Learning to Get Along

For the most part, Sylvester has adjusted quite well to his new digs. His coat is already in much better shape, and he is becoming calm-er. He really enjoys his twice-daily walks, trotting along alertly with his head up, stopping to sniff determinedly at random spots along the way. He still gets really anxious when I leave the house for any length of time, winding around my legs when I get home as if to say, "I thought you'd NEVER come back!", but even there, he seems to be doing better - it helps that I rarely leave the house for more than 4-5 hours at a stretch.

He is still learning, however, how to coexist with Monster. I feel sorry for Monster - here he was, just settling into his role as king of the castle, and along came THAT DOG. He would prefer to just ignore the dog's existence, but Sylvester, for his part, can't seem to resist barking at him whenever Monster abandons his high ground.  

I thought I'd be able to leave them alone to work it out, but that hasn't happened yet. It's getting old, especially since Monster has become comfortable enough with his ability to hold the dog at bay to return to sleeping on my bed at night. I welcomed his return, and Sylvester didn't notice the change for the first little while, but once he did, there went my quality sleep. 

Monster comes and goes during the night, doing his nighttime house-wandering thing. Sylvester has decided he needs to be on the alert for the cat's comings and goings, and every time Monster enters or leaves the room, he runs after him barking ferociously. He's not trying to actually catch the cat, he's learned that lesson, but he does find it necessary to give chase. This happens several times a night.

Waking up and yelling at him to stop does seem to be helping - he gives up the chase shortly after I give the command, but it takes me a while to get back to sleep (of course) each time it happens.

*sigh*

So, tonight, I'm going to try something new. I'm going to take a leash upstairs and fasten it to the bed frame. The first time Sylvester goes after the cat, I'm going to clip the leash to his collar, and leave it there for the rest of the night. If nothing else, it'll stop him from being able to give chase. 

Wish me luck!

(I'm also open to suggestions, if any of you out there have other ideas. This whole dog ownership thing is fairly new to me. I'm learning, but there is a curve.)