FUN Friday

We're bringing in the weekend with some smiles.

The adorableness of this video can't be described in words (adorableness is not enough).  There is something so sweet in the gentle way that he sets the leash on the ground.  And what is it with little boys and puddles?



When you watch this little goat, you're going to alternate between "oh, how cute!" and "what a rascal!"
 


And a little funny cartoon.

 

 

Hope you have a GREAT weekend - stay warm and dry!

Indoor/Outdoor Cats

This is something that I battle with - should my cats be allowed outdoors?  My husband has always had cats.  His cats have always been allowed to come and go through a dog door.  I was late to Team Cat, getting my first one quite by mistake in my mid-20s.  None of my cats (we're talking a total of four over the last decade) have ever been allowed outside until we moved to Burbank.

Before we moved into our house here, it was never an issue.  We lived in an apartment on a very busy street and I had a feral colony that I took care of in the parking lot.  This meant it wasn’t safe for the girls because of the cars and the other cats.  But when we moved into the house, my husband wanted to give the girls some outdoor time.  I caved on one condition – the outdoor time had to be supervised.  I didn’t want them wandering out of the yard. 

We have coyotes that come down into the neighborhoods.  There are always one or two different MISSING CAT posters up in the area.  We’ve had coyotes in our yard as late as 10am and we see them as early as dusk when we walk Lily.  We also have a lot of “resident” dogs – dogs that people believe are guarding their house from their backyard even though they’re not allowed inside the actual house.  Most of them are extremely people friendly, but not fond of cats (or squirrels or anything that is entertaining to chase).  I didn’t want the cats to end up walking into the wrong yard. 

Pip has one eye, but that doesn’t mean that she won’t get into mischief.  When we’re out in the yards with the cats, we have to keep a close eye on her.  Most days she likes to eat grass and then find a nice spot to take a nap.  But there are days when she’ll decide it would be nice to climb a tree or sneak under the fence when we’re not looking.  We keep a close eye on all of them, but especially Pip.  Lily seems to enjoy the company and she rarely uses the yard anymore without them out there with her.  She’s also been known to open the screen door and let Pip into the yard with her. 

 

They enjoy their yard time and I believe their lives are richer because of it.  When we had the apartment, we spent more time actively playing with them to keep them enriched.  This house has large, deep set windows that they love to lay in to watch the birds and squirrels.  But they do enjoy a half hour in the yard every a few times a week.  I don’t know that I’ll ever be an owner who can let the cats out in the morning and not know where they are all day.  I think I’m too paranoid for that.  Our neighbor lets her cats come and go during the day and it works for them.  They’re teenage cats and they stay close.  I’m not that brave.

What about you – are your cats indoors, outdoors, or both? 

FUN Friday

The weekend is here! 

Let's bring it in with some FUN videos and pictures!

Have you ever seen a dog play the piano and sing?



I know you've seen dogs do agility.  But what about a chicken? 
This is for all the students who wanted to see a clicker trained chicken
(you know who you are):



This video is old, but I still love it.



And for our Big Bang Theory fans:

 

 

Have a GREAT weekend!!!!

Pets as Gifts

With the holidays fast approaching, I'm seeing two things:

Help! The kids want a puppy/kitten for Christmas.  How do I say no???

 

And

 

Pets don't make good gifts.

 

To the first, I say - as a Mom, you have final say.  If you don't want to train a puppy, walk a puppy, feed a puppy, clean up after a puppy, you say NO.  After the excitement of having the new, cute little bundle wears off, guess who is going to be the primary caretaker?  That's right - Y-O-U.  If you don't have time in your life to be taking two walks a day, going to training classes, and remembering to feed another mouth, you say NO.  You're the mom.  They're the kids.  It really is THAT simple.  If you feel the need to give in, get something that requires less work - like fish or a hamster.  Hamsters are a two to three year commitment.  They don't require training.  They're cuddly, but without all the extra work a dog brings. 

 

To the second, I say we need to clarify that statement - pets can make GREAT gifts in certain situations.

Bad Gifts
When the person isn't expecting the pet.
When not everyone in the family wants a pet.
When you're purchasing the pet from a pet store, from a backyard breeder (on Craigslist, Kijiji, the local paper, a flyer at the store, etc.).

An example of bad gifting:
We had a family come into the shelter where I volunteered - dad and two kids.  They wanted to surprise mom with a puppy.  The kids were excited, the dad was ecstatic (let's be honest - the dog was definitely going to be "his").  They looked at rows of dogs, played with several in the yard, but as we were talking it came out that mom didn't even want a dog.  Dad was counting on her being so smitten with the pup when they got it home that she wouldn't be able to say 'no.' 

To be fair to him, he felt that this would work because his own father had done this to their mother growing up and it had worked well.  They had come home with a little, white ball of fluff and his mom had fallen for the dog hard.  The dog was a member of their family until it passed away fourteen years later.  After having an experience like that, why would he not think it might work on his own wife? 

Because his wife was terrified of dogs. This came out because dad started looking at big dogs and the ten year old son was smart enough to warn his dad about it (gotta love the honesty of kids!).  Getting a dog for a fearful family member is not a good way to get them over their fear of that animal.  This was going to be a horrible situation - imagine the mom's terror (and anger) when her husband shows up with a puppy she didn't want that the kids are now head over heels in love with.  How do you tell the kids that dog has to go back?  We would have been setting the dog and the family up for failure right from the start.  It was a bad idea from start to finish.

Good Gifts
When the family has been wanting a pet.
When everyone has done their research and knows exactly which pet is right for their household.
When you are getting the pet from a shelter or rescue.

I have friends who have taken the plunge for the holidays before.  They've been wanting pets, have done their research, and decided that it was a good time to add a family member.  There is nothing wrong with giving yourself the gift of a pet for any holiday or birthday when you are prepared for the work it takes to have one.  And there is nothing like the excitement on a child's face when they've been wanting a puppy or kitten, have been actively involved in the search, and are surprised with the wriggling bundle under the tree.

Here's the example of good gifting from my own family.  Meet Patches and Cinder.

Patches and Cinder were presents for my mom almost seventeen years ago.  I would say that gift worked out well (and they would agree with me because they got the best home ever). 

My mom was depressed after losing her dog.  She loved cats and had been thinking about getting one.  She's a procrastinator.  I knew she wasn't going to take the plunge anytime soon, having gotten her dog by default.  I just sped up the process by getting her two kittens for Christmas. 

These kittens came to me in an email from someone working at Disney who happened to be fostering both litters.  I was willing to take both of them, but I was upfront and honest with her - they would be driven to San Diego as a present for my mom.  I think the only reason she took a chance on me was because I was willing to keep the two of them together - they were from separate litters but were very bonded. 

I knew my mom wanted a cat.  I knew my mom would keep the cats forever.  I got them from someone fostering the litters for her local shelter.  It was a win-win situation.

It's important to be open-minded about homing pets around the holidays.  It can work. Sometimes it even works when the family isn't ready! 

As a general rule, holiday or not, we encourage everyone to do their research before getting any pet.  Not every pet is the right fit for every household.  When we choose wrong, the pet suffers - whether they have to be rehomed or end up neglected in the backyard.  For this reason, we encourage you to take your time deciding which pet, which breed, and then we encourage to go to a shelter or a foster based rescue for your newest family member.

How do you feel about pets as gifts?

 

Lily - A Study in Pictures

 

 

Can you guess what Lily's favorite thing to do is?

 

She loves her sleep.

 

She can sleep anywhere.

 

In campsite.

 

In the sun.

 

At Uncle Drew's.

 

She'll sleep with anyone.

 

With a friend.

 

With her sisters.

 

 

 

By herself.

 



She just LOVES to sleep. What about you - does your dog love to sleep?

FUN Friday

The weekend is here! Let's bring it in with some videos and a comic for our cat friends, shall we? I feel like we always tend to be a bit dog heavy...


 For the cuteness factor, we have a squeeky little hold 'em up kitty.


Do you have a cat obsessed with boxes? My Wednesday sure is! This owner put down boxes, let the fun happen and then took it up a bit on her own!


What if our friends acted like our pets?


 And finally, for those of us putting up Christmas trees - ever wonder what your pet thinks?

Happy Friday! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Dogs Are Like Kids

"Having a dog is like having a kid."

Have you ever heard that?  When we got Lily as a puppy, we were warned - by the shelter, by friends who had dogs, by friends who had kids and dogs.  We didn't believe it until we got her home and started living it!  I was thinking about that this week after a visit to my brother-in-law's house.  Erik and I went over for dinner one night this week.  My niece and nephew enjoyed a leisurely dinner with us before it was time to hit their bedroom for homework.  While we chatted in the family room, they finished up what was due the next morning.  Then it was bathtime.  They finished up just in time for their 8 to 9pm reading in bed.  At 9pm, it was lights out.  My niece was actually asleep before 9!  She fell asleep with the book open on her chest.  Many parents swear by routines - dog parents and kid parents.

We got Lily on a routine early at the advice of my cousin, who has both kids and a dog.  Settle the dog into a routine and it will make things easier, he swore.  Advice taken.  It took about a month for us to figure out what would work for her (and for us).  Once we decided on that schedule, we've stuck to it. 

Lily's Routine
Morning walk of at least 30 minutes.  If we have the day off, she gets walked for longer in the morning.  But she's good with 30 minutes.  Lily isn't much of a walker.  She's more of a sniffer.  So that 30 minutes may only take us 13 blocks.  All the processing of scents her brain is doing really wears her out.  When we return to the house, she must go straight to her spot and remain in a down stay while we scatter what is left in her treat bag throughout the house.  Then, she gets to play 'find it'.  While she's sniffing out all the treats, we're usually getting our breakfast ready.  She gets fed after we're done.  After breakfast and a long drink of water, she'll hop up on the couch and sleep - for hours. 

Around late afternoon, she starts to stir.  She gets a dog toy and can either play tug with us or chew it up (and Mom cleans up the stuffing).  After dinner (ours and hers), she gets walked for an hour.  Again, it's straight to her spot and into a down stay for the 'find it' game.  Then, she will knock out for the rest of the night.  The house is filled with her loud snores.

When we're gone, we set the tv to "Lily's channel" - it's Soundscapes.  My brother actually recommended this.  He said it helped both my nephew and their dog settle down.  It's become a cue for her.  We can turn it on and she settles right in for a nice snooze.  This comes in handy when Mom and Dad want an afternoon nap on the weekend!

The only time we regret the routine is on rainy days, which fortunately we have few of here in SoCal, or late nights out.  Lily enjoys the rain.  She thrives in cooler weather, partly thanks to her breed.  She's down for a walk no matter how cool or wet it is.  And when we go out to dinner at the in-laws, we have to make it home at a decent hour because she'll still need her evening walk even at midnight! 

What about you - do you have your pets on a routine?  Does it work for you?