It's a Jungle in Here

Going away on vacation

Irish chick — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 16:36:37 +0000

Since the holiday season has just passed and more vacations are coming up…slower than they should be…I believe it is time to talk about what to do with your pets when you go on vacation. Of course, the ideal situation would be to take your pet with you. Maybe you own a house somewhere, so are able to do that. Or maybe you’re really cool and go to hotels where pets are allowed. Having trouble finding a pet hotel, sitter, or kennel? Use the link below:

http://www.petswelcome.com/

If those options aren’t available to you, what do you do? What my family used to do is we would hire a trusted neighbor who wasn’t going on vacation to come to our house three or four times a day. They would feed, take out, and play with them and in return they would be payed well. This was the perfect situation until we found a better one. Our breeder whom we got our puppy from takes care of a certain amount of dogs whose owners have gone away at a time. We reserve our spot and, like magic, our puppy becomes a part of a humongous happy dog family. She almost didn’t want to leave!

The point of this article: most kennels do not treat dogs as well as they could. Dogs feel lonely and anxious and can harm themselves by chewing on their legs, butts, etc. When you go on vacation, your pet deserves to go on vacation, too!

To give or not to give

Irish chick — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 02:23:31 +0000

Many people are contemplating whether or not to purchase presents for their pets this holiday season. I, for one, think that this answer is completely obvious. Some people say, well, they don’t know the difference. They don’t care.

And maybe they have a point. Sure, your pet may not know the difference if they get a present or not. But, really, they do deserve it. Not to sound corny, but they give you gifts all year round. Who else is always there for you when you are down? Who can you feel completely comfortable around even if you are stark naked? Who makes sure you get up in the morning? Who snuggles up with you on the couch and gives you someone to baby talk with? The holiday season is a time to show people, or pets, that you care about what you do for them all throughout the year. And the holiday season is the perfect time. Whether it be a new bed or a new bone, a simple gift can show your pet that you appreciate what they do for you.

Being safe around the Holidays

Irish chick — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 02:18:08 +0000

Now that the holidays are breathing down our necks it is time to think about how to make sure our pets do not get hurt in all of the hustle and bustle of the season. Here are some rules that you should follow:

1. When buying a Christmas tree, if at all, make sure that your pet does NOT drink the water from the tree’s holder.

2. Keep ornaments off the first few branches. I learned this the hard way, my puppy managed to start eating an ornament.

3. Keep the lights off the first few branches. I have a friend who’s puppy started eating one of the bulbs.

4. Keep all wires away from the ground. Pets can, and will, chew on them.

5. If your pet likes to chew things, keep all presents out from under the tree until necessary. You really don’t want to be handing someone a chewed up sweater.

6. Make it clear to not feed the pets at holiday parties. Everyone will want to, thinking they are the only one. More often than not, pets get sick this way.

Hope you keep these tips in mind and have yourself a safe, happy holiday.

More Living with Puppy

Irish chick — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:02:28 +0000

Since the last time I posted all of the things I enjoy about my puppy I thought I would continue. I believe people enjoy reading this because it helps them relate to their own pets and makes them realize how wonderful they are. If you can not realize that, then you need to spend more time with your pets.

More reasons why I love my puppy:

How she has officially reserved a place on the couch. You must move from it or you will become part of the couch.

The way she always manages to get water all over the floor from her bowl even if she has only drunk two sips.

The way she growls at me when I come from downstairs with a towel on my head because at first she doesn’t recognize me.

How she chases my snowballs and gives them a good long look when they splatter on the ground before running back to do it again.

How she can always manage to get her way into the bathroom when you’re going…not always the best.

How she will sometimes will be running around and suddenly stop and look at one point in the room fixedly for a long period of time. The spot is usually the one by the kitchen table that my deceased dog always sat at. I think that my old dog is there, watching her.

How she always manages to eat dirt even if there is a foot of snow covering everything.

How she talks to you when you are cooking by moaning, making throaty noises, etc.

As you can see I love my puppy very much and spend a lot of time with her. It is crucial for you to spend time with your pet, especially when they are in their developmental stage. Animals are just like people and have to be shown love to love back.

The cat’s out of the bag

Irish chick — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 01:40:13 +0000

This morning-as well as my puppy eating an ornament and having diarrhea-my cat escaped from the house. He does this every once in a while. I can see why. If I was cooped up in a house with a insane puppy I would want to leave every once in a while, too. Yet, this time was different. First he hid under our deck, all the way in the back. This is usually his first, and last, hiding place. We tried the usual trick of shaking the cat treat bag. Nothing. Then we put some tuna in a bowl. Nothing. This is always as far as we had gotten. He always came in. And this time he wasn’t! Then, to our suprise, he sprinted out from under the deck and moved far under a pine tree. There was no way we could reach him! I tried the tuna and he came a little bit closer this time. I reached out to grab his collar and he sprinted back under the tree, far out of my reach. Then, he moved under another pine tree! I knew I needed another tactic.

So, I headed inside and got a little bit of dog food and put it into a container. My cat adores dog food! Yet, even for the sound and smell of the shaking dog food he would not come. So, I did what I did when it got bad. I went inside and waited. Around 5 minutes later I went outside and saw him on the very edge of the line between pine tree and grass. He seemed to be hovering, waiting for a sign of what to do. Then, seeing me, he did a feat of athleticism I thought would not be possible for a 7 year old cat. He went off at a sprint, leaped through a slat in my deck, and ran inside.

I am hoping that he isn’t going to really escape forever one day.

Frenching the pooch

Irish chick — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 01:32:34 +0000

I just had a very important first.

I shared my first french kiss with my puppy! (Hopefully not one of many.) Okay, not so great, but it was still very funny. I love just kissing her nose and her ears. And when you talk next to her ears she grunts. It’s adorable! Then I kissed her nose and-pop-there goes her tongue licking in my mouth. It was kind of gross but it tickled and I couldn’t help but laugh.

Let’s just hope we don’t have a very intimate relationship.

An ornmental affair

Irish chick — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 15:27:06 +0000

I had an interesting morning. This morning my puppy pooed all over her crate! She had diarrhea, again. I’m sorry, but cleaning up poop isn’t the best way to wake up in the morning. Later, when I was cleaning up from baking cookies the previous night, I heard a crunch. What did she do this time?

I went into the living room and what did I find? Shards of ornament all over the carpet. I freaked out, thinking she had cut her mouth or her body, etc. Yet she remained unharmed, calmly watching me as I cleaned up the pieces. Even Houdini couldn’t eat an ornament and remain unharmed! How does she do it?

Mourning cat

Irish chick — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 03:07:52 +0000

Our rag doll cat has been grieving for our dog who passed away for quite some time. You can tell that he is upset. First off, he doesn’t meow as much as he used to. Also, he is spending much more time in the basement. He stayed away from our puppy for a long time, too. Whenever I returned home he would usually be at the door, companionably waiting for me. Yet now, if he’s at the door at all, he’s waiting to go try and escape. (He is an indoor cat. If he goes outside he hurts his paws.)

I think he is starting to feel better now though. He has begun to play with my puppy, and apparently he is sleeping with her sometimes. He used to do that with my dog who passed away. Also he is sleeping with me again. Maybe that’s just because of the change in weather. He used to be such good friends with my deceased dog. They would eat together, sleep together, play together. I’d never seen such good pet companions, period. Hopefully he and my puppy can become as close as they were. For both of their sake. They need a good friend.

We’ll see how it goes.

It’s itching at me

Irish chick — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 02:56:52 +0000

My puppy has being doing someone quite strange for some time. She will be playing with our cat, sitting on the couch, jumping on the counter-bad girl-or whatever, and she will suddenly stop and start gnawing at her rear end. Yes, she is constantly biting her butt! We are worried that it might be from when she got fixed a long time ago. But we’re not really sure what it is. Maybe it’s just one of those puppy things? I can’t be sure for certain. I hope it’s something normal and that I shouldn’t worry about it. But I can’t go to the vet and just say, “She’s biting her butt,” can I?

Or can I?

Living with puppy

Irish chick — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 23:43:57 +0000

Now that our other dog has passed away from cancer my eyes have now opened to the amazing puppy I have. She is everything to me now that I have begun the process of getting over my deceased dog. I am noticing everything about her. Below is a tribute to everything I love about her. I hope you can notice as many of these things about your pets. If not, perhaps you need to have some TLC time with them

How soft her ears are-like baby duck fluff

How she snores when she goes to sleep.

How she dips her paw delicately in the water before she goes in to test the temperature. If it’s too cold, forget it.

How she looks sadly after me when I am leaving.

How happy she is to see me when I get back.

How she randomly makes random happy moaning noises.

How she always puts her head on the arm of the couch when she is watching TV with us so she can see.

How she always has a place on the couch no matter what.

How she acts like a heating pad on top of you when you’re cold.

How she always manages to escape the kitchen and manage to rip a nose off a stuffed animal in the split second it takes for us to catch her.