A few weeks back, it was pretty hot outside, and a little stuffy inside (poor AC wasn't keeping up but it could have been worse without it!). I didn't want to keep the cats in the front rooms overnight for this stuffy reason and so, we put the extra tall doggy gate at our bedroom door and let the cats roam the house while the humans and dogs slept in the bedroom. This has worked WELL and we haven't kept the cats in the front room since. Even though the doggy gate keeps all the pups in the bedroom, Cat has always been able to scale this gate, and Bridget is so small she fits through the bars. This gives the kitties the freedom to come and go from our bedroom as they please (and they have!).
Another thing worth mentioning was the change of events one day (don't know what was special), when Mindy decided to quit avoiding her crate when I asked her to get in it (when I was leaving the house), to now being the first one in her crate (sometimes, not all the times:) when I ask for pups to go to crates. Srsly, I'm so grateful every time all three (Lola, Ringo, and Mindy) trot over and get in their respective crates and patiently wait for their treats when I ask. Gracie even has to be asked to get OUT of Mindy's crate (she's spent quite a bit of time in there herself, even during the day when everyone else is doing other things) when I need Mindy to go in. I think Gracie is telling us she wouldn't mind her own crate (but she's never had or needed one??). What a weirdo:)
What else???? Oh yes, Mindy wanted an honorable mention given to the day we all went over to my in-laws place to visit. One thing that makes it so much fun to visit is the fact that everyone in the family are dog lovers (animal lovers in general). It was HOT out that day, but there was a wind that would blow through on occasion that gave some relief (along with knocking over our beer cans!). In-laws have Hank (newfoundland), Pete (Australian Shepard and Ringo's dad), and Penny (Blue Heeler and Ringo's mom), and they were watching my sister-in-laws pups (Rosie, Ringos sister) and Bernard (Bermese Mt. boy), along with watching Rocky (another bro of Ringo and Rosie) for a friend. We had our crew there (Gracie, Lola, Ringo, and Mindy). Mindy did wonderful with all the introductions (first time she met Hank, Pete, and Rocky) even though I wouldn't have blamed her a bit if she was overwhelmed with it all. She did great and just ran around the yard with everyone else. I managed to get a shot of everyone hanging out under the porch.....
