Flock of Cats » barsik

Why Dogs Shouldn’t Sleep in Your Bed

Yulzopolis — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 05:55:46 +0000

Barsik

Yesterday it snowed here in Denver. I was busy at work and did not want to go out in the snow to let Barsik out at lunch. Yes, leaving the dog inside for almost 9 or 10 hours is tough….I usually let him out at lunch unless I have a compelling reason not to drive home. When I do stay at work all day, I try to spend extra time in the evening playing with the dog. So yesterday, I let him off the leash and he ran around in the apartment courtyard.

Unfortunately, when there is fresh snow, Barsik’s favorite activity is finding the frozen crap of other dogs, digging it up, running around with it in his mouth, and sometimes, eating it. It is totally disgusting, but he can’t help himself, and I didn’t stop it like I usually do since I wanted him to get enough exercise after being inside all day. This was a mistake.

Last night I let Barsik in bed with me. I normally can’t do this when A-Yo is here, since she forbids the dog from sleeping with us…and not without good reason, if you read further…but since she is out of town, I decided to indulge our precious, lovable Barsik and let him sleep at the foot of the bed.

In the middle of the night I was awakened by Barsik squirming around and then getting down from the bed. I figured he was just going back to his cage to sleep (he loves his cage). But then I hear…ack ack uuuahuuacksplat…the traumatizing sound of a dog yaking. I turn on the light and to my horror, see that Barsik had puked…and not normal puke…the puke was the partially digested crap of other dogs! (yes, this blog post has come full circle, for all of you following at home). Luckily it was all confined to the doormat by the entryway. Even though he eats other dog’s crap, Barsik is actually very smart and will try to wait by the door for you to open it if he has to puke (which happens occasionally).

So to summarize – 10 seconds after being in my bed, my dog regurgitated the feces of other dogs onto my welcome mat. If that is not a convincing reason not to let dogs sleep in your bed, I don’t know what is. I just glad he decided to make it to the door…I think I would have completely flipped out if I had woken up and found vomit-shit on my bedsheets.

That’s Dog Wash

Yulzopolis — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 23:27:12 +0000

Today I washed Barsik, which is kind of a double-edged sword. On one hand, the smell of dirty dog is removed, but it is replaced by the smell of wet dog. And even a clean dog has the wet dog smell… as does the bathroom where the bath took place and the living room where the dog is drying off. In my small apartment, the smell of wet dog is quite noticeable, but thankfully temporary.

Today I was very productive in the cleaning department. I brushed the dog, washed the dog, washed the dishes, washed the car, washed some laundry, vacuumed the apartment, and swept the porch. Barsik wasn’t a big fan of getting brushed, which is surprising since a lot of dogs think it is like a little massage. Maybe he just needs to get used to it. A lot of loose hair came out, which will hopefully cut down on the hair laying around the apartment that I am constantly vacuuming.

The only thing left on my cleaning agenda is to clean out the inside of my computer with compressed air. I will probably do that tomorrow. I hope no dust bunnies inside there spontaneously combust between now and then…

Snow, for now

Yulzopolis — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:17:47 +0000

It snowed about 2 or 3 inches here in Denver last night. It was the second snow of the year. Of course like last time, I think this snow will be entirely melted by this afternoon. It is still early, so it isn’t that cold, but even in the winter, I am told that the snow doesn’t usually last very long here. Luckily it isn’t like Kazakhstan or Chicago or some other freezing place where the snow is on the ground for months. Here the snow will usually be gone after a day or if it is a cold snap, after several days.

Barsik loves the snow. He rolls around it in. Eats it. Chases it. For him it is instant entertainment. Of course, for us, we have to wipe his feet when he comes in and walking him in the snow makes my feet cold and wet, so it isn’t all fun and games! I need to get a good pair of winter boots.