After the Sleepover

After his sleepover Wednesday and Thursday, Ray was tired. When he got home Friday night, I fed him, he went outside, dug up a bone and we played keepaway for five minutes. Then Ray hit the hay. He woke Gregg up at 5:30 the next morning by banging on the kitchen door. By the time Gregg got downstairs, Ray was back in bed, sleeping. Gregg came back to bed. Ray pounded on the door again at 6:30. I went downstairs to let him out. By the time I got there, Ray was back in bed. I rousted him out and MADE him go outside to pee, then fed him. Ray was back in bed by 7:00 and didn't get up again until 11:30. After a short walk, he slept most of the day away.

Sunday, Ray was feeling more the thing. We went for a long walk around the lake and he slept until the afternoon when he was ready for his afternoon walk (sometime around 3:30 or 4:00 is when he starts whining). Sandra, my neighbor across the street, (for a photo see http://www.raytheblinddog.com/2009/07/pullet-has-limp.html) didn't realize that Ray had settled on such a strict schedule for himself and chose this time to come over for help with some knitting. Ray loves Sandra (yes, I know, he loves everybody, but he really loves Sandra). He jumped his front feet up on her lap and snuffled at her neck and face. Sandra, being a good dog mom, pushed his feet off of her lap and talked soothingly to him to try to calm him down. Ray jumped his front feet up on her lap again. Sandra pushed him back down. Ray the Relentless did it again with similar results then paced and whined while we sat on the couch working out some knitting instructions. He grabbed some bamboo knitting needles off the coffee table and tried to chew them, I grabbed them and put them back. He put his head in Sandra's knitting bag and came out with a ball of yarn, I grabbed it and put it back. He grabbed the sheet of instructions that I was reading and flapped them up and down, I took them back. He walked around the coffee table and tore up an anniversary card we had received a few days before (from Sandra- I didn't actually notice him doing this, I just found the pieces). All the while he was whining.

I showed Sandra what to do and while she worked, Ray jumped his front feet up on my lap and gave me the evil eye. I was really, really trying to ignore the attention-seeking behavior but gave in and got up to get my running shoes. I sat down and tied on my shoes then explained the next row to Sandra. Ray untied one of my shoes. I retied it and got up to get his leash. I sat down on the couch again, slipped the collar over Ray's ears, and explained the next row to Sandra while Ray whined and paced dragging his leash behind him. It was very distracting but Sandra handled it well and knit on until she was comfortable enough to continue on her own. We left the house together. Sandra went home to knit. I took Ray for his walk.