Well I guess it’s sorta true - both that when you give up is when things happen and that dogs seem to gravitate to those who don’t like dogs. Not that I don’t like Zeeke or anything, but I’ve decided that there’s really no sense in trying too hard with him this past week because any progress I make isn’t going to make a lot of difference by the time I come back anyways. I’ll start a new training, a boot camp, when I come back here permanently. So anyways, I’m just ignoring him. When he gets snarky, pushy, I just pointedly ignore him. I move my food out of his reach, I remove my feet from his mouth (no that’s serious, I had to do that a few times today - did I mention how ticklish my feet are?!), and I just ignore him. And it’s REALLY pissing him off. He stands there and barks at me for a while before finding a toy to beat up or going to bug daddy. And strangely enough, it seems to be working well - better than trying to discipline him for his horrific behavior. So I keep doing it.

Unfortunately, maybe somewhat related to this new approach, is that he’s suddenly decided he doesn’t want to sit. We know he damnwell knows what sit means, he’s done it hundreds of times before, he knew it before we got him. He’s usually very reliable with it. Today, he just won’t. Den said he won’t down for him, either. He’d bring me the ball, he’d even drop it in my hand (a new development), I’d say “sit” (he has to sit before getting a throw), and he’d either just stare at me or bark. So I’d put the ball away. Man did that frustrate him, he tried climbing on the couch (he knows he’s not allowed), he barked, he grabbed my pillow and tried pulling me off the couch (the bugger), but he didn’t get the ball. He went away. A little later, I’d try again. After doing that all evening while watching TV, he actually started walking away when I said sit! I don’t even know how to interpret that one. So we did a few sit-fetches with me placing him in a sit (just pressing on his rear to seat him) and praising him and throwing the ball so he doesn’t forget. We’re really sticking to the only-once rule (we’ve been pretty bad about that). It’s obvious he’s not liking it.

Oy oy, I have a feeling this is going to last another year or two from him. How frustrating! I have no idea how I’m going to handle human teenagers, this one is plenty hard enough!

Last night we put Zeeke in his crate and Joey on the bed, and they managed to stay like that all night. I woke up a few times to find Joey curled around at the top of my head, on my pillow. I tried not to disturb him. Then in the morning Den got up and took the dog out (by the collar), and shut the door behind him. Joey and I slept for a few more hours. When I woke up I was curled on my side, knees bent, and Joey was sleeping with his head on my arm, his body right beside my tummy. What a great way to wake up!! I’ve never had a cat sleep on my BED before, much less curled up beside me! I felt like the most special girl ever.

It seems we really did choose the right cat for our household here - he fits right in. While Zeeke was outside for a few minutes (he has a cable run now! ), Joey got hyper. It’s so funny! He runs around the house with his tail in that question mark. I got down one of his little fuzzy mice and threw it across the living room floor. ZOOM the cat jumps down, chases it, skids across the hardwood, then jumps onto the furniture and zigs and zags before dropping to his stomach waiting for the next throw. It was so funny! He crashed into a few pillows a few times, he even vaulted off Zeeke’s couch like Zeeke himself does.

Oh, and the really good news? I have it all set, Joey’s coming home with me! Mom gave permission, he’ll be staying in my rooms; I booked space on the airline; and now I have all the vet records from the adoption place. I even have the carrier and I’ve started getting him used to it. I’m going to be doing some short drives in the car with him to help him get acclimated to movement and the carrier. I’m really excited.

I’m so proud of the Zeekinator! This morning I woke up with this huge hyper fuzzball bouncing all over the room - I think it was because daddy was outside mowing the lawn. So I took him out on the long-lead and let him run it off a bit. But it didn’t help tremendously. So after Den and I cleaned the office out (pigsty!), we took him for a bike ride. Zeeke does so great!! At first he cut Den off a few times, but after that he settled in. Den rides him on his right, so Zeeke can run on the lawns a bit instead of the pavement (good idea!). I thought it might be confusing to Zeeke, since he heels on the left, but he catches on really quickly. He just looks so great while trotting along beside the bike. We don’t go very fast, and it’s all dependent on what speed Zeeke is comfortable at, today we just stayed at a fast trot for him. He’s so graceful and fluid! He always looks so funny walking, he kind of sways side to side, but trotting or running, he looks so streamlined. So we did two laps round the block, and Zeeke’s now crashed on the floor beside us. *lol*

Well we avoided the whole litterbox treats-for-the-dog issue by putting the litter box on top of the fridge. Not ideal, but since the cat stays up high most of the time, I figured it’d be best to keep it available.

But the problem: kitty toys + big dog = problems! Our dog, admittedly, likes to chew. And he prefers anything BUT his toys… his rope toys, squeaky toys, bones, kongs, balls…. nope, they’re all laying about and he grabs my towel, or a pillow, or… the cat’s toys.

So the cat’s favorite toy, a big rattly mouse, has lost a tail and looks, well, slobbery, a new little soft catnip toy had a wing and a bunch of fuzzies ripped off it, and the featherduster, well, let’s just say I walked into the living room an hour after bringing it home and found the living room floor covered in feathers. The annoying part is that I was putting them where I thought Zeeke couldn’t reach them. Hmmm, need new hiding place.

Well this is simply amazing. The cat is obviously starting to feel more at home here. Yesterday I came home from the baseball game to find Joey asleep on the couch. It’s very unusual to sleep down low, even when Zeeke is away. A little later the dog came into the same room and kitty jumped back up onto the back of the couch - a very non-secure place, in terms of kitty-security, and stayed there. That is very within Zeeke’s reach. Of course Zeeke wouldn’t let him be and there was hissing (cat) and whining (dog) and I had to seperate the two, but it’s something!

Just this morning, Zeeke’s been sleeping here and there, but loose in the house. I’m typing on the computer and suddenly there’s a cat on my desk. It was only recently that the cat started exploring the house while the dog was locked up, but now he’s already coming down when Zeeke’s nearby! Of course the cat meows, the dog wakes up and comes running, cat finds a good place to make a stand. But it’s all in the name of progress.

Except the growling and spitting on the cat’s part. It gets Zeeke riled up, even when he’s being very calm and nice. So I’ve started poking the cat and saying, “Hey. Cut it out.” which momentarily makes the big puff-ball un-puff himself. I don’t mind him smacking Zeeke when the dog gets pushy, but no need to start fights.

Latest goals: bike ride with Zeeke daily and teach him some new tricks.

The bike riding went well, it really seemed to help tire him out (I wasn’t doing so hot either). We didn’t go very far today, I want to start slow so I don’t injure him (or me). He did really well, pretty much heeling the whole way… except one time he tried cutting in front of the bike and got his foot hit by the wheel.

The teaching him new tricks… isn’t going so hot. I am very sure he is more intelligent than Oreo. But he just doesn’t try new things. His solution to every problem and all frustration is to jump on me and mouth me. How frustrating! This is why I’ve done very little training with him in the past. So this could be a slow process unless I figure out a trigger for him.

I have a cat sleeping on my lap. He’s learning that to get attention he just needs to come close to me - when I’m laying on the couch watching tv he’ll stand on the pillow (armrest) right next to my head and rub against me, sometimes lay down. This morning he’s been jumping on and off my desk, but I can’t really pet him… then he climbed on my lap!! And curled up into a ball and is purring like crazy. I have never had a cat voluntarily sleep on my lap - well one of mine. A few of them at work will do that whenever I sit down. But this is my cat! On my lap! Purring, not biting and clawing me! I feel sooooo special. But… I can’t go to bed now. ;( lol

I’m really starting to think Zeeke is younger than we thought. They guessed around 1 year old, which seemed logical. But I see pictures of 7, 8 month old GSDs that look full-height and fully formed. And considering what kind of destruction he can wreak, the former owner might well have dropped him off soon as he hit this size and adolecent stage. So he might only have been 7 months old when we got him! O.O Yikes, I never knew how fast GSDs grew. If so, that would make him only about 10 months old right now. Maybe a year. It would explain his behavior, he’s SO puppy-like in attitude. It’s just hard to remember that because he looks so grown-up.

Of course there’s no way to tell for sure. I wish the person dropping him off had left some information. > Evil people. This will forever drive me nuts.

This morning I awoke to the sound of water, meowing and laughter.

See, Joey has been getting bolder. Used to be he’d only come down off his perch when you brought him down - he’d cuddle and have fun for a while, then go back up. Then he started jumping down when the dog wasn’t around and you were in the kitchen, but he wouldn’t leave that room. Now he’s starting to explore the house when the dog is shut away.

Every morning the boyfriend gets up with his alarm, has a shower, and gets ready for work. He wakes me up before he leaves so I can get up, throw on some PJs, and drive him to work. (I need the car later in the day) So he got up and was in the shower, I was still asleep in the bedroom with the dog, door shut (we don’t want the dog chewing on furniture or stuff). Joey decided it was safe to come see what’s up.

Apparently not only did he want to say hi to the boyfriend while he was in the shower, he decided he wanted a better vantage point. He [i]climbed up the shower curtain[/i], and started pacing back and forth on the shower rod, nearly slipping off now and again, moewing. I am told he was absolutely [i]facinated[/i] by the shower nozzle. Him and the boyfriend had a “conversation” or two - cat would meow, boyfriend would meow, cat would meow, boyfriend would meow, and so on.

Boyfriend is very amused by this display of Joey’s personality. He’s such a funny cat.

Also, later that morning I was getting some food out for Joey… I brought his dish down, washed it off, opened the cupboard, reached in, grabbed a can of cat food, closed the cupboard, opened the can, dished it out, turned around to give it to the cat… and the cat’s not there. “Joey?” I peered in his normal spots. Nothing. I look around the living room. “Joey??” I hear a very soft meow. Back into the kitchen I went. I stood there puzzled until I had a flash of intuition and opened the cupboard - and out stalked Joey.