Cheetah 7.28.09

Yesterday, Cheetah was challenging. It started when I let the dogs out after I got home from work. I went and changed my clothes and went outside and there was Swiffer, but no Cheetah. So I did my loud come here whistle, and she comes trotting over the other side of the back fence. Sigh. She hopped it like a gazelle, and I just didn't have it in me to yell at her. Also, she did what I asked by coming when I called her, and I should not have let her out on her own, so I had no real reason to yell at her. I just thought with Swiffer out there too, she'd stay put. No dice. Ah but she had been hunting. She carried with her a mini soccor ball that likely belongs to the kids behind and a house down from us. She had the time of her life playing with it. It was better than her own balls because it was hard won - she had been successful on the hunt! Even when she is bad she makes me laugh.

So we came in and I fed them and decided to take a shower. As usual she hid in the bedroom while I showered. Afterwards, while I was drying off I noticed a spider on the bathroom floor. I am not one to kill bugs, but Cheetah has a ball chasing flies, so I thought this might interest her too. So I went and got her and she came slinking in with her tail tucked (please don't give me a shower). I pointed out the spider, but she was too worried to see where I was pointing. I kept saying "Cheetah, look!" but she thought I wanted her to get in the tub. She kept going and looking in and pacing back. She alsmost jumped in at one point, which I did NOT want bc we have a slow drain and there was still water in the tub! It was cute though because she was trying so hard to please me and just decided to brace herself and do what she thought I wanted. Finally I gave up on the spider and just dismissed her so she wouldn't work herself into a total frenzy. I plan to bathe her Friday before she goes and I don't want to traumatize her.

So then I grabbed the book I was reading and invited her back outside. I sat on the deck and watched her sniff around the yard and then got engrossed in my book. The next thing I know, I hear her start barking and look up in time to see her ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE again running toward the neighbor's house and the other barking dog. I hear a guy's voice but not what he was saying. But it didn't sound good. This time I did not whistle. I yelled for Cheetah in the "OK you really screwed the pooch now" voice. She turned on a dime and came back over to the fence. I said "what are you doing over there?!" "Get back over her now! COME!" Now, this is not the advisable way to get your dog to come to you. It never ceases to amaze me that a dog will come when someone is yelling at them. Would you come to a crazy angry person screaming at you in a language you did not understand? But she did. And she went directly into the house as I stomped in after her. Thank god PA has a 6 foot privacy fence.

Later I was sitting on the couch and she started mouthing me and trying to get me to play. I have really been enforcing the no teeth rule, because of Daughter. So she out and out nipped the front of my ankle. I have a very fast reaction time for that sort of thing (which is handy for corrections) and immediately said HEY! I can scare a 300 lb linebacker when I do that because it is sudden and it comes right from the diaphram. She went and laid down as soon as I did it. She chooses NOW to get nippy?

Oh but there's more. We went down to the basement to watch some TV and I shut the door to where the cat was and invited her down. Mr PM caught her starting to pee on the carpet!! WTF?? OK so now I am getting concerned bc she just doesn't really do that. He took her right outside and she did not go. He caught her early in so it wasn't much, but still... I have a few theories.

1. She was marking right outside the cat room (for obvious reasons)
2. She is getting sick
   
3. She is really picking up on my grief and being reactive
4. She is being selfless and trying to make her departure easier on me :-P

I suspect #3 is the answer. But I am keeping an eye on this in case she is getting a bladder infection or something.

She then proceeded to try to eat Mr. PM's backback, so we got her a toy, which she ripped to shreds. She investigated the garbage, which she never does, and she decided to harrass poor Swiffer, which had me standing over her a good part of the show. In her efforts to appease me, she managed to knock over my drink with her tails sweeping back and forth at coffee table level.

The whole night was just one thing after another. I finally lost my patience when the drink went over. Then everyone calmed down and laid down - and of course the show ended around that time, so we went to bed.

This morning she came in and woke me up with her usual enthusiastic nose in the face and some licking and snuffling. I have resolved to try to calm down more and thus calm her down. She is SO attuned to the emotions around her.

So I started to talking to her in the bed this morning. She does this thing where she will look at me and woof, like she is talking back. She wakes me up in the morning so I can get up and come feed her. Really she just wants me to get up, but she seems to find the breakfast a nice bonus. My goal until Saturday is to just be in the moment with her as much as possible, so that she can relax as well.