Like cats and dogs

[ritaxis]

I locked the dogs in the back yard and caught the cat and moved him from the attic to the front yard, which was fine by him. I moved his food and water to the front porch. I go out there and pet him and he purrs and rolls around on the ground. He's dealing with this better than he has dealt with other, less alarming canine invasions.

However. When I let the dogs back in I guess I didn't notice that Lola went back out before I closed the door again. She's the wolfy one. She howled for hours before I figured out where she was.

I've been useless all day. Three nights of no sleep due to dog shenanigans has wrecked me utterly.

Then MC came over to do his laundry and Lola took offense and howled the whole time he was here. I had him give Lola treats but she wasn't giving an inch. Finally I asked him to wait on the porch while his laundry finished. He was goodnatured about it.

Whenever I go to lie down and sleep the dogs come after me and jump all over the bed and howl and bark and pant in my ear. But when I am not in the bed they are capable of sleeping. What the hell?

I saw "Babies" yesterday. I had a wonderful time with it but I had a feeling that there was some unconscious cultural bias in the way some of the clips were chosen -- especially the Namibian sequences. I wish I'd seen the raw footage.

Comments

[pameladean]

I am really starting to wonder if the dog owners have some crazy bedtime ritual that you are not fulfilling, leading to angst and panting.

P.

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

Not having the dogs in the same room as you while you sleep would be a big advanytage. Is there anywhere you can shut them away. The might yowl for a bit but stick it out and don't go to them untul you're ready in the morning. (Even if you have to wear earplugs!)

Dogs are like children. They need boundaries, space boundaries and behaviour boundaries.

Our dog sleeps downstairs in a cage. It's a big cage and it's his. His turf, his territory, his den, his safe place. We don't have to force him into it. In fact he'll often ask to go in there before we're ready for bed. Once in - about 11 p.m. he stays there until 7 or 8 a.m.

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

Apologies for typos. I posted without spellchecking.