Froufrou loves everyone - especially Barbie

Frou likes warm bodies. Any new visitors get a Frou installed on their lap within 15 minutes of sitting down on the couch. I am constantly peeling her off me so that I can get up and do things around the house. 

She had decided to make use of the dogs when I am not available for cat-warming duties. It used to be that Bender was her favorite doggie to snuggle with, but I think that he had dropped his Kong onto her head too many times. 

The 'new' dog definitely got a look in, but that love affair ended when Olive growled at Froufrou for licking her face. Bender loves it, but the greyhounds don't find it as enjoyable. 

Frou isn't silly, she knows when she is not wanted. Well most of the time anyway! I think she realised that she would get the most cuddle time with the dog who lies down the most - Barbie. She moved on to sharing Barbie's bed with her during the day.

Then she started kicking Barbie in the face when she tried to sleep on the couch at night. Barbie doesn't seem to mind, though she draws the line at face-licking. She will get up and leave if Frou insists on that part of the snuggle ritual. 

Olive the Tattletale

Mouse was cat safe, and as Olive's sister, I thought that she would be too. I was happy to be right as the only thing that annoyed me about Zelda was her attitude towards the cats. Here is a video of the first time Olive met Frou-Frou.

Olive has been really good with the cats for a dog who has never actually seen one before. She has lumbered after them a few times when they have run from her, but she is very easy to call off. Now that I have seen what real prey drive looks like, I think I have better perspective when a dog cries or bounces when they see a cat. As you can see here, Frou is the one doing the tasting - giving Olive a lick on the nose. 

Frou is the brave cat, Mittens is still a bit traumatised by her experience with Zelda and is hesitant to come into the 'dog' half of the house. 

I was sitting in the lounge room updating dog listings for GreyhoundAngels, and I heard Olive barking. When N went to investigate she saw that Frou was on the kitchen bench, eating the food that I had boiled up for the dogs. Olive was tattling on her!!! Tattle tale!! Not sure Frou will give you any more kisses now, Olive! 

Mittens and the Big Bad Greyhound

Doggie stereotypes are alive and well, and one of the stereotypes that irks me the most is the image of the Greyhound as a cold blooded hunter. A vet once told me not to let Barbie near any cats, and was unapologetic when I told him that she lived with two kitties. Then there are all the people who say 'oh yeah Greyhounds need muzzles because they will eat cats on the street'. Recently a Ranger advised a woman who was interested in getting a Greyhound that 'in his experience' it would eat her Maltese! 

Barbie is a great example of a Greyhound who has prey drive but can live quite peacefully with her own cats. She is now always polite with small dogs, even those who bark at her. 

Anyway it brings us to our story for the evening. We were all lazing around on the couch, and Barbie and Mittens were in a very similar position to the one above. Barbie then sat up, and Mittens gave her a playful swat.

Barbie gave Mittens an obliging sniff, and Mittens swatted her again, this time with her claws out. She managed to somehow dig her claw into the back of Barbie's neck. Mittens is not very good at retracting her claws, and so she got stuck. Barbie tried to lie down, and felt the claw tug on her scruff, which elicited the GSOD (Greyhound Scream of Death).

Mittens managed to let go and was duly chastised for assaulting the Princess. I had to examine Barbie's neck but found no blood. The claw was just in Barbie's hair, so no damage done.

My theory has always been that the GSOD is a signal that the dog is not actually hurt, just surprised. The GSOD also illustrates beautifully that Barbie sees the kitties as her equals and not a lowly-ranked being that can be snapped at or growled at. 

Mittens says "No Comment"

Barbie is 5 now, which means we have had 3 years of harmony between her and the cats. Usually any dramas are between the two cats, and everyone else gets along just fine. Take that, anonymous Ranger!

Wordless Wednesday

HAI KITTY!

Last night on our walk, Barbie almost made friends with strange-kitty!

The kitty isn't completely unknown to the dogs, they have seen it before. It is a big white kitty with a medium coat and some ginger spots on it's head. It never runs from the dogs.

Last night we were walking along as usual and Barbie stopped. I turned around to see what she was sniffing and it was white-ginger-kitty! It had it's back arched and was just out of Barbie's reach. Barbie stood, politely wagging her tail at it, like she does with her own kitties. It was curious but suspicious at the same time. It crept closer, but Barbie moved her head, and so it crept back and arched up again. I thought it was going to give Barbie a whack on the nose, but it didn't. They stood there looking at each other for at least a minute before I told Barbie it was time to go, and she turned her head and continued on her walk.

I think Barbie and the kitty will be friends :)

hey kitty, won't you come inside....

On our walk last night there was a very unusual occurence! Barbie got to meet a strange kitty!

We were walking along, minding our own business, and a white kitty was sitting in the shadows near the edge of the road. Barbie saw it and stuck her nose close to it to say hello. It hissed (and possibly batted Barbie's nose). Barbie took a little hop backwards. I think Barbie was a little indignant - all kitties are supposed to be friendly, like her kitties! She didn't pay it much mind though as we continued along the path.

In other news, I have been 'free shaping' with both the dogs to see what dance moves they will come up with for Honey's dancing contest. Barbie offered standing up and resting her front paws on my chest. I think we can use that :) Both dogs are now spinning when I spin, and we keep working on the leg-weaves because, well that is a classic canine freestyle move. There will also be some jumping in the routines, and I have to work commando in there somewhere ;) I still haven't decided on the music but I think we will be doing more of the 'narrative' style.

Also, good news on my truck. The insurance company is going to pay out almost enough money to buy something else of equivalent usefulness. I am thinking about getting more of a station wagon type car since we don't really do the type of serious four wheel driving that requires the clearance my old truck had. A nice condition Subaru Outback is at the top of my list. We are heading to Europe at the end of June for 6 weeks, so when we get back I will start hunting for one. I would like to get one from 1998 - 2001-ish with under 200,000kms on the clock.

Weather Detectors

This photo of Barbie and Froufrou snuggling is from last winter.

You can tell that the weather is getting colder when the animals start curling up together, and when the dogs both want to be snuggled on the bed in the morning.

For the first time in months, Bender squeezed himself under the doonah this morning and plonked himself right on top of me. I had to shove him over so that I didn't lose feeling in my legs. I think my favorite part about the cooler weather is extra snuggles from the furkids. It doesn't get too cold here though - we are more at the 'baking heat' end of the weather spectrum. I am glad that the 'baking heat' is abating.

Froufrou sits!

Froufrou shows her sit on command. I really should train her to do more, as she is very food motivated. Problem is she tends to drop treats, and then the dogs come in looking for leftovers. There is a great three way smooch with two puppies and a kitten!

Greyhounds and Cats

Some friends warned me against getting a Greyhound.

"Your cats will get eaten" they said. I didn't believe them. I'm glad I didn't because Barbie is awesome. She makes my day every day.

Here is her interacting with her friend Frou frou.