# Day trip to the cottage



## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

Tomorrow I'm going out to the parents for father's day. Just a short 30 min drive. As it's during the day Sylvie would normally stay home. Catch is I need to clean her cage & with scheduling it's easiest if I clean the cage before going out to the cottage & then let everything air dry while we're gone (I always let everything air dry for a good while when I clean).

So Sylvie is coming with me.

I wanted some thoughts & any pointers people may have.

The cottage is very warm & not drafty so I'm not concerned about that. It is suppose to rain tomorrow. We have two pellet stoves & a fireplace that will most likely be burning. If it get's chilly at all Sylvie will hangout in a safe proximity from these.

I have a soft sided small animal carrier that's about 1.5' by 1' with screens on the side that she'll be in. Days she needs to come to work with me (for apts after) she's in this and very used to it, just sleeps the day away.

My parents have a 10 year old ****er spaniel. & he barks - a lot. He's actually almost entirely deaf & so the barking is now more frequent - it's just for attn. I'm sure however that he will bark when he meets Sylvie. He's an extremely friendly dog, & gentle. If given a blown up balloon he will walk around all day with end in his mouth & never pop it. He does chase squirrels & rabbits but when faced with them, turns & runs the other way. obviously Sylvie & Darby (the dog) will not be unsupervised together. Actually Sylvie will be secure in her crate on a table. It's the barking that I'm concerned about & if she seems to be scared I will move her to a closed room.

& then there will most likely be my sister's dog, Sam, a white sheppard there. Sam & Sylvie met over the holidays & coexisted for many days in perfect harmony. I stayed at my sis' house for a couple days. When I got up I would go check on Sylvie & Sam would come with me, give a sniff & then take a couple steps backwards & just watch. In the evenings both Sam, lying by my sister, & Sylvie, on my lap, would be out while we watch tv. 

So thoughts? Concerns? Suggestions? please & thanks.

And a final question. I've read both the hedgies are & are not considered rodents. What's the correct answer? My parents have two of the plug in mouse deterent things (they emit a frequency that mice don't like, the dogs however are fine with it). My father is going to go around tonight & unplug them all in case they would bother Sylvie but I'm curious if anyone has had any experience with these.


Cheers & happy father's day to any of the dad's out there


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## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

If she's in a cage on the table, she should be fine with the noise. Mine sleeps through most noise, yours may be the same. If the noise starts to bother her, then just put her in a room the dog can't get to. 

I wouldn't let them actually meet. Since it would only be for one day and not a permanent/long term arrangement, it would be more stressful than beneficial to Sylvie to meet him--and who knows how he would react since he's an older dog that likes to chase other animals anyway, even if he does seem pretty gentle. Those other animals will run initially but a hedgie won't, so she might get harmed if he tries to lunge for her at all. I wouldn't risk a meeting.

Hedgies aren't from the rodent family, they are "CLASS: Mammalia ORDER: Insectivora", but I would go ahead and unplug the deterrents, though, just in case they might bother her. I would get any air fresheners out of the room, too, if she's not used to having those around.

Have a good trip!


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

thanks! & there's no air freshners but thanks for the heads up on that


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