What are my pets doing right now?

At the moment both my house pets are dead to the world. Prince the collie is sacked out on the couch and Plywood the cat is snoozing on her heating pad next to the front window.

Ruby the pony is wandering about the snowy pasture snug in her winter blanket.

It's a tough life but someone has to live it!

LOL, a cat named Plywood! What's the story behind that?

One of my cats is in the sunroom laying on a composition book sunning herself. No, I don't know why the composition book is on the floor, nor why she chose to lie on it. Our upstairs heat is broken, so she has a primo spot. (We're in central Texas; this is not an emergency. I made my husband wait until after Christmas to call the HVAC guy.)

three great danes with full tummies sound asleep on my bed while i clean up their lunch dishes and run the vacuum once again trying to keep up with the dog hair.

hmmmm, something wrong with that picture!!

My little iggy/terrier mix has been snoozing under a quilt, flushing every couple hours to beg left-over Christmas food or some of this home-made dog biscuits. Both my daughter and I made dog biscuits this year, so the family dogs are enjoying their gifts! I took him with me toward town on an errand so he could bark at cows, his fav pastime. He's also been out to smell at the critter tracks in the snow. Bunny, deer, raccoon, mice, bird and God knows what else.

My two labs are playing tug-of-war with an old dish towel out in the snow --- they will do this for hours then come in for a short nap. Then -- out again to explore the woods and chase each other.

The four kittens are experiencing their first winter and really hate the snow. Two of the older cats jump around in the snow chasing after the dogs and each other. Ghost, mother of the kittens just sits waiting for somebody to let her in. Once inside, she lap-sits, bothers my husband while he is on the computer, chasing the curser and then wants to go back out. The cats will be allowed to go into the guest house at about 7:00 for the night, then back out at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow to eat.

Once it is warmer, and the snow has melted, they will be full-time outdoor cats again.

Hi susanjn, "Plywood" came from a colony of semi-feral cats at the plywood mill where I worked long ago, hence her name. Also her calico coat sort of resembles the patchy layers that make up a sheet of plywood. (I think it's not the intriguing story people expect when they ask about her name, but there you have it!) She was about a year old when I rescued her; she's 18 now.

And you know that cats will knock an object off onto the floor and then sleep on it! I bet your kitty selected your book specifically as a mattress.

5 animals - all snoozing.
The dog on the couch, 1 cat on my lap, 1 cat on the downstairs couch (close to a heat vent) and the other 2 cats pressed up against a heat vent each.

look!! they **gasp** moved!!!

Well, ninapearl, since you were done washing their dishes, they figured it was time to get ready for another meal. Kids!

spedigrees, plywood is good sturdy stuff - a perfectly respectable name for an 18yo cat. I'll bet his/her joints feel a little like plywood these days.

ninapearl, they look truly peaceful and content. That's a beautiful photograph.

Ah susanjn, so do my joints these days! Such is old age...

nina, is the one in the front a foxhound?

thanks for the compliments. :)

krycek, swee' pea came from dane rescue. i do believe she is probably a mix but she has all of the dane traits. at 33" and 145#, she's mostly dane. :D

Bo is stretched out across the foot of the bed. Roxy is curled up at the head of the bed. Eventually they will switch.

My sister's doxys were wailing in the bedroom, she went to see. The sunshine spot was still on the wall, they wanted it on the floor. Nellie was stretching her neck as high as she could to reach the sun. All was right with the world when it reached the floor. The cats mosied in too for a spot.

The way she was laying down, and especially her face, reminded me so much of our foxhound!!!!!!

i'd love to see a picture of your foxhound!

pea has the most expressive face of any dog i have ever known. i can almost tell what she is thinking.

"hey mom, is this what you mean by 'the dane sit'??" LOL

Here is my foxhound (lola) with my maine coon (fatty, i didn't choose the name):

This is Lola with my beagle (Oscar). Pea's face in your first picture of her lying down reminded me a lot of Lola. But Lola has more of that hound dog look to her eyes...sparking twinkling happiness i suppose?

awww, they're all SO cute! lola and pea do have very similar faces!

krycek and ninapearl, I love seeing all your animals. ninapearl, I like your dogs' toybox! That is really nice. My guys have a big basket, but I like your box much better. Of course, I also see that many toys have escaped the box! Here too. I don't bother to pick them up much unless someone is coming over!! LOL

My American Eskimo is looking worried because I just had a bath and he is worried that I might be going somewhere (as if he has ever been left). Well, he is right - we are going for his annual Kennel Cough shot! At the same time he is doing his best to get yet another dog cookie - he is as bad as our Dachshunds were when it comes to food. He has just gone to sulk in our bed - and by our I mean that literally. Head of course on my pillow with one eye open to keep track of what is going on.

thanks, murraysmom. i found that old beer box at an antique shop and thought it would make a perfect toy box. it's overflowing with stuffys now!

i can't seem to teach my dogs to pick up their toys. LOL

I onetime thought my dogs were going to pick up their toys, but turns out they just wanted to move them from the family room to the living room!! LOL Happy New Year all!

nina, about the toys...that's so funny!

I'm pretty sure that to be the owner of multiple pets, one has to grow a tolerance for a certain amount of disorderliness. Usually a few toys lying around, balls of hair floating on the hardwood, etc.

Otherwise one would go crazy. My partner's Mom and sister go crazy about the dog hair and I don't know why...it just makes them stressed out, sweeping it 10 times a day. Why bother when more comes every minute. Mind you we don't live in a nest of fur but we aren't that crazy about it.

No matter how much we vacuum there's always more hair, and it shows up instantly due to the hardwood! And the toys and bones of course, too.

Most people we know just accept the fact thatwe have 3 dogsand 2 cats, and that there usually be some amount of hairs and animal toys!

We do make sure to vacuum about 1 hour before people come over though to get as much hair out as possible!

LOL murraysmom! same here. if somebody walked into my house unknowingly, they would think i was a serial killer with all of the bones laying around! to make matters worse, i recently went to raw diets for my 2 younger danes. it's winter...stuff doesn't thaw outside even in a tub of water. i ended up having to thaw 40# of chicken backs IN MY BATHTUB! sheesh, talk about a sight!

krycek, you have me pegged! i used to be obsessive about dog hair and an orderly house. i couldn't stand to see stuff scattered everywhere and i vacuumed every single day, at least once. i have mellowed over the last couple of years and while it still bothers me a little, i have learned to accept the chaos. LOL

happy new year to all!

Ninapearl, 40 pounds of chicken backs in your bathtub???? Holy Moly!! Did you photograph that?? I can't imagine what that even looks like, except for WOW!!! LOL How are the dogs doing on the raw diet?

:D actually, i did take a photograph of it but it was SO nasty looking, i deleted it! the mistake i made was i dumped it out of the big plastic bag it was in. today, i thawed another 40# bag but i left them IN the bag and it was MUCH easier!

pea and bentley are doing absolutely GREAT!!! i can't believe how small their poo is and it just dries up a crumbles into the ground. gotta love that! just today i added a second protein, turkey. i got them necks because there is plenty of bone but also a good amount of meat. bentley is so funny...he lays down on the plastic table cloth under his bowl and munches away. pea eats standing up.

i have not yet started ashley but i plan to in another week or so. i have been giving her small pieces of back and the little wing pieces that are included. she does a dance when she sees the little plastic container coming out. at almost 10 years old, i will take it very slow with her. she has always had a very sensitive digestive system so i want to make sure i don't rock that boat!!

Sounds like your babies are very happy and you are a quick study!! I'm happy the new diet is working out so well for them. Must not have been fun to clean the tub, huh?

i'm learning as i go and depending a lot on my dane forum buddies for guidance. i am horrible with math, percentages and fractions throw me for a loop but they are extremely helpful with answering my questions and giving their advice.

i have decided that since i am home for the next 3 days, i am going to go ahead and give ashley her first raw meal this evening. i want to be able to monitor her for 2 or 3 days and this will be a good opportunity.

cleaning the tub was the PITS! i won't do that again! from now on, chicken backs stay IN the plastic bag for purposes of thawing!!! LOL

I wish Ashley all the luck in the world and hope that she, too, can enjoy the raw diet.

As for taking the chicken out of the bag - What WERE you thinking??? LOL

Live and learn!

LOL well, obviously i WASN'T thinking! :p

here is ashley enjoying her first raw meal, 1# of chicken backs.

after supper, she crashed with pea. they haven't moved for almost 3 hours. :D

What a life! I want to come back as one of your pets!

Love all the pictures! And I'd like to come back as one of my well pampered cats. On these bitter cold days they snuggle together all day long.

Awwww, nice kitty pics!! And nina, I love that your doggies are covered up. I do that with mine too!

So with the raw diet, bones don't hurt them?

ashley, my old girl, LOVES to be covered up. sometimes, i will cover her with an afghan when i leave for work and oftentimes, she won't move all day. i watch them from my pet cam when i'm at work. LOL

i gotta tell ya, this raw diet is GREAT!!! ashley just came in from her morning "constitution" and of course, i had to walk out and check her poop as i'm on the lookout for runny poop since this is a diet change. i'm happy to report, she had nice firm, dry poop and it was the first time since starting her on raw that i saw the BIG change...very small droppings! **happy dance**

and no, the bones don't hurt them at all. the only bones you don't feed on a raw diet are weight-bearing bones from cattle and larger animals like deer, etc. chicken leg bones are ok because they are small. i have added turkey backs and necks to the other two dogs' diets and they are doing great with those. in another week or so, i will add pork necks. after that, beef, fish, and lastly i will add some organ meat, liver, kidney, etc. i will also be adding 2 or 3 boneless meals per week to their menus.