Our dear chicken: Ramsay's first toy, and possibly his favorite among favorites, is beginning to show some signs of age - especially after epic battles like this. Poor chicken has suffered his first serious injury, as there are signs of de-stuffing of his crest. NewMama and I will soon need to perform some type of corrective surgery on chicken to extend his lifespan - even if only for a few more weeks. We're also on the lookout for chicken replacements at the local pet stores.
In general Ramsay news, dogbert continues to grow and mature. This past week he weighed 4.8lbs on our bathroom scale! Between his weight gain and the gradual change in his proportions (ie: overall length, width of his chest), it's getting harder to pick him up with just one hand!
Potty training is progressing as NewMama and I have thought of little ways to help Ramsay out. One is to take him outside as soon as we see him in the morning and in the evening upon returning from work. Next are strategic removal of food and water overnight to avoid accidents, and generous spraying of non-wee wee padded areas with repellant. These have all helped over the past week, and we've been able to gradually contract the once 6-wee wee pad area down to 3. In the next week or two, we'll see if we can get him down to a 2-pad area.
Trick training also goes well. In different contexts, NewMama and I have been teaching dogbert "stay" and "down". We make Ramsay "stay" while we put the food/water bowls into his pen. He's not released to eat until our hands are clear of the bowls. We taught him "down" while playing fetch. As he waited for us to throw his toy, we asked him to lie "down". With some gentle tugging of the leash and generous food rewards, he had it in about 5 minutes! Truly a Cesar Millan moment (although Cesar teaches "down" differently)!
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