...with the "cage" — Natasha's doggy coral. It's called un enclos or un parc pour chien in French. She's been living in cages for a couple of months now. First, American friends down the road lent us theirs. They were so effective and easy to work with that we ordered two of them for 'Tasha. One is in the living room, and the other is up in the loft where we spend evenings and where we sleep at night. Walt carries her up there in the evening, and carries her back down in the morning.
Right now, I've actually let her out of the cage. When we do that, we block off access to the stairs that lead down to the ground floor as well as the stairs that lead up to the loft. We want to keep her from falling on stairs and re-injuring her leg, which seems to be healing nicely. She's started going up and down the wide, not-so-steep staircase that goes down from the living room. The steep and narrow wooden one is another story. Here's a view from the living room out to the landing, with the stairs blocked. Notice the new non-slip sisal treads on the steps.
At the same time, we need to accommodate the cat, Bertie, who lives here too. He has free access to the outdoors through the garage, which is under the
living room. He also needs to be able to come upstairs, where his kibble
bowl is, and also go up to the loft, where he likes to spend quiet time
during the day. He has enough space to get around the barricades, but
Tasha doesn't. Here are two more shots of Tasha in her cage.
On the left, the dog is just sleeping; on the right she's excited by the prospect of getting something to eat.
I was wondering how she was getting along. Good to see that she is making such good progress!
ReplyDeleteChristine from Wellington, NZ
Thanks Christine. Tasha is doing well, walking normally, but we are still being very careful. Leash always outside. Confinement to some degree to keep her from going crazy when she sees a dog or people walking past the house. Special care on the stairs.
Deletedo those wooden gates just stand up on their own?
ReplyDeleteThe tall one on the left does, basically, propped up by the botton step of the wooden staircase. The one on the right leans against the black metal stair railing of the steps leading down to the ground floor entryway. The cat is nimble enough to get by the barrier without knocking them over. The dog is, I think, afraid to go near them because she might knock them over and they might fall on her.
DeleteIt's great to see Tasha :)
ReplyDelete: ^ )
DeleteTasha is such a pretty pup!
ReplyDeleteShe really is. We are doing everything we can to make sure she recovers completely. Did I mention that she's lost 5 lbs. on her new diet. Doctor's recommendation.
DeleteLooks like a well-prepared, protected area for Tasha to enjoy outside of her "parc". Stairs can definitely provide an opportunity for disasters, but you, two, have made it workable. well done!
ReplyDeleteWe're doing the best we can with the tools at hand.
DeleteNon-slip treads are good on wooden stairs. I put traction strips on mine for my elderly dog. And they're not a bad idea for humans, too.
ReplyDeleteThe second to last picture looks as if Tasha has the plants inside her cage, doing a bit of decorating as it were.
The sisal treads are perfect for our purposes. I never wear shoes up those wooden stairs and I've always been afraid of slipping and falling in sock feet. It's much better with the treads.
DeleteCongratulations on her progress!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tom. Tasha is doing great. For one thing, we put her on a diet back in January and she has lost 5 or 6 lbs. now. That should take some of the strain off her back legs. And we're going out for walks with her everyday. Walt takes one walk, and then I go out for the other one. We alternate mornings and afternoons.
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