HtDR

Above, the four of us wait patiently for treat time to arrive.   We are discussing the outlook for the HtDR.
HtDR as many of you know stands for "Hand to Dog Ratio."   HtDR is used to predict the level of stress in the house at any given time.  It is an accurate predictor of the level of dog happiness and canine contentment in the home.  Many years ago the HtDR was at 2/1, back in the good old days.  The HtDR has been at 1/1 for some time now, ever since Stella arrived back with us and Nala came to stay.   We have been told that Wednesday evening our cousins will be arriving to spend five days with us while their family takes a trip to Michigan.   I did some projections and the HtDR number came out very bad.   If my calculations are correct we will be spending a week with a HtDR of only 1/2.   This will be the lowest that the HtDR has been in over a year. 

Bella, Nala and Stella reminded me that when the DtHR dips, the number of dogs needing foster homes rises, more dogs are in doggy jail, fewer are in foster homes.   Stella and Nala even offered to let Bella and I have some extra hand time if we will allow them to stay a while longer.  So maybe it is not all that bad.   Because of our increasing HtDR, fewer dogs will be in pounds over the new year. 

It should be a wild house when Emma, Molly, Piper and Lulu arrive to spend a few days.  It will remain to be seen how Lulu adjusts to being in yet another home, she is just getting settled in her current one with our cousins.  Of course, she knows she will be returning home with the cousins, but it may be a hard adjustment for her to make for a few days.   Emma, Molly and Piper come and go frequently and they have everything figured out.   They know how to use the dog door to play outside or come in to get warm.  They know where their food dishes will be at dinner time.  They know they get yelled at if they jump in the Koi pond.  They know where they will sleep at night, each one has a favorite spot on the bedroom floor.  Emma stays out of the way, she sleeps on the living room floor behind the couch.   But Lulu will have to find her own places.  

The cats will also be upset as Lulu is still learning to be cat friendly.  This may be a hurdle as she is pretty aggressive at the moment.    We have warned Mini Cat and she says she has her claws sharpened and ready.   We hope Lulu will respond to having people here all day long, people to work with her and her fears around the clock.   They are also predicting very cold temperatures and some snow for the next week, so it will be harder for us to play outdoors all day long as we have been doing while the weather has been so mild.  Stay tuned for updates.

Mogley G. Retriever