Tunnel-Vision Takes Its Toll

In one of my September, 2010 posts, "Duped Again", I mention how the cat is easily able to predict and, in turn, exploit Skippy's habits for her own pleasure (see "Tag, You're It!" in the YouTube link section for a visual example). One of Kitty's strategies is to stalk Skippy from atop the furniture as she runs by unaware. Kitty, then waits for the most opportune time to descend on the unsuspecting Jack Russell, causing all kinds of commotion.

Sometimes I think it's only a matter of time before we come home to find that Skippy has had enough and killed the cat. But until then things will carry on as they have. Skippy seems to either forget that there is a world above her 10-inch frame, or she is completely unaware. I vote for option two.

Case in point: two days ago, Skippy wandered too close to Kitty's blue footstool, which Kitty happened to be sleeping on at the time. The approaching clickity-clack, clickity-clack of the dog on the laminate floor woke the cat, and never being one to pass up an opportunity, she hissed then swatted the dog. Skippy got so flustered as she tried to make a quick getaway.

Picture a tiny Jack Russell attempting to immediately achieve maximum speed from a still position, while standing on ice; her legs were moving but they were taking her nowhere. Realizing her efforts were futile, Skippy knew she had to find safety and it needed to be now. The safest spot she could conjure at such short notice flashed though her mind: Kitty's blue footstool had never let her down. And fortunately, it just happened to be right there beside her. So up she jumped.

You can't make this stuff up. What is up with my Jack Russell, indeed.

Dressing for the Winter

As the harsh Canadian winter nears its peak, temperatures that drop into the negatives on the Farenheit scale are all too common. Now perhaps St. Bernards or those Old English Sheepdogs, with their long, thick coats, can handle a certain degree of chill, but what about our tiny, low bodyheat-generating, short-haired Jack Russells? At what temperature do we dress them up to go outside?

For our little Skippy we have a few sweaters (jumpers) that she wears when the temperature gets anywhere approaching -10C (14F) mark. We put her sweater on and she prances around the house eagerly anticipating her walk. This works only down to about the -15C mark and then it doesn't matter how pretty the sweater is; she eagerly runs down the stairs, waits, then tries to run back up the stairs.

Obviously, little dogs like this need some extra protection when the temperatures drop. But I'm wondering if the cold just an excuse for us to dress up our dogs?

We get a lot of snow here, too, between January and March, which raises another issue with the tiny stature of the Jack Russell. This morning we easily got 8" of fresh snow. Skippy is about 12" tall, just enough for her head to crest the top of the sea of white. But as funny as it is to watch her bound through the snow, it's very difficult for her relieve herself when it's that high. Yes, I had to shovel out a poo-path this morning.

I also dub this the Yellow Brick Road; I don't recommen following it, though.

Is the cold just an excuse for us to dress up our dogs?

Skippy's Puzzle

We finally found a toy that Skippy will actually play with. In my November 4th post, "No Cue How to Play," I lamented over having a dog that didn't understand the concept of "play". Well, nothing has changed, although now she sort of plays with new puzzle we got her called "Linkables".

It's quite simple; a treat goes in this rubber tube-thing and she has to try to get it out. So we are bribing her to play and tricking her into playing by disguising it as work. It's strange, but Jack Russells like to work and this seems to really utilize her severely lacking problem solving skills (remember how easy she gets stuck outside).

I love this video, because you can really see her determination to figure it out. I've shortened it to lapse some of the time it took her, which was about two minutes. Since then (about two weeks ago), she can get the treat in about 30-45 seconds, depending on how well gravity is cooperating that day. The neat thing about the puzzle is that you can get extensions for it to keep the challenge new. I think I'll hold off on the extras for now. This one sort gives me the feeling that my dog is really smart and since this feeling is new for me, I'm going to hold on to it for just a little longer.