HAVE YOU ENTERED THE GIVEAWAY?
I think I have a problem with a jealous dog. I think. Well, I’m pretty sure. We have two cats now, for the first time in years (we’ve been a one cat family for more than a decade). Say hi to Velveeta and Beyonce’.
Flash and Patches have never liked cats. There’s always been an uneasy truce. But given the mouse problem (which the cats took care of immediately solely by their presence), and the dogs’ age (thirteen and a half), the cats came as welcome additions. I was sure there would be no issues. And there really weren’t problems. Until I left for two weeks and took the little dogs.
I came home to find controlled chaos. The cats were gone. The smell was awful. Hunny was nearly in tears trying to manage everything. Chickens, fish, dogs, cats – all are work. The litter box almost pushed him over the edge. The cats want to live outdoors half the time. But there’s pee in the house. Upstairs. Which is where the cats live. He was sure that it was the cats. SURE. And he was trying to find a solution to make everyone – especially the cats – happy. And couldn’t.
I came home and sniffed the air first thing. It wasn’t the cats. I know cat pee scent. You do, too. Ever been to a fast food drive through? Pull up to pay and catch a whiff of something sour? Wrong? Not food? Feral cat pee. It’s not something you can confuse with another scent. The smell in my house wasn’t cat pee. It was DOG pee.
The jealousy? Flash and Patches had the house, and dad, to themselves. I think they like that alone time when I leave and take the little dogs. But this time there were cats. Cats who don’t fear them, rather who taunt them. Evil cats. Affectionate cats who snuggle with dad when he’s home and climb into bed with him in the morning. The bed that the big dogs used to jump into in the mornings.
So my first night home, Hunny is waving a black light flashlight around the house, looking for pee. He finds what I expected him to find – splatter upstairs in the cat room, indicative of male dog pee. Near their food and litter box. We popped out to the feed store and picked up Nature’s Miracle, which truly is miraculous. I soaked all of the brilliantly lit green spots which the black light picked up (DO NOT use a black light if you don’t want to know – I restricted my viewing to the cat room and hallway). The spots are now gone. The smell is gone. It’s amazing stuff.
And what have we done about our jealous dog who wants to run upstairs and pee out of spite and jealousy? A baby gate at the bottom of the stairs is the solution. Our sons jump over it coming down stairs. The cats duck under it coming and going. And the problem seems to be solved. For now.
Please, if you have a jealous dog situation in your home, tell me what works for you. I’m dying to know. Treats are a great solution in most instances with dogs, but they’re not helpful here. Not even Lamb Lung Puffs, our favorite.
Speaking of treats, head over and enter the Christmas stocking giveaway! There’s an opportunity to enter daily. Your dog will love Jones Natural Chews, I promise! It’ll make ’em smile.
Until I write again …
Flea
