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Ray’s Ladies

Naturally, every boy’s first love is his mama.  I don’t have brothers that I grew up close with, I don’t have a son, I didn’t even grow up with close boy cousins but the gals at work have sons and told me when we found out Asia was expecting that boys always love their mamas.
Does that translate in the animal world?  I think so.  Before we brought Ray home, Jae and Miko were mama’s boys and BooKitty was daddy’s girl.  All three loved Asia mostly because she is quiet and catlike, so I believe they viewed her as one of them.  Granted, she is the only one of them with opposable thumbs, enabling her to dispense treats.
Ray loves all the family members but as you may have guessed is very much mama’s boy.  That certainly can’t come as much of a shock to anyone, but what came as a bit if a shock to me was that he gave his first pittie smile this weekend.  And it wasn’t for me.  I wasn’t there and didn’t even get to see it.  It wasn’t for Asia, who brings him delicious treats and wears an ankle bracelet with bells, though she did get to see it.  It was for his new love, his midday walker, Asia’s friend Becca.  Becca stopped by to visit with Asia over the weekend and apparently Ray never left her side.  She got him to go potty when Asia couldn’t and as a reward, she earned the big pittie smile.  Oh, they grow so fast.
On another note, Ray also ventured over to Van Wert for a mani/pedi at Emme Lu’s where he was pretty liberally handing out puppy kisses to Heather and he scored some new tasty treats for training.  I found that he gets bored with his treats pretty quickly so I like to have a variety available.  As we head into Tuesday and class, or as I’m beginning to call it, “Ray’s crazyville,”  I know I’m going to need the tastiest and most tempting treats I can get.  At least I can take satisfaction in that he does his proper behaviors well at home, we just need to help him flip the super excited switch off.
What’s on tap for your week?
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Feline Friday-Sneaky Miko

I’m a little surprised that Miko has not attempted a closer peak at Ray.  Miko is my nosey cat.  He is the one who has to sign off on anything new or any changes in the house.  He is the one who supervises any home improvements and any workers in the house.  He is the only one who came to greet foster-for-a-night, Cloudy.

He might just be afraid that if he gets close to another dog his eyes will turn pemanantly into lasers.  Maybe he knows that unlike Jae, he can’t run as fast or jump the gate in a single bound as easily.  I don’t know exactly what his reasoning is but he tends to sit on the other side of the doggie gate and peak at the puppy.

Recently, however, we had all the gates down in preparation for an open house and Miko took that opportunity to sneak into the kitchen to make sure Ray’s water was the same as what the cats are given.

Here he is hoping no one sees him.
And here he is about to get his kitty card revoked.
We were really hoping that these two would get to be better friends.  At 19 pounds, Miko needs someone to run his butt up and down a little bit.  Time will tell, I’m sure.



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Godzilla Invades Kitty World

For many years, the kitties have been the center of our pet universe and knowing we were planning to get a dog, I felt loathe to disturb their existence too much and mentally made myself a note that the kitties will still rule the household.  Yeah, that didn’t happen so much.
When the little prince came along, so many of the kitty-driven rules flew out the window and one of the final blows came when Ray learned not only to climb the slippery bamboo stairs, but found that at the top of said stairs was an entire room just for kitties!
This magical place had carpeted floors, soft pillows, fluffy blankets, and baskets full of squishy, jingly, crackly kitty toys.  Oh the joy for a little puppy!  While the cats occasionally sit in their cubes or chase ghosts through the crinkly tunnel, they don’t actually spend too much time alone in Kitty World, so I do like to treat Ray to some short, supervised visits, especially to give him some exercise on rainy days or after a bath when he is still a little damp.  Certain toys are off limits and are secured out of reach before said visits, but for the most part, he wholeheartedly enjoys his little forays upstairs.  If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was a bit affected by catnip.
On anther note, I was in a pretty dark funk yesterday and forgot to mention how squee-licious I felt over my first real blog comment!  Be sure to go visit Emily and check out the beautiful Lucy Lou that she is fostering.
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A Blue Day

Today is not a good day.  I don’t know if it is hormones, puppy-ness, frustration or a combination of all three.  We are steadily plugging away in puppy class knowing full well the benefit comes from (me) learning the behaviors and expectations and then working with Ray on these with mind-numbing repetition.
Arm-pit-fart-kid from last week was back last night and because he wouldn’t settle and focus, he was pulled aside to work with one of the instructors individually.  I viewed it as the kid who acts up so much he has to put his desk next to the teacher’s at the front of the class.  I viewed it as a failure on my part.
My frustration lies in the fact that he behaves so well at home and he did so well on our nature walk that I know he can do this.  I know he can.  He does it.  Any shortcomings have to be placed squarely on my shoulders, whether  it is not enough time, practice or patience.  Well, I know this is a life long commitment.  Training is not just the six hours in class.  That is the tip of the iceberg.  Training is the constant repetition.  It is work.  You don’t get a dog and hope for the best.  You work for the best, just as a professional athlete might be born with a special talent or ability, he or she fine tunes it with hard work and drilling.  The time I invest upfront will pay off  in the long run.
Today is not a good day, but let’s try and  salvage it. 
This is Keelin, who is available for adoption through SmilingK9’s.  He is a happy, sweet little guy who’s tongue is always sticking out like that in the most adorable way.  If Keelin is the kind of little guy you would like to share your life with, fill out an application today.  More info on Keelin here.
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Bath Time and Peanut Butter

Sunday night is bath night whether it’s needed or not and to date, it has been needed every Sunday.  Each time we begin bathtime, I think  back to when my sister first got her cat.  She decided if we gave him enough baths he’d “learn to like them.”  That never did happen and luckily we still have skin on our arms.

When I began bathing Ray, I wanted to make it an experience that if he didn’t grow to love it, he would at least learn to tolerate it pretty well. This post made me stop and think about ways in which to make Ray feel more comfortable in the tub, but I think I’m a little more impatient than Julianna, so here’s what I came up with.

I smeared peanutbutter on the inside of the tub and just let the little piggy enjoy himself.  It wasn’t the neatest solution, but hey, the bathtub is easy enough to clean up and now so is Ray.  There is a video of this buried in the depths of Droid hell and if I ever get it transferred, I’ll be sure to share.

Now at least once a week I can count on a sweet smelling, soft little puppy.  I really have to add that with each passing day/week, I grow even more amazed at what a good learner he is.  Now, by good learner, I mean he picks things up quickly but of course the terrier in him doesn’t give it up all that easily.

Do you have any wonderful bathtime tricks?

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Nature Walk

What a busy weekend!  Sometimes I think it is nice to be able to go to work just to have some time to settle down, although this week won’t be like that.  I know Ray was pretty well tired from all of the activity and slept like the baby he is.
Yesterday we had an open house so everyone but the kitties had to make themselves scarce for about three hours.  Kevin left early for work so he could visit his mom, Asia hung out with friends and Ray and I went to Eagle Marsh to walk and practice.
It was a perfect day, windy enough that Ray was a little out of his comfort zone with enough traffic sounds that we could practice being brave and focusing.  There were geese honking and birds chirping and so many things to sniff.
We did really well and even met a couple of ladies (one using a walker) walking their elderly dog.  They stopped for a few moments to chat and ask about Ray.  The elder lady mentioned that she once had a pitbull and that it was the biggest baby ever.  It’s refreshing to me how well received Ray has been everywhere we’ve gone, so far.  I’m sure the fact that he is so stinkin’ cute doesn’t hurt, either.
I had a pocketful of treats and was feeling pretty liberal with them but with some satisfaction noted that I didn’t get back to the truck empty-handed.  We had a couple of moments when Ray didn’t want to walk and I just kept hearing Jodi’s voice in my ear saying, “Don’t pick him up.”  Luring helped so much as well as my running dialogue so that Ray did fantastically!  There were even a few times when I was able to rely on some of our training to refocus Ray before he got out of hand when he seemed to need it.
I’m really hoping to make another visit back there soon as well as venture out on some other walking paths available in the area.  How was your weekend?
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Feline Friday-Jae Steps Up

Boo Kitty, being a field cat that came to live on our porch and a good mouser, had several litters before we got her spayed.  We’d kept various kitties out in the country and had intended to keep a kitty that looked just like Jae, but was taken from our porch.  Jae came from the final litter and we brought him in as an inside cat as soon as we could.
Ever since he came to live inside, Jae and I have been close.  Kevin used to joke that if he didn’t know any better, he’d swear that I gave birth to Jae.  He seems to be part Ragdoll, and is a full on cuddling fool.  He is a wonderful TV watching companion when you’re cold because holding him is like having a warm, soft blanket on your lap. He is sweet, verbal, floppy and compliant like a Ragdoll, likes shiny objects, leaps in the air for strings and complains loudly when asked to remove himself from a table.

Surprisingly, Jae is the first kitty to seem to make friends with Ray.  While Miko sits beyond the puppy gate and peeks at Ray, Jae jumps over and sits on a table lording over the floor-bound pup.  While encouraging Jae to take treats on the floor, I encourage Ray to stand still.  Not always easily accomplished, but with hard work and vigilance, I’m hoping we’ll get there, someday.  Luckily for right now, Jae is still faster and lighter on his feet so he has the advantage. I’m hoping that if this doesn’t turn out to be the best friendship, it will at least turn out to be a peace-a-bull assembly.
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Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Wednesday seemed to just drag on.  I think Ray and I were so physically and mentally exhausted from Puppy class on Tuesday night that we just really needed some down time.  Well, at least I did.  I spent most of yesterday just fighting to keep my eyes open and even had pizza delivered to work so that I wouldn’t have to stop for it on the way home.
Kevin, who was home with Ray most of the day, reported that Ray was very good all day and especially so with our neighbor when she came to visit.  Looks like Ray might have found himself a dog sitter.  I just love this neighbor of ours anyway.  She is like a second parent to us and she also has three kitties, like we do.  One of her kitties, Chico, is pretty shy around most people except her, but he adores me which makes sense, since Ray seems to adore her. 
So, after work, my thought was to take a nice walk and practice some of our new training, but I was feeling so tired and it was raining, so we settled for a nice inside treat.  Ray and I ventured upstairs to kitty world where he discovered comfy blankets and plush pillows surrounded buy jingly toys.  Ray had a rousing romp for a nice 10 minutes or so, went outside to potty and settled with me on the sofa and nearly immediately started snoring.
I guess he was tired too.  We were both in bed by 8:30.
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That One Kid in School

Last night was session two of puppy class and we had a special guest in attendance.  Ray’s littermate, Dahey was in school with us and I was excited to see if the boys would remember each other and how they would react.  Dahey has the sweetest face and is such a doll.  I really can’t say whether or not they “remembered” each other per se, but they got along moderately well considering the puppy I brought to class last night was not at all the one who hid behind his mommy all of class last week.

This week, Ray was that kid in class who makes fart sounds with his armpits, throws spit wads at the backs of girl’s heads and makes goofy faces to distract all the other students.  Needless to say he really lived up to the Pit Bull Terror Terrier name. It took nearly two minutes for him to warm up in class whereupon he began straining at the leash, play bowing to all the dogs, and trying to engage in doggie conversations.  Luckily, he listened to the trainers as did I so we had a nice practice session this morning before work. 
During playtime after class was slightly different.  He got in a little over his head with the weimaraner and tucked it back in briefly.  With brother Dahey, Ray was kind of a jerk, attempting a little humpage and not backing off even though Dahey clearly asked him to.  Looks like the little monster prince needs some play dates to learn proper behavior. 
If you have completely fallen in love with Dahey’s picture, though, please visit SmilingK9’s to fill out an application to make him yours.
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It’s a Puzzler

The feeding habits of the Mighty Pitbull have been fascinating to me because Ray is moderately-to-very food motivated depending on the time of day and the treat offered.  He’s been pretty excited at feeding time but other times  is able to relax and sit to be fed.  I’m sure this is partially due to his hunger level and mood.  Usually, he scarfs down a few mouthfuls and then sets to playing with his toys so I can feel confident that he isn’t starving in between feedings.  Since we have a limited amount of time to eat, especially in the mornings,  I do try to encourage him to finish expeditiously while not wolfing down his food and then horking it back up.  A delicate balance.  The other thing is that I have always made it a good practice to put my fingers in his dish quite a bit to discourage any tendencies towards food guarding.  While making sure he is open to that, we discovered a new quirk.  Ray prefers to be fed like this:

(And yes, he is on my lap, here.)
I’ve also been experimenting with different types of food puzzles that are seemingly still age appropriate.  I want to stimulate his mind but not frustrate the puppy in him.  I have a kong which he manages occasionally, but I find more left inside than I would like to see and I tried a crinkit, but that doesn’t seem to work out as well.  Tonight he had just a smallish amount of food left so I put it in a clean Vitamin Water bottle and found some great success.  Ray loved it.  It was easy enough for him to figure out quickly, but hard enough that it took some work. 
I think this one is a winner, at least until Smarty-pants conquers it. (Note, I did get the label off before it got eaten along with the kibble inside.)  This was a great way for him to get some exercise, eat without wolfing his food and stimulate his mind. 
Do you use food puzzles and if so, what kind?