Lana woke me up at 7 o'clock, so I immediately got up and carried her downstairs and into the yard, assuming she had to go.
That she did indeed and I was very happy that she woke me up instead of doing smelly, nasty things on the bed.
I made myself breakfast and try as I might, Lana would not lay down in one of the numerous dog beds we have in the kitchen, but instead chose to be constantly underfoot, sometimes running into the living room and back.
We're used to our chis settling down and snoozing in their beds, sometimes watching what we're doing, but never constantly being on their feet.
Lana had changed her strategy towards the cats, now barking and lunging at the cats whenever they showed up. That is not acceptable so I used the old treat trick, distracted her when she tried to go after the cats, and then rewarding her when she stopped the attack. I don't watch "It's Me or the Dog" on Animal Planet for nothing!
Every time I thought she'd realized the cats posed no real threat, one of them moved too quickly and the show started from the beginning. Sigh....
We took Lana out about every half an hour to avoid her marking in the house, but somehow she always had pee left to use on the upstairs hallway.
I'm so glad I've procrastinated the tearing out of the carpet for 2 years now!
Did I mention I have the greatest admiration for the person who invented enzyme spray?
My husband Tom and I had an early appointment for a massage and we decided we couldn't yet leave Lana alone with the cats so we put her in the spare bedroom, along with a bed, pee pad, a cheese filled Kong, and water.
When we came home, the door was not chewed through, there was pee, but not on the pad.
Another round of clean-up with the enzyme spray!
We then took the whole pack to the neighboring town since we needed some supplies from the health food store and thought it was a good opportunity to test Lana's car riding skills.
We put her on the back seat, and the 2 chis on my lap in the front.
After falling of the seat and struggling to get her back up, Lana settled down and actually snoozed the whole way.
We managed to get in a short walk since it was too cold to take a prolonged one.
Throughout the day Lana tried to sniff up Luci who became very scared and started snapping. I had to separate the two a few times since Lana just wouldn't back off.
Luci did the same with Josi when she came to live with us, then later tried to buddy up to her, so I'll give it another week or two. Hopefully, Luci will finally have somebody to snuggle up to, because Josi won't permit it.
In the evening, Tom and I went out for dinner so Lana again went into the spare bedroom. This time though she tried to get out, scratching at the door.
We ignored it and left, having read somewhere that a prolonged leaving just exacerbates the separation anxiety.
When it came down to couch time the two chis were now uncomfortable with having Lana so close. I have to respect their wishes so I tried to entice Lana to lay down in her bed next to the couch. She didn't want to at first, started pacing again, until I managed to lift her onto the bed and pet her. She finally settled down as long as I had my hand on her.
At bedtime she observed the same ritual - two pees on the hallway carpet while I was in the bathroom, then a lift onto the bed and an immediate settling in.
Tom took her out again before he went to bed, but she didn't pee.
This time she slept until 8 - success!
That she did indeed and I was very happy that she woke me up instead of doing smelly, nasty things on the bed.
I made myself breakfast and try as I might, Lana would not lay down in one of the numerous dog beds we have in the kitchen, but instead chose to be constantly underfoot, sometimes running into the living room and back.
We're used to our chis settling down and snoozing in their beds, sometimes watching what we're doing, but never constantly being on their feet.
Lana had changed her strategy towards the cats, now barking and lunging at the cats whenever they showed up. That is not acceptable so I used the old treat trick, distracted her when she tried to go after the cats, and then rewarding her when she stopped the attack. I don't watch "It's Me or the Dog" on Animal Planet for nothing!
Every time I thought she'd realized the cats posed no real threat, one of them moved too quickly and the show started from the beginning. Sigh....
We took Lana out about every half an hour to avoid her marking in the house, but somehow she always had pee left to use on the upstairs hallway.
I'm so glad I've procrastinated the tearing out of the carpet for 2 years now!
Did I mention I have the greatest admiration for the person who invented enzyme spray?
My husband Tom and I had an early appointment for a massage and we decided we couldn't yet leave Lana alone with the cats so we put her in the spare bedroom, along with a bed, pee pad, a cheese filled Kong, and water.
When we came home, the door was not chewed through, there was pee, but not on the pad.
Another round of clean-up with the enzyme spray!
We then took the whole pack to the neighboring town since we needed some supplies from the health food store and thought it was a good opportunity to test Lana's car riding skills.
We put her on the back seat, and the 2 chis on my lap in the front.
After falling of the seat and struggling to get her back up, Lana settled down and actually snoozed the whole way.
We managed to get in a short walk since it was too cold to take a prolonged one.
Throughout the day Lana tried to sniff up Luci who became very scared and started snapping. I had to separate the two a few times since Lana just wouldn't back off.
Luci did the same with Josi when she came to live with us, then later tried to buddy up to her, so I'll give it another week or two. Hopefully, Luci will finally have somebody to snuggle up to, because Josi won't permit it.
In the evening, Tom and I went out for dinner so Lana again went into the spare bedroom. This time though she tried to get out, scratching at the door.
We ignored it and left, having read somewhere that a prolonged leaving just exacerbates the separation anxiety.
When it came down to couch time the two chis were now uncomfortable with having Lana so close. I have to respect their wishes so I tried to entice Lana to lay down in her bed next to the couch. She didn't want to at first, started pacing again, until I managed to lift her onto the bed and pet her. She finally settled down as long as I had my hand on her.
At bedtime she observed the same ritual - two pees on the hallway carpet while I was in the bathroom, then a lift onto the bed and an immediate settling in.
Tom took her out again before he went to bed, but she didn't pee.
This time she slept until 8 - success!
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