Becoming More Pet Friendly

It has been almost a month since we adopted our puppy, Gil. Between taking him for walks to work off some of his excess puppy energy, taking him out for bathroom breaks, training, and generally trying to keep out of stuff I'm beginning to feel like I'll never time to do anything non-dog related ever again. I know that things will get easier as he grows up and learns more commands but also at the same time more difficult because he's going to get SO much bigger.

For the most part, he's well behaved, he's just been trying my patience this week. He very quickly figured out that ringing the bell means he gets to go outside and has started ringing it whenever he's bored and wants to go out to play. We are trying to bring him back in right away if acts like he just wants to play so he learns that it's only for the bathroom but it's rough. Sometimes he'll ring it as soon as you come back inside before you can even get the leash back off.

We have also had a little trouble with the cats this week. Even though we have been feeding them on separate sides of a gate I think having him around is making the cats rush. A couple of times Curry has thrown up from eating too quickly. While everyone seems to be getting along ok we think we need to build the cats a larger cat tower or some other places where they can feel safe from the puppy. I'm trying to think about the best place as well as possibilities for making something geeky and awesome like the cat condos below.

We also need to find a way to block the litter box off from Gil. We have a top entry box in the office but Baldur doesn't like to use it so the other box is just a regular covered litter box and Gil has been getting into it. I already wanted to put a counter of some sort in that space for folding laundry so maybe we can build a cabinet to hide the box there.

There will definitly be more pet related projects happening around our house. I hope to get some regular non-pet focused things done but right now, working towards a well mannered and well behaved dog that we can easily take camping or just out to the drive-in with us is top priority.