'Twas the night before Christmas... & everyone went crazy!

[MomtoPercy]

So, it's Christmas eve and I'm running around prepping food for the big family gathering tomorrow. I hear the twang twang twang of Percy still (after 3 hours) clambering about his cage. Apparently, he's still not comfy in the new digs and he's decided that clinging to the top front of the cage with white clawed determination forever and ever, is the way to go. Eventually, I feel so sorry for the poor dear that I let him out of the awful fancy big new prison. Big mistake!! It took two hours of cagoling, terickery and treats to get him back in. I didn't cover him and left the TV on for him, tuned on a soft music channel. At midnight, he finally stops his gymnastics olympiad and settles down on a perch. Phew!!

Just as I start closing up the house to go to bed myself, my big dog (chow cross) starts howling outside, clawing and scratching at the door to be let in. Some idiot is setting off fire crackers in the neighbourhood and poor Gambit is terrified. So, being the good pet mommy I am, I forgo sleep for now and let him in. I will have to babysit him until the firecrackers have stopped so that he can be let out again. I dare not leave him unattended in the house - he will certainly go exploring and if he comes across Percy, that will not end well. My pug, Gyzmo, sleeps indoors but he's not big enough to get to Percy so I don't worry about him but Gambit is another kettle of fish. He is and will always be agressive and his hunting instincts are strong (despite his debilitating fear of thunder and fire crackers).

Ok, it is technically Christmas now so Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating! I will probably still be here tomorrow morning, bleary eyed and snappy so send good vibes to my family who will have to endure my gringe face....:31:

 

[thekarens]

Poor Percy! Tortured by that new mansion ;-)

Get Gambit a crate. That way you can let him sleep inside when he needs to.

 

[crimson]

Merry Christmas to you!....I hope you warm up with out the 'grinchies' and enjoy your day.

 

[MomtoPercy]

Get Gambit a crate. That way you can let him sleep inside when he needs to.

I've considered that but he hates being locked up and WILL chew through the crate and probably loose more teeth! He's lost all four his top teeth (between the canines) from trying to bite his way into the house while we were out and a thunderstorm struck. It's ok, we're used to the babysitting. It is just irritating that people still use fire crackers even though they're illegal!

You all are going to think I'm exaggerating but a huge thunderstorm just struck, on top of it all! That's me - stuck for the night!

 

[MikeyTN]

Two of my dogs are afraid of fire cracker and thunder. They would claw their way through the door to get in. They kinda destroy my backdoor somewhat. A very expensive door that I had home depot put in cause its special order....ugh......

 

[SpotsandSally]

Aww, poor MomToPercy *hugs* you should give Percy a firm talking to that he has a WONDERFUL cage and he shouldn't fear it! poor baby! Guess he isn't all that fearsome, huh?

And I get the thunderstorm fire cracker thing. Our dogs are terrified and one dog - who hates the bath more then ANYTHING in the world - will go cower in the bath. She does the same when its smoky in the house (like on ThanksGiving when food falls to the bottom of the stove and we're cooking so much that smoke just fills the house... We should get a new stove....). I feel worse for my friend, though. She has 40 dogs (she mushes and they all live outside), 10 of which are terrified of storms. So she'll have 2-4 dogs indoors because they're old or they're more like a pet or they're just terrified of everything (she has a husky malamute cross that is a tiny dog that is terrified of everything. He will, if he's spooked, drag you through the woods though. Strong, terrified dog), and then add another 5-6 dogs that are restless and just howling and whimpering and just scared. So a tiny house with anywhere from 7 to 10 dogs indoors. And majority of them are not house broken. Yep, I am glad I'm not her!

Well anywho, I hope everything lightens up soon and you'll able to get some sleep, as well as your poor fids!

 

[strudel]

Aren't pets wonderful? I woke up to the sound of a cat hacking up a furball, closely followed by my little dog barking his head off. And a good morning to YOU, too!

Crate training isn't about locking them up. They don't see the crate as exclusion (it isn't, when they're right there with you), but as a refuge. My little dog has a crate, he is a rescue and I decided to crate train him for a few reasons. His crate is his "spot", he runs in there to get his treats and to eat his dinner (without anybody else trying to eat it for him). It's his sanctuary, not his prison. He sits in there with the door open most of the time, I only shut it sometimes, he doesn't behave any differently in there with it open or closed. My other dog goes in there, too, she's not even trained. His bed is also a little hut with a zipper around. He runs in there to go to bed, it's also his spot. It would definitely be worth having a look into, it would give you more freedom with your "pet logistics".

Sometimes, my place is like a french farce, wrangling the pets. My cat is on a special diet, so he has to be kept from the "normal" food that everybody else gets, the greedy pets need to be kept from devouring everybody's dinner, it's quite the production. Having a crate really helps with options.

 

[MomtoPercy]

Thanks guys, I will look into the crate thing. I admit, I don't know anything about it because I've never crated any animal before - no need before Percy

He's still on his perch, dozing but not sleeping. Poor thing, I think he may fall right off the perch he's so tired! And with Gambit rambling around, he won't sleep soundly because he's quite frightened of the big dog.

Here is a pic of the trouble maker/sleep stealer. He's quite a cutie, isn't he? You'd never say he was a meany who has killed many of the neighbour's poor cats for just wandering onto his turf :11:

Soooo sleepy....its 2am now....save me! :smile012:

 

[strudel]

I wouldn't worry about him. He'll adjust. My weiros were hanging onto the side bars when they came inside. I was so worried they'd fall asleep and drop off, but in the morning, they were on perches. Percy's safe in there. He just needs to settle in at his own pace. Put his millet or treats near to where you'd prefer him to sit. He probably won't cling to the bars if there are goodies elsewhere. All of his drama will disappear like mine did and you'll wonder what it was all about. They love making us worry, these birds.....

 

[MomtoPercy]

They love making us worry, these birds.....

And oh boy, am I ever good at that!! :54: