Well, that's not really true as I know very little about cats and there will be no information about them. I'm gomg to dwell on the eleven dogs we have in the house.
We've had the mother Lab and her pups for 36 days, with about 10 days to go. It has been a great experience and a source of great joy. The mother was so shy, timid to the extreme. She didn't know about television and barked at all the noises that came from the TV set. I tried to watch "Marley and Me" which was about a yellow Lab, but Freckles would create such a uproar the I had to turn it off. When Helen first took the dogs out to play ball, Freckles didn't know what to do with the ball and she just watched it roll away. Then she reached the point where she would actually retrieve the ball and brind it back to Helen, as Coco does. Now she has graduated to the Jodie style of retrieving. Throw the ball and Freckles gets it, now chase her to get it back.
Where she once had to be led up the back yard for "business", she now races out there and she is much faster than Coco or Jodie. Beating Coco doesn't surprise me due to Coco's hips, but Jodie seemed so fast. Freckles long legs and sleek profile allow her to find a loping gait that easily puts her well ahead of the other dogs.
Once shy, she now barks when she wants something, and it's a very loud bark that you can't ignore. She barks when she wants a cookie and she barks when she wants to go out. She also barks when she wants water and the water dish is empty. Yup, sometimes me and Helen bad! Generally, when Helen tells her to stop barking and lay down, and she does.
Now, to the little dogs. OK, they are still really puppies, but the seem more like little dogs every day. We got a 10% coupon from PetSupermarket and I told Helen that we should stock up on food for our dogs and the foster dogs while we were buying. I suggested two big bags of puppy chow and Helen thought that it would be too much, but she acceded to my wishes and got the two bags. It was a good thing because we will probably need ANOTHER bag also.
The puppies are going through a lot of puppy chow as they are building mass and body strength. Now you can think of a puppie as a processing plant that takes in puppy chow and water and converts it to another product or two at the other end. So as the rate of using the chow increases, the end product also increases. This end product is not like puppy doo, but normal doggie doo, but a little smaller. OK, keep this in mind. I'm going to another topic, but will return to this subject.
Toys! Do the love to play with toys!!! Little stuffed animals and rubber balls are toys they like. A section of rope or a towel can be used in tug-o-war. Things that squeek get a lot of attention. These are bought toys, but really, anything that enters their pen becomes a plaything. Step into the pen and it seems that your shoes are being attacked by piranha or a swarm of bees. The bottom of your Jeans become a great item to chew and tug. Shoe laces are undone, over and over and over. Now we go back to the last topic.
When one of the dogs creates product, that is new and that becomes a plaything, if they see it. Helen and I try to pick up as soon as we possibly can so it's not tracked all over. They may not notice it, bit as we reach down with a paper towel, the swarm around your hand, walk in the poop, and try to grab the paper towel. I have a squeeky toy in my left hand to draw them away and that worked very well, but only twice. They're on to me and just attack the hand doing the work.
Their voices are getting louder. I mean LOUDER. This morning I wanted to sleep in a bit. Impossible. It sounded like a pack of pit bulls had cornered a dozen cats. Helen was taking care of things, but the noise persisted and eventually I gave up. Ten more days!
Today I remodled the pen, making it more difficult for them to escape. Thinking the pen was secure I was in the other room reading. When I returned the pen was empty as the gate had bee forced open from the bottom. I found the escapees spread out in the family room and back hall. Not a single "accident" or "mess", but only because I got them in time. Having a taste of a larger area, they want more freedom. One puppy is not bad. Two puppies are probably not bad. In fact, the eight puppies are not bad, but they are more than a handful and they keep us very busy.
That's all I'm saying for now.
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