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Idiot Pets!

jane4878 | Posted in Gather For A Chat on

I’m bored and housebound–foot surgery and it’s snowing like mad.  I’m sitting at the computer watching my idiot goofy 15 month old poodle snarl and attack his reflection in a mirror.  He’s really quite anxious about it!  The horrible “other” dog is certainly keeping him occupied.  Do the rest of you have quirky pets?  Mine (a small standard) has the horrible vice of consuming fabric and stuffed anything (sheets, underwear, socks, comforters, toys)  He’s getting better, but it’s like an addiction with him.  I can’t even put a mat in his crate.  I bought him a mat recently, figuring he’d matured enough to stop eating them and he was good for about a week.  Just loved that mat and then all of a sudden he dragged it out of the crate and tore it to shreds.  He has tons of chewies, which he’s always dragging outside and burying, and he gets disciplined when we catch him, but he knows he’s being bad and he’s very sneaky.  Thank heavens he leaves my sewing fabric alone!

Replies

  1. fabricholic | | #1

    My little rat terrier is getting up in age and has lost most of her hearing. She, apparently, sees her shadow on the wall when she is eating her dog food and barks, until we check it out for her. She loves crawling up on the top of my fabric stash when I am sewing. When she gets frustrated, she will tear up anything made out of paper into shreds. I have to keep my patterns off the floor.

  2. MaryinColorado | | #2

    Oh, that brings back memories of our beloved Yorkies!  They didn't like those mirrors either.  The little dogs are so good at scampering away, we had a difficult time training them.

    I have a big yellow lab now.  We removed all the wall to wall carpeting and put in hardwood floors and he's not happy.  They reflect light and are slippery, so we had to put down rugs for him to walk on.  Does nothing for my decorating gene to have 3 long narrow rugs across the kitchen just so he can get to the back door.  Sometimes I have to put on his leash and have him "heal" just to get from one room to another when the rugs are in the washer.  They have thier quirks just like us!  Makes them so endearing though frustrating at times!  

    The kids love to play with flashlights with him, he chases the light frantically.  Mary

    1. jane4878 | | #3

      We couldn't live without them, could we?  I had a beautiful German Shepherd that died over 5 years ago and I was thinking how well behaved he was compared to the poodle.  Then the memories came back...We used to live in Northern Alberta where it would drop to below -40 and even down to -48C (about -58F) and he would pull on extension cords and unplug the car!  Christmas lights too.  He ate plants:  irises, bleeding hearts, even an entire climbing rose, thorns and all.  We had a 6" high electric fence to stop beavers from cutting down our trees and the poor dog ran into it and keep running into it along it's entire lenghth, yelping like mad.  That put an end to his extension cord pulling--he wouldn't even step over an electrical cord after that!

    2. autumn | | #4

      Many dogs are like that about slippery floors. They can fall. Don't worry about the rug runners, he will die someday and then you won't have to look at them. I've had several dogs who would not walk on slick floors and I put down rugs. Now I'd love to have the old rugs as long as I could have the old dogs, too. BTW, I'm also from Colorado.

      1. MaryinColorado | | #5

        We got him from puppy rescue, he is so wonderful and loving with everyone.  We went through some difficult times together.  Things are much quieter now that he's seven. 

        We went out of town, my daughter housesat and puppysat.  He was so lonesome, he ruined two matching loveseats.  I learned a big lesson about "seperation anxiety"!  Ouch!  Then there's the problem of "parents" giving mixed messages....I don't allow him on furniture, DH did so his expensive recliner is the newest but oldest rattiest looking piece of furniture in the house!  Now it's "Baily's chair"! 

        Patience isn't only a virtue, it has indescribable benefits!  He gives more than he ever cost, and the "costs" were our own fault for not thinking through life with a LARGE puppy!   Too many people blame their pets for thier own mistakes.  Mary

        1. autumn | | #6

          We've had numerous experiences with separation anxiety. One BIG dog we had chewed into the pine floor of our cabin. She also somtimes ate my daughter's underpants, and one time a pair came out the other end WHOLE. We had to resort to Valium with some of our dogs because of that. I often dog-sit for my 2 daughters, and for friends. I try to respect how they want the dogs treated, e.g., on or not on furniture, do or don't give tidbits from the table, etc. Although we always allow our dogs on the furniture and feed them from the table (it can cause problems if there are more than one dog), I don't do it if the owners don't.

  3. Betakin | | #7

    I have a 14 yo female Havanese that barks as soon anytime somebody says good bye. This happens either out of the house when talking to a neighbor or in the house. She barks when people leave and stand to go out the door but does not bark at all when anyone comes to the door..except the UPS guys. She barks as soon as she hears or smells the truck pull up and then barks loud and constantly while they knock on the door and until they leave. I think it might be because she wants them to come in and ..they never do and she knows this. She also has this game she plays..after we play fetch for sometime, she will suddenly not fetch the toy and bring it back to me but she will drop it and then run fast around the room and bump the toy with her nose, then run around again and bump the toy with her nose. It is really cute to watch.

    I also have a Champion female Blue Manx (cabbit)  that was used for breeding before gifted to me. She acts more like a dog than a cat. Jumps like a rabbit very high and far. Unbelievably so. She greets me with her strange voiced sort of meow behind the door before I am in the house. When I first came to meet her, she buried her head in my chest and kept it there as to say "make the world go away". Now after owning her for several years, she likes to sleep with her head buried in my hand and with her paws wrapped around my arm. She also snores. She will come up and put her head in my hand around the same time every night when I am on the couch watching TV then she falls asleep hugging my arm but when I am in bed, she searches to find my hand then purrs herself to sleep. Sometimes she sleeps on her back in the middle of the floor with her front legs bent up line a bunny and her back long legs stretched out, it is hilarious. She also likes to clean off my tables and knock off stuff that should not be there. If something is strange and new on the table..she just knows..and down it comes. She likes to clean house and keep things in order. If I put a barrett on my night stand before going to bed..then in the dark..there she is, and it is on the floor in the morning. She gets one spoonful of wet food to her dry food, that is the thrill of her day. If I should forget she will bug me till I give it to her. If I nap in the middle of the day, she will bat me with her paw till she gets that spoonful of food..after this gift..she will not bother me again that day. She will also go into every bag that might be sitting out, no matter what is inside of it. She tries to clean out the bag to her satisfaction or till comfy then she will curl up in it.  She loves to stroke against my sewing machine when I sew. Blue hair all over the it afterwards. She also puts her face down and stares at any paper I am writing on then starts licking where I am writing. Hard to pay the bills when she does that. LOL!

    The dog loves to lick my toes and the cat loves to lick my fingers. You would think they were from a nail salon. I love em to bits.

     

  4. moira | | #8

    The animal thread caught my eye as this week we had to have our ten year old dachshund put to sleep and she's left such a gap. Her daughter is a wee bit lost and I've a feeling she and I are going to become closer than ever. She always comes to lie under the bed in my sewing room, but time and time again I've known she was chewing at something I couldn't see. Turned out to be a pin! She just plays with one if she's found it around my feet - though I always try to pick one up if I know I've dropped it. But she never gets it right in her mouth; just licks at it. But I will be more careful - I don't want to find that she's eaten one and that I lose her as well.

    1. starzoe | | #9

      My dear departed Mollycat used to love to get onto the cutting table and pull the pins from the pattern with her teeth. I had to keep her away from pincushions as well.

    2. Lilith1951 | | #11

      Please be careful of any thread on spools, also.  I've seen my cat get started on the end hanging and keep trying to swallow more and more.  Pets can get all that thread all hung up in their intestines and die, so please be sure to keep the thread spools away from your beloved pets.

    3. jane4878 | | #13

      I'm sorry you lost your Daxie.  My idiot grabbed my Grabit full of expensive Clover quilting pins when he was much younger.  I don't know if I was more upset he could've hurt himself or aggravated he wrecked my pins:^)  He learned his lesson though, hasn't touched them since.  He can stand perfectly up straight on his hind legs and get into all sorts of stuff on tables and counters.  Kelly Ripa on Live with Regis and Kelly, had her little dog eat a staple and became quite ill.  She had to feed it white Wonderbread and check the stools to find out if the staple came out--ugh!

  5. Teaf5 | | #10

    Reading all these delightful stories makes me glad that our tropical fish have absolutely no interest in or contact with my sewing supplies!

  6. User avater
    dayenu | | #12

    my calico cat has two places made just for her in my sewing studio. an eight feet long shelf under the windows but above my main sewing machine. and a low box lined in fleece way on top of tall cabinets.

    I am lucky that she never messes with the stuff, she just wants to be in the room with me and sleeps while I sew. And the steam iron frightens her so she stays far away from that.

    she also has a water bowl, a litter box and a little bit of kibble to make it especially cozy... (my sewing room is connected to the house via a covered deck so she gets locked in with me.)

    1. Creamymashed | | #14

      My calico, Gingersnaps loves to lay behind the sewing machine, and franically bob her head up and down with the needle.  She also thinks it's amusing to lay out on anything I am trying to cut or measure.  My other cat, Gabby Gabster just lays at my feet while I sew, occasionly play-biting my foot when I step on the petal. I can't imagine how boring and sad our lives would be without our animals.....

      1. User avater
        VKStitcher | | #15

        Our two cats are usually with me in the sewing room.  They are either sleeping (as they both are right now), or trying to "help" me with whatever I'm doing.  They like to lay on the sewing table, on the cutting table, on the ironing board, or on the TV.  Smokey never wants to get in my lap until I sit down at the computer or the sewing machine.  Biscuit mainly likes to watch.  Here's a picture of him watching me sew on a button...

        1. jjgg | | #17

          Love the picture!

        2. MaryinColorado | | #18

          How preciouse!  Gotta love 'em.

          My yellow lab, Beau Bailey, keeps me company throughout the house.  If someone can't find him, they know to check the sewing room.  He's waiting for me to come home. 

          My husband rarely comes in here, so when he does, Bailey gets uncomfortably under his feet and pushes on him.  It's the only time he is territorial, but it is funny to see, especially when DH comes in to "fix" something or program my computer.  Today, dh couldn't push his chair back after working on my computer because Bailey was blocking him.  I swear he "smiles" and crinkles his nose, never had a pet with such a sense of humor.

          Our pets were never allowed in the house when I was growing up, but ours are always an important family member. 

          Edited 2/25/2008 12:44 am by MaryinColorado

        3. SAAM | | #19

          Great photo!Sherry

        4. moira | | #20

          Your gorgeous photo made me laugh!

        5. Teaf5 | | #22

          A delightful photo! Makes me think that maybe I'm missing something about sewing without a pet around to "help."

        6. FirecrackerKTM | | #23

          my black and white cat Axle does the same thing! and if i'm at the computer, he likes to walk on the keyboard.

          1. User avater
            VKStitcher | | #24

            What is it with cats and keyboards?  Our cat Smokey likes to walk on the keyboard or stand in front of the monitor.  She makes it difficult to get much done!

            I never knew until recently that this must be a universal cat behavior.  Check out the "Rhymes With Orange" comic strip for March 2...   http://www.rhymeswithorange.com/home.php?date=20080302

            Edited 3/29/2008 5:19 pm ET by VKStitcher

            Edited 3/29/2008 5:35 pm ET by VKStitcher

          2. FirecrackerKTM | | #25

            That's hilarious! Maybe they just can't stand not to be the center of attention.

          3. User avater
            VKStitcher | | #26

            Cute photo!  Axle is fascinated with whatever you're doing!

          4. FirecrackerKTM | | #27

            What he's usually fascinated by is trying to grab my hands, scissors, fabric, the presserfoot or thread and chew on it. If he wasn't so cute, he'd have gone back to the shelter by now!!!Not really. But he is the weirdest, craziest, most annoying cat I've ever had. He certainly has moments where I'd like to put him in a box and ship him to my worst enemy.And let's not even START on what my two border collies like to do for fun when I'm not entertaining them.
            http://s20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/FirecrackerKTM/Puppy%20pics/?action=view&current=Picture006.jpghttp://s20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/FirecrackerKTM/Puppy%20pics/?action=view&current=Picture007.jpgOh and I have to share one more. Axle loves to hang out in my sewing basket.http://s20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/FirecrackerKTM/Kitten%20pics/?action=view&current=axleinbasket.jpg

            Edited 3/29/2008 9:06 pm ET by FirecrackerKTM

          5. User avater
            VKStitcher | | #28

            Thanks for sharing the photos.  Sometimes our furry friends do get on our nerves, but what would we do without them?  :-)

          6. dollmarm | | #29

            like the photos of your animals and the cartoon.  I have a Lab-mix w/ a Spaniel and Whippet -named BlackJack He has this "not me" look  when you come in and you know something is going on somewhere.  I usually shut all the bedroom doors and leave a favorite mat at the front door for him to see out and he is happy.  I also have a stray cat that we adopted and she is into everything except the cats toys I bought her.  Never leave a box open and or cabinet - she will be in it.  Oh and Miss Kitty snores - which is so funny to listen to her. This cat likes to sleep where ever I am and as close as she can get. I am not a cat person but I love her - she keeps the mice away.   And anything else that comes around - she has this screaming meow and whatever comes near runs!

            Several of our neighbors call her the watch cat !  :~) 

          7. fiberfan | | #30

            One of my colleagues has a cat that will chase the mouse on the screen.  If the mouse is moved off the screen, the cat will go behind the screen and look for the mouse.

            I belong to 2 cats, Tweety and Cindy.  My cats are 10 and 11 and most of the time they are pretty mellow.  Both are very responsive to my moods. 

            When I am stressed about things, Tweety will suddenly be desperate for attention when I sit down in my chair to put nylons or socks on before leaving the house.  The first time she did I didn't know why she was doing this.  The day she stopped doing this was the day after something I had been worrying about.  It is funny to watch her, she will try to get her head between my hands and my foot so I will rub her ears.

            My cats love the Frisky's with gravy moist cat foods.  They both prefer the gravy, Cindy will only eat the solid food to get at more gravy.  Tweety will eat the solid food.

            Joanne

          8. dollmarm | | #31

            I laughed out loud about the cat that goes behind the screen.  I have a long 3way mirror in my Craft/sewing room and my Miss Kitty will play in front of that mirror and run in behind one side and come back to see what the kitty in the mirror is doing and paw it and look up at me.   She is so funny - these creatures are so entertaining.  So glad I have her.  She loves to snuggle.  Miss Kitty was originally my husbands cat and she has adopted me.  It was ruff at first for I was the one who would put her in the cat carrier for the Vet and then when she was fixed she would pee on my house slipper or any clothing that hit the floor. I had to keep her shut in the laundry for a a couple of days and nothing on the floor to break her of this.  As time has gone on she is by my side.  She even takes walks with us when we walk the dog. When she gets tired she stops off in the woods and moseys back home to the porch and waits for us or she will sit off the side of the road in the woods and waits for us to come back by her and she walks back to the house with us.   They are so funy in trying to communicate their wishes with us. Your new cats sound like my Miss Kitty and BlackJack (dog) I add a broth to his dry food every night and Miss Kitty will come along and taste it for him and then will lay down near by while he eats.   They both come running when they hear the bowl hit the floor and BlackJack steps back while she licks and then goes to the bowl after she has tasted.   :~)

          9. User avater
            VKStitcher | | #32

            "BlackJack steps back while she licks and then goes to the bowl after she has tasted."

            Ah, His Highness BlackJack has an official Royal Food Taster!  It's amazing that he lets her taste first, and also that she doesn't gobble it all up!  Our furry friends can have such funny habits and routines.  :-)

          10. dollmarm | | #33

            OH I know,  I watched carefully for we got BJ from the shelter and Miss Kitty was a stray kitty that lived in the woods until it was freezing - we would try to feed her.  I didn't want a cat at all but I saw her attack a mouse and we had seen dropping in the basement and I thought hummmm.....  so we put out food and brought it closer and closer and then on the deck and then into the house with the back glass sliding door open and when it was cold she would meow so pitifully and she was so so tiny and surprisingly she grew healthy.  She was to be my hubbys' cat and now she is mine.   Both BJ and Miss Kitty were cautious of each other and then slowly they sniffed the other when one was asleep and now they are best buds.   :~)  P.S> sorrie it has taken me so long to yack back been a full week and another one a'coming :~/

          11. MaryinColorado | | #34

            Our neighbor's cat is trying to make friends with our big yellow labrador.  The cat lives in a home with kids, dog, fish, frog, rat, turtle, bird, etc. and gets along with all of them.  Our normally sweet friendly lab barks and chases him away.   One day while walking the lab, a cat came diagonally across the street and walked right up to him and scratched his face and snarled!!!  It happened so fast, we were both shocked.  So now he doesn't like cats....yet!  Stripey is persistant so maybe one day he will succeed.  It is funny to see him come visit every day.  When thier children come here, he sits on my porch waiting for them to come back out to play.  Any suggestions on how to help the lab accept Stripey?  Mary

          12. dollmarm | | #35

            OH wow My cat was scared of everything and will still hide when new people come around.  Miss Kitty sniffs and you need to be still or she will spook and run and hide for the longest.  Back in the summer a lot of my hubbies family came for his retirement party from one job and Miss Kitty stayed hide until we would sit and she would slip out and find me.   She eventually came out and allowed others to pet her as I would show her they were friends and safe.  We found this kitty half dead in the woods and just kept feeding her w/a healthy mixture to help re-gain her health and eventually she trusted us.  We do know why but she has a scar from some sort of surgery but no one around here claimed her and she had no tags or chip to know whose she was.  We took her to the local shelter and adopted her out and she has a micro-chip and always come back home when she goes out. It took quite a while - as it was usually when one was asleep that the other would sniff the other one and eventually they let down their guards.  TOO when I would call one the other got jealous esp. the my lab.  Many  times I would have the cat beside me when BJ (lab) wanted attention and I would pet him and ask for his paw and touch Miss Kitty to show them we were all friends.   That helped some but best when I stepped back.  BlackJack had to be caged when we first got him - he chewed and our son has legos through his room and he would chew them when left alone so - he was put in his cage and Miss Kitty would come up close and paw the cage - like a dig at first.  Eventually we were able to leave treats at the front door with a blanket and shut our sons bedroom door and he would stay there.  They both like to play with balls.  It has taken time and then it seemed like one morning they were best buds.  

            MIss Kittty likes to tease the Alpacas we have across the street,  She will go up to their fences and sit and or run the fence.  Too she will sit in the grass and hop out like a bunny and then take off running.  The family thinks she is a comical cat.  She is extremely funny when I dust her cratching post with the organic cat-nip !

            Good luck with animal friends - they are interesting creations ! :~)

      2. jjgg | | #16

        I love the name GingerSnaps for a calico!I have botha cat and dong, the dog never comes into my sewing room, he lies down at the door and just watches me the whole time I'm in my sewing room. I never really told him he couldn't come in, but it's just as well. I sew for others so I don't need the hair in the room.My cat rarely comes in the room. The last time I found her in my sewing room was when I had to take her to the kennel! she was hiding under some furniture. (smart cat). She hates the cat carrier and saw I had taken it out of the closet, so I guess he knew what was coming.

        1. User avater
          VKStitcher | | #21

          How is it that cats know when they're going to the vet or the kennel?  I think our cats can read my mind--they disappear when I'm just thinking about getting the carrier out of the attic.

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