We had a truck ride (4 days in a row) to Millarville for an errand and I’m happy to report that our travels are becoming less noisy as we practice… or perhaps succumbing to a nap happens sooner and with less resistance. Either way it’s a win!
We had a couple of back yard run arounds and I’m very happy with the momentum of snow melting in the last few days. We should be dry very soon!
Puppy Playtopia has been shared with Zipper The Cat! Zipper arrived with my Mom yesterday with the plan being for an afternoon playdate but his bad attitude got him checked in for “Rehab” for the rest of the week. He has traditionally gotten along with my ACDs beautifully but yesterday he decided to growl, hiss and carry on even though he was unprovoked. My plan: leave him be and give him the opportunity to check out the changes that have occurred since he was here last in December and trust that he will come around if not pressured.
He spent yesterday evening and most of today hiding in Playtopia. I opted to take the puppies down on one of my afternoon breaks and basically continue to ignore him. He continued to take cover in the tunnels and growl. I was fascinated to see the puppies back up and redirect themselves. They learned that he was to be respected and not tangled with. There’s a short video of the pups playing while he watched (secretly wanting to participate). You’ll see them skirt past him like he’s The Hall Monitor or something. It was pretty awesome to observe all four “read the room” and give him the space and boundaries he asked for. As much as I expected the “mi amigos” relationship Zipper typically has with Lucky & Peaches to prevail, perhaps this important life lesson in felines was more typical to the cats the pups might encounter in the future. My prediction: Zipper will be playing with them before the week is out.
Puppies had a special treat of a raw Puppy Chow stuffed cow hoof. This first one was just fridge cold… tomorrow’s will be frozen. In my experience not only is this an interactive meal experience, but the frozen meat and hoof provide welcome teething tools. Since their meals have been warm to room temperature to this point, the fridge cold hooves were a segue to the future!
We also began a crate training regimen today with two crated naps and will continue into the night with a planned 2am potty break unless I’m woken up sooner. Wish us luck!