We joke about the Flake and her babies, but my Mom's told me that this is actually a common behavior in dogs that were kenneled for long periods of time, and Sachiko was at the no-kill shelter, in a chain-link kennel, for four months before we adopted her. It's taken nearly 5 years to get her okay with strangers coming into the house, and she'll still panic if she's not right near me.
But when it comes to her and her babies... someone comes to the door, and Sachiko grabs the nearest stuffed animal and carries it around, looking worried. (The message is clearly: it's okay, she's Got The Frog, and she'll make sure the frog or monkey or elephant is safe.) I head to bed, and Sachiko grabs a stuffed animal to bring it into the bedroom with her, to sleep with us. CP has reported waking up in the morning to find he'd been sleeping with two dogs, two cats, one human, and one monkey. And when we sit down to dinner, Sachi will again pick up the nearest stuffed critter and trot around the living room before settling down somewhere that she can see both of us -- holding the creature in her maw the entire time. We're not sure of the intent behind that, since there aren't any strangers, and we're not going anywhere. We think it might be a "you two over there are visiting, and I'm visiting with my own thing here," or it could be a replacement for her (that she can't be right next to me while I'm eating).
It's still pretty funny to me, though, after so many years of having Real Dogs. Y'know, dogs who didn't have stuffed beds but just dog blankets, and played with sticks and rawhide chewies, not stuffed animals... and never looked twice at things that squeaked unless accompanied by running motion. Sachiko may live up to her name (happy girl) but she's also, well, a flake.
Yeah, CP is a cat person -- when Zaizai came into the house, he was doing the usual freaked-kitten thing. I set him on the bed next to CP, and suddenly (after four hours in the house and multiple attempts by me) he's all wanting to be friendly, and starts purring up a storm. GO FIGURE. The Leo does it again.
Me, though, I'm almost entirely a dog person, so cats are just like small fuzzy dogs with big attitudes. And since nearly every cat I've had, I've taught to come when called (and keep trying to teach 'em to sit, too), I figure that description isn't too far off. And since Bakabaka is currently asleep in the dog bed alongside Sachiko, maybe he doesn't know the difference, either.
(As for Sachi, see reply above for the peculiarities of her realm of stuffed animals.)
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Date: 4 Feb 2011 09:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 4 Feb 2011 09:35 am (UTC)But when it comes to her and her babies... someone comes to the door, and Sachiko grabs the nearest stuffed animal and carries it around, looking worried. (The message is clearly: it's okay, she's Got The Frog, and she'll make sure the frog or monkey or elephant is safe.) I head to bed, and Sachiko grabs a stuffed animal to bring it into the bedroom with her, to sleep with us. CP has reported waking up in the morning to find he'd been sleeping with two dogs, two cats, one human, and one monkey. And when we sit down to dinner, Sachi will again pick up the nearest stuffed critter and trot around the living room before settling down somewhere that she can see both of us -- holding the creature in her maw the entire time. We're not sure of the intent behind that, since there aren't any strangers, and we're not going anywhere. We think it might be a "you two over there are visiting, and I'm visiting with my own thing here," or it could be a replacement for her (that she can't be right next to me while I'm eating).
It's still pretty funny to me, though, after so many years of having Real Dogs. Y'know, dogs who didn't have stuffed beds but just dog blankets, and played with sticks and rawhide chewies, not stuffed animals... and never looked twice at things that squeaked unless accompanied by running motion. Sachiko may live up to her name (happy girl) but she's also, well, a flake.
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Date: 4 Feb 2011 09:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 4 Feb 2011 09:39 am (UTC)Me, though, I'm almost entirely a dog person, so cats are just like small fuzzy dogs with big attitudes. And since nearly every cat I've had, I've taught to come when called (and keep trying to teach 'em to sit, too), I figure that description isn't too far off. And since Bakabaka is currently asleep in the dog bed alongside Sachiko, maybe he doesn't know the difference, either.
(As for Sachi, see reply above for the peculiarities of her realm of stuffed animals.)
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Date: 4 Feb 2011 06:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 4 Feb 2011 06:37 pm (UTC)