Fantastic Beasts and how we live with them

Im trying to teach my lab to open/close doors.
I attached ropes to the door knobs for him to grab.
This lil goober.... dude will walk into a room, pull the cord on the outside doorknob so that the door closed BEHIND him... and then get upset because he closed himself in a room.

Lmao.

For whatever reason, i cant get him to go OUT of a room and close the door. Whenever i point at the door knob and say "close", he will go IN the room and close the door
 
Im trying to teach my lab to open/close doors.
I attached ropes to the door knobs for him to grab.
This lil goober.... dude will walk into a room, pull the cord on the outside doorknob so that the door closed BEHIND him... and then get upset because he closed himself in a room.

Lmao.

For whatever reason, i cant get him to go OUT of a room and close the door. Whenever i point at the door knob and say "close", he will go IN the room and close the door
Yeah, it's like they can be trained to perform any physical action, but the reasoning/problem solving behind it is more difficult. Still exceeds the median human capability.
 
Im trying to teach my lab to open/close doors.
I attached ropes to the door knobs for him to grab.
This lil goober.... dude will walk into a room, pull the cord on the outside doorknob so that the door closed BEHIND him... and then get upset because he closed himself in a room.

Lmao.

For whatever reason, i cant get him to go OUT of a room and close the door. Whenever i point at the door knob and say "close", he will go IN the room and close the door
The thumb is a wonderful thing. With the thumb, we can grip things. Once you can grip, you can do all sorts of things (like operate doors).

Wouldn't it be great if dogs had thumbs? ;)

On second thought, maybe not. Imagine dogs with automatic weapons. :eek:
 
My kitty, Agapantha, was polydactyl. Once my husband asked a surgeon in our acquaintance if he'd ever considered the possibility of turning the extra toes of polydactyl cats into opposable thumbs. The surgeon missed the joke all together. That individual is now serving in Congress and still missing the point of so many things.
 
Our sweet boy Baxter. Let him out one morning in January, 2020, and he got attacked by a coyote. I heard his screams and ran out to the ravine, about 200 feet from the house, down a hill, and found him. The coyote was scared away. Got Baxter in my arms, and carried him into the house, got him to the vet, but his chest was crushed and we had to let him go.

1772150142842.jpeg
 
The thumb is a wonderful thing. With the thumb, we can grip things. Once you can grip, you can do all sorts of things (like operate doors).

Wouldn't it be great if dogs had thumbs? ;)

On second thought, maybe not. Imagine dogs with automatic weapons. :eek:
Snoopy would be pretty stoked about it.
 
Old Queen Mittens has been on a nice roll of late. She's rediscovered a love for canned food with gravy, as well as dry food and dry treats. The lower protein content seems to be great for her kidneys, and she's gotten noticeably plumper over the past few weeks. It's not easy to keep a good weight for these ancient kitties, especially a lifelong bag of bones like this one.

Screenshot 2026-03-22 210300.jpg
 
When my kitties get old and fragile, I start making them Kitty Brew, which consists of an egg yolk, half a cup of milk, and a tablespoon of Karo syrup beaten together. A vet suggested it forty years ago for a cat with tummy issues. It kept her going for an extra year and other kitties even longer. Not a panacea, of course, but we've had good luck with it.
 
Just out of curiosity, how old is Queen Mittens?

Catriona, I hope you used lactose-free milk (or milk specially formulated for cats). Cats are lactose intolerant.
 
Mittens followed me home from the corner store late at night ~19 years ago. She was already fully grown, so there's no way to know for sure how old she is. At least 20, but I'm guessing maybe like 22 or 23.

I should try giving her an egg. Super fussy and stubborn kitty, but maybe she'd like it.
What a fine lady!

Try the yolk thinned with just a bit of milk. Whites are apparently harder for them to digest.
 
Mentioning @vatchvaalger , because i wanna know about the adorable chinchilla profile pic!

(My sister has 3 chinchillas that i love cuddling everytime i visit here... well, if they LET me cuddle them lol)
 
IMG_20260325_173128.jpg
These are 2 of her girls!
The grey one is older, and keeps to herself. The white one is younger and is very possessive of her. Anyone who touches the grey one has to be approved by the white one.

She has a black one that is timid. The white one beats her up, so she has to play separately. Shes also the one who is the most cuddly.
 
What a fine lady!

Try the yolk thinned with just a bit of milk. Whites are apparently harder for them to digest.
I gave her a couple yolks with a splash of milk last night, and she immediately began lapping it up. But that only lasted like 10 seconds before she walked away 😅

She is SO fussy. She did go back and snacc on it a couple times during the night, because when she wished me good morning, there was dried yolk on her chin. I'll try again in a week or two and provide a single yolk, served on a plate instead of bowl, and see what happens.
 
Back
Top