HELP, can't eat in peace

[Brigitte Cowell]

I think BOTH sides get trained really... we learn and they learn

 

[John Popp]

I believe it is a test of will, determination and persistence. Blink, and your tater tot is just a fond memory.

 

[feedtheflame]

Brigitte thank you for saving his thread...the other two, i was like "wow 4 pages of replies?! awesome!" only to be like "ohh...uhhh....okkkk..."

hahaha..

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

It's easy to get sidetracked...this happens on the Yahoogroups also. It really is what makes these groups a "community". I know it doesn't help you with your problem, but wanted to explain why it works for us

 

[Jason E]

I don't drink enough for this forum....

 

[John Popp]

Brigitte thank you for saving his thread...the other two, i was like "wow 4 pages of replies?! awesome!" only to be like "ohh...uhhh....okkkk..."

hahaha..

My apologies Feed, my fault injecting some humor into the thread. The sliced Jalapeños really do work for me with a plate of food. My efforts to keep him off of the kitchen counters is still a work in progress as telling him to "get down" hasn't worked nor has singing the song I wrote. However persistence will win the day and as Brigitte stated, be careful of what you laugh about.

 

[SV Dad]

My apologies Feed, my fault injecting some humor into the thread. The sliced Jalapeños really do work for me with a plate of food. My efforts to keep him off of the kitchen counters is still a work in progress as telling him to "get down" hasn't worked nor has singing the song I wrote. However persistence will win the day and as Brigitte stated, be careful of what you laugh about.

I lost just about all of these wars. It's really funny to shout to your spouse "GUARD THE FOOD!.

Feed (and the rest who do not know our shenanigans), every now and then the three of us go off on a tangent (and some other members jump in for the hell of it, Jason ) and start a mock flame war to amuse ourselves and the rest of the board. We really like each other (well at least I like JP and Deb!). I would consider it an honor to have one of our mock flame wars to occur on a thread you started. Dig around the threads and you will find some other amusing thread hijacks. (The three of us really are not alcoholics like lauwwste thinks, but we tease each other. If you are really lucky, Deb will write a poem for you!)

 

[Dantes]

Duma is a perfect gentleman and rarely steals food (unless it's a steak sitting out on the counter waiting to be grilled--or sushi), but he LOVES the counters.

I was told by an animal communicator that cats don't understand "no" or negatives. She advised making commands positive. So instead of saying No or Down, she advised saying "Four feet on the floor" and pointing at the floor.

It works great for Ragdolls. They look at you like "what, me?" then take their sad, Eeyore faces onto the floor, or at least a chair. Still working on Duma. He definitely listens, looks at the floor, then moves to a different counter lol

So I told him that every time he goes on the counter and then doesn't obey "Four feet on the floor" command, I get to pick him up like a baby and hug him. He does NOT like this. I also have a rule that you don't get put down on the floor until you stop squirming (ie. submit). I hold him away from me with my hands holding his body and let him squirm saying "relax" until he does. This part is definitely working. I think he's finally learning. He is such a good boy, but I do have to set boundaries from time to time.

 

[John Popp]

That's awesome advice and I never really thought about it. Cats understand the tones and number of syllables of what we say, but really can't differentiate the consonants or vowels we are using.

Again, excellent advice and I'll try to put it into play.

 

[Kristin]

Duma is a perfect gentleman and rarely steals food (unless it's a steak sitting out on the counter waiting to be grilled--or sushi), but he LOVES the counters.

I was told by an animal communicator that cats don't understand "no" or negatives. She advised making commands positive. So instead of saying No or Down, she advised saying "Four feet on the floor" and pointing at the floor.

It works great for Ragdolls. They look at you like "what, me?" then take their sad, Eeyore faces onto the floor, or at least a chair. Still working on Duma. He definitely listens, looks at the floor, then moves to a different counter lol

So I told him that every time he goes on the counter and then doesn't obey "Four feet on the floor" command, I get to pick him up like a baby and hug him. He does NOT like this. I also have a rule that you don't get put down on the floor until you stop squirming (ie. submit). I hold him away from me with my hands holding his body and let him squirm saying "relax" until he does. This part is definitely working. I think he's finally learning. He is such a good boy, but I do have to set boundaries from time to time.

It's not just cats that don't understand negatives, its all animals, but cats have more attitude. I am an animal communicator, and I can't even tell you the attitude I get from Zeddie sometimes. I also just took a class in Reiki, which is about healing energy, and all about love. I was offering Zeddie some Reiki (when she was hyper....my bad) and she was misbehaving (chewing my phone charger) so I scruffed her (after telling her 'no' 3 times) and she said "well that isn't very loving" Talk about cattitude!
But in general, people have more trouble with their animals because they say (and think) don't scratch the couch, or don't chew the chair. Instead I say scratch the tree, or chew the toys. It shows them more what is acceptable as opposed to what is unacceptable. Of course, this doesn't work with the counters for me...sometimes this just don't care what you think