowl of fake enamel apples in front of our fireplace, which the cockers had ignored for years. Came downstairs one morning to find the carpet dyed a bright red, and covered with shredded styrofoam.  Cockers both looked innocent.  The tell-tale  was the blond, who presented with red paws and muzzle.  They had both gone to town on the fake apples!

DH and I were leaving town shortly after, and the dogs were to be boarded.  Upon walking the cockers, they both pooped the most bubble gum pink poop!  It was truly amazing.  And their eyes turned a very bright fluorescent green, probably from the fake leaves of the fake apples.  Did not have time to take them to the vet.  I explained the whole thing to the boarder, and she assured me she would get them to the vet if needed.  They were just fine.  I finally did get the red dye out of the carpet.


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Aug 23, 2011)

Rol has been packing up the house for our move downstate. He had a bunch of empty boxes stacked up and, well, we have a cat. A cat who loves boxes. Nothing funnier than watching a cat try to peek into the top box and pull the entire stack down on himself. One of them landed half on top of him (the back half) and it took him a minute, moving forward and then trying to walk backward, to get it off. He was so not happy with the fact that we sat there laughing instead of rushing over to rescue him. We got some seriously evil looks, which of course just made us laugh more. Serves him right for peeking into what's not his.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 23, 2011)

Latte' has discovered that if she hogs the middle tier of the tower, Smudge can't get to the top.  Thus keeping, "The Other Cat" off HER tower.  Smudge just waits until Latte' goes to eat


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## Timothy (Aug 23, 2011)

Dinky's latest toy.

I just bought a presentation device that allows me to click on the PC screen from the living room. I use it when watching streaming movies on the big TV.

The right button on it is a laser light. I shine it on the floor in front of Dinky, and he goes completely nuts! He's almost 14 years old, so he gets worn out pretty easily, but for a few minutes at a time, it's a blast for both of us when he tried to capture the red dot! He makes me laugh like crazy!


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## LPBeier (Aug 23, 2011)

I think I mentioned both of our dogs have ear infections now and so morning and night are drops time.  Violet is so good I don't even have to hold her.  But Joey hides in his crate - this is his "safe house" and we will not drag him out of it because this little dog has big trust issues.  Well, we finally found the solution - put the door back on the crate and shut it when we DON'T want him in there.  So this morning I go to do Violet's ears and there is Joey sitting in front of his crate.  I walked over to him expecting he would run away, but he sat there and took the drops.  Right after I gave them their treats I opened the crate and he went in and had a nap.  I love my pups!


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## Shouffle (Aug 23, 2011)

I know that this is nothing incomparison to the wonderful stories about your pups but i have an absolutely crazy house rabbit, who is officially known by the family as 'DOG'. he is nutts! I know that rabbits are mean't to chew everything but our rabbit just takes it to the extreme! My fiance and I moved into our brand new flat a little over a year ago and then bought the baby bunny- BIG MISTAKE! From the min we let him out of the cage - our flat was ruined! We absolutely love incense burning and i guess the bunny loves it too! We put the incense burner and the sticks on the table (about waiste high) thinking that the rabbit would never ever be able to get up onto the table. We were in bed one night (asleep) and we awoke to a huge BANG. The incense burner was on the floor along with everything else on the table however, there were no incense stcks or bunny!  I spend about 10mins looking for the bunny untill i heard crunching. I looked under the couch and there ws the bunny - and the incense sticks!


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## Timothy (Aug 28, 2011)

Each day, I start with some coffee and DC.

Dinky, my Persian cat helps me post.

Here he is, hard at work helping me post on DC...


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 28, 2011)

That's how Latte' helps...


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## Dawgluver (Aug 28, 2011)

Timothy said:
			
		

> Each day, I start with some coffee and DC.
> 
> Dinky, my Persian cat helps me post.
> 
> Here he is, hard at work helping me post on DC...



Awwww.  Love Persians.  They are the work horse of the cat world.  Not.  Love 'em anyway.

Now for an update on your nephew, PF!


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## babetoo (Aug 28, 2011)

my charlie is a lap doll persian and he could care less about helping me. he is usually up to some mischief.


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## Dawgluver (Aug 28, 2011)

babetoo said:
			
		

> my charlie is a lap doll persian and he could care less about helping me. he is usually up to some mischief.



I would wear a persian as a scarf if I could and accessorize my outfit for work.

And probably get scratched to death.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 28, 2011)

Dawgluver said:


> Awwww.  Love Persians.  They are the work horse of the cat world.  Not.  Love 'em anyway.
> 
> Now for an update on your nephew, PF!



He's having fun, getting very riled up!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 28, 2011)

*Patron @ Auntie Fi's*

More sedate moment:


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## Dawgluver (Aug 28, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> More sedate moment:



OMG! Cuteness overload!  This is hard to handle!


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## pacanis (Aug 28, 2011)

That little bugger is _very_ photogenic, PF.


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## LPBeier (Aug 28, 2011)

Violet has that same contented look and sleeps in similar weird contortions.  What a cutey he is!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 28, 2011)

Shrek was having a hard time getting a picture of him...he's usually just a brown blur.  He has been fun, but I have to worry about stepping on him and getting him to drink a bit of water is a pain in the rear.


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## Timothy (Aug 28, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> More sedate moment:


 
That's about as cute as it gets! Animals sleep in the weirdest positions! Just like little children.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 28, 2011)

Timothy said:


> That's about as cute as it gets! Animals sleep in the weirdest positions! Just like little children.



Right now he is attempting to pull a throw off the back of the sofa that is 15 times heavier than him.



The only two cats he's been able to beat up this weekend.


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## Dawgluver (Aug 28, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Right now he is attempting to pull a throw off the back of the sofa that is 15 times heavier than him.
> 
> The only two cats he's been able to beat up this weekend.



I see a limitless supply of toys!  Someone is indeed spoiled!

What a cutie!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 28, 2011)

Dawgluver said:


> I see a limitless supply of toys!  Someone is indeed spoiled!
> 
> What a cutie!



He's been trying to get those cats all weekend, if he could actually tear them up I would put them away.  He is very determined with chew bones.  He fell asleep while I was posting the last pics


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 28, 2011)

While i ate a bit, watched a show...that little magpie has been "finding" all kinds of things and taking them to "his" blanket.  A slipper, ping pong ball, plastic soda cap and a catalog he snaked out from under the coffee table.  And he has both cats "treed."


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## Claire (Aug 29, 2011)

Oh, dearie me, how adorable can you get.  I personally like to have pets I can handle ... when all else fails, I can pick'em up and throw them out the door.  (For example, when my two JR terriers would get into a food fight), so I love small dogs.  Just makes life simpler if I'm alpha gal.  My doggie is now a Heinz 57, but has topped out at 20 lbs.  I can still pick her up and toss her out the door (you do know I mean that gently) when she misbehaves.


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## JGDean (Aug 29, 2011)

I've had my Cockatoo, Spike(avatar) for about 24 years. When we moved to Florida I bought a large potted Ficus tree and put it near the window for sun next to Spike's cage. For 3 plus years the bird ignored the tree. One day I was working in the back yard and came in to take a break. My over 6 foot tree was reduced to an 8" or so stub with Spike sitting on top. He seemed to think I should be pleased at his accomplishment!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 29, 2011)

He's going back to his Mommy today, Shrek says I can't ever take care of him again...because next time she's not getting him back.  He is a handful, but Patron has been fun.


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## Dawgluver (Aug 29, 2011)

Oh no, PF!  I'd be going through withdrawals.

What a beautiful bird, JG!  And obviously quite accomplished.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 29, 2011)

Wild boy, finally conked out at work.


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## Dawgluver (Aug 29, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Wild boy, finally conked out at work.



I'm with Shrek.  (except for not taking Patron again).  Keepsies.  What an adorable and contented smile!


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## Claire (Aug 30, 2011)

JGDean said:


> I've had my Cockatoo, Spike(avatar) for about 24 years. When we moved to Florida I bought a large potted Ficus tree and put it near the window for sun next to Spike's cage. For 3 plus years the bird ignored the tree. One day I was working in the back yard and came in to take a break. My over 6 foot tree was reduced to an 8" or so stub with Spike sitting on top. He seemed to think I should be pleased at his accomplishment!



One thing I learned working for a vet was that many people (to include myself before then) have no idea how long some birds live and how much companionship they need.  People tend to think of them as more decorative than real personalities.  I think the most I saw was when we stayed with friends for a few days.  They had two parrots of some kind and a miniature schnauzer.  The darned birds would feed the dog!  When they got their bowl of fresh veggies and fruit, they'd toss him a bite now and then, and it wasn't an accident.  They lived in a jungle-gym type arrangement during the day, but went into their cages upstairs at night.  Now, I know I've been told that birds don't really talk, they just mimic.  But one night we got tot talking and our hosts forgot to cover their cages.  The birds yelled and called them by name to come up and cover their cages so they could sleep.  We were vastly entertained by these two birds and the little dog.


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## LPBeier (Aug 30, 2011)

Claire, that's awesome!

My niece's cockateil came by his name famously.  I was there when she picked him up from the pet store (a gift from us when her beloved previous bird died) and I held it while she made some lunch.  She made KD and was eating it right out of the pot!  The bird took off from my hand and landed right in the middle of the pot (it wasn't hot at that point) and started eating.  His name?  Noodles of course!  And to this day, if she makes any form of Mac and Cheese, she gives him a little.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 30, 2011)

LPBeier said:


> Claire, that's awesome!
> 
> My niece's cockateil came by his name famously.  I was there when she picked him up from the pet store (a gift from us when her beloved previous bird died) and I held it while she made some lunch.  She made KD and was eating it right out of the pot!  The bird took off from my hand and landed right in the middle of the pot (it wasn't hot at that point) and started eating.  His name?  Noodles of course!  And to this day, if she makes any form of Mac and Cheese, she gives him a little.



Perfect!  LOL!


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## JGDean (Aug 31, 2011)

*Want Some?*



LPBeier said:


> Claire, that's awesome!
> 
> My niece's cockateil came by his name famously. I was there when she picked him up from the pet store (a gift from us when her beloved previous bird died) and I held it while she made some lunch. She made KD and was eating it right out of the pot! The bird took off from my hand and landed right in the middle of the pot (it wasn't hot at that point) and started eating. His name? Noodles of course! And to this day, if she makes any form of Mac and Cheese, she gives him a little.


 
I've had several birds and all were crazy about mac and cheese. My African Gray would keep saying "Want some" over and over again until she got some. Afterward she would say "Is good!"
My cockatiel loved mashed potatoes and oatmeal. One time my Dad was visiting and I had fixed him some oats and she landed in his bowl and commenced eating. I had an awful time cleaning her up.
The African Gray also like to feed my sister's dogs but not in the way you would think. She would aim to poop on their heads. One or the other would clean it up. Yuck.


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## JGDean (Aug 31, 2011)

*He's a Sweetie*



PrincessFiona60 said:


> Wild boy, finally conked out at work.


Do you think the rest of him will catch up to the size of his ears?


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 31, 2011)

JGDean said:


> Do you think the rest of him will catch up to the size of his ears?



I almost hope not, his ears are just so cute.

We wore him out yesterday, he ended up following his mother and me whenever we left the office.  He did a lot of running and he was happy as a clam!


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## Saphellae (Aug 31, 2011)

These stories have me in stitches!!!  Birds aiming their poop.. priceless!!!

I have a couple of stories... I have two cats, brothers, orange tabbies.  One of them, Kass, has a "pooch" belly, otherwise he's healthy. I think it came from gorging when he was a baby, from being sick and being the runt.  His belly would expand as he ate, and his legs would slowly drift apart LOL!

Kass one day was after something, I still have no idea what.  There was a shredder, a couch, and a bookcase.  In the middle of the three, there was a little space, and Kass was seriously interested in it.  He got in there alright, but I looked around after hearing him meow, and all I saw was his bum, completely flat up in the air with his legs sticking out - he was really stuck !! LOL ! I had to go pull him out...

Another time, Kass was in trouble, and DH was looking for him.  There wasn't enough room to go behind the couch, and he was cornered - he panicked, and literally dove and slid under the couch, but he's chubby, so he got stuck halfway through with all four legs spread out flat!  Here was this chubby orange tabby, halfway under the couch with his legs out.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 31, 2011)

Saphellae said:


> These stories have me in stitches!!!  Birds aiming their poop.. priceless!!!
> 
> I have a couple of stories... I have two cats, brothers, orange tabbies.  One of them, Kass, has a "pooch" belly, otherwise he's healthy. I think it came from gorging when he was a baby, from being sick and being the runt.  His belly would expand as he ate, and his legs would slowly drift apart LOL!
> 
> ...


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## Claire (Sep 5, 2011)

Anyone have experience with pet esp?  I call it EPP now, extra puppy perception, but my kitties had it as well.  All of my doggies have been crate-trained to some degree.  Rosebud was when we got her from the rescue facility.  I don't think she ever had a home before ours, I think she was part of a litter that some idiot dropped off the highway.  So she knows that if she is in her crate, someone will feed her and care for her.  

But the seeming extra-sensory stuff just kills me.  She goes into her "bedroom" (the crate) when she thinks we're leaving.  At first we thought it was something we said to each other.  So stopped doing that.  Then we thought it was changing our shoes.  But today, 45 minutes before we're to go out, she is lying in her crate.  We haven't changed clothes, and really haven't discussed it.  Is it mind waves we're giving off?  We never have to ask or command her to get in her crate, because she loves it there.  She has a hand-crochetted afghan of her own, a nyla-bone.  We leave the TV on for her, and we give her a treat.  All of the truly good things that have happened in her year -long life have happened since someone found her on the side of the road and put her in a crate.  But ... how does she know?


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Sep 6, 2011)

Our cat will usually go wait by the door about five minutes before Rol or I come home. He always seems to know and not just for stuff on a schedule like coming home from work but also coming home from something like shopping. He'll also come running into th kitchen to mooch if the hubby and I are thinking about having tuna, usually before we've finished getting the can out of the cupboard.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 6, 2011)

Shrek says Latte' starts up waiting for me about 20 minutes before I hit the door.  If I'm late she starts "yelling" for me.

Last night she was looking for Shrek when he wasn't home for the night.


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## Bolas De Fraile (Sep 6, 2011)

I'm training a squirrel he/she is very clever


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## babetoo (Sep 6, 2011)

i have a cool cover on my couch. looked over and saw a huge bump. charlie was under the cover so he could scratch on the couch. he is a big mischief maker but i love him. thomas, my older cat, always looks at him in disbelief when he does this stuff.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 7, 2011)

babetoo said:


> i have a cool cover on my couch. looked over and saw a huge bump. charlie was under the cover so he could scratch on the couch. he is a big mischief maker but i love him. thomas, my older cat, always looks at him in disbelief when he does this stuff.



It really makes it hard to not laugh when they do this kind of thing.


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## LPBeier (Sep 7, 2011)

Claire said:


> We never have to ask or command her to get in her crate, because she loves it there.  She has a hand-crochetted afghan of her own, a nyla-bone.  We leave the TV on for her, and we give her a treat.  All of the truly good things that have happened in her year -long life have happened since someone found her on the side of the road and put her in a crate.  But ... how does she know?


Claire, I have two stories on this one but will tell you the one that most applies first.

I think I have mentioned that our little Joie (Joey), was given to us by a lady I sort of worked with (she was the administrative assistant of a realtor who was an ongoing website client of ours).  We bonded over the fact that her boss was not the best person to work for as an employee or client.  After she left she was expecting and while I was in culinary school and she was up with the baby, we would chat on MSN into the wee hours of the night (I went to school in the afternoon and got home after DH was in bed).  She had mentioned that she had a little dog named Joie, but was positive this was not the dog she had picked out because that one was sweet and loveable but this one was hyper and she just couldn't bond with him.  It turns out the husband never wanted a dog at all, and so here are two "parents" who are not showing compassion and love from the start.  After the baby came Joie was persona non grata and the wife asked if we would like a companion for Violet.  We said we would "try it out" but when I said it wasn't working she merely said well maybe it's time to have him put down because they can't take him back again (someone else had taken him in the year before).  

Joey was "crate trained".  He was put in there if he was bad, when they didn't want to deal with him, when they were in bed, when they were out, if the took him in the car, when people came over....you get the idea.  So when we got him and weren't doing this, he didn't know how to act.  I hated him....I mean I really hated him.  I don't like admitting that but it was true.  But one day, this little fluff ball came up beside me on the couch and put his head on my tummy and look up at me longingly and my heart melted. 

Like Rosebud, his crate is his den - his fortress from the world.  The door has long been taken off and he has a cozy little bed, but the crate must remain.  He goes in at night, he goes in if he is scared and here it comes, he goes in if he knows we are leaving.  Like you, we don't have to say or do anything and he seems to know.  There must be something they sense that we can't even perceive - that they are about to be abandoned and they need to be where it is safe.  

Both these dogs are rescues in their own rights and they have found people who love and treasure them and they don't want to lose us.  When we are not there they need their only safety net, the crate!

All animals are very perceptive of their environments.  My DH's sister's dog (they lived together for several years) used to know when DH was going to take him for a walk.  DH couldn't figure this out for the longest time until he realized one day he stretched and yawned at his desk and Cola came running from the other room.  That was the signal for him!

Sorry for this lengthy reply but I hope it helps.


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## LPBeier (Sep 7, 2011)

Another Pet ESP story.

My cocker spaniel, Brewster, could tell time.

We had a huge yard, front and back, but he was used to going on walks to do his business and wouldn't go in the yard....that just wasn't right! 

So, I would walk him in the morning, at 3:00 and after dinner.  He would do a last minute pee in the back yard before bed, but that was it.  One day I was on the phone and Brewster was on the deck.  There was no gate on the stairs and no fence - he never left so it wasn't necessary.  Well, looked one minute and he was sleeping soundly and then I turned to look out the window and he is walking across the street towards the little park which was in view from the house.  I told the person I would have to call them back as my dog was loose.  Sure enough it was 3:05.  I ran and got the leash and some bags.  Well, he did his business about 10 feet from the start of the park and sat there and waited for me to come clean it up...seriously!  I leashed him, we went on with the walk and everything was cool!

He also knew when it was time for the mailman and would wait on the front step for him to pull up in the truck.  He would walk with him through the block and they would end up at our place where the mailman would give him a dog bone and hand him our mail which Brewster would set down on the bottom step for me.

The day I had to tell the mailman Brewster couldn't go for walks any more because he had cancer, the man weeped openly.  And the day we had our beloved dog put down because of the pain and suffering, our mailman said he just lost one of his best friends.  So did I.


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## Claire (Sep 7, 2011)

Another one was my starter husband.  _He was a shift worker_.  He woke at odd times of day, and came home at odd times of day.  We lived on a radar site and he walked, so we aren't talking the noise a specific car makes.  The cats (we had 3) always knew within 5 minutes when he was coming home.  Be it early morning, late night, afternoon, lunch.  The cats would gather around the trailer door.  He said they did the same for me, but my duty hours were more or less regular most of the time.  

Another one ... I've always like walking, and as a teenager, I'd leash our little doggie and take a walk.  I'd sometimes wear my dad's old ski jacket on cold days.  When I enlisted and left home, no one could stand to wear that jacket.  The dog would go ballistic, expecting to be walked.  It was relatively expensive, but Mom wound up taking it to the thrift shop to be re-sold because no one wanted to wear it once I left home!  

My last dog, when we lived in Florida, could hear a Chevy Lumina coming from blocks away.  We had one, my parents (who lived about 15 miles away) and across the street neighbors all had various makes of Chevy Luminas.  The older dog didn't seem to know any differences in various cars that came & went from our neighborhood.  But Keiki knew a Chevy Lumina.  Keiki once got loose and Daddy was coming to visit.  She followed the Lumina until he spotted her in the rear view mirror and picked her up.


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## Claire (Sep 7, 2011)

LP, I had to crate train my first (as an adult) dog simply because we lived in Hawaii and knew we were going to have to fly her to Virginia eventually.  I got her as a puppy and a friend who was a breeder/trainer told me to start immediately (she was 4 weeks old).  Reward, never punishment.  "You'll have to have her in a crate for many hours, remember that, and you don't want to make it worse than it has to be."  She also told me which aircraft did not have pressurized baggage compartments.  Thank heaven for that because they did have us slated to go on one that did NOT.  I had to deal with the military beaurocracy to get all our tickets changed.  I think the most lovely moment of the anxiety-ridden trip (and I'm not a very anxious person) was when we were changing planes at O'Hare and looked out and saw our dog's crate and the baggage handlers (it was pretty easy to see it was ours, it had to have special stickers identifying it as "foreign" "live" baggage) and the handlers were coddling her, talking to her, loving her up.  I got to National airport (now Reagan) to find that there was a Chicago Tribune in the bottom, so someone took the time to clean her crate.  Above and beyond the call of duty.  

The other day someone told me she did not believe it was right to crate an animal.  I simply asked her if she's ever come home to find an electrical cord chewed through?  I have; luckily unplugged.


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## DaveSoMD (Sep 7, 2011)

Another Ali story....

Ali actually has several names: 

Pumpkin Princess - The first Thanksgiving we had her, she was then about  20 months old, she ate half of the pumpkin pie off the kitchen counter.  Luckily it  was early and I had time to make a new one for dinner that evening.  The evidence - she when running down the stairs when she heard me coming up from the family room, the other dogs where down there with us.

Butter Queen - I won't count the number of times she has gotten the butter off the kitchen counter, whole sticks at a time. The evidence - she never licks it completely off her face. Can you say buttered whiskers 

Cookie Countess - I was packing up Christmas cooking to take to work one morning.  I turned around and walked 10 steps from the dining room to the kitchen to get some foil, and when I walked back, 1/2 of the cookies were off the plate and she was on the floor licking up the crumbs with frosting still on her face. 

Sauce-ie:  We were having dinner down in the family room, pasta and sauce, when we noticed that there was a dog missing.  Then as if on queue downstairs she comes.  "Anything she can get to?"  " I don't think so."  WRONG  - she ate the entire pan of leftover pasta sauce that I left on the front burner of of the stove.    

So .. now we have a "doggie gate" across the kitchen doorway that is kept closed after dinner, when we are cooking, or when anything is out.  Even though she  could jump over it in a heartbeat, she hasn't. She seems to know that the gate means stay out.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 7, 2011)

ROFL!!!  What a great dog...


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## Dawgluver (Sep 7, 2011)

What a smart girl!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 7, 2011)

Dawgluver said:


> What a smart girl!



She's just trying to tell him she likes his cooking.


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Sep 10, 2011)

While watching my cat freak out over his favorite toy (the lower half of a wire clothes hanger tied to the cat fishing pole) the following popped into my head:

Psycho feline
Spazzin' 'bout the fish line.
We better tighten that screw
it's been loose for a long time.

And I thought about it for a minute wondering from where it came. I knew that the song was familiar but what was it? Then it hit me. Stuck, by Limp Bizkit, only my brain had adjusted the lyrics...

Sigh. Facepalm. Head shake. I'd inadvertantly pulled a dad.



(for those who don't know dad/GW writes his own parody lyrics for songs sometimes)


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 10, 2011)

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> While watching my cat freak out over his favorite toy (the lower half of a wire clothes hanger tied to the cat fishing pole) the following popped into my head:
> 
> Psycho feline
> Spazzin' 'bout the fish line.
> ...



ROFL!  Ummm, yeah...the things our Dad's teach us.  I tend to over explain and I have to start a story from the very beginning..."There was a big bang and the universe was created...and that's how the car got stuck in the front door of the bank."


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 10, 2011)

My Nephew went to Roosevelt Lake for the weekend:

Patron and his mommy,  second picture is the Halloween costume I got him, it glows in the dark.


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Sep 10, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> ROFL!  Ummm, yeah...the things our Dad's teach us.  I tend to over explain and I have to start a story from the very beginning..."There was a big bang and the universe was created...and that's how the car got stuck in the front door of the bank."



Oh, I _never_ over explain things like my dad.  What? What's that look for? Don't know what you're talkin' 'bout. 

Although I'm certainly not guilty of needing to start from the beginning. Mine is more, "Hey, I should tell the story about a-z" and then I start at p, realize that d is kind of important to understanding p so I jump back to it and explain through h even though I probably only needed to go as far f, then jump past p to r, s, and t, then remind my audience about p and fill in q. Then the conversation will move to 1-100 and I realize I forgot to mention l, m and n which were also a good part of a-z but there is no opening to mention it. So hours later after you've left and a-z and 1-100 are long since past I'll be talking to BT. And when he pauses in telling everyone about alpha-omega because he can't remember where theta fits in I'll mistake that pause for his being done and blurt out 1, m and n because it's stuck in my head and I just have to tell it to someone before my brain bursts. 

This is why I get along with cats and dogs so well. If all else fails and I can't find a person to tell l, m, and n to I can tell a cat or dog and they at least look at me like they are trying to listen. It sounds crazy I know by it gets rid of the mental itch.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 10, 2011)

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Oh, I _never_ over explain things like my dad.  What? What's that look for? Don't know what you're talkin' 'bout.
> 
> Although I'm certainly not guilty of needing to start from the beginning. Mine is more, "Hey, I should tell the story about a-z" and then I start at p, realize that d is kind of important to understanding p so I jump back to it and explain through h even though I probably only needed to go as far f, then jump past p to r, s, and t, then remind my audience about p and fill in q. Then the conversation will move to 1-100 and I realize I forgot to mention l, m and n which were also a good part of a-z but there is no opening to mention it. So hours later after you've left and a-z and 1-100 are long since past I'll be talking to BT. And when he pauses in telling everyone about alpha-omega because he can't remember where theta fits in I'll mistake that pause for his being done and blurt out 1, m and n because it's stuck in my head and I just have to tell it to someone before my brain bursts.
> 
> This is why I get along with cats and dogs so well. If all else fails and I can't find a person to tell l, m, and n to I can tell a cat or dog and they at least look at me like they are trying to listen. It sounds crazy I know by it gets rid of the mental itch.



That is priceless

I love it and you are definitely trying to break my ribs.


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Sep 11, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> My Nephew went to Roosevelt Lake for the weekend:
> 
> Patron and his mommy,  second picture is the Halloween costume I got him, it glows in the dark.



Haha, can you imagine being in the dark and seeing glowing skulls and crossbones suddenly bouncing toward you accompanied by a miniature panting noise? The mischievous side of me thinks that would be a great prank.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 11, 2011)

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Haha, can you imagine being in the dark and seeing glowing skulls and crossbones suddenly bouncing toward you accompanied by a miniature panting noise? The mischievous side of me thinks that would be a great prank.



To be licked to death by a creature with puppy breath who wants to sit on your shoulder.


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Sep 11, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> That is priceless
> 
> I love it and you are definitely trying to break my ribs.



Shhhh, calm deep breaths. No rib breaking. Just calm deep breaths. Calm deep breaths. In. Out. Better now? OK, laugh again! 

I do this to my roommate. I'll get her laughing until she can't breath and is in pain and then I'll speak calmly in a soothing voice. We'll take deep breaths and she'll get all nice and calm. And just when she's about to loose the giddiness completely I'll tell her "OK, laugh again!" She always bursts back into giggle fits. She gets so mad at me because I usually do it to her when she's in a bad mood and wants to stay in a bad mood. It's great fun.  Even more fun is when the cat decides to join in and starts batting at hers or my hair and just generally being cute and funny. I'm kind of surprised she's survived living with us.


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Sep 11, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> To be licked to death by a creature with puppy breath who wants to sit on your shoulder.



Heheheeeee. "It's eating me! It's eating me! Wait, it's just liking me. Bleh! Dog germs! Dog germs! Bleh!"


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 11, 2011)

To make Shrek laugh, all I have to do is mention, "Weekend at Bernie's," he can't even watch the movie or look at the box, anymore.

Thanks for the laughs, I'm copying that last so I can read it whenever I want.


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## Claire (Sep 11, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> ROFL!  Ummm, yeah...the things our Dad's teach us.  I tend to over explain and I have to start a story from the very beginning..."There was a big bang and the universe was created...and that's how the car got stuck in the front door of the bank."



We call this "I asked you what time it is, not how to make a watch."  I laugh because a friend is really, really guilty of it.  He'll start talking and notice everyone's eyes glazing over.  He'll laugh and say, yeah, I know.  I'm building a watch again!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 11, 2011)

Claire said:


> We call this "I asked you what time it is, not how to make a watch."  I laugh because a friend is really, really guilty of it.  He'll start talking and notice everyone's eyes glazing over.  He'll laugh and say, yeah, I know.  I'm building a watch again!



But, sometimes the brand of watch and the last time you changed the battery is integral to the answer...


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## Claire (Sep 11, 2011)

.... not to mention I rarely wear my watch and when I put it on it could very well be in the wrong side of Daylight Savings Time, or for that matter, after a cross-country trip, in the wrong time zone entirely!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 11, 2011)

Claire said:


> .... not to mention I rarely wear my watch and when I put it on it could very well be in the wrong side of Daylight Savings Time, or for that matter, after a cross-country trip, in the wrong time zone entirely!



In the wrong quadrant of the galaxy, on the opposite side of the universe, which is ever expanding...because there was this Big bang...


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Sep 11, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> In the wrong quadrant of the galaxy, on the opposite side of the universe, which is ever expanding...because there was this Big bang...



Oh, but let me explain what I mean by big bang. Well, actually, first let me explain some things about the laws of physics and then we'll go back to the big bang so you know what I mean when I'm explaining it...


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 11, 2011)

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Oh, but let me explain what I mean by big bang. Well, actually, first let me explain some things about the laws of physics and then we'll go back to the big bang so you know what I mean when I'm explaining it...



I think we could drive just about everyone bonkers.


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Sep 11, 2011)

Both my parents, both my brothers and Sprout all over explain things too. Sprout is almost as non linear as I am. Dad and the two brothers give classroom quality lectures /eyeroll. Mom starts at the beginning and gives every detail right down to the hair on the leg of the fly that was on the horses tail... Just imagine those family dinners.  

The worst though is trying to follow a conversation between multiple non-linear thinking ADD'ers. That poor guy in our study group that was normal. It wouldn't surprise me if he needed counsling for the trauma of that semester.

Speaking of trauma, and getting back on topic, you ever watch a cat pull a stack of laundry down on himself? Hehe. He flinches now at evey little sound whenever he walks by a pile of clothes.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 11, 2011)

Nope, but Smudge fell asleep...literally.  Right out of the front window, she had that, "I meant to that." look about her.  She landed on her butt, there was no room for her to turn over in the short distance.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 11, 2011)

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Both my parents, both my brothers and Sprout all over explain things too. Sprout is almost as non linear as I am. Dad and the two brothers give classroom quality lectures /eyeroll. Mom starts at the beginning and gives every detail right down to the hair on the leg of the fly that was on the horses tail... Just imagine those family dinners.
> 
> The worst though is trying to follow a conversation between multiple non-linear thinking ADD'ers. That poor guy in our study group that was normal. It wouldn't surprise me if he needed counsling for the trauma of that semester.
> 
> Speaking of trauma, and getting back on topic, you ever watch a cat pull a stack of laundry down on himself? Hehe. He flinches now at evey little sound whenever he walks by a pile of clothes.




My kinda fun!

My brother...uber intelligent...was flunking most of his classes in high school, because he wouldn't do the work.  He corrected my grammar one night and Shrek told him he was not allowed to correct me until he passed all his classes.  The brat passed all his classes...


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## Claire (Sep 12, 2011)

One of my favorite things with Rosebud is that she just loves .... ice cubes.  I swear, she'd rather have an ice cube than food.  With my other dogs, I had heat issues, couldn't get them to cool off.  Wouldn't drink from a hose or gutter or stream.  This gal, if you toss an ice cube in the bowl of water, she will play with it until she gets it out of the bowl, and then crunch on it when it is soft.  I like it because I know cooling her paws is a good thing.  THEN she'll chase it all around the house until it melts.  It has been funny to watch.


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Sep 16, 2011)

How is it that my cat is a fraction of my size but still manages to comandeer the greater portion of the bed?


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## DaveSoMD (Sep 16, 2011)

During the night cats and dogs expand to fill the available space, but ONLY at night.. .. didn't you know that?


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Sep 16, 2011)

My cat must be special then because I sleep during the day and the hubby sleeps at night and he does it to both of us.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 16, 2011)

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> My cat must be special then because I sleep during the day and the hubby sleeps at night and he does it to both of us.



You need two of them...

I want to know why hairballs are only yacked at night...


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Sep 16, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> You need two of them...
> 
> I want to know why hairballs are only yacked at night...



And why always on the carpet not three inches from the hardwood floor where it would have been easier to clean.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 16, 2011)

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> And why always on the carpet not three inches from the hardwood floor where it would have been easier to clean.



Do you know how far I can launch a cat, that's at the end of the bed, about to spew on my bedspread?   From a sound sleep?


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Sep 17, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Do you know how far I can launch a cat, that's at the end of the bed, about to spew on my bedspread?   From a sound sleep?



LOL! The hubby and I have done the same. It's a good thing they're tough little buggers. With all the times he's been tossed, all the times he's fallen or missed a jump or slid into a wall while running, all the times he's pounced and run head first into something or pulled stuff down on top of himself, it's a wonder he's survived the past seven or eight years since he was born.

I still remember coming home from work and finding the hubby standing in the living room with the land lord who was holding a little grey fluff ball. "Hey twirp, you want him?" Uh, duh, yeah! He was little and fluffy and cute, of course I wanted him. So much I was even able to forgive the hubby for calling me twirp.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 17, 2011)

Oh yeah, Latté was supposed to be a little boy, Himalayan...I wasn't crazy about her...then she turned out to be a Siamese little girl...so darn cute!

I'll be puppy sitting next weekend again...


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## Dawgluver (Sep 17, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Oh yeah, Latté was supposed to be a little boy, Himalayan...I wasn't crazy about her...then she turned out to be a Siamese little girl...so darn cute!
> 
> I'll be puppy sitting next weekend again...



All right!  Can't wait to see Patron modeling his new wardrobe!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 17, 2011)

Dawgluver said:


> All right!  Can't wait to see Patron modeling his new wardrobe!



He keeps walking out of his clothes, they are XS and still too big...we did get the hoodie to stay on for a couple of minutes.


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## Dawgluver (Sep 17, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> He keeps walking out of his clothes, they are XS and still too big...we did get the hoodie to stay on for a couple of minutes.



I see that.  Send them to Babe for alterations?  Barbie Doll clothes?


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 17, 2011)

Dawgluver said:


> I see that.  Send them to Babe for alterations?  Barbie Doll clothes?



I was thinking about some wool socks of different colors.  Cut to fit.


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## Claire (Sep 17, 2011)

The latest is that a group of us who get together on Friday nights were out and my friend missed a step and fell, twisting, maybe spraining, her ankle.  My husband took her car home while another friend and I got her home and we all settled her on her couch.  HOWEVER, when I unlocked her door, her eldest cat dodged between my legs and out.  I managed to get the door closed before her two new kittens got out.  We got her settled in for the night.  But couldn't find her cat to get him in for the night.  I emailed her neighbors to be on the lookout.  I doubt he'd go too far, and he's not a human-friendly cat.  I'm pissed that I wasn't better prepared when I opened her door, but was more concerned to get her into the house and safe.  Ouch.  I just emailed everyone who lives near her and told them to keep a lookout.


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## tinlizzie (Sep 26, 2011)

Have you animal-friendly folk ever seen a Double-Nosed Andean Tiger Hound?  Try Googling that for photos.  They're cool.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 26, 2011)

Strange...


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## tinlizzie (Sep 27, 2011)

And so unfair - little Patron is so tiny, he probably only got half a nose.


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## pacanis (Sep 27, 2011)

tinlizzie said:


> Have you animal-friendly folk ever seen a Double-Nosed Andean Tiger Hound? Try Googling that for photos. They're cool.


 
I've ran across them before on the net, but had forgotten all about them.


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## JGDean (Sep 27, 2011)

*Paw protection in winter*



PrincessFiona60 said:


> I was thinking about some wool socks of different colors. Cut to fit.


 
He needs some little booties for when it snows!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 27, 2011)

JGDean said:


> He needs some little booties for when it snows!



We are working on it.  Boots for puppy feet are expensive.


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## CWS4322 (Sep 27, 2011)

One of the best things about coming home was finding out a local puppymill many of us had been trying to get shut down since 1999 was raided by HSI Canada! Yippee!! Happy dance! 500 dogs seized. These dogs are in better conditions now, getting walked, and petted, and vet care. There will be a long court battle because these dogs were the "owners' livelihood." But at least the dogs are in a clean environment, breathing clean air, learning to walk on solid ground, getting groomed, and petted, and cuddled, and being cared for by the caring volunteers and veterinarians.


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Sep 27, 2011)

CWS4322 said:
			
		

> One of the best things about coming home was finding out a local puppymill many of us had been trying to get shut down since 1999 was raided by HSI Canada! Yippee!! Happy dance! 500 dogs seized. These dogs are in better conditions now, getting walked, and petted, and vet care. There will be a long court battle because these dogs were the "owners' livelihood." But at least the dogs are in a clean environment, breathing clean air, learning to walk on solid ground, getting groomed, and petted, and cuddled, and being cared for by the caring volunteers and veterinarians.



Great news!


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## Dawgluver (Sep 27, 2011)

Wonderful, CWS!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 28, 2011)

Great CWS!

There are two new 5 week old puppies at work in Medical Records...I spent 20 minutes of puppytime this morning.

Patron will be at work tomorrow, he has a command performance from a patient who is going home.  He is spending longer spans of time at home alone with his sister dog, Iris.  So I am not seeing him as much as I used to.


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## CWS4322 (Sep 28, 2011)

Here's a link to one of the many reports on this seizure:

Quebec kennel seizure could be largest in Canada

These people were unemployed, had a "breeding pair" of Saint Bernards, and discovered that selling puppies was profitable.Originally in Ontario, they packed up and moved across the border the night before they were supposed to be raided way back when. It has been an uphill battle for 15/16 years to get this place raided. Over the years, they've had 80 different breeds (I've kept track of their advertisements). Since the raid, 90 puppies have been born, and more are on their way. Poor thing, now she just has her old age pension...and legal bills. Don't you just feel sorry for her...


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## DaveSoMD (Sep 28, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> We are working on it.  Boots for puppy feet are expensive.



did you try baby socks or baby booties?


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 28, 2011)

DaveSoMD said:


> did you try baby socks or baby booties?



Yes, the tiniest I could find, everything flops off, his paws are just a bit bigger around than a pencil...someone told me to use rubber bands...I don't really want to cut off  circulation.  I was thinking about athletic wrap to shape some boots for him.


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## CWS4322 (Sep 28, 2011)

What about vet wrap? You must have feed/coop places in MT that sell these things to the public. I like the royal purple myself.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 28, 2011)

CWS4322 said:


> What about vet wrap? You must have feed/coop places in MT that sell these things to the public. I like the royal purple myself.



That's exactly what I am talking about, but I see it in the drugstore as athletic wrap...same idea and I'll most likely get the black or orange to match his Harley Davidson stuff.


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## CWS4322 (Sep 28, 2011)

I think it is cheaper at the coop...


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 28, 2011)

I'll have to look.


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## CWS4322 (Sep 28, 2011)

If you're friendly with the techs at your vet clinic, they might give you a couple of the partial rolls they have hanging around.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 28, 2011)

Cat shots once a year, I don't hang out at the vets alot...


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## CWS4322 (Sep 28, 2011)

I could mail you some--(I have lots--bought a case of it a couple of years ago for a dog that needed her leg dressings changed every day). But, it probably wouldn't get there for a couple of weeks--and I don't think I have orange or black...


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 28, 2011)

CWS4322 said:


> I could mail you some--(I have lots--bought a case of it a couple of years ago for a dog that needed her leg dressings changed every day). But, it probably wouldn't get there for a couple of weeks--and I don't think I have orange or black...



Thanks, CWS...but I bet I have a roll of it on my dresser...I was using it for Shrek, to hold his IV steady.  I just happened to think of it this morning and that it might be able to be molded into little boots for Patron.


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Oct 2, 2011)

Anyone else ever notice that a cat will sit perfectly still in a fantastic pose until you get out a camera, or even camera phone, and then all they want to do is show you the back of their head or their butt?


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## PrincessFiona60 (Oct 2, 2011)

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Anyone else ever notice that a cat will sit perfectly still in a fantastic pose until you get out a camera, or even camera phone, and then all they want to do is show you the back of their head or their butt?



My brother can't get a good picture of his cat or the dog...because they run away from the camera.


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## Claire (Oct 3, 2011)

Took Rosebud for her first full exam since we acquired her today (I'd taken her for a weigh-in and TNT a few months after we got her).  I think the vet and tech appreciated that I used to work for a vet and have a sib who did for decades.  Bottom line is that I'm still afraid she'll snap if panicked (we used to call it fear biting), and that I didn't mind them taking her out of sight for her shots or muzzling her.  It all went very well.  What has always been a problem with me is that *I* cringe when I see my dog is afraid.  That, of course, makes her more afraid.  

the thing I've never encountered before is that the vet didn't want to give her all her shots at once.  They wanted to do most of them today, the rabies in 10 days or so.  The she won't need rabies again for three years.  Well, when we were in Florida, even if you got a 3 year killed rabies vaccination, you had to get it every year (rabies was quite rampant in those days).  I don't know if that is still the law.  this year it won't matter, but next year I might have to request an extra rabies vaccination.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Oct 3, 2011)

I returned home to a cat that was just about inconsolable.  She sat in  the middle of the floor and "meowed" me out when I got home today.


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## Claire (Oct 8, 2011)

Don't you just love it when you pets go from just barking or meowing to trying to talk to you?  I swear, why do they do that?  It used to drive my mom crazy when our first dog (not my first dog, we always had them as kids, but our first as a married couple) used to try to talk.  She was mostly JR, a little Chihuahua.  But she would vocalize and try to "talk" to you.  Her daughter would never talk like that (she was even more JR).  Then one day we left her with a friend overnight, and she met us at the door, cussing us out to beat the band.  Now we have hit who-knows-what mutt, and she started to try to "talk" to us last week (she's about a year old, give or take a couple of months).  

One thing I truly love is that she's decided to nap in her crate in the afternoons.  This is super, given that we're taking her on her first road trip.  We always insisted on Keiki and White Fang being in their crates  in the morning when we started out, in the evenings when we checked in, and when we hit city traffic (for those who don't know how long I've been writing, I traveled in an RV for three years with two small dogs).  But this will be Rosebud's first road trip.  Loving her crate will make life so lovely.


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