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Feline Friday-Don’t Mess With Jae’s Mama

One of the thousand many things we are working on with Ray is to “leave it” the kitties.  So far, I’d say 35% of the time and climbing, this is working while the rest of the time?  Not so much.  Now that we are trying to expand the horizons upon which Ray can tread by removing the baby gate from the kitchen to the hallway we have to be extra vigilant when he spies a kitty coming downstairs to eat.  Jae is still the only one who will enter the kitchen or family room while Ray is mobile, but he is usually fairly careful upon entrance to know how far away Ray is and how fast he needs to move.
Another behavior we are working on is a gentle mouth.  This as well shows remarkable improvement, but still has miles to go.  I do still use the “ow” yelp as well as removing the fun (myself) from the situation until he calms a little, but after reading this, decided to maybe incorporate a pretend cry if the mouthing got a little too rough too fast.  After all, Ray has begun teething and I think the mouthing, while more controlled is sometimes a little too hard.
The original mama’s boy.
Well, one morning Ray and I were near the fireplace which is on the far side of the room and he got a little to rowdy so I decided to fake crying to see what would happen.  The only problem with my plan was that I’m pretty hormonal right now so the fake cry turned into a real, live crying jag.  As soon as he heard a distress sound coming from his mommy, Jae started meowing and raising a ruckus.  We watched in amazement as Jae walked through the kitchen, across the family room floor, up onto the sofa and across to the coffee table where he sat and got right in Ray’s face to scold him.  I think Ray was stunned into stillness. 
No one messes with Jae’s mama.
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Are you Sirius?

You would think that living with Ray since he was a six pound baby in January that I would be able to anticipate how fast he grows, but alas, I am a slow learner in that department.  Maybe like all moms I lament that my baby is growing too fast although I’m very happy that his maturity level is also growing.    When we brought him home I had two collars for him because I didn’t actually measure his neck and kept guesstimating the size, both of which seemed enormous.  He has been wearing his purple click lock collar this whole time and we finally took it off a couple of weeks ago since it seemed to be getting tight. 
I thought I’d be able to switch easily to his purple buckle collar but of course that is too small already and has never been worn.  Time to donate, I guess.
What I’ve been waiting for is his growth rate to stabilize a little so that I could order his first Sirius Republic collar and naturally, I waited too long.  My big plan was to have his next collar already here on deck so that when he outgrew the purple one he’d have his new one all ready.  But, you may have noticed that he has been rather naked lately around the neck.  It took me forever to narrow down what fabric I wanted and after only changing my mind forty-two times or so careful deliberation, decided on Candy Dots with purple embroidery. 
I figured it was a little twist from his usual purple collar and a nice transition to his big boy collar, one of which will be more like this, especially for football season.  (Did you think we just named him Ray because we’re boring?)
In the meantime, I love this collar and so does Ray.  I feel like it is kind of understated but still fun and naturally the quality is tip top.  Kevin, however, thinks it is a girl’s collar.  What do you think?  Does it look “girly” to you?   Of course, Sirius Republic is seriously  awesome and a portion of this sale goes to the wonderful rescue who gave Ray-Ray such a great start in life, SmilingK9’s.  (code RPSK99)
Does your pooch have a collar wardrobe? 
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Play Date

As is probably obvious by yesterday’s teaser pic, Ray-Ray had a playdate this weekend.  One of Asia’s friends has a  six month old chocolate lab puppy and we’ve been talking about having them over to for a play date for a few weeks now.  Most of Ray’s playtime experience is from class where they get to play for a few minutes at the end of class, or as was the case sometimes with a wound up Pit puppy, at the beginning to help work the devil out.  That and a fairly unsuccessful playtime experience with the neighbor’s pup have not made for a lot of good socialization.  Oh, yeah, there was one other time too, now that the cat is out of the bag, so to speak.  Not only did we transport three other dogs for spay, we picked them up the night before so we got to foster-for-the- night Ray’s sister, Kimmel, his mama Sparkles and sweet little Hope.  Kimmel and Ray got to play for a little while before bedtime, unfortunately no pictures exist.

This weekend, however, Colt in all of his handsome chocolaty goodness came to play and the boys had a rollicking, frolicking good time.  Colt is taller and faster than Ray and the two of them looked like ungainly billy goats rearing up and hopping at each other.  By the time I even remembered to get pics the boys were winding down and seeking water.  I’d have to say, though, that one of the best parts of the play date was that Ray was able to settle and take breaks.  Sometimes during class he was “all go, no stop Harry Stamper,” which doesn’t always go over too well with the others in the room so I was just astounded very pleased at how much he seems to have matured within the past couple of weeks.  I was even remarking to Asia and Kevin that I seem to be more shocked lately when he is being a little naughty rather than when he is being good because that seems to be the regular standard.

I know Ray was pretty well wiped out from all of the excitement of the weekend with the nice walk, the beautiful weather and the play date, he was pretty much ready for bed early and down for the count even before Colt arrived.  See, Ray is very good in his crate.  He goes in well and sits and usually whenever he hears me coming he gets up and sits at the front.  This time, I had to wake his cute little self up:

A sleepy dog is a happy dog.



Couldn’t you just eat his little pink and white piggy-ness up with a spoon?

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Back to School

Along with Ray’s monster physical growth, I love watching his mental growth.  As you might have picked up on from a post last week, we are back in class.  This is Puppy 2 which is only three sessions, but they seem to be some of the biggies.  The first one was waiting at an open door, settle/go to your mat, and DANGER recall.  Imagine my shock delight when Ray, after a two week hiatus from class was 95% well behaved.  It took a few minutes to focus after greeting his bud, Caymus but wow, what a difference two weeks made.

With a smaller class, we had more time to do practice repetitions and after just a couple of attempts, Ray understood what I wanted while at the open door.  A small blip which made me feel a little sad, is that he is a very “verbal” dog and grumped his displeasure at having to perform the task over and over.  The other participants said, “Did he just growl at her?”  Fortunately, the instructors explained that many Pit Bull types are “verbal” and that what you definitely don’t want is a silent dog.  You want a dog who can voice displeasure as a warning rather than one who may silently attack.  I know Ray’s sounds and this was not a growl but more of  a “Mom, I get it, now give me the treat.”  
What I didn’t want to practice at class and somehow escaped doing so was loose leash walking.  We are still pretty miserable at it and mostly so in class.  Ray tends to get more frustrated at that time and spends a lot of energy tugging at his leash with his mouth.  Considering class went so well, I wanted to leave on a high note and not practice that exercise.  Part of why I wanted a dog, though, is for walks so on Friday evening, I did some deep breathing, loaded my pockets with treats and off we went to the River Greenway. 

I wanted to set us both up for sucess, so I wanted this to be pretty low key.  A public place where we may encounter people but not crowed, a place he hadn’t been before and plenty of things to sniff as a reward.  Let me tell you, he did great!  There was so much to see and sniff, we didn’t use any treat lures at all and there was enough strange stuff that he looked to me for reassurance quite a bit and we even had loose leash for a large percentage of the time. 

 There were minimal human distractions but they were varied.  We encountered two boys on skateboards, two joggers and one cyclist.  The skateboards kind of freaked Ray out which was actually kind of nice because he kept close to me and loose leash was a given.  The joggers on the other hand were more fun and he wanted to jog along too.  About half way along the Greenway, I realized Ray was getting thirsty and we had plenty of success to celebrate, so we headed back to the truck for a nice bowl of water.
For a Friday the 13th, it was a fantastic day and even better, it was the beginning of one of the Best.Weekends. Ever.  Here is a preview of what else Ray did this weekend:
 
Find out tomorrow who this tail belongs to.
 
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Feline Friday-A Peaceabull Truce

Although Boo Kitty is the matriarch of the animal world in our home and her main goal in life is to settle on a comfy cushion and enjoy her retirement but her plans are often thwarted by the boys.  Miko “owns” everything in the house and as the self appointed inspector, he is tasked with making sure all things go according to his plan.  Ray was definitely not a part of Miko’s plans.  While his curiosity is starting to get the better of him and he is spending more time peeking at Ray from behind the safety of the gate, he is not really close to “making  friends”  like Jae is.
Miko guards things.  Given the fact that he is double the size of Boo makes him the default BIG DEAL kitty in the house.  He hides near the litter box like a troll guarding a bridge, he positions himself in doorways to hinder entrance by the others and he makes sure he is always the first to sprint to the food bowls in the morning.  Most of the time, if he is near Boo, it seems to be to intimidate her by his presence.  Boo’s reprieve is that she can sit on the front porch snuggled on the cushions and bask in the warmth of the solitude and sunshine.

Boo Kitty quite possibly may never budge from her distain for Ray.  Maybe she will, since I would classify her initial feelings as hate and now is merely disdainful of the puppy perhaps we are moving in a more positive direction.  Last night, however, while we were watching TV, she developed a routine formulated to ensure her dislike for the puppy was understood.  She’d walk into the middle of the room, stop and bitch at meow at the dog, walk out of the room, reenter, meow, exit, repeat. 
I believe the only thing Boo and Miko like less than each other is Ray and this mutual dislike seems to be bonding them together a little more.  For now, they seem to be forming a Peace-a-bull truce.
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ChurpiChews

I have a reputation among our friends for liking “wierd beer,” meaning I like trying different ones, although I do have my favorites.  I’m adventurous and enjoy trying new things.  I also can rock a margarita like nobody’s business, though don’t tend to during colder months, but that might just be beside the point.

As far as trying different things are concerned, I also like to provide Ray with a variety in his life as well.  Since he isn’t a beer drinker, his variety comes from toys – mostly chew toys.  “Dogs like body parts,” said Heather, one of our pet-wellness Gurus.  So far, Ray has enjoyed antlers, bully sticks (cow and bison), hearts (pig, duck and sheep), hooves, tail, trachea, pig ears, tripe, and snout (moozles).  These all have various amounts of lastability and I am always looking for healthy safe chew toys to keep him occupied for certain lenghths of time.

              

Our latest find is not acutally a body part-it’s a ChurpiChew which is made of Yak milk, salt and lime juice and is kind of a very hard cheese that softens as the dog chews it and supposedly lasts a long time.  One of our Puppy class teachers recommended it last night while I was stocking up on other treats.

I gave it to him this morning and it seemed to hold it’s shape for the hour our so he worked at it, so I’m eager to see how long this will actually hold up to Mr. Pit Bull Mouth.  See?  He is like Mama in liking a little salt, a little lime, only he prefers Yak milk to tequila. 

On an unrelated note, Dahey found his forever home yesterday!  This is a picture of the puppy fam from way back when.

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Sad Eyes

Sometimes, it gets to be too much a lot to deal with and most of what I deal with is self-inflicted.  I “like” a lot of animal welfare sites, rescue sites, dog blogs, and general pet awareness because I choose to “like” them.  The beauty of the internets is that I can read or not read as my time and preference allows and my reader feed lets me keep current with my favorite blogs.
If I choose to, I can comment by clicking into the site or just move on to the next and if I want to save it for later, that option is available as well.  There have been a few pages that I’ve “liked” and later found not so much to my liking and some that I rarely followed that have since become favorites.  Everyone and everything changes and evolves and I will admit that some of my opinions have changed and evolved based on what I am reading at the time.  There are some great viewpoints out there which are well written and based on the tone and tenor in which they are written, I have paid attention and in the process have learned a thing or two.
No sad pictures here, just a quick plug for Ray’s bro, Dahey.
I must admit though, I am more apt to skip over the URGENT TIME IS UP posts and I didn’t even realize it much until recently.  I might read the first couple of lines or glance at the picture but while I do what I can, I know I can’t save even a large handful of deserving animals.  I read that the sad stories are highly successful for fund raising, but happy stories and stories of overcoming adversity are more successful in affecting positive adoption rates.  People give money to help solve a problem but when adopting, they still want a companion rather than an “issue” or a sad story.
And a plug, for Mama, too.
I’m guilty of it myself.  Knowing I can’t do this or that, I pull out the checkbook and appease my conscience or in desperation try to appeal to the heartstrings.  I don’t really have a point to make with this post, I just saw yet another picture of yet another sad-eyed pooch and thought yet again, “am I doing enough?”  I don’t honestly know the answer to that question but maybe I’ll ponder it while losing myself in the chocolate gaze that I love so much…
Love bug
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Harbinger of Spring

As Ray and I sat on the patio enjoying the last dregs of sunshine spill across the sky, I heard a rustling in the cherry-type tree behind me.  It was a quiet rustling, not something that could be mistaken for a breeze ruffling the leaves but also not anything larger like a cat.  Since Boo Kitty is the only climbing cat we have and she would rather eat sand than be in the vicinity of Ray, I knew it was not her. 
In the encroaching twilight, I let my imagination wander to what the sound could be.  I thought about friends in Florida who talked about rats climbing in their grapefruit trees in order to steal fruit and the skin at the back of my neck began to crawl.  Never mind that I don’t live in Florida, and the cherry-like fruit has not yet burst from the delicate pink blossoms adorning the weeping branches.  “There are probably huge rats lurking in the tree behind me waiting to eat my eyeballs,” I thought to myself. I let my thoughts wander for a few more minutes while I resolutely did not turn to explore the cause of the noise.
Finally, it was near time to go inside and I gathered my courage as I rounded up Ray and steeled myself to look under the canopy of leaves and blossoms to confront whatever monstrous creature awaited me.
Rather than a monster, I was delighted to find that Robin had made her home right outside my kitchen window and was patiently awaiting the arrival of her own little fledglings.
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Feline Friday-Miko Baby

I mentioned that I, as well as the rest of the family, figured Miko would be the first to “make friends” with Ray or at least show the most curiosity.  Not only has he been slow to do so, but another strange habit he’s developed is that he likes to sit in the vanity while I apply my make-up in the mornings. I’m sure a lot of this just stems from him wanting some more one on one attention, which is very sweet. 

All in all, twenty pounds or not, he is my little lap kitty and he loves some snuggle time. 
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Garden Party

From very early on, I have given Ray fresh crunchy vegetables as snacks and have yet to find one he didn’t like.  We started with carrots and then progressed to cauliflower, cooked cubed potatoes, tomato slices, broccoli, romaine lettuce, asparagus, celery and his very special favorite sugar snap peas.  You can get him to do nearly anything for peas and I keep a bag on hand specifically for him.  I think, though, a by product of that is he that he loves to eat grass, leaves and sticks too.  I try to watch his yard vegetation intake and make sure everything is doggie safe, which can be a challenge but so far we’ve been lucky and Ray seems to have a cast iron stomach.  I had someone jokingly remark to me that he must be on steroids because one week he was a pudgy little puppy and the next week he was muscle-bound and ripped!  It must be the healthy eating.

The unfortunate thing, though, is I doubt if we’ll be able to have an actual garden this year.