WWTBAM Bored

I didn't write about Zap yesterday because I wasn't home to watch him.
I was at a Quiz Bowl tournament all day and so Emma took care of Zap.
He was a good boy and slept most of the day for her.

Of course today he didn't sleep for me.

He woke up at 5:40 a.m. today and I took him out to go potty. He's getting better about going outside in the dark. Later, I went upstairs and locked Zap in my room with me, as I have been in morning, so that the cats can eat. I did work online and got dressed. Jeff woke up and let Zap roam around the house unsupervised and he had an accident in the dining room. I was really upset about it, because I thought that he wouldn't have an accident. I was sort of starting to relax my vigilance with him and now I realize that I can't yet. Basically he is with me all day long when he is roaming through the house.

I am in charge of Emma's school Book Fair this week and had to leave Zap alone, while I got new books to restock the Fair. I locked him up in the guest room with a Kong. He was probably alone for about twenty minutes and was whining when I left. Maddie said that when she came home, he was quiet.

He's getting a lot better with the cats. The girls cats regularly come into the room with him and he does his best to not even look at them. Lucy is very talkative and her mews are unsettling for Zap, but he's getting used to her. Today Jasper came out and hung out in the same room as Zap. I was making dinner and Zap wanted to sample everything, so I gave him cooked meatballs. I offered Jasper a meatball but he wasn't interested. When I was offering meatballs Zap and Jasper were about four inches apart from each other.

I'm sorry about the accident.

But that's great about the kittycats!

PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:He's getting a lot better with the cats. The girls cats regularly come into the room with him and he does his best to not even look at them. Lucy is very talkative and her mews are unsettling for Zap, but he's getting used to her.

Learning a new language is always challenging!

When I was working in Vegas, the company I worked for had devised an accident plan called ZAP which stood for Zero Accident Prevention or something like that. I thought you were posting about something like this. When you titled the post Zap Day, I thought you were referring to something we used to hold at our company once a year. The company would bring in other firms who would demonstrate various methods of avoiding accidents, which were paramount to what we were doing.

You haven't been paying attention, Sir G!

But maybe Zap could use one of those demonstrations about avoiding accidents.

Zap is doing just fine. I think one accident is probably to be expected while he's still getting to used to being left at home on occasion.

kayrharris wrote:Zap is doing just fine. I think one accident is probably to be expected while he's still getting to used to being left at home on occasion.

We were at home when it happened.

PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:

kayrharris wrote:Zap is doing just fine. I think one accident is probably to be expected while he's still getting to used to being left at home on occasion.

We were at home when it happened.

That's what Gracie did too. We were being so vigilant and taking her outside constantly. The three times she went inside, she just stood up, walked a couple of steps and went right where she was. She's done great since then, though we haven't changed anything other than to continue to take her out constantly.

Princess was our tough one. After very little success with potty training, we ended up making a chart that had when she went, what she did (sorry!) and who took her out. After about a week, a graph was made from the results. We could see when the usual times were for the various, um, events.

I do think it is different between an older dog and a puppy though. I think Gracie and Zap are just getting settled in, and this will just be a temporary thing.

Zap has also been having bad dreams. He has whimpered and growled in his sleep. It's kind of scary.

He had a good day the cats though. All three cats hung out with him in the evening and he trotted by Lucy to get to our room and didn't even look down at her.

PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:Zap has also been having bad dreams. He has whimpered and growled in his sleep. It's kind of scary.

He had a good day the cats though. All three cats hung out with him in the evening and he trotted by Lucy to get to our room and didn't even look down at her.

All the dogs I have had in my life dreamed. They twitch like they are running, and whimper and whine and even growl.

He's probably chasing that darned track rabbit...

Years ago, I wrote a haiku about this very subject.


Great hunters in dreams,
Dogs chase down rabbits with ease
And snatch birds from flight.

The accident was rexer's fault.

Maybe someone's nose needs to be rubbed in something.

a1mamacat wrote:

PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:Zap has also been having bad dreams. He has whimpered and growled in his sleep. It's kind of scary.

He had a good day the cats though. All three cats hung out with him in the evening and he trotted by Lucy to get to our room and didn't even look down at her.

All the dogs I have had in my life dreamed. They twitch like they are running, and whimper and whine and even growl.

He's probably chasing that darned track rabbit...

Zap's genealogical database mentioned that he never ran any races. I wonder if he ever received the track rabbit training or if he got rejected right at the initial audition?

Is he ready to play dodgeball yet?

a1mamacat wrote:

PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:Zap has also been having bad dreams. He has whimpered and growled in his sleep. It's kind of scary.

He had a good day the cats though. All three cats hung out with him in the evening and he trotted by Lucy to get to our room and didn't even look down at her.

All the dogs I have had in my life dreamed. They twitch like they are running, and whimper and whine and even growl.

He's probably chasing that darned track rabbit...

Tracker the Basset used to howl in his sleep. It cracked us up the first time we heard it. It wasn't ever loud enough to wake us up. We were just worried that other hounds in the neighborhood would hear it and howl back.

It sounds like the cats are doing well, too. This was certainly an adjustment for them as well.

MarleysGh0st wrote:

a1mamacat wrote:

PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:Zap has also been having bad dreams. He has whimpered and growled in his sleep. It's kind of scary.

He had a good day the cats though. All three cats hung out with him in the evening and he trotted by Lucy to get to our room and didn't even look down at her.

All the dogs I have had in my life dreamed. They twitch like they are running, and whimper and whine and even growl.

He's probably chasing that darned track rabbit...

Zap's genealogical database mentioned that he never ran any races. I wonder if he ever received the track rabbit training or if he got rejected right at the initial audition?

He has been in the garage with me and FooFoo, but Foo was in his cage. Zap sniffed him, but didn't go crazy.

Zap's brother and sister didn't race either, although other offspring of his Mom did race. I wonder if there was something wrong with the litter.

I sent a note to the original breeder thanking him for putting Zap up for adoption and asking him to sign the pet transfer form. Perhaps if he responds to my letter he will let me know why Zap didn't race.

Evil Squirrel wrote:Is he ready to play dodgeball yet?

Yes, Zap loves to play.

peacock2121 wrote:The accident was rexer's fault.

Maybe someone's nose needs to be rubbed in something.

Actually it was Jeff's fault for interfering with my training.

Last night Zap woke up around 1:00 a.m. He came over to my bed and put his nose on my mattress. When I didn't' respond, he whined a little. I got up and took him outside where he had explosive diarrhea.

I am very proud of him for waking him up.

PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:

peacock2121 wrote:The accident was rexer's fault.

Maybe someone's nose needs to be rubbed in something.

Actually it was Jeff's fault for interfering with my training.

Last night Zap woke up around 1:00 a.m. He came over to my bed and put his nose on my mattress. When I didn't' respond, he whined a little. I got up and took him outside where he had explosive diarrhea.

I am very proud of him for waking him up.

Wow, major accomplishment. WTG Zap.

Sounds like someone has decided who his special person is!