July Pet Update

Max is an elderly ninja. She can't jump as high as she used to, but she can still time hitting an opening or closing door at a run to slide through!

She'll lie in wait outside of our bedroom door. Partly, she's opposed to be kept out of anywhere. We think a bigger part of it is that she likes to hide and sleep where there are no other animals or activity.

Which our house is full of.

First, you have the rabbits. They've been overshadowed by the puppy lately, but they're both alive and doing well.

Hopkins is the loudest. He likes to clink and kick his bowls into each other (possibly to express his displeasure about being downgraded from having a room to himself!).

He doesn't like being picked up, but he lets Carrie brush him out some as long as she fed him treats (I never realized how much a bun could shed!). I put my camera between the slats of his cage and he hopped over before it could focus. I ended up with a funnier picture.

Bunsen is more amiable, but Carrie hasn't let either rabbit out so far with Kila. I think she's afraid that Kila will end up chasing and scaring them.

Carrie had talked about moving the bunnies in together when Bunsen was bigger and Hopkins had time to adjust to him, but that's officially "on the bottom of the priority list" now. 

Bunsen loves the cardboard house Carrie made for him. If he's not in it, he's frequently on top of it (pooping).

Carrie brought Bunsen some fresh grass one day, but the sisters moved in and took it!

And yes, they ate some. I cleaned up the puke later!

The cats still get attacks of the zoomies from time to time, but they seem to time them for when Kila is crated. I see a lot of sleeping.

As a rule, cats like heights, but ours have taken even more to them lately as a puppy avoidance strategy.

While Max escapes to the bedroom, Happy hides in more ordinary places. Some of her "normal" spots include behind the toilet in the bathroom (The puppy is afraid to go in there), in the kitchen (also scares the puppy!), and the chair next to my computer (out of reach!).

But she's creative and experiments with new places, too. One day, I got on Shane's case for leaving the top off the litter box he'd scooped. To my surprise, Happy bolted the moment I picked it up!

Kila caught her hiding in a cabinet the other day, too. Happy's a clever one!

I can sympathize with the cats.....and Loki. Kila is a bundle of energy and she doesn't know boundaries! Loki's learned he has to gain some distance from her before he poops or she'll pounce on him mid process!

It's Kila's world right now and we're all living in it. She's "helpful" with weeding.

Carrie bought a smaller pile carpet to put in the bunny room, because Kila kept wanting to eat (and smell and probably pee on) the old carpet (with all the amazing bunny and cat smells!).

We've since moved Kila's area outside of that room, but the cheap Amazon warehouse carpet will stay at least until we're through the teething and housebreaking stages. Carrie ordered a harness at the same time for her to use when it's time for Kila's checkups.

Kila doesn't like to be picked up, but she can't manage the stairs yet to get in and out of the house. She acts scared of them when we encourage her to climb up them! She's started to go up the few in the front of the house, but she won't go near the back porch!

Kila's afraid of the barn, too. I want her to avoid the horses, but a barn dog that runs away every time I walk into the barn is going to be a problem!

Hopefully, she picks up on more of Loki's cues about what's safe and what's not safe. She hasn't got the nuances of fetch yet. She attacks him for the ball rather than running for it. Whether she wants the ball or just enjoys wrestling him is anyone's guess! It may be both!

All that play is good to wear her down. She has a much higher energy level than I remember Loki having as a pup.

I've brought Kila in to say goodnight to Shane a few times.

He likes it!

It's a lot of work raising a puppy right. Thankfully, it's a lot of work being a puppy and she needs her sleep.

Cats and bunnies seem to be a "you get what you get," but you have to train a dog if you want it to be "a good one."

And that's the update on the house pets. Kila's been dominating my camera lately and that's not likely to change anytime soon.