Wednesday evening Lulu ripped a hole through the side of her wire crate to free herself from its confines while NiceLady and HairyFace were away. Since then she’s stayed in her kennel outside when the Peoples have to leave. But the crate was still her bed at night, they just turned the hole to the wall.

Thursday night NiceLady decided to see if Lulu would sleep in a snuggle bed so they could dispose of the crate. She enticed Lulu into the snuggle bed (adorned with a pillow from her crate), got her to lie down, and gave her a goodnight cookie. As Lady went around the Peoples bed to get in on her side, Lulu hopped up and pranced down the hallway. Lady called, “Lulu, come here!”

Instantly Lulu was standing on the bed between NiceLady and HairyFace wearing a hopeful grin and tail wagging like mad.

“NO!” they said in unison. “Get down.”

Lulu refused, still hoping to coerce them. “But you SAID ‘Come HERE’: I’m here.”

So it’s back to the crate at night time.

Once she gets the idea of bed time, we’ll try a snuggle bed again. Lulu just has her own ideas about how things should work.

What do you do when you have a hoofie: you love hoofies.

You want to chew the hoofie.

You’ve been told NO hoofie chewing on the carpet.

The carpeted room is the only cool room (window AC) in the house.

You like laying on carpet.

You want to be in the cool air.

But you also want to chew the hoofie …
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What to do, what to do?

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Blondie and I are in our bedroom beds. HairyFace is sitting in bed reading. NiceLady is finishing up her end-of-day routine. Lulu is sitting in the master-bath watching Lady. Lady says, “Say good night to everyone, Lulu.” and Lulu trots out and sniffs at me, she walks around the bed and sniffs at Blondie. Blondie has a dog bed at the foot of the Peoples bed, but she often sleeps on the carpet next to Hairy’s side of the bed. Hairy says, “Good night Lulu.”

Lady asks, “Are you ready for bed now, Lulu?” hoping to direct Lulu to her crate.

Lulu’s eyes light up, “YES!” and she leaps up on the bed with Hairy. A dream come true!

Blondie bolts to her feet and stares at her wide-eyed, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? That’s not allowed!”

Hairy sets Lulu back on the floor, “No, Lulu, that is not allowed.”

Deflated, Lulu trods behind Lady to the crate. She whines a little bit, but settles in after a while.

Since Lulu has learned to scratch at the back door or whine at the Peoples when she wants to go outside, the Peoples are thinking about letting her sleep in a snuggle bed in the bedroom with us pretty soon. I think that would make her happy. Not as happy as sleeping on the People bed, but it’s as close as she will get in this house. There are rules in my house, after all. To be a good dog you must follow the rules.

Maybe Lulu’s forever home will not have a no-dogs-on-the-bed rule. Then that dream can be realized.

Lulu listened intently as Jasper and Blondie told her about the luxuriant life of a House Dog. In fact, Lulu knew what it was like to be a house dog, she herself had been one before. But it was a different life from what they were describing. She was having a hard time comprehending what they told her. Jasper talked about racing around the house chasing a ball or hoofie. Blondie talked about lounging around on an assortment of beds – some in every room – that were there just for the dogs. Eating delicious foods. Getting special treats. Having the undivided attention of a People almost any time she wanted it.

Lulu’s life had been much different. Almost always confined to a crate. Play times tended to be antagonistic, even cruel toward her. She became fearful and started fighting back by nipping and acting out. So she ended up being dumped off at a place with HUNDREDS of dogs, all barking and carrying on. It was so scary. Then HairyFace and NiceLady came and took her out. They took her to a place out on a mountain where it’s quiet.

That’s where I live, along with Blondie, and Jasper – and, of course, my Peoples: HairyFace and NiceLandy. Blondie is my adopted sister, Jasper is a foster: like Lulu.

Continue Reading…

NiceLady has bought us a couple of Coolaroo’s to lounge on. They are cool and comfy in the summer heat. Lulu isn’t much interested in those. She walks across one now and again but does not stop to lie down. She does, however, wade into the big water dish as though she wished it were a pool.

Nicelady took the hint and bought her a small pool. This thought was further facilitated by Tractor Supply Company putting their doggie pools on sale this weekend.

Lulu is a Labrador Retriever mix so it should be in her blood to enjoy the water. It is unlikely that the rest of us will make any use of it. Although, if there are no Peoples standing there with a bottle of shampoo, Blondie might enjoy it too. She is part Yellow Lab and has gone splashing through local creeks when she’s gotten out and run off. That was before the Peoples built our Petitentiary (a.k.a. Play Yard) that does a good job of keeping us in. Most of us anyway. Jasper the Flying Dog could go over it any time he wanted, but he seems to have lost that desire.

I have NO interest in a pool. Jasper: maybe, but probably not: he’s not fond of being wet either.

Lulu’s Pool-a-roo

Hairyface found a sort-of level spot for the pool and put about 3 inches of water in it. He hoped shallow would be fun, not intimidating – and easier to dump out at the end of the day. Then they let Lulu out of her pen to see what she thought of it.

This was about as close to an honest tail-wag as we’ve gotten from this abused girl yet.

After many trips though the pool and sessions of lounging in the grass, Lulu decided she wanted to be a lap dog. A 60 pound lap dog, but hey … who could deny this sweetheart? She’s coming out of her shell nicely.

This evening we engaged in some casual dining and watched an old Science Fiction Theater episode (1950’s stuff). Mostly, this is a human thing, but the furkids like it too because they get to eat in the living room with us and they get a special treat after dinner. They generally sleep through the program, though.

At bed time Marie and I sit in bed and read for a while. Sometimes we use book lights and turn off the lamps. But tonight my batteries were low. Blondie Bear is saying, “Would you PLEASE turn off the lights and go to sleep … I’m TIRED.”

Cochise could not hide under the bed without risking getting stepped on, so he made do with what was available.

Eventually Marie and I got sleepy too, turned off the lights, and went to sleep. Then the furkids could take up normal sleeping positions and get some proper rest. The poor dears! (wink)