Slobbers,
Honey the Great Dane

******

(from Hsin-Yi)

A couple of posts ago, one of our readers called “Sarah” asked “Great to see you still doing training. I was just wondered why you felt the need to put a choke chain on Honey?”

- Well, the short answer to that is: I don’t need to – I just prefer the way a chain looks, loose at the base of the neck, as opposed to a flat collar snug around the neck. It’s an aesthetic thing – and I don’t have the blind, knee-jerk, negative reaction to a CHECK chain that many people have, because I UNDERSTAND it as a training tool – therefore I don’t have a problem with my dog wearing it.

In any case, in the pictures she was referring to – Honey is actually wearing her new chain collar, which is a martingale collar, with the main part of the collar made of interlinking, flat chain links. It was originally a present from our Italian Dane friend, Lucille, and we think it’s very pretty – shiny & chic, at the base of the neck, like a necklace. I don’t like collars that are tight higher up on the neck, breaking the line of the neck – no matter how pretty the pattern. It’s just a personal preference. Even when Honey wears her nylon buckle collar (she has one in baby blue, with daisies), I adjust it so that it is very loose, at the base of her neck and could easily slip over her ears.

Because I am not relying on the collar to restrain & control Honey and our rule is that the leash is never tight, it is actually irrelevant which kind of collar she is wearing – or none at all.

- The long answer is: I don’t have a problem or make judgements about any training tool. I think that all training tools can be effective if they are used correctly, with the right technique and with the right type of dogs & owners. I am a “combination” trainer (or what is probably referred to as a “crossover” trainer) in that I believe in using a combination of different training techniques and in using reward & correction together in training. Primarily reward – but occasionally correction, if the situation warrants it. I believe that dogs can understand “consequences” for their actions and I don’t feel that I am “damaging” my relationship with my dog simply because I use corrections occasionally (and I think my bond with Honey is proof of that, which can be seen in our videos – Honey is not a cowering, broken dog – she is confident, happy & eager to work with me – despite me occasionally correcting her for inappropriate behaviour).

I don’t like the way dog training has divided into camps, with members of each demanding blind loyalty like fundamentalist religions – and jumping down your throat if you don’t completely support one camp, to the exclusion of all else. It is sad & wrong that so many desperate owners out there are really struggling and yet are scared & ashamed to consider other methods (and ultimately end up giving up their dogs), simply because they’re beaten down with guilt by the “purely-positive” trainers for daring to try anything different. For a group of people who talk constantly against using intimidation, they sure don’t seem to have a problem with using it themselves on dog owners! (We were one of those desperate owners once who tried to do everything only positively out of a sense of guilt and ended up nearly rehoming Honey as a result – whereas the application of a combination of training methods has produced the wonderful dog she is today). In my opinion, any trainer who says “it’s my way or the high way” is a ‘bad’ trainer – and any trainer who isn’t willing to concede that different methods may suit different dogs and is open-minded enough to consider alternatives is an “uneducated” trainer, regardless of how many letters they may have after their name.

I know it’s not PC so say this but I am not a “purely positive” trainer who thinks you mustn’t ever say “NO” or raise your voice to your dog, otherwise you’ll damage your relationship. If your relationship with your dog is that fragile, then you don’t have much of a bond in the first place. I am tough but fair and consistent. And I spend a LOT of time building a strong bond with my dog outside of training, through interactive play and other activities.

I also make distinctions between the types of training I do: for example, all tricks, dancing, Rally-O, agility, etc are taught using only positive reinforcement (eg. clicker training) because I believe those are not ‘essential’ things – they’re done mainly for human entertainment/ego and so I don’t feel it is right to correct a dog for not performing them. But for “everyday training” which affects both the dog’s safety & others around him (eg. lunging), I am not afraid to use correction as well as rewards, if needed, because these are the things that are “non-negotiable” for me and need to be sorted quickly & effectively if the dog is to be a safe member of society and enjoy a full life. And also to protect the dog – because an out-of-control dog (especially a big one) in today’s society is constantly at risk of being labelled a “dangerous dog”, seized and put down.

Yes, you can still train problem behaviours using only positive-only methods but they often take a LOT longer – sometimes years – to see improvements, with the dog having a very restricted lifestyle/poor quality of life in the meantime. And many people simply give up because they haven’t got the patience or stamina to see out the training. To me, especially with a breed that has such a short lifespan, I am not willing to sacrifice years of my dog’s life working inefficiently at something, simply for the sake of a “principle”, when another method will work more quickly & effectively and – in my opinion – without hurting my dog. (Yes, there ARE risks with using correction and I have done a post in the past about them – you can read it here – which is why it’s important to have the guidance of an experienced trainer if you’re going to use it).

I don’t agree with using only punishment to train – or even using correction first – I always use positive-reinforcement first and many everyday problem behaviours CAN be fixed just with that method – but sometimes, with certain self-reinforcing, dangerous behaviours (and with very large, powerful dogs), reward on its own is just not as effective as combining it with well-timed & appropriate correction. So in those cases, I have no problems with using the combination – if it means that the dog can be helped faster and go on to enjoy better quality of life, with less stress & more freedom.

As for the original question about Honey’s collar – the way Sarah was referring to it as a “choke chain” shows just how little she understands this training tool. The correct name is a “CHECK chain” – because if used with the correct technique, it “checks” the dog in the middle of an unwanted behaviour, so that you can interrrupt him and re-direct him onto a more appropriate behaviour and reward him for that. It should NEVER be tight on the dog’s neck, ever. A tight check chain is completely useless and worthless (and potentially harmful). If used in the right way (and with the right handlers & dogs), it is a very effective training tool.

HOWEVER, it’s true – most people use it completely WRONG and do “choke” their dogs. Therefore, I do agree that it is a training tool that is very easily abused and therefore not a good choice for most people. This is why – while I personally don’t have a problem with it – I don’t promote it on the blog or encourage using it, because it requires a very special technique which is a practical skill and can only be taught by an experienced trainer watching & guiding you in ‘real life’.

Basically, it’s very easy to “screw it up” – (the very sharp, quick “snap” or “pop” action – which “checks” the dog and instantly releases the chain – people think they can just look & copy but they are usually just jerking the chain around) and impossible to learn just from reading instructions from a book or online – or even watching a video. It requires perfect timing & coordination which takes a LOT of practice to achieve (and which most people don’t have the time or patience to do) – and the absolute key is to keep NO tension on the leash at all times (which goes against most people’s instincts; they tend to tighten up the leash when worried the dog will misbehave).

Almost all pet owners I see using it, use it wrong. They are either yanking the dog on it or the chain is just constantly tight (with the dog choking & gasping at the end of it) while the dog pulls – thus possibly damaging their throat/spine or simply developing very strong neck muscles and learning to ignore the pressure of the chain. You should not be using the physical unpleasantness of “choking” to stop a dog from doing something -

(You can basically choke a dog on any collar. It is not the fault of the type of collar being used but the fault of the skill (or lack of skill) of the handler. I have seen many dogs “choking” – gasping & pulling – on flat buckle collars, as they drag their owners everywhere. Similarly, I have seen many dogs on head halters – which, yes, don’t “choke” – but the really determined dogs still pull & lunge with their heads yanked unnaturally sideways, which can’t be good for the neck & spine either. It just depends on the dog. A really good trainer knows that there is no “one-size fits all” and no one tool which works for every dog, every owner & every situation.)

- with the correct technique, you should simply be using the chain to “startle” a dog in the middle of his inappropriate behaviour – which gives you a chance to redirect him and praise him for doing the right behaviour. And physical strength should have nothing to do with it. Honey weighs about 20kg (44lbs) more than me – but with the right technique, I can still “check” her very effectively because it is not dependent on my yanking her hard enough to stop her. You can have a tiny dog and still not be able to control them with a check chain, if you’re not using the correct technique.

But as I said, the problem with the check chain is not in the tool itself but in that it’s really easy to “screw it up” – and that is why I agree that the check chain is a poor choice of training tool for most people: it is just too hard to learn how to use properly, compared to something like the head halter or harness which requires very little skill to get right – and it is what I usually recommend to most average pet owners who tell me that their dog is pulling uncontrollably – BUT only as a temporary “band-aid” to help them control their dogs and keep everybody safe, until they can get help from a professional trainer.

The problem is – people don’t treat them as a temporary “band-aid” but as a substitute for real training. One reason I don’t like head halters & those “No-Pull harnesses”, etc is because people come to depend on them to “restrain” the dog and physically prevent them from pulling – rather than teaching their dogs not to pull. They basically use it as a “quick fix” instead of tackling the root of the problem. I meet many people using the head harness – for years – and without it, the dog will still pull. With it on, the dog doesn’t pull but only coz he’s uncomfortable…to me, any type of collar should only be a TEMPORARY training tool.

Ultimately, you should be working with a trainer to teach your dog to CHOOSE to walk on loose-leash, nicely, without pulling – regardless of what he’s wearing. In fact, you should be working to control your dog without any collar or leash at all.

Which goes back to what I said in the beginning – the type of collar Honey is wearing is actually irrelevant because I have as much control over her “naked”. I am not relying on the collar & leash to control her. I actually feel more confident & in-control when she is off-leash, because I am simply using my voice to control her. But I keep a leash & collar on her because it is the law and I feel very strongly about obeying dog-laws.

* I HATE those people who waltz around our local neighbourhood with their dogs off-leash, crossing busy roads and down crowded pavements…all to prove that they have such “wonderful control”over their dogs, they don’t need a leash. It is arrogant and ultimately gives dog owners a bad name (especially as usually, they DON’T have as much control over their dogs as they think. A dog caused a pile-up in our local village the other day because it suddenly ran across the road and cars had to screech to a halt to avoid hitting it. It was running across to another dog – and the owner was chasing it yelling. Why didn’t he have it on leash?? IT’S THE LAW.) I can walk my dog without any collar or leash too – but I don’t. Why should I? I’ve got nothing to prove and I don’t think I am above the law.  There is nothing wrong with having your dog on leash – he can enjoy the walk just as much – and if your dog really IS that well-trained, then it shouldn’t matter if he’s on leash since he shouldn’t pull anyway, right? OK, rant over!

I have worked very long & hard so that I can get my dog to Heel past distractions, obey commands, leave temptations, recall & stay, etc – all without direction or pressure from a collar & leash. And that is what I think training should really be about – not relying on any particular training tool – no matter how good – as a “crutch”.

“The strongest leash of all is that invisible leash that connects one heart to another, and it’s built of love & trust.  The sad reality is that the heart’s invisible leash is often broken or has never been built. Dogs who wear collars do not have to wear them forever. The need for leads and collars begins to disappear as training progresses.  If the training is thorough and followed through to off leash control, the collar becomes just another intermediate step in the training process. It is up to the handler to continue training to the point where equipment is necessary only to obey leash laws and protect the dog.”

Suzanne Clothier, world renown dog trainer/behaviouralist

Slobbers,
Honey the Great Dane

******

(from Hsin-Yi)

A lot of people have asked – over the years on the blog – how to pronounce my name, Hsin-Yi. Since we had some friends wondering again recently, I thought I’d explain a bit!

First, the “H” is silent – the reason it is written “Hs” is because it’s a particular type of “S” sound that is in the Chinese language – which is not in English. In fact, the modern way of writing it is with “X” – so my name would be written as “Xin-Yi” – but I have stuck to the old Romanisation, which is “Hs”.

It shouldn’t sound like “Sh” (as in “ship”, with your lips pursed) but more like when you’re making the “s” sound with your mouth pulled back into a smiling position, tongue touching the roof of your mouth and pushing the air out between your teeth. It’s hard to explain! Sort of like the “s” sound in “waxing” – well, that’s not exactly right either but it’s the closest sound in English!

There are 37 sounds in the Chinese phonetic alphabet, as opposed to 26 in English – and the “consonants” aren’t like the English versions – they sort of carry a sound with them – but they are always used to start a word. Here are some of them:

The 7 sounds in the bottom two rows are often the hardest for Westerners to pronounce. They are very similar but the middle row carries a rolled “rrr” at the end of each sound. To distinguish between them is very important – because although they sound very similar, they can be 2 words with very different meanings!

I found a website which plays a little audio of how each sound should be said (isn’t it amazing what can be found on the internet? ) – so to show you what I mean: the difference between the 2 sounds “zhi” (with the rolled rrrr) and “zi” is like this:

• Zhi     http://www.liwin.com/zhuyin/zhi.html (click to hear what it sounds like)
• Zi      http://www.liwin.com/zhuyin/zi.html

And therefore, in the Chinese language, there are 3 types of “s” sounds:

• Xi     http://www.liwin.com/zhuyin/xi.html (click to hear what it sounds like)
• Shi     http://www.liwin.com/zhuyin/shi.html
• Si     http://www.liwin.com/zhuyin/si.html

My name uses the first type “Xi”. If you’re interested in seeing & hearing the rest of the Chinese phonetic alphabet, here’s the website: http://www.liwin.com/zhuyin/ – it’s great as if you click on each of the sounds, it will pop up another window playing an audo of what it sounds like.

But before you all start panicking! – it’s fine to just to say my name with an “English s” – so my name is basically pronounced “Sin-Yee“, as 2 distinct sounds.

Angi was asking about which part to stress – well, actually, if you’re saying it the Chinese way, you would stress both parts but stress them differently, using different tones. This is because Chinese is a tonal language – with 4 tones – as opposed to English, which is monotonic. Tones are really hard for Westerners to both hear & pronounce if they haven’t grown up with them (Paul really struggles! ) – I always say it’s more like you’re “singing” the language. So my name would be pronounced with “Sin” (1st tone – high, sing-song tone) – “Yee” (2nd tone – upward inflection).

BUT – I find that – even without all the tones – a lot of people still struggle even with the “Sin-Yee” pronunciation – and so they find it much easier just to stick the 2 parts together and say it quickly, like “Sinny” (sort of like “Sindy” without the “d”). To be honest, if you say “Sin-Yee” very fast, it comes out sounding like “Sinny” anyway! Many of my closest (Western) friends call me “Sinny” and I don’t mind – I quite like it! I even introduce myself with that pronunciation sometimes if I’m in a hurry, so as not to confuse people – like if I’m on the phone and they ask my name to leave a message, I just say “My name’s Sinny” – because if I try to say it the “correct” way, it invariably ends with people saying “Sorry? What? How do you spell that?” – oh my God, and then if I have to spell it, they just get even more confused!! Sometimes I tell people it’s like “cine” – as in “cine-camera” – and for a lot of people, that helps them make sense of it.

I don’t really mind how people pronounce my name, as long as they’re comfortable – I had a P.E. teacher at school who really struggled with my name and in the end, she settled on “Shin-Knee” – because it was the only way she could remember it! The only thing I really dislike is when people only call me “Hsin”! I know it’s logical ‘coz you often shorten English names (eg. Edward = Ed) but I feel that the ‘hyphen’ is there between the 2 parts to show that they are part of a whole and should be said together (eg. the word “X-ray” is a complete word – if you just say the first part “X” – it has no meaning). Therefore, I rather people stick the 2 parts together (as in “Sinny”) rather than split it up (as in “Hsin”).

Lastly, I’ve had a lot of people ask me why I don’t have a Western name – as many Asian people who grew up/live in the West do, to make it easier for their Western friends to call them. Well, actually, I’ve refused to take one – I feel that “Hsin-Yi” is my name and why should I have to take another one? Yes, I know it’s harder for people to remember & pronounce – but it is my name and if they care enough, they’ll make the effort. Many Chinese people struggle to pronounce ‘R’ – but Western people called “Robert” and “Rachel” don’t take Chinese names just to make it easier for Chinese people to call them…everyone has to learn their names and accept it. So I feel the same about mine. Yes, it has made it harder at times – I could have made life a lot easier for myself if I’d just taken an English name – but all the people who have really mattered have made an effort to remember & pronounce my name.

Besides, what on earth would I call myself?   My parents went through a stage in my early teens when they were considering giving me an English name – they even came up with a shortlist, which included names like “Celine” and “Doris”…!!! I hated all of them. None of them felt like me. I like my name and I don’t see why I should have to take on a completely strange name just to make other people comfortable!

ps. Oh – and if anyone is curious about what my name actually means, you can check out the ‘About Me‘ section on my own blog!

We have been working on this in the last couple of days…unfortunately, Muesli is one of those kitties who is not interested in catnip – fresh or dried! (My human, Hsin-Yi once read that only about 5% of kitties are in this group – and guess what? Both Lemon & Muesli are in that 5%! Typical! ) – so putting/spraying catnip on her bed doesn’t do much. But Hsin-Yi says that Muesli seems to like my doggie BO so she has put a blanket with my smell into Muesli’s bed, to see if that helps.

Oh – and by the way, Muesli DOES have her own very nice bed. Several, in fact, all through the house!! My humans have made up little “beds” for her in many different high places through the house, wherever she likes to sleep…

Here's a picture of the set-up - this was taken last year back in Newcastle but it's the same arrangement here...

…plus her main bed is in the living room with me.

You can sort of see it in the first picture at the beginning of this post – do you see her cat tree?

Her bed is high up at the top of the cat tree, perched up next to the sofas.

It is a “cave-type” bed and in winter, my humans put a lovely soft mink blanket in it and drape an extra fleece blanket over the top of it, to make it extra snug & cosy.

And it is heated and it is very warm, soft & comfy – and she sleeps in it very happily…so it’s not as if she hasn’t got anywhere nice of her own!!

I think it’s just that she wants what I’ve got – even if there were 10 beds in the house, she would still always go on the one I’m in! Humph!

And getting another bed for me is just out of the question. There really is no space for another giant beanbag bed in our tiny house this year – and anything else would be a waste of time because I just refuse to sleep on anything else. I don’t mind lying on my ‘Pet Futon’ during the day for short naps – but for proper sleeps, I want my beanbag.

Muesli happily sleeping in her own bed...

My humans did try before, many times – like they spent lots of money paper to buy me a special big foam “doggie orthoapaedic mattress” – and I refused to sleep on it! They got really grumpy with me but in the end, they had to donate it to the Auckland SPCA.

So really, unless they can put a 2nd giant beanbag bed in the living room, it won’t work – and they just can’t. There is barely space now for all the things we need to have in the house – (Hsin-Yi even has to store the vacuum monster in a portable plastic greenhouse on the balcony!! )

Besides, Hsin-Yi says it’s ridiculous why we have to go to all this trouble just because of Muesli. She says that Muesli just needs to learn to share and I just need to learn to be braver!

See, there is nothing wrong with Muesli being on my bed, really, and it’s very nice when we cuddle on it together – so Hsin-Yi doesn’t want to ‘correct’ Muesli for getting on my bed and making it a ‘negative’ place. She says that Muesli just needs to learn to move over and make room for me when I want to get on too – the bed is more than big enough for both of us!!

So Hsin-Yi has started trying to teach us to ‘share’. Of course, you’re right that I mustn’t get rough or grumpy at Muesli myself and it’s good that I’m going to my humans to solve the problem – but Hsin-Yi thinks that I can learn to deal with Muesli – NICELY – by myself.

She knows I won’t ever step on Muesli – I am always so careful around her – so as long as I get onto the bed, my big body will “shift” Muesli to the side. So she has been “insisting” that I get on the bed – even when Muesli is on it – and we have been practising this over and over.

What do you think? Will it work? So far, Muesli will either get off – and then get back on later once I’ve settled…or she’ll stay at the side, so that there is plenty of room for me….

Here’s a little movie to show you how we’ve been doing it. (Although you don’t see it in the movie, Muesli usually gets treats whenever she gets off the bed for me – so that she is rewarded for that behaviour. And I get lots of praise for being brave but gentle…but the important thing is that Muesli learns to move aside/get off when I ask – and not only do it when my humans say so…)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGnIWUfKxJg

If the movie doesn’t play, try here: http://youtu.be/kGnIWUfKxJg

…well so far, it seems to be helping. I’m getting better at “insisting gently” that Muesli make room for me on my bed and we’re learning to share. And most of all, sort the situation out ourselves…Hsin-Yi wasn’t woken up last night – and we were all in our proper own beds this morning! But of course, one night doesn’t mean anything…

Hsin-Yi says she’s hoping that this works and things settle down now and Muesli doesn’t come up with some new devious naughtiness!!!

 ******

ps. Oh! I was heartbroken to hear yesterday that my blog friend, Drake the Great Dane was helped over the Rainbow Bridge!!

Drake’s family has been having an awful time lately as a few weeks ago, he suddenly started walking funny – and the vet found out that he had the Wobblers Sickie…but they were giving him good medicines and he was feeling a lot better – but then suddenly, a few days ago, he got very sickie again and when they took him to the vet, they found that he had a Big Cancer Sickie inside!!

So the kindest thing was to help him cross the Rainbow Bridge and let him run free. His family are very, very sad now – they adopted Drake from rescue and have had too short a time with him. Drake had amazing adventures travelling across America inside a big shiny machine called an RV. I remember when he was too scared to climb into the back of his family’s truck machine and had to learn to use a ramp – and how proud his humans were of him when he learnt to be brave! His human pups and his Cattle Doggie sister are going to miss him terribly. We will all miss him.

If you have time, please take a moment to visit Drake’s blog – there is a lovely tribute to him and I’m sure his family would appreciate some sniffs & wags to make them feel better during this horrible time.

Sorry – last reminder ‘coz the deadline is TOMORROW! (Wed 9th May 5pm Australian NSW time)  I know most of you have already voted – thank you so much! But if you haven’t yet, please hurry! I’m on the 2nd page (F ~ K) – tick the box next to “Honey the Great Dane” and make sure you click “Finish” at the end!

******

Now that Autumn is here, me & Muesli are helping our humans with one of the most important jobs in the household: sweeping the dead leaves!

Yeah – that’s really Paul using a brush & dustpan! Coz my humans haven’t got many garden tools and they don’t want to buy anything else to add to all our “stuff” already – (especially since we’ll be packing again in about 6 months!!) – so they are just making do with what we’ve got. It’s the same dustpan & brush that Hsin-Yi used to scoop all the earth to fill in that huge hole I dug back in the garden of our house in Newcastle! Hee! Hee!

This is actually Mueli’s first time helping with sweeping dead leaves – coz it’s her first proper Autumn – last year, she was sort of too young to get involved properly…

…but this year, she’s following nicely in the pawsteps of my first kitty sister, Lemon!

Sweeping autumn leaves back in our house in Auckland, NZ... (2007)

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The other sign that winter is coming is that our humans have brought the heater machines into the house. Muesli – like a typical kitty – LOVES the heater machines! Whenever they are on, she spends all her time curled up next to it – sometimes sticking her nose right on it – my humans wonder how she doesn’t burn herself!

So after dinner now, we have a nice little routine where Muesli curls up by the heater machine and I lie down for a nice chew of my Nylabone…

…well, actually, this one isn’t a Nylabone – it’s from another company called Fido Nylon Tuff+ but it’s the same kind of thing: a hard, plastic chew bone to help us doggies clean our teeth. My humans were really happy to find this brand in the pet shops ‘coz it’s cheaper than the Nylabones, which cost a LOT of money paper. And since they have to throw these plastic bones away when they get too chewed up (which for me is about every 2 months) – then it’s a terrible waste of money paper. So it’s good to find cheaper versions.

I used to get lots of big, raw knuckle bones to chew – at least once a week – to help keep my teeth clean. Especially when we lived back in NZ and had that lovely, peaceful, private garden (see in the picture above?) to lie on the soft grass and chew for as long as I like…

…but since moving to Australia, most of the rented homes that we’ve lived in haven’t had very good set-ups for chewing raw bones – and our house now in Sydney is the worst. Although we have a garden, it’s down some steps, at the back of the house – with no door leading directly out to it from the back (you have to go out the front door and walk round the side of the house to get to it) and plus, I get a bit stressy in the garden because of – ahem, neighbour doggies and things – so the garden isn’t a nice place to be and my humans don’t like to leave me alone out there, with a bone or not.

I do have a nice balcony where I can sunbake – but it’s very small and my humans don’t want to mess that up with raw bones…so in the end, they decided that a plastic chew bone would be “a good compromise” for this year. So now I get it every other night, after dinner, and I chew it for about 20mins and it’s a great way to keep my teeth clean – plus keep me busy after dinner, when I usually get a “sugar rush” and start wanting to run & jump around or look for naughty things to do. By the time I’ve finished chewing on my bone, I’m pretty ready to take myself to bed!

(by the way, my humans smear a bit of peanut butter on the ends of the bone to “encourage” me to start chewing – especially in the beginning, when the bone is new and smooth and not that interesting…They also always pick the bone up and hide it away when I’m done chewing, so that it always remains ‘fresh’ and interesting to me and is a special treat every time they give it to me. Plus they need to wash off all the yucky slobber and leftover peanut butter on it too! )

Anyway, that’s our nice cosy routine usually…except that in the last few days, things have started to change! One night, I got up, stretched and went to my bed, ready to settle down for the night and look what I found!!

Muesli! All smug and stretchy in MY bed – and she wouldn’t get off!! As if it wasn’t bad enough that she was stealing my lovely Mango Minster prize blanket…now she’s stealing my bed as well!

Oh! But you know what was the worst thing? I thought my humans would feel sorry for me and help me – but no, they were just standing there laughing!!!

They told me not to be ridiculous and just to tell Muesli to get off my bed…

…but how? How do I make her get off??

I tried staring at her but she just ignored me. I tried pawing the bed but she just ignored me. I even tried getting on it and walking around, “moshing it” like I usually do before curling up – I thought she would definitely get out of the way then – but no! She just kept lying there in the middle of the bed, with a smug look on her little face, and I nearly tripped over myself, ‘coz I was trying not to step on her. My humans were still laughing at me but I didn’t find it funny at all! Humph!

In the end, I gave up. I mean, unless I sat on her and splatted her flat…what’s a doggie to do??

Hsin-Yi kept laughing at me, until she finally picked Muesli up off the bed so I could get on.

But she wasn’t laughing later at 3am in the morning, when I started getting very stressy and pacing up and down the house, waking everyone up because…Muesli was in my bed again!!!! I kept walking up to my humans’ bedroom door and crying and walking away and then back again. Finally, Hsin-Yi had to get up to help me get Muesli off my bed and she was very grumpy!

She said it’s ridiculous that I can be so bossy and tough with big, strange doggies that I meet outside – and then be so useless with a teeny kitty cat…but oh, she doesn’t understand! Kitties are the best proof that “size doesn’t matter” – they always get their own way and I’m too scared to argue!

The thing is – now Muesli has decided she really likes my bed for some reason and so now this is happening almost every night and Hsin-Yi is starting to get very grumpy at being woken up in the middle of the night every day…you know what a Big Grump she is when she is woken up in the mornings (Ahem. Talk about not being a “morning person!!”) – well, you try waking her up in the middle of the night. Yikes!! It’s just as well that Paul is the Human Vet – if Hsin-Yi was a Human Vet and had to do On-Call, she’d probably tell the patient to go and die if she got woken up for an emergency in the middle of the night!

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(note from Hsin-Yi: this is turning into a bit of a farce – except it’s not funny when you’re being sleep-deprived several nights in a row because your big 70kg (155lbs) dog is being bullied by the 4kg (9lbs) cat!!

I really don’t understand how Honey can be so ‘dominant’ with aggressive dogs outside – and then be so pathetic with a little cat and get so distressed over such a simple thing. Surely she can give Muesli a  nudge with her head or something and push her out of the bed? I’ve even watched her try to get on the bed with Muesli in it and she is so worried about stepping on Muesli, wobbling so carefully around her (and you know how unstable beanbags are) that she really tripped & fell over…it was heart-breaking to watch.

But it’s just ridiculous that I or Paul have to keep “coming to the rescue”. I’m dreading it now when I go to sleep – I know that at some point in the middle of the night, Honey will probably get off the bed to stretch & shake, like she usually does, before she resettles on her bed – and that’s when Muesli immediately dives in. And then Honey is stumped.

Sigh. Why is Muesli suddenly starting this?? She never showed much interest in Honey’s bed before – whereas now she seems to have suddenly decided it’s HERS! If anybody has any suggestions (other than shut Muesli in another room, which we can’t really do given the tiny size & layout of our house – the animals sleep in the living room together) – I’d be very grateful!!

Edited To Add: Thank you so much everybody for your suggestions! Muesli DOES actually have her own bed already (in fact, several beds throughout the house!) – a very soft, “cave-type” bed which is warmed by a heat pad at night and is placed high up, at the top of her cat tree, next to the sofas by Honey’s bed…and she is happy to sleep in it most of the time, so it is not as if she hasn’t got somewhere nice of her own!

The problem seems to be when Honey gets up in the middle of the night – which she usually does at least once to shake & resettle – that Muesli then leaves her own bed and dives into the middle of Honey’s – I think because Honey leaves this lovely warm “hollow” in the middle of the beanbag when she gets up. Unfortunately, we just don’t have space in this tiny sardine can we’re living in this year to put another similar beanbag bed in the living room – and I suspect Muesli would always want the one that Honey is on anyway – although it would at least give Honey a 2nd option, whereas at the moment, when she is “kicked off”, she ends up sleeping on the cold, draughty floor which is really bad for her joints!!

The thing is, I don’t mind Muesli on Honey’s bed and I like them cuddling together (which they do sometimes)- as long as they SHARE. The problem is that Muesli won’t move aside to make room for Honey – she just hogs the middle of the bed and Honey doesn’t seem to know how to shift her aside – there is more than enough space for BOTH of them on the bed but Honey just needs to learn to make Muesli SHARE!!! )

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Still – Muesli did sort of try to make it up to me. After I finally managed to get back onto my own bed, she came up to me and gave me little ‘goodnight kisses’. Sigh. I can’t really stay mad at her then…