I've always heard that animals are creatures of habit. It's very very true. Animals love their routine. It goes beyond that though, they don't just like having things a set way, they get distressed when that routine is changed.Brad has gone to Saskatoon for a two day conference. He left yesterday afternoon and won't be back until Wednesday after work. That means it's just me, Ollie, Nibs (chinchilla), and Peet (budgie).
Oliver is a smart little pooch. He knows what time Brad usually comes home from work and damned if he didn't want to be outside to greet him at 5 oclock yesterday. The problem was, Brad didn't come home. Ollie was out of sorts for the rest of the night. He sat on my lap, or curled up next to me at all times and kept giving me a look that was brimming with blame as if to say "You made him go, didn't you?" I tried my best to calm him and convince him it was nothing out of the ordinary and that things would be just fine with just me around. He wasn't buying. As bedtime crept closer, the poor little guy kept looking to the door. When we went out for his evening constitutional, he kept looking to the driveway, totally confused as to why the Escape was parked there but Brad wasn't around.
Ok, so a dog who is a little messed up about a break in routine is not terribly uncommon, but a chinchilla? Nibbler was right irritated that Brad wasn't around. All evening she sat in the corner of the cage glaring at me. If you've ever had a chinchilla glare at you, you know how unnerving this can be. I fed her, and gave her fresh hay...but I committed a sin most foul. I forgot to give her a bedtime snack of a Shreddie. I paid dearly for this transgression. Throughout the night she crashed around in her cage, waking me up at 1:21, and again at 2:55 when she threw her food dish to the ground. After refilling her dish, I went back to bed and closed the bedroom door.
I like a good solid routine as much as the next guy, and I'll admit it can be a little disconcerting when that routine is changed through no fault of your own...but can we please keep the tantrums to a minimum?
1 comment:
Does this only have to do with dogs? Because I have three cats, and they do not follow a routine what so ever. Thankfully for me though, because if they did, my kitten would wake me up at 5am every day, rather than just the odd day during the week.
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