Does this look like the face of a criminal???
This is the moment every parent dreads - when they realize that their baby can climb out of the crib. The little "safety zone" you have created has been deemed (by the child) a prison and now their only goal is to escape (again and again - just to prove they can!).
Squirrel is absolutely a girl on a mission! No walls will hold her in. We were keeping the whelping box door closed (to keep the puppies in - so we thought) while still allowing Tioga access to them, as she can jump the side to get in. The puppies have decided they will no longer poop in the whelping box, even though I made a nice little potty area in a corner for them. They pee in the potty area, but when they have to poop they kick up such a ruckus that you have to investigate. Immediately upon exiting the box, they find a nice little spot in the corner of the puppy playmat and poop. Now that they realize making a ton of noise is a free ticket out of the box, they scream uncontrollably whenever they want to play, follow mom, go to the bathroom, not go to sleep (even though it is 2 am!) Squirrel figured out that if you get into the corner of the box you can climb on the rail and shimmy up and over the top. OK, so now what? Tioga needs access, pups need containment. We decided to make the entire puppy room a giant whelping box. Tioga's crate is in there, a play area with toys and foam tiles for good traction on the floor , a sleeping area with soft bedding, and a potty area. It is a veritable puppy paradise, if I do say so myself. BUT... on the other side of that gate is a very interesting Christmas tree!!! Squirrel got a little "taste" of a Christmas ornament the other day. Boy, was it good. She batted it with her nose and paw and it swung right back at her! She pull it with her teeth and the whole tree wiggled and all the ornaments danced! Oh man! She knows that tree is fun waiting to happen!!! Squirrel (or shall I say Houdini) has now decided she will escape the puppy room! There is a world out there ready for her to conquer! We have an accordion gate across the door as it is very wide and was the only style that would work there. She has twice gotten her head stuck in the gate testing the ability of it to hold her in. Thankfully, it only requires you to accordion the gate one way or another to make the opening bigger for her head to slip out. I really thought the first time would scare her straight - but no! She continues to test -like the Velociraptor in Jurassic Park. Surely this "drive" will make for a great sled dog, but it also makes a (human) mother weary.
Squirrel is absolutely a girl on a mission! No walls will hold her in. We were keeping the whelping box door closed (to keep the puppies in - so we thought) while still allowing Tioga access to them, as she can jump the side to get in. The puppies have decided they will no longer poop in the whelping box, even though I made a nice little potty area in a corner for them. They pee in the potty area, but when they have to poop they kick up such a ruckus that you have to investigate. Immediately upon exiting the box, they find a nice little spot in the corner of the puppy playmat and poop. Now that they realize making a ton of noise is a free ticket out of the box, they scream uncontrollably whenever they want to play, follow mom, go to the bathroom, not go to sleep (even though it is 2 am!) Squirrel figured out that if you get into the corner of the box you can climb on the rail and shimmy up and over the top. OK, so now what? Tioga needs access, pups need containment. We decided to make the entire puppy room a giant whelping box. Tioga's crate is in there, a play area with toys and foam tiles for good traction on the floor , a sleeping area with soft bedding, and a potty area. It is a veritable puppy paradise, if I do say so myself. BUT... on the other side of that gate is a very interesting Christmas tree!!! Squirrel got a little "taste" of a Christmas ornament the other day. Boy, was it good. She batted it with her nose and paw and it swung right back at her! She pull it with her teeth and the whole tree wiggled and all the ornaments danced! Oh man! She knows that tree is fun waiting to happen!!! Squirrel (or shall I say Houdini) has now decided she will escape the puppy room! There is a world out there ready for her to conquer! We have an accordion gate across the door as it is very wide and was the only style that would work there. She has twice gotten her head stuck in the gate testing the ability of it to hold her in. Thankfully, it only requires you to accordion the gate one way or another to make the opening bigger for her head to slip out. I really thought the first time would scare her straight - but no! She continues to test -like the Velociraptor in Jurassic Park. Surely this "drive" will make for a great sled dog, but it also makes a (human) mother weary.
I think Mindy is going to have her hands full!! Thanks for the story...
ReplyDeleteDiana